Coaching trio helped develop Elite team’s talent

by Ron Brocato

minds among the prep basketball coaches in the state.

Unlike their public school counterparts, these brilliant men are not protected by tenure or teachers’ unions. They work on year-to-year contracts.

Three who led their teams to the top of the state basketball mountain this year are Errol Gauff, Wade Mason and Wesley Laurendine, all of whom are responsible for the development of six players to make the Clarion Herald’s 2024-25 Elite Boys’ Basketball team.

Gauff has known success wherever he has coached. On March 15, he led Archbishop Hannan to the Select Division II championship for the second time since 2022 and developed the Elite Team’s Outstanding Player, Drew Timmons, a 6-6 senior who is headed to the U.S. Naval Academy. Gauff also coached Anthony Thompson and Zachary Lauro of the 23-6 state champion Hawks toward achieving their Elite team honors.

Timmons earned his honor by averaging 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists during the season and showcasing his talent in a 59-55 win over Archbishop Shaw in the Division II championship game. He scored 22 points against the No. 1-ranked team that beat Hannan in two previous games this year.

And how about the challenges first-year St. Augustine coach Wade Mason overcame with the Division I state championship Purple Knights, who were the division’s No. 4 seed?

Under Mason’s handling, St. Aug went 30-4, and although it did not win its district title, the Purple Knights claimed a state championship with a 45-35 win over St. Thomas More.

The Knights blossomed at the right time, with sophomore point guard Aaron Miles leading the attack and senior Jakobe Shepeard rising to the occasion in the title game. And in victory, Wade placed his name alongside of the St. Aug championship coaches such as Watson Jones, Bernard Griffith, Clifford Barthe and Gerald Lewis, who have combined for six state championships between 1983-2021.

Although Shaw fell one win short of perhaps its greatest season on the hardwood, Laurendine has entered his name among the state’s most talented mentors. His Eagles’ in-your-face defense and prolific, fast-breaking attack accounted for the best record in the metro area of 27-3.

Losing to a Gauff-tutored team is nothing to be ashamed of. What Laurendine can be proud of is a 22-game win streak the Eagles enjoyed from Dec. 21 through the Division II semifinals on March 11.

Laurendine inherited the No. 2 player on the Elite Team in Newman transfer Kobe Butler, a 6-7 senior who averaged 15 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. But Butler was hardly the whole story for the Eagles, who had three other starters averaging double-figure scoring, all developed under the care and watchful eye of the 10-year veteran coach.

Shaw has won three state titles, the last in 2000, with two runners-up awards. Its previous best record came in 1997, a 31-5 mark that culminated in a 52-51 win over Byrd in the 5A finals.

This trio is testimony to the many outstanding Catholic school mentors who are the builders of such athletes that you see on this page.

MVP

DREW TIMMONS