Even though basketball coach and Defend-the-Rim basketball clinic coordinator Sherman Lee decided to hang up his whistle last year, his legacy still lives on in Alameda through his former players. Several Defend-the-Rim attendees had great seasons on the hardwood this year.

Two of his former players, juniors Tariq Grant and Nick Gabriel-Yingling, helped lead Alameda High School to the North Coast Section Div. II men’s semifinals.

“The season was really fun,” said Gabriel-Yingling in a statement. “We locked in and got a lot of work done as a team and the results showed. We made it further than people expected.”

Brothers Damarius and Ardarius Gates also had stellar seasons for the Oakland Tech basketball team. Tech finished just one game short from going to California Interscholastic Federation Div. III state finals. Ardarius Gates was named to Oakland Athletic Leagues first team as a sophomore.

Lee began his coaching career months after graduating from Encinal High School in 1981.