Coach of the Year: Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr added still another accomplishment to his resume over the summer and it may be the one he will be most proud of when he finally calls it quits.

As head coach of the USA men’s basketball team at the Olympics in Paris, Kerr watched in awe from the bench as NBA star Steph Curry sank four clutch three-pointers in the last three minutes to seal a 98-87 victory over host France in the gold medal game. The Americans went 6-0, winning by an average margin of 19 points a game.

It was Team USA’s fifth straight gold medal in the sport dating back to 2008. For the 59-year-old Kerr it marked another milestone in his basketball career, which has seen him win nine NBA titles (five as a player, four as a coach). The 1983 Palisades High graduate, who set the NBA record for three-point percentage during his 15-year NBA playing career, is proving to be one of the game’s most successful coaches and that now includes the international level, for he served on Gregg Popovich’s staff at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Kerr played baseball and basketball at Palisades, played for Lute Olson at the University of Arizona, won three straight NBA crowns (1996-98) with the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan and collected two more titles with the Tim Duncan-led San Antonio Spurs (1999 and 2003).

While Kerr deserves top billing, others worthy of honorable mention include University of Texas women’s volleyball coach Jerritt Elliott, who grew up on Miami Way and graduated from Pali High. He guided the Longhorns to the NCAA Regional Semifinals.

Taylor Talt, a backup quarterback at USC in 2000 and 2001, piloted the PPBA‘s 9U All-Stars to the PONY West Zone playoffs with his assistants Matt Underwood and Joe Layton.

LeBre Merritt, who captained Pali High in 2008-09, was named interim boys basketball coach one game into the 2023-24 season and led the Dolphins to 10 wins in their last 13 regular season outings and into the Open Division playoffs.