And just like that... one of the most incredible careers of San Pedro Prep Boys Basketball has come to an end, yet one of the rises of that young man's program he represented continues to roll on.

Mary Star High boys basketball senior Joseph Octave got his final year of his storied prep career started in November 2018 when he signed his national letter of intent to play Division 1 college hoops at Air Force, one of the most difficult colleges and American Armed Forces institutions to get into. Then he had yet another magnificent season filled with spectacular performances.

On December 28, 2018 in a San Pedro Pirate Shootout Tournament game, he befuddled the host Pirates with a 36-point performance in which he nailed four NBA range three-pointers, powering the Stars to a 77-51 crosstown victory. On January 23 in a Santa Fe League game against St. Pius X/St. Matthias Academy, Octave would score 20 third quarter points, including four sensational slam dunks in the quarter, to guide the Stars to a 78-38 rout.

In his final home game of his high school career, Octave would pile up his first and only 20-20 night of 26 points and 21 rebounds in a 78-70 overtime victory over Pioneer in a CIF-Southern Section Division 3-A first round victory, making the two free throws late in regulation to force overtime, and went 4-of-4 from the line down the stretch to seal the victory.

Octave (25.9 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game, 2.0 assists per game) continues to rack up the honors in his final season: a third All-CIF selection, second MaxPreps All-American selection, and for the fourth consecutive time... he is the 2019 San Pedro News Pilot Prep Boys Basketball Player Of The Year.

Even though Octave was the Star of focus (no pun intended), the rest of the Stars would also be well represented in the All-Santa Fe League selections considering the Stars posted yet another 20-win season of 22 wins and just seven defeats, sharing their second straight league crown with Salesian on the way to finishing in the CIF-SS Division 3-A quarterfinals, where it fell to top-seeded Santa Barbara, 77-69. In that game, the Stars once led 29-11 in the second quarter.

Junior guard Aaron Martinez had a sensational year in which he became more than a distributor. Martinez would average a career high 13.3 points and 5.4 rebounds from the point guard position while senior forward Jose Rocha would also have a great year before going down in the season finale against St. Monica to a season-ending ankle injury. Other All-Santa Fe League selections were junior guard Adrian Alvarez, and the senior front line of center Josh Fennessey and reserve forward Tomas Abad.

It was a return to postseason play for San Pedro High and 19-year coach John Bobich as the Pirates would finish third in the Marine League, a 16-9 record, a MacFarland Tournament championship, and their promising 20199 season ended with a CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 2 quarterfinal loss to rival Banning of Wilmington in which two missed free throws with a second left was the downer in a 52-50 defeat.

That finish won't take away the progress shown by the Pirates, as Bobich is the 2019 San Pedro News Pilot Prep Boys Basketball Coach Of The Year.

Senior forward Anson Panton was a walking double-double for San Pedro, and he averaged 16.2 points and 10.3 rebounds for the Pirates en route to an All-Marine League first team selection.

Senior guard Jesse March was magnificent as a passer, averaging around seven assists, while also showing flashes of brilliance from three-point range. Other key contributors for San Pedro included junior forward Ian Hietala, junior guard Jackson Wimberly and senior defensive magnet Myles Price. One of the better players coming off the bench who will likely be a major player for the next two seasons is sophomore guard Mekhi Bentley. Keep a real close eye on Bentley for the coming years.

Finally, Port Of Los Angeles finished 7-11 overall and 3-5 in their first year of the Imperial League, but the Polar Bears still managed to make the CIF-LACS Division 4 playoffs under second-year coach Spencer Schultte. One of their best moments of the year came in the Narbonne MLK Extravaganza on January 26 when they edged Middle College, 38-37 in that nonleague showcase.

2018-2019 was a great year for all of San Pedro Prep Boys Basketball as all three teams reached the postseason together for what is believed to be the first time.

(Note: Joseph Octave photo by Dan Mullen)

FIRST TEAM

Jesse March (San Pedro, sr.)

Adrian Alvarez (Mary Star, jr.)
Aaron Martinez (Mary Star, jr.)

Myles Price (San Pedro, sr.)

Ethan Williamson (POLA, sr.)

SECOND TEAM
Chuck Lassiter (POLA, sr.)

Jose Rocha (Mary Star, jr.)

Jackson Wimberly (San Pedro, jr.)

Devin DeLozier (POLA, jr.)

Ian Hietala (San Pedro, jr.)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joseph Octave (Mary Star, sr.)

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER

Anson Panton (San Pedro, sr.)

COACH OF THE YEAR

John Bobich (San Pedro)

SAN PEDRO NEWS PILOT PAST PREP BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

2012: Kenny Potter, San Pedro

2013: Elijah Gaines, San Pedro

2014: Quincy Thomas, San Pedro

2015: Justin Rodriguez & Neil Green, Mary Star

2016: Joseph Octave, Mary Star

2017: Joseph Octave, Mary Star

2018: Joseph Octave, Mary Star