FRIDAY’S BREAKING NEWS …
By Stephen Ramirez
@SteveRRamirez on Twitter
Greg Eckler, who built the Bonita High School boys basketball team into one of the top programs in the Valley, has resigned as head coach, citing personal reasons.
Assistant coaches Mark Shores, Randy Bell and Mark Miller will direct the team, which played a Hacienda League game at Rowland on Friday night.
“For personal reasons, coach Greg Eckler has chosen to resign his coaching position at Bonita High School,” Bonita athletic director Eric Podley said in a statement released by the school. “We would like to thank coach Eckler for his 12 years of coaching at Bonita High School. We appreciate his dedication and leadership of the program. He has helped to make Bonita basketball one of the premier programs in the Valley. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Eckler, who was hired prior to the 2001-02 season, won six league titles over the past eight seasons, including the past three Hacienda League crowns, winning 35 of 36 games. Bonita, which also won the Miramonte League twice during his tenure, had won 28 consecutive league games before the streak was snapped with a 51-40 loss at Diamond Ranch last January.
The Bearcats were 12-3 going into Friday night’s game at Rowland. They had opened league play with a 43-40 loss to Diamond Bar at home on Wednesday.