M.L King High School was just short of it’s first graduation in 2002 when the Wolves boys basketball team accomplished what no other Inland Empire high school had EVER done: Win a California State Championship. Led by Head Coach Tim Sweeney and All-County Players of the Year Marvin Lea and Leon Rosborough, the Wolves marched through the 2001-02 regular season with a 24-3 (eventually 31-4) record and a Sunkist League Championship. They made it to CIF Finals, only to lose on a last second bucket by Redondo Union High.

This team then regrouped and made their run through the State Regional Playoffs winning games with comebacks and last second shots against the likes of Mater Dei High and, in a rematch, Redondo Union. Ultimately, they defeated St. Francis High of Mountain View, 53-52 to win the State Title when Marvin Lea hit a short jumper with 28 seconds to go. So, a school that was only three years old, with nobody on the team over 6-5, overcoming numerous obstacles along the way did what many thought to be impossible.

From out of the orange groves came Riverside’s first, and to this day, only State Champion Basketball team.

By Martin Luther King Wolves