Legendary Bay Area high school basketball coach Don Lippi is retiring

ALAMEDA — Don Lippi, one of California’s all-time winningest high school boys basketball coaches, announced on Thursday that he is retiring.

Lippi, 75, has spent the past two decades at St. Joseph Notre Dame, leading the Alameda school to four state championships, three in Division V and one in Division IV.

Before that, Lippi coached at St. Ignatius, Skyline, St. Patrick-St. Vincent and the school where he began and ended his 43-year run, St. Joseph.

“I try to live every day to make every day great for some student, player, coach, parent or stranger,” Lippi said in the school’s news release. “God gave me a big heart and I want to share that with others.”

According to Cal-Hi Sports’ record book, Lippi finished with 914 victories and 319 losses, ranking him fourth among California boys basketball coaches in wins.

Only Mater Dei-Santa Ana’s Gary McKnight (1,243), Damien-La Verne’s Mike LeDuc (1,044) and Westchester-Los Angeles’ Ed Azzam (932) have won more games than Lippi.

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