The 200th win is a triumph for head girls basketball coach Fentress Winn at Saddleback College

Saddleback girls get 200th win for Fentriss Winn (photographer/Dominic Ebel)

Saddleback College head girls basketball coach, Fentriss Winn has his 200 win in the record books. His path to his success in his basketball career shows that he prepares, develops athletes to play better together to be in every game they compete giving them a chance to win. He has been matching up  to top teams that are on his schedule. Cypress College vrs Saddleback video link

Saddleback coaches get their players focused making them better prepared in game situations making adjustments in the game against the other team’s strengths by relying on developing a stellar defence. Then they go to work on offense in transition play keeping the pressure on the other team to always keep fighting for the win.

“They play hard workin on their playmaking to get enough quality shots, Winn said. We are always playing for a playoff spot.”

Success comes to Winn by having good support in his assistant coaches ,Donal Yasukochi:been with Winn building a basketball this program into his 9th season at Saddleback since 1995 director of AAU in Oceanside Boys and Girls club and Assistant of Winn at the Bishops.. Winns other assistant, Edmond Johnson is a exceptional ex-coach coming from Aliso Niguel high school.

“We fight hard to the end we will be in the game to the finish,Johnson said.”Being an assistant gives me a chance to be at the College level.”

Winn stands by Coach Yasukochi has been instrumental in keeping our program at or near the top of JC programs in the state, Winn Said. He does a outstanding job of teaching and communicating with our student athletes.

In 2001 Head Coach, Fentriss Winn was at the helm getting the State Title in division IV heading  The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, Calif. over St. Mary’s/Stockton at the Arco Arena in Sacramento 59-54. The top High School in girls basketball in the State was Narbonne was the heavyweight in the top division 1 under head coach James Anderson beating Berkeley of Northern California 48-45. The Bonne grabbing the top level trophy winning the State Title and  the No1 seed for the National Title spot in 2000 and 2001, back to back prep basketball State Title, and National Champions.

At the CIF division IV level Winn was becoming like the Harbor City Los Angeles section division 1 Narbonne, Anderson with his No 1 Nationally ranked Narbonne Gauchos. Winn’s was just at the lower division IV he  head coached his Bishop’s win at the 2001 State Title. He claimed six straight CIF section championships and made five consecutive Regional final appearances becoming like the legend, James Anderson of the Bonne.

Anderson was very successful developing players,  just like Anderson, Winn had travel teams competing at AAU Top Ten club for girls. Winn developed the future Stars basketball Club in 1992-2002. They learned quickly it took talent to win at the next level.

These basketball programs developed kids to play on well coached teams playing good basketball with well coached teams making them really good players as a result they ended up playing for them later.

The next year Winn gets his chance to be like Anderson of Narbonne winning the CIF State Title. Only Anderson gets his in division1 in 2000 beating Berkeley of Northern California 64-52  at the Arco Arena in Sacramento. Since Narbonne was getting players to the next level,Winn focus too get himself to the higher level at Saddleback to help his career to better position his teams to compete with talented players becoming successful under his helm at the College Level.

Winn is a graduate of Bolsa Grande High in Orange County, class of 1979. He attended Mira Costa College where he played basketball for two years, and then attended a trade technical college.  He then entered the coaching field, and was an assistant at Rancho Buena Vista for one year, and then moved over to El Camino in Oceanside where he was an assistant to Roy Johnson.

Winn gets his chance to to get his bulk of his experience during his coaching the Bishop’s School playing against tough competition, his first exposure in 1998-1999 debut at the Reebok Compton Tip-Off Classic in the month of December.Coach Winn bullds programs from the bottom up by competing his teams to be in every game.

The Ocean View Tournament of Champions Coach Winn appears his team with California’s toughest 22 teams to meet competing with the best coaches at the High School Level.  Many tournaments like the San Diego Christmas Classic which which featured  Long Beach Poly and Modesto Christian from outside San Diego, and local powerhouses such as Horizon, St. Augustine, Poway, and of course, Bishop’s Winn coached the boys and girls basketball teams in these tournaments throughout these years..

The new promotion for Winn was an post/big man basketball assistant to head coach Jim Tomey of the San Diego Aztecs girls basketball team in 2002. At Saddleback the Award goes to Winn, he gets the Coach of the Year Award earning it  through the Orange Empire Conference. His post season play contributes to his Award in  2002-2004 years posting a record of 49-13.win, loss during his schedule games in this period.

Saddleback is lucky to have such a confident coach he teaches and it has shown in his players to succeed by developing them. He builds character in his players, as  well they trust him to get them to the postseason. He as been in the playoffs 13 times and was the State runner up in 1995-96. Winn overall winning percentage is 521-600 all time.

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