SAN MATEO, CA -- Timing is everything and as far as Serra High basketball fans are concerned, Kelly Killingsworth’s timing is spot-on.
Two-and-one-half years ago Kelly, the mom of Serra basketball star Jake Killingsworth and an official for Walmart, got transferred from her job in Rogers, Ark. to a similar one in San Bruno, prompting the mid-year transfer of her son to Serra. The tall, red-haired sophomore promptly stepped into the Padre rotation and helped Serra to a second-place finish in CCS.
Now Kelly is being transferred back to Arkansas by her company – but not before her teen-age son has helped Serra win a CCS Open title as a junior (on his game-winning free throws, no less) and to a CIF-State Northern California Regional title as a senior.
Saturday the Padres will attempt to do something no Serra team has ever done, win a state basketball championship, as they meet Long Beach Poly at 4 p.m. in Sacramento for the CIF-State Division II title.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” the Padre senior said after Monday’s practice. “You don’t get to play in too many state championships. It’s something that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.”
Kelly starts her new job April 8, but will return to see her son graduate. Daughter Brooke Killingsworth, a star basketball and tennis player who would have entered Sacred Heart Prep in the fall as a freshman, will now attend high school in Arkansas.
Timing, it’s been on Serra’s side.
CRAZY GOOD
When Killingsworth entered Serra during his sophomore year, the season had already begun and the Padres had a stellar team. Some juniors on the team especially made him feel welcome as the transplant immediately got an eyeful of WCAL basketball.
“The first WCAL game I ever saw was here against Riordan and it was a double-overtime game and the place was absolutely insane,” Killingsworth said. “I was sitting on the end of the bench and I was like ‘This is crazy.’ The intensity and the pride – it was great. And the first game I actually played in was at home against Mitty and that was just a battle.”
The pressure and pride never lessened as Serra tied St. Francis for the best record in the WCAL last season (the Lancers were awarded the league title because it beat Serra twice) and then played a third game against the Lancers for the CCS Open title, with the Padres winning by two points.
It was Killingsworth’s three free throws with .8 seconds left that produced the title.
“On the third (attempt) during the time out, they told me to miss it,” said Killingsworth, recalling that Serra was already ahead by one point and just needed to let the clock expire. “I was like ‘OK, I can do that.’ But then something happened and when I went to shoot it I just tightened and I threw it up there and it ended up being my best free throw, I hit like no rim at all. Then Curtis Witt threw up a shot from a little beyond half court and it hit off the side of the rim. I was just like ‘Oh, man.’ It was great.”
The Padres celebrated wildly at mid-court and in the Leavey Center stands. The stunning upset has become the stuff of legend on West 20th Avenue.
“It’s something I still hear around school today,” Killingsworth said. “During the WCAL season I had a kid come up to me in the locker room and say ‘Oh, you’re the kid who hit the free throws to win CCS. I was just like ‘Yeah.’ It’s kind of funny how people remember stuff like that.”
COOL OPERATOR
Yeah, kind of funny how people remember clutch efforts that produce championships at the CCS’ highest level; or how they recall NorCal titles such as Saturday’s, when Killingsworth managed a near-triple double against El Cerrito in a 59-53 win at Sacramento’s Sleep Train Arena. He merely scored 12 points, took 14 rebounds and dished eight assists to help the Padres to the state title game.
All of Killingsworth’s points came in the second half.
“Jake is special because he does so many things well,” Serra coach Chuck Rapp said. “He's an excellent scorer and can score via the post, off dribble penetration, or hitting threes. He defends, rebounds and passes equally well. He's our Swiss Army knife."
The WCAL player of the year will play at Columbia University next year, which brings a smile to the face of his mom who has followed the trials and travails and successes of her son’s team over the past 2 ½ years.
“I’m so happy for the team and so proud of coach Rapp,” said Kelly, a 6-foot-1 former University of Georgia player. “Serra does an amazing job of bringing the boys together – Jeremiah Testa, Lee Jones, Jack Wilson, John Besse and this whole crew. They’re all dedicated to the team.”
'ARKANSAS'
The 6-foot-5 Killingsworth bears more than a passing resemblance to a teen-age Ronnie Howard during his years on the Andy Griffith Show (think Opie Taylor). The Padre star said he heard that at least once a month back in Arkansas but that he doesn’t think anyone at Serra watches the show. What he has heard for the past 2 ½ years cascading from the stands is the chant “Arkansas, Arkansas” – a reference to his former home.
“It was really cool,” Killingsworth said. “Sometimes I would hear something in the hallway at school. But when everyone started chanting it in a game, it was cool. I’m actually surprised it’s stuck around as long as it has. Last year it didn’t happen that much, but this year it’s picked up again.”
“Jake gets a big kick out of it,” Kelly said. “It’s funny because when we moved from Georgia to Arkansas we thought ‘Oh, everybody’s going to think we’re from Arkansas.’ But now the (students) have that Arkansas chant and the young kids in San Carlos who want to go to Serra all call Jake that and he’s embraced it. Now he wears all his Arkansas gear.”
Serra students will break out that cheer one last time Saturday at Sleep Train Arena, perhaps en route to a state title. Timing, it really is everything.
