Rams' Coach Russell Ham a Winner in His Last Game

In a game that pitted the best senior athletes from 30 high schools, Russell Ham coached his team to a final “W," ending his reign as the head coach of Murrieta Mesa’s boys basketball program. 

The Seventh Annual Desert Valley All-Star game, held Friday at Vista Murrieta High School, was a high-scoring event. Ham’s “Away” team ran away at the end, sealing a 114-100 victory. Temecula Valley’s Brandon Rosser scored 18 points for Ham’s team, but it was Murrieta Mesa's Shane Staton who provided the grit and spark for the winning team.

Staton and Murrieta’s other standout seniors, Anthony White of Vista Murrieta, made Ham’s job a little easier. Staton scored 15 points for the "Away" All Stars while White had eight points in the victory.

"I was honored to be able to play in this game and I appreciate being considered and recognized as one of the best players in the Southwestern League," said White, who was a fiery playmaker for the All Stars down the stretch. "Next year hopefully I get to play collegiate basketball at a university."

Khalil Sharpe, who was another Murrieta Mesa standout this year, was also selected as an all star but had to sit the game out due to injury.

The seniors are now moving on to their next chapter in life, as is Ham.

The head coach stepped down to spend more time with his young family.

"I have a 10-year-old and a 7-year-old who are very active academically and athletically and I don't want to miss another day," Ham said. "I will be coaching my daughter’s softball all summer long."

He reflected on his tenure at Murrieta Mesa.

"When we first opened, my assistant, Coach Mark Nielsen and I wanted to create a foundation with fundamentals. When we realized we had a lot of speed in the program, we combined our fundamentals with our speed and sped the game up. In the end, we prepared them for every situation. We could play fast and we also could play in a half court setting."

Having some good players in the mix helped, he said.

"We were very fortunate to have quality players like Nathan Wright, Braxton Smith, Trevon Session, Khalil Sharpe, and Shane Staton start the program, too."

During the 2012-2013 season that ended in February, the Rams went 17-12 overall and 6-4 in league—their best season yet. This included playing for the Southwestern League title against Great Oak, and playing into the second round of CIF Division 3AAA playoffs.

Junior varsity Coach Kyle Rouse will fill Ham's position, according to Murrieta Mesa Athletic Director Bill Bree.

"I'm very proud of what my assistants, players, and I were able to accomplish in such a short period of time," Ham said. "All you needed to do was come to a home or an away game and see what kind of impact the players had on the school’s culture."