Childhood pals 'Max and Chooch' plan to lead University to promised land

A pair of squeaky-voiced eighth-grade besties sat in the end zone at Haas Pavilion in 2015, watching their future University (San Francisco, Calif.) boys basketball team put up a good fight against nationally-ranked Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth), only to lose 80-55 in the CIF Division 5 championship.

Fried agreed: "We're gonna win one for coach (Randy) Bessolo."

Four years later, the childhood pals, who attended Little School elementary and Marin Country Day middle school together, have one last chance to make good on that vow.

University's unquestioned leaders and top two players lead the Red Devils into Golden 1 Center for Friday's 4 p.m. Division 2 championship against Southern California champion La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, Calif.) (22-13).

Fried, a chiseled 6-foot-4 do-everything forward, has filled up a stat sheet throughout his superb four-year career, this season averaging 14.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. He's scored 1,128 career points, grabbed 933 career rebounds and committed to Emory College next season..

"For us, he's somewhere between our LeBron and Draymond Green," Bessolo said. "He does it all. Beyond the numbers, he's the life of our party. A big personality. Positive. Bubbly."

The most important number he's brought to the Red Devils is 108. That's the number of wins University has piled up during his four-year career, though each of the last three years have ended with a bitter defeat. University, one of the best small-school programs in the state for two decades, has reached the state finals four times, all defeats.

"The only number I'm focused on is us getting win 109," Fried said. "It would definitely mean the world to me, Chooch (Moore's nickname), our team, the school. If we just continue our defensive-oriented ways, play within ourselves, I don't see why we can't win it all."

Moore, a 6-5, 190-pound wing, agrees. He came into University as a sure-fire baseball prospect, but caught basketball fever after his sophomore season, his first on the varsity. He also hit a steady growth spurt, which coincided with his improvement on the court.

Bessolo, who is 347-114 in his 14 years at University, said Moore "has improved more in four years than any play I have coached." He leads the Red Devils with a 14.3 scoring average — he's scored 1,082 in his career — to go with 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He'll play next season at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Both Moore and Fried could score more — "A lot more," Bessolo said. — but both were asked to mentor a young team that includes six juniors, five sophomores and a freshman. None of the returners besides Fried and Moore had much varsity experience coming into the season.

In fact, last year's 31-4 team that included San Francisco Player of the Year Spencer Spivey and All-Metro's Julian Manyika, was the squad earmarked to a possible state title. Following a season-ending 74-56 NorCal semifinal loss at eventual D3 champion Pleasant Valley-Chico, on a teary-eyed ride home, Moore said he and Fried cemented their vow to do everything humanly possible to make their senior year special.

Bessolo met with the duo early and they were all bought in to "share the sugar (shots)," and get the younger or more inexperienced players involved.

Guys like Charlie Kennedy, Mr. Clutch, or the versatile Jacques McFadden or ball hawk Reese Johnson. There's been more development from ball-handler extraordinaire Christian Heng and sophomore bombers Ren Zanze and Raki Cabrera-Scarlata, who make good on the sugar.

"The young guys have all stepped up," Moore said. "They've elevated their games more and more and more. Now we're peaking at just the right time."

But the ride wasn't easy. Fried missed the first six games with a hip flexor and the Red Devils started 3-3.

Then there was Bay Counties League West arch-rival Stuart Hall (San Francisco), the defending NorCal D4 champs, who were more than a thorn in the side. Led by BCL West Player of the Year Miles Amos, the Knights beat University three times, by 6, 5 and 5, the last game fighting back from a 16-point deficit.

"They were great games all of them, but really tough to lose," Moore said.

But the Red Devils got the game they really wanted, winning 63-46 over The Hall for the North Coast Section championship. That got them a higher seed at NorCals, where they won back-to-back double-overtime games at their home away from home, Kezar Pavilion.

The previous year at NorCals, the Red Devils won triple-overtime and single-overtime games.

"Teams win games," Moore said. "Tough teams win tough games."

Said Fried: "We're tougher than people think."

The players point toward Bessolo for that. His record speaks for itself, but it runs deeper than that.

"What he does from taking players as freshmen and developing them until they are seniors is amazing," Moore said. "He's just an amazing coach."

Said Fried: "He means everything to me. He brought me in as a freshman on varsity, developed me, turned me into a college player. Hopefully we'll get a final win for him."

It won't nearly be easy. La Jolla Country Day is extremely battle tested and boasts active 6-10 post Jayson Taylor and Princeton-bound guard Ryan Langborg, who averages 25 points per game.

That said, Max and Chooch said a promise is a promise. They plan to keep it.

"It seems crazy," Fried said. "We've been playing together since the fifth grade and on Friday will be the last time we're playing together. It's hard to really comprehend. We won't get caught up in all of that. It's all about what we talked about at Haas. Making history. Getting that first title."

Prep2Prep reporter Ethan Kassel contributed to this report.