Connect with us

Sports

Column: Mike LeDuc honors the greatest three-point shooters in his illustrious coaching career

Published

on

Column: Mike LeDuc honors the greatest three-point shooters in his illustrious coaching career

In 44 seasons of coaching high school basketball, and with more than 1,000 victories, Mike LeDuc of Damien has had plenty of top shooters. His team is playing in the Southern California Division 1 regional playoffs, so it’s a good time to ask who is on LeDuc’s top-five list as a three-point shooter.

After lots of pleading, with me pointing out his current three-point shooting star, Xavier Clinton, would be on most lists of coaches, LeDuc revealed his top five.

Broadcast partners Tracy Murray, right, and Josh Lewin prepare to call a UCLA game in 2021. Murray averaged 44 points for Mike LeDuc at Glendora High in 1988-89 and scored a Southern Section record 3,053 points before going on to UCLA and the NBA.

(Ben Bolch / Los Angeles Times)

Advertisement

No. 1 is Tracy Murray. He averaged 44 points for LeDuc at Glendora High in 1988-89 and scored a Southern Section record 3,053 points before going on to UCLA and the NBA. He could make shots from anywhere and would have tried one from half court if LeDuc needed it.

No. 2 is Casey Jacobsen. He scored a record 3,284 points at Glendora from 1996-99 before going on to Stanford and the NBA. He’s 6 feet, 6 inches tall, and his size and skill made him a defensive nightmare in high school.

No. 3 is Josh Giles. Yes, the current Corona Centennial coach was a heck of a shooter at Glendora. Intense, tough and stubborn, he didn’t back down from anyone. In 1996, he made 113 threes.

No. 4 is Adam Jacobsen. The older brother of Casey Jacobsen made 288 three-pointers for Glendora before transferring to Crescenta Valley before making 311 threes in college at Pacific.

No. 5 is Cameron Murray. The younger brother of Tracy Murray scored 2,842 points from 1991-94 at Glendora. Imagine what life was like back in the days when the Murrays were playing games of H-O-R-S-E against each other. There was not enough light left to keep going.

Advertisement

The three-point line came into effect during Tracy Murray’s junior season in 1987-88. LeDuc remembers the Division II state championship game at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in 1989 when Murray was pulling up after one dribble and making threes from beyond the top of the key. He scored 64 points in an 89-83 loss to Menlo Atherton. The points tied the Golden State Warriors’ Rick Barry for most points scored in the arena.

Clinton has kept up the LeDuc scoring tradition. He has 104 threes for Damien this season.

“He’s had a great year,” LeDuc said.

Clinton benefits from Damien’s inside-outside strategy because of 7-footer Nate Garcia. When teams focus on stopping Garcia, Clinton gets the chance to shoot open threes. Let’s see how far Damien goes in the Division I regional playoffs. The Spartans have a home game on Thursday night against Redondo Union.

Nearly 40 years ago, during the 1985-86 basketball season, Jerry Simon was creating buzz at L.A. Marshall High, the school that produced coach Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs. Simon had a 43-point game against Crenshaw. He scored 69 points against Belmont in a game. He averaged 37.8 points in league play and was the City Section 3A player of the year.

Advertisement

His son, Barak, a 5-foot-10 point guard, led Marina to the Southern Section 2A championship, the first in school history. Only a junior, Barak came through with 19 points on Tuesday night in a regional loss to King/Drew, the City Section Open Division champion. He made five threes.

Simon is a special education teacher at Marina. He went to Pennsylvania and played 11 years of pro basketball in Israel, winning a championship.

He returns every year to the Marshall alumni game and takes Barak with him.

Point guard Barak Simon led Marina to the Southern Section 2A championship, the first in school history.

(Don Leach / Daily Pilot)

Advertisement

Now the question is will the son ever breaking dad’s scoring record.

“He claims he’s going to break it,” Jerry Simon said.

One year to go.

Advertisement

Sports

Chargers’ Justin Herbert gushes over Madison Beer in heartfelt birthday tribute: ‘Changed my life forever’

Published

on

Chargers’ Justin Herbert gushes over Madison Beer in heartfelt birthday tribute: ‘Changed my life forever’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert gushed over 27-year-old singer Madison Beer in a heartfelt birthday tribute on social media, offering fans a rare glimpse into the couple’s relationship. 

The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, who normally shies away from the public eye, posted a series of photos to his Instagram Stories on Thursday. 

Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers warms up prior to a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium on Dec. 8, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

“Happy birthday to my favorite person of all time,” Herbert wrote in a post that showed the couple on the sidelines of one of his NFL games. “I love you so much. You’ve changed my life forever.”

Advertisement

In another photo appearing to show the couple out to dinner, Herbert wrote, “I am the luckiest guy alive…”

Herbert, who turns 28 later this month, shared another photo of the “Make You Mine” artist petting goats and captioned the photo, “My goats.”

The couple was first linked together in August when they were spotted together on the set of one of Beer’s music videos in Los Angeles. Herbert and Beer were photographed in October on the sidelines of a Chargers game at SoFi Stadium, seemingly confirming the dating rumors. 

Quarterback Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and singer Madison Beer attend an NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Advertisement

The same month, Herbert went viral after blocking a rogue basketball from hitting Beer when the two sat courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game.  

Herbert signed a five-year, $262.5 million extension with the Chargers in July 2023. Despite proving himself to be one of the elite young quarterbacks in the NFL, Los Angeles’ offensive struggles have seen the team fall short in back-to-back playoff appearances.

Quarterback Justin Herbert (10) of the Los Angeles Chargers blocks a basketball from hitting Madison Beer as they attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

 The team’s offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, was fired in January and replaced with former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who is regarded as one of the top offensive minds in football. 

Advertisement

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Related Article

Justin Herbert goes viral for saving Madison Beer from flying basketball at Lakers game amid romance rumors

Continue Reading

Sports

Shohei Ohtani’s second-inning grand slam propels Japan to a rout in World Baseball Classic opener

Published

on

Shohei Ohtani’s second-inning grand slam propels Japan to a rout in World Baseball Classic opener

The last time Shohei Ohtani was seen wearing a World Baseball Classic uniform with “Japan” across his chest, he was striking out Mike Trout of the United States on a ninth-inning, full-count slider to give his country a victory in the championship game three years ago.

So much has happened in Ohtani’s life between then and now. He has a wife and a daughter, a new interpreter, a new Major League team, two World Series championships and three more Most Valuable Player awards.

Yet unforgettable WBC memories continue. This time, he delivered from the batter’s box instead of the pitcher’s mound.

In the second inning of Japan’s WBC opener against Chinese Taipei on Friday at the Tokyo Dome, Ohtani smacked a hanging curve a few feet over the right-field wall for a grand slam, triggering an offensive onslaught that resulted in a 13-0 victory.

“I thought it might land as an out, so above all, I really wanted to get the first run on the board,” Ohtani told reporters afterward.

Advertisement

Ohtani led off the game with a double and singled in his second at-bat of the second inning, when Japan put up a WBC-record 10 runs. He added a run-scoring single in the third inning, giving him five runs batted in.

In 2023, Ohtani hit and pitched Japan to the WBC title, batting .435 with eight RBIs and allowing only two earned runs in 9 2/3 innings on the mound. This year, he will only bat, saving his pitching for the Dodgers, who begin their quest for a third consecutive World Series title in three weeks.

Japan’s starting pitcher Friday was a decorated Dodger nevertheless. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, MVP of the 2025 World Series, threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings, walking three and striking out two while giving up no hits.

His command wasn’t pinpoint — he threw 53 pitches, 33 for strikes — but it is still spring training, even though the atmosphere was electric for Japanese players competing in front of a crowd of 42,314 that included actor Timothy Chalamet and superstar Bad Bunny.

“I know there will be some tough battles ahead, but if the fans and the team can unite and everyone can help build the excitement together, it will really encourage us,” Ohtani said.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Russell Wilson escalates feud with Sean Payton, labels Broncos coach ‘classless’

Published

on

Russell Wilson escalates feud with Sean Payton, labels Broncos coach ‘classless’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Russell Wilson and Sean Payton spent just one NFL season together, but tension lingered after a rocky year.

And it appears the tension that built up from that tumultuous stretch continues to linger.

Wilson’s interview on the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast, recorded before last month’s Super Bowl between Seattle and New England, recently resurfaced. 

In the interview, Wilson doubled down on his October comment labeling Payton “classless,” saying he felt slighted by his former coach’s remarks.

Advertisement

Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos talks to quarterback Russell Wilson on the sideline during an NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium Aug. 11, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)

“[When] you’ve been on the same side or this and that, and I got the same amount of rings as you got, meaning Sean, right?” said Wilson, who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks as Payton did coaching for the New Orleans Saints. 

“I got a lot of respect for him as a play-caller, this and that, but to take a shot, I don’t like. I don’t think it’s necessary, you know, I mean, especially when I’m not even on your own team anymore. So, for me, there’s a point in time where you have to, I’ve realized, I’ve stayed quiet for so long. There’s a there’s a time and place where I’m not.

“I know who I am as a competitor, as a warrior, as a champion, too, and, you know, I’ve beaten Sean, too. You know, like we’ve been on the same place and the same thing. And so, it’s not a matter of disrespect. Just don’t disrespect me.”

Advertisement

Sean Payton and Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos during an a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Empower Field at Mile High Nov. 19, 2023, in Denver, Colo. (Ryan Kang/Getty Images)

After a rocky one-year stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, Wilson joined the New York Giants last offseason. However, he was relegated to a backup role after just three games.

Rookie Jaxson Dart quickly showed promise once he had the chance to start, but his season was briefly derailed by injury. Jameis Winston — not Wilson — stepped in for Dart in a handful of games. Dart threw three touchdowns in a Week 7 matchup with the Broncos, nearly pulling off an upset in what was eventually a close loss.

After the game, Payton said Dart provided a “spark” to the Giants’ offense.

“I was talking to [Giants owner] John Mara not too long ago, and I said, ‘We were hoping that that change would have happened long after our game,’” Payton said.

Advertisement

The New York Giants’ Russell Wilson attempts to escape a sack by Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) in the first half of a game Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas.  (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Payton also said the Broncos would have faced less of a challenge had Wilson been under center.

“Classless … but not surprised,” Wilson responded in a social media post. “Didn’t realize you’re still bounty hunting 15+ years later though the media.”

Despite last season’s struggles and chatter about his football future, Wilson does not appear ready to call it quits in 2026.

Advertisement

“I wanna play a few more years for sure,” he said. “I think, for me, I’ve always had the vision of getting to 40, at least. I think the game is different. Quarterbacks, we get hit. It’s not, you know, we get hit hard, but … there’s certain rules. I mean, back in the day when I started, bro, it was you just get [clobbered]. 

“I mean, so I feel like the game allows you to, you know, live a little longer, I guess. I feel healthy. I feel great. But I think, more than anything else is, do you love the game? Do you love studying? Do you love the passion for it all? Do you love the process? Do you love the practice? Do you love — everybody loves the winning part of it, but it’s process. There’s a journey that you got to be obsessed with. And that part I’m obsessed with.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Related Article

Russell Wilson not thinking about retirement, plans to play in 2026: 'I know what I'm capable of'

Continue Reading

Trending