Dave Yanai Named 2021 John R. Wooden Award Legends of Coaching Recipient
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CCAA men’s basketball coaching legend Dave Yanai will receive the John R. Wooden Award®’s “
Legends of Coaching™” honor in 2021. Coach Wooden’s grandson-in-law Craig Impelman was proud to announce his selection at the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s Virtual Wooden Award Tip-Off Luncheon. The virtual event featured the head coaches from the Division I men’s basketball programs in Southern California. The “Legends of Coaching” honor recognizes coaches who exemplify Coach Wooden’s high standard of coaching success and personal integrity.
The “Legends of Coaching” award was adopted by the Wooden Award Steering Committee in 1999. The honorees are selected based on character, success on the court, graduation rate of student-athletes in their basketball program, coaching philosophy, and identification with the goals of the John R. Wooden Award. He will be presented the honor along with the 2021 Wooden Award winners on April 9, 2021.
Yanai is the first-ever Division II coach to receive this distinction and just the fifth from the West Coast, joining an illustrious list that includes the likes of coaching luminaries Dean Smith, Mike Kryzyzewski, Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma, Tara Vanderveer and Steve Fisher, to name a few.
“Dave Yanai is truly a legend in the history of CCAA basketball and the world of college basketball in general,” remarked CCAA commissioner Mitch Cox. “I can't think of anyone more deserving of this award than Coach Yanai."
Dave Yanai, the first Japanese-American head basketball coach at any level of college basketball, considered John Wooden to be one of his mentors, along with Cal’s Pete Newell. Overall, Coach Yanai spent 28 years coaching in the Los Angeles area at Cal State LA and Cal State Dominguez Hills and finished with over 400 victories, one of only three CCAA men’s basketball coaches to hit that milestone, joining UC Riverside’s John Masi (462-269) and current Cal Poly Pomona head coach Greg Kamansky (417-116).
More than the success on the court, when former players are asked about playing for him, they talk about learning the value of teamwork, integrity and commitment. Over Yanai’s coaching career, hundreds of former players and colleagues were touched by him, learning valuable life lessons that helped achieve their own personal success.
“To say I’m honored is an understatement,” Yanai reflected on the award. “I am really humbled by this honor and lucky to have been blessed with so many people who have been supportive throughout this journey, beginning with my mentor Pete Newell and John Wooden. Also, being the first Division 2 coach to win the award, I just hope I’m a worthy recipient and that my players enjoyed this wonderful 38-year journey as much as I did.
“Beginning with coaches Newell and Wooden and including others I met, they taught me to always share my knowledge, which became ingrained in my coaching philosophy ... to look at the bigger picture and always think about ways to help others. And I tried to do the best I could for all those kids we had at CSUDH and CSULA and my high school teams. I was lucky to be at the right places at the right times.
“Winning this award is a priceless honor, and I will cherish it forever.”
Yanai spent 19 seasons as head coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where his Toro teams advanced to the 1981, 1987 and 1989 NCAA Tournaments. In addition, he guided the Toros to the 1979 NAIA National Championship Elite Eight after winning the NAIA District III Championship in only his second year in Carson. Individually, he claimed the 1979 District Coach of the Year, the 1987 NCAA West Region Coach of the Year and two-consecutive CCAA Coach of the Year Awards (1987 and 1988).
After nearly two decades with the Toros, Yanai took over the program at Cal State LA, where he led the Golden Eagles to the 1998 and 2000 NCAA Division II Tournament. All told, Yanai coached 55 CCAA All-Conference selections, two CCAA Athletes of the Year, one NABC All-American and one NCAA Division II Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He is the all-time winningest coach in Cal State Dominguez Hills history, and retired with an overall NCAA coaching record of 401-354.