Sports
No. 7 Las Positas Set For Costello Tip-Off Classic
Hawks, who advanced to state Elite 8 last season, will start new season against Butte on Thursday.
The 19th annual Tony Costello Tip-Off Classic will begin on Thursday, and feature eight teams over three days at Las Positas College.
The defending champion Las Positas Hawks have a largely new cast with no returning starters under head coach James Giacomazzi. Las Positas is No. 7 in the California Community College Men’s Basketball Coaches Association (CCCMBCA) Preseason State Top 20, and No. 4 in the North.
The Hawks are led by two returners — wing Jaden Woodard, the team’s sixth man last season and No. 4-leading scorer; and guard Richard Banks, an electric presence on defense.
Las Positas, which has won six of the past eight Tip-Off Classic championships, will open against Butte at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Giacomazzi and his players are excited about their season opener, but mindful of the task. Their preseason ranking makes them a target.
“I know,” said Giacomazzi, whose team won 26 games last season and advanced to the 3C2A State Championships for the second time. “I’ve been prepping the kids about that, right? That’s kind of Fool’s gold: your ranking’s a ranking until you start playing, right? You’ve got to prove it.”
The Tip-Off Classic will feature the same cast as last season and offer an array of tactical challenges.
Cosumnes River is ranked 19th in the state, and 10th in the North; and Columbia College is No. 10 in the North. Also in the mix are Butte, Siskiyous, Los Medanos, Contra Costa, and American River.
“It’s not uncommon when seven of these teams, in some kind of capacity, are playoff teams. Very good talent,” Giacomazzi said. “Obviously with Cosumnes and ourselves, both were in the Elite 8 last year.”
Las Positas beat Columbia 91-80 in Round 2 of the Regional Playoffs last season.
Giacomazzi will see some familiar faces in the coaching ranks this week. American River’s new head coach, Mike Lorente, was Giacomazzi’s assistant during his successful 11-year run as head coach at Cosumnes River before he was hired at Las Positas in 2015. Current Cosumnes River head coach Jonathan James was Giacomazzi’s assistant during his first year at Las Positas, after also being his assistant at Cosumnes.
“Kind of cool, we’ve got two former assistants of mine. Kind of fun,” Giacomazzi said.
Giacomazzi tends to shy away from making bold predictions about his team before the basketballs start bouncing for real.
“I’m probably one of the worst in terms of predicting what type of team we have,” he says. “I aways feel like we’re a work in progress, because I tweak things so much from what I think in the beginning, and then I kind add this or I take that out. I think we’re talented, I think we’re bigger than last year. There’s a little more length.”
He adds that the playing style will be similar, “but we’ve got a whole new bunch. With only two returners that played a lot of minutes, that’s going to make it a challenge. The year before we had four, maybe five starters back, and that paid dividends last year … I think we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
The Hawks have also been battling some injuries — three of the 14 players on the roster will be out this weekend, two of whom are potential starters. “We’re missing a 6-6 wing, a 6-6 wing and a 6-1 guard who is one of our better shooters, so we’re going to have to rally together, and it’s going to be interesting to see who else steps up," Giacomazzi said.
He says Woodard is primed for a good year. Banks was the team’s “defensive mad man” last year who kind of flies around like a football free safety, Giacomazzi said.
This marks Giacomazzi’s 11th year at Las Positas. The CCCMBCA North Coach of the Year in 2024-25 has 391 wins overall in his career.
The LPC Tip-Off Classic was renamed the Tony Costello Tip-Off Classic in 2014 after the death in 2013 of the legendary Costello, who ushered in the Las Positas program after a glorious coaching career at Chabot.
