High school girls basketball: Stan Delus of Etiwanda named 2022-23 MaxPreps National Coach of the Year

Stan Delus had an idea his Etiwanda (Calif.) girls basketball team had a shot at winning the school's first title when the players arrived on campus in August.

Getting from August in the Inland Empire of Southern California to a Saturday in March at Sacramento's Golden 1 Center and hoisting the CIF Open Division trophy became reality for the Eagles because of belief in the system, a brilliant postseason game plan and a total team effort.

For guiding Etiwanda to a 32-3 mark, a No. 3 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 and, of course, the Open Division crown, Delus is the 2022-23 MaxPreps National Coach of the Year.

"We were one game from reaching last year's championship game," Delus said. "I looked at the pieces (returning) and said ‘Yes, we are a team that can win a state championship.' I was comfortable about that when the girls came back in August and I asked for their goals, individual and team, and it was unanimous ‘We think we can win a state championship.'"

Getting to Golden 1 Center required Etiwanda to truly run the gauntlet as the Eagles defeated two Southern California powers — La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla) and Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) — before a championship game matchup with Archbishop Mitty (San Jose). All three were ranked in the top 10 of the MaxPreps Top 25 at the time.

"I didn't even give them the bracket," Delus said. "I wanted them to have tunnel vision on the game in front of us. I must have said ‘focus' 1,000 times that week, but I wanted them to understand how important it was to stay in front of us."
After losing a regular-season matchup to La Jolla Country Day, the Eagles beat Breya Cunningham and the Torreys 47-42, employing a smothering zone that took the wind from their offense and exhausted the Arizona-bound post.

Etiwanda avenged its other SoCal loss, beating Sierra Canyon 55-54 to knock the Trailblazers out of the national No. 1 spot and end the storied career of MaxPreps National Player of the Year Juju Watkins.

"We decided it was a good time to bring out the zone we had been practicing all year, but hadn't really shown," Delus said. "And then you can't stop Juju, but you have to do your best to contain her. We put a triangle look inside our zone to keep her in front and going to her left.

"There was a little chip on our shoulder (to avenge those losses)."

Against Mitty in the state final, the Eagles were led by MaxPreps All-American Kennedy Smith, who dropped 30, but the hero of the day was Jada Sanders. She grabbed a rebound off a missed Smith jumper and converted the game-winning bucket at the buzzer.

"In my six years at Etiwanda, we've won certain games not because of the starters," Delus said. "I told my bench to be prepared because your name is going to be called. I got on Jada (early in the game) and said ‘you've gotta rebound."

Delus, who took over the program from Anders Anderson and was mentored by Lindsay Strothers, said being a girls basketball coach isn't a stepping stone, but an honor.

"It's been a privilege to be taught how to be a girls basketball coach," Delus said. "I watched and learned from coach Anderson and coach Strothers who taught me it's about more than basketball. You coach them hard and tough, but you need to communicate."

And this season, he said, rises above all others as a player and a coach.