The Oakland Technical High School girls varsity basketball team can ball.
It’s not a stretch to imagine that the Bulldogs — two-time defending state champions (2019 and 2022) — might have three or four trophies already, had much of the country not shut down two days before their scheduled championship game in March 2020; or had their 2021 season not been canceled altogether due to COVID.
The team’s success has even garnered the attention of local sports legends. They’re regularly visited by football great and Oakland Tech alum Marshawn Lynch. The Warriors’ Klay Thompson made an appearance at the team’s ring ceremony last summer, and his teammate Steph Curry sent the team a personal video message of congratulations late last year for their championship banner ceremony.
Now, they’re on a quest to three-peat with another state title. For sports fans still lamenting the Warriors and Raiders leaving Oakland, this high school team is showing that there’s still plenty to be excited about.
‘The best team I’ve ever had’
“If we make shots, we can beat anybody,” LeRoy Hurt, the team’s head coach, said. “But if we’re missing shots — and it happens — anybody can beat us. We just got to maintain our composure.”
Maintaining composure, as well as good sportsmanship, are two of the team’s core values under Hurt — an Oakland Tech alum who’s been coaching the team since 2015. He led the team to an undefeated regular season in the Oakland Athletic League this year — the Bulldogs are 23-5 overall, including non-league games. On Feb. 10 at the team’s final home game, he notched his 150th win as head coach. Next up, they’re preparing for the local Oakland Athletic League playoffs, which is the first hurdle they need to clear in the journey to the state championships in March.
“This is the best team I’ve ever had,” Hurt said from the sidelines of that final home game. “It’s a fantastic group.”
The group includes six graduating seniors who were feted during the team’s “Senior Night” celebration on Feb. 10: co-team captains and point guards Marisela Somvichian and Erin Sellers, center Sophia Askew-Gonçalves, plus guards Nia Hunter, Jada Williams and Jala Williams.
The celebration was a glimpse of the kind of love the team receives and the community it’s built as it racks up achievements.
“They’re all super supportive and they’re all very, very involved,” Anne Omura, Somvichian’s mother, said of the team’s family members — many of whom brought homemade posters, t-shirts and pom-poms to the game.
1-2-3, Bulldogs! 4-5-6, Family!
Somvichian, who has been playing basketball since the second grade, said one of the keys to the team’s success is their team spirit.
“We’re very, very energetic,” she said. “And I think the main thing is that outside of basketball, we all get along and we all connect. So on the court, our energy is just way better because we have that connection.”
Nia Hunter underlined that connection. “We’ve really built a family,” she said. “I honestly can say those girls in that gym are my second family.”
Fitting, then, that the team’s cheer before every game is “1-2-3, Bulldogs! 4-5-6, Family!”
The Bulldogs family has done well embracing its newcomers, too. Terri’a Russell, a 6-foot freshman who began playing basketball in the fourth grade, feels right at home.
“I love it very much,” she said. “I love our team captains. I feel like their leadership is A-One.”
Russell, along with 6-foot-3 freshman Jhai Johnson, are considered ones to watch in high school basketball circles. Johnson, daughter of Oakland Tech alum and 49ers quarterback Josh Johnson, made an impressive showing this year as the only female participant in the Oakland Athletic League dunk contest.
