On Wednesday, November 15 at Oakland's Allen Temple Family Life Center, Castlemont High will honor the late Dave Shigematsu by dedicating the basketball court of its gymnasium as the David T. Shigematsu Court. "Coach S" as he was affectionately known, passed away at the young age of 46 on January 12, 1987 after a brief stint coaching at Skyline High in the Oakland hills but he will always be known for his remarkable career at Castlemont High in the East Oakland flatlands.

Shigematsu spent the 1967-68 season coaching junior varsity basketball with the Knights before taking over the varsity position the following year and guiding them to their first Tournament of Champions (TOC) crown in 1969. He would go on to coach Castlemont through the 80-81 campaign while compiling an outstanding 252-64 record including seven league titles.

The list of standouts from his distinguished tenure at Castlemont is endless: Mike Quick (USF), Brady Allen (Cal), and Selmon Marks, all three stars on his inaugural squad that captured the '69 TOC, Tyree Foster from the '71 team, Reggie Green (Seattle University) and Jeff Randall (USF) from his 1972-73 squad, Donnie Martin (Long Beach St.) and Cliff Robinson (adidas High School All-American, USC and a 10 year NBA veteran) from the '76 TOC champs, and Lewis Wooldridge (College of Note Dame) and Lathan Wilson (also the star of the '80 and '81 teams, Langston University of Oklahoma), of the '79 tourney champs. Many of the aforementioned stars and countless other former players will be on hand to honor their mentor.

Shigematsu's career was nothing short of remarkable. He guided a program that had not made an appearance in the TOC before he took over and proceeded to lead them there on eight occasions (including three consecutive appearances, twice from 1969-71 and 1979-81) over 13 seasons. Also, in addition to his OAL titles, the Knights won 17 tournaments, two additional TOC titles, and barely missed out on two other TOC crowns by a total of five points (a 45-42 loss to cross-town rival Fremont in '80 and a 70-69 thriller to Bishop O'Dowd in '81). Only three local programs, Berkeley High (seven appearances including five in a row, two titles), neighboring O'Dowd (seven appearances including four in row, and one title), and Hayward High (seven appearances including second-place finishes in 1969, '71 and '72) came close to duplicating Castlemont's postseason success rate in the same period.

How did he do it? His daughter, Jill Shigematsu Stowe said, "he embedded himself in the community. He taught Geography, Mathematics, Industrial Arts, Physical Education and Driver's Education and Training besides coaching numerous sports. He worked his teams hard but also made them a part of his family."

Shigematsu Stowe noted how, even after players graduated, he gave them bus fare if they needed it and if someone came to him for help, he helped them. She fondly recalled, "he would have the team over to our house at season's end to celebrate. My father pushed his players to not only work hard on the court but also to compete in the classroom and succeed in all parts of life."

Despite the negative temptations of the mean streets of the Elmhurst section, one of Oakland's roughest areas, Shigematsu instilled confidence in young men who, until that point, probably had not seen much faith shown in them or their abilities by the system.

Vincent Goldman, a 6-foot-5 post from Shigematsu's last two teams who would go on to play at Chabot College and UC Riverside recalled how "Coach S" taught life lessons with basketball and prepared his players, socially and intellectually, for the future by insisting they participate in Upward Bound (an outreach program aimed at preparing inner-city students for college).

"It was summertime. [Coach S] knew the area well, and he didn't want us to get into trouble so he kept us busy, said Goldman."

Shigematsu also encouraged his players to be well-rounded by suggesting they take up golf classes in school. His efforts worked wonders as many of his players went on to athletic and academic careers at four-year schools.

Goldman noted how a key ingredient in Shigematsu's success rate at the East Oakland school was encountering the players at a young age. "He was a teacher on the campuses of East Oakland (starting with Havenscourt Middle School in '63 before moving on to Castlemont) so he saw them on a daily basis and he knew them all very well," said Goldman. Coach S showed his players respect, and demanded the same from them and this familiarity created chemistry between coach and his players.

Shigematsu was also meticulous in terms of game preparation. Reggie Green, one-half of the '73 team's devastating one-two punch with Jeff Randall, recalled Shigematsu's consistency and discipline. "Coach knew what he wanted to do and he knew which players fit particular roles in order for the team to be successful but some guys couldn't deal with that and transferred out of the school."

Goldman, remembering how meticulous his coach was said, "he wrote down everything on index cards."

His daughter agreed and added, "yes, he was extremely disciplined and he made sure the players knew that each member of the Castlemont Knights must make individual sacrifices for a team victory and that no one player is more important than the team itself."

Shigematsu's beliefs and insight into his team's strengths and weaknesses very rarely cost the Knights a shot at a successful season whether it was the '73 team that relied on dumping the ball inside to Green and Randall, 6-foot-6 bookend forwards who accounted for 60% of the offense, or running a guard-oriented offense led by Donnie Martin, triggered by solid rebounding in the frontcourt from Robinson, Donald Seals, and Robert Grissom as was the case with the '76 team. Those two squads, along with some of his other teams, finished among the state's top teams.

Here's a synopsis of Shigematsu's brilliant career:

Season Record Highlights

1967-1968 18-2 (JV) League Champs

1968-1969 21-2 Anderson Invitational Tournament Champions

O.A.L. Champions

T.O.C. Champions

1969-1970 19-4 Amador Invitational Tournament Champions

O.A.L. Champions

T.O.C. Participants (4th place)

1970-1971 14-9 McClymonds Christmas Invitational Tournament – 3rd

Place

O.A.L. Champions

T.O.C. Participants (4th place)

1971-1972 20-3 McLane Invitational Tournament – 3rd Place

McClymonds Christmas Invitational Tournament

(Champions)

Gridley Invitational Tournament Champions

1972-1973 22-3 Golden State Classic Tournament Champions

McClymonds Christmas Invitational Tournament – 3rd

Place

O.A.L. Champions

T.O.C. Participants

1973-1974 13-10 Central California Classic Tournament – 4th Place

Golden State Classic Tournament - Consolation

1974-1975 15-8 Central California Classic Tournament – Consolation

McClymonds Christmas Invitational Tournament (Champions)

1975-1976 25-2 Richmond Invitational Tournament Champions

McClymonds Christmas Invitational Tournament

(Champions)

O.A.L. Champions

T.O.C. Champions

1976-1977 20-6 Richmond Invitational Tournament Champions

McClymonds Christmas Invitational Tournament

(Champions)

1977-1978 17-6 Amador Invitational Tournament Champions

Anderson Invitational Tournament – Runner-up

1978-1979 23-3 Sir Francis Drake Pirate Invitational Tournament

(Champions)

O.A.L. Champions

T.O.C. Champions

1979-1980 22-4 Anderson Invitational Tournament Champions

Edison Classic Invitational Tournament Champions

State CIF Championship – 2nd Place

1980-1981 21-4 El Cerrito Tournament Champions

McClymonds Christmas Invitational Tournament

(Champions)

Edison Classic Invitational Tournament Champions

O.A.L. Champions

State C.I.F. Championship – 2nd Place

1981-1986 85-5 Coached his son's basketball team

Oakland Buddhist Church, Rams

Awards won by Shigematsu included:

1971 Doten – Coach of the Year - Oakland

1973 Doten – Coach of the Year - Oakland

Asked to coach the 2nd Annual Derby Classic in

Louisville, Kentucky (Denied privilege by C.I.F.)

1976 Flecto – Coach of the Year – Bay Area

Citizen's Savings – Coach of the Year – Northern California

1977 Certificate Coaches Award – McDonald's All American Selection of Cliff Robinson

1978 Nichi Bei Times' - Nisei Athlete of the Year

1979 California Coaches Association – State Coach of the Year

Flecto – Coach of the Year – Northern California

Citizen's Savings – Coach of the Year – Northern

California

California Coaches Association – District Eight Coach of the Year

1980 National High School Athletics Coaches Association -

William S. Rockwell Award

Here is the information for the event:

A soul food dinner dedicating Castlemont's basketball court as David T. Shigematsu Court

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

6:30-8:30 PM

Allen Temple Family Life Center

8501 International Blvd.

Oakland, CA 94621

ADVANCED TICKETS ONLY: $35.00

Checks Payable to: Castlemont Athletics

For Tickets Contact:

Johnny Lorigo, 510-604-6373

Reggie Green, 510-459-8808

Vincent Goldman, 510-689-8269