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 Head Coach ANDY GROUND
Former Saddleback player and coach Andy Ground returned to Saddleback prior to the 2008-09 season, replacing Bill Brummel who retired following the 2007-08 season after 27 seasons at the helm of the men's basketball program and a 569-278 overall record.
Ground played at Saddleback during the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons under Coach Bill Brummel before earning a scholarship to play at the University of Hawaii in Hilo. He later played professionally in Lima, Peru, and in Bonn, Germany.
He returned to Southern California where he spent seven seasons as the varsity boys coach at Tustin High School, compiling a 154-49 record with three league titles and post-season playoff appearances in each of those seven seasons. Five of his teams reached the CIF quarterfinal round.
 Ground came to Saddleback as an assistant coach in 1999 and proved to be an outstanding recruiter in addition to his coaching duties. He spent seven seasons as an assistant coach before being named co-head coach for the 2006-07 season. In those eight seasons he helped guide the Gauchos to a 215-51 overall record, five Orange Empire Conference titles, and two conference runner-up finishes. Saddleback participated in the post-season in each of those years, reaching the state tournament semifinals five times and winning the college’s first-ever state title for men’s basketball in 2001-02.
He left the program prior to the 2007-08 season and was hired as an assistant coach at Irvine Valley College, helping the Lasers to a 27-5 overall record and a runner-up finish in the Orange Empire Conference.
Assistant Coach DARREN LAX
Darren Lax joined the Saddleback coaching staff in 2000 and has been helping with the program each year since. He has worked closely with Andy Ground for over 15 years at the high school and college level.
Lax attended Riverside Poly High School and, in 1989, attended Riverside Community College where he played basketball for two years under Bob Schermerhorn. After completing his eligibility at RCC he accepted a full basketball
scholarship to Concordia University in Irvine where he played for two years under Greg Marshall. After graduating in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology, Lax took a position as an assistant basketball coach with the University of California, Irvine men's basketball team. In 1997, he decided to pursue his love of teaching and took a teaching position in the Alternative Education Division with the Orange County Department of Education. In 2000, he obtained his Master's Degree in Education and his Administrative Credential and is currently the administrator at Los Pinos High School.
Darren and his wife, Stacy, reside in Ladera Ranch with their two daughters, Madison (4) and Cassidy (6 mos.).
 Assistant Coach NICK BOOKER
Nick Booker is in his third season with the Saddleback men’s basketball program. Nickhelped the Gauchos to a 29-8 overall record last season and arunner-up finish at the California state tournament. During the 2007-08 season, he started out as an assistant coach but was elevated to the interim head coach position when head coach Bill Brummel stepped aside in mid-December due to health concerns. Heled the team for the remainder of the season, including through all Orange Empire Conference games.
Nickattended The Bishop's School in La Jolla, CAwhere he was a four-year varsity starter. He led his team to a pair of San Diego Section championships and to a state semifinal appearance. He accumulated numerous awards includingSan Diego CIF player of the year,San Diego County Freshman of the Year award, and All-State awards. Nickreceived a full scholarship to Davidson College (NC), where he would become a three-year starter under Coach Bob McKillop while helping Davidson win a Southern Conference Championship and gain a berth to the 2002 NCAA tournament(Albuquerque, New Mexico)vs. Ohio State.
Coach Booker spent several years as Co-Director of Gamepoint Basketball, an AAU travel program, and also coached two years at the high school level in San Diego County(La Jolla High School and Vista High School). He started his college coaching career by helping to jump-start the men's basketball program at San Diego Miramar College (Miramar’s first intercollegiate college team). He had an opportunity to become an assistant at Saddleback in 2007 and that position turned into the interim head coaching position mentioned above. He is currently attending Azusa Pacific University working on his Master’s Degree in Physical Education and expected to graduate in January 2010.
Nick and his wife, Jamila, reside in Oceanside, CA with their son Philip (1), and are expecting another son in January of 2010.
Assistant Coach DARRYL BROWN
Darryl Brown is a volunteer assistant with the men's basketball program this season and will be working primarily with the post players. He is a product of George Washington HS in Los Angeles and later went on to play basketball at Weber State (with UCLA coach Ben Howland), L.A. Southwest College, and the University of Houston (roommate and mentor to Hakeem Olajuwon). He went on to play professionally in Europe for five years and played for teams in the Dominican Republic, Belgium, and Scotland. He currently works at Los Pinos HS where he coached the boys basketball team for eight years and also served as the Freedom League coordinator and CIF representative.
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Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges, of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
