Fleming, Ilagan land hoops posts

Mike Sciacca

The Laguna Beach High athletic department welcomed two new additions

to its staff Tuesday night when Bret Fleming and Nicholas Ilagan were

named as varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball coaches, respectively.

The announcement came from school athletic director Ron Schwartz,

following Tuesday night’s school board meeting. During a closed

session at , the board discussed Schwartz’s recommendations for the

two coaching positions, which passed by vote.

“We’re very happy to have Bret and Nicholas aboard,” Schwartz

said. “Bret is a man who has a great reputation as a basketball

coach. I think he will have not only a great impact at the school,

but also deep down into the youth of our community. And Nicholas is a

really organized guy who will take over a very talented girls’ team.”

Fleming, who takes over for Mark Hill, who resigned following the

2004-05 season, is no stranger to Laguna Beach boys’ basketball.

After serving as a varsity assistant to Ed Bowen, Fleming took over

as the school’s boys’ varsity head coach in 1991.

He held that position through the 2000 season. His second- to-last

team, the 1999 squad, won a share of the Pacific Coast League

championship. Five of his 10 teams finished in third-place or better

in the league standings.

Fleming has the second-most wins (188) among boys’ basketball

coaches in school history. Ilagan, meanwhile, coached at the boys’

lower division and was a varsity assistant at Irvine High last year.

He takes over for Stacy Howard, who also resigned her post after

last season.

Both the Laguna boys’ and girls’ teams qualified for the

CIF-Southern Section playoffs the past two years.

The girls’ squad won its first-ever league championship this year,

and posted its first playoff victory.