Boys Basketball

Justin Williams-Bell: Head Coach | Varsity Basketball

Coach Justin Bell is entering his seventh season as the Head Boys’ Basketball Coach at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Under his leadership, the Eagles captured the program’s first-ever Trinity League title during the 2024–2025 season, earning a top seed in the CIF Southern Section playoffs and finishing as the No. 1 team in Orange County. In 2020–2021, Bell also guided the Eagles to a CIF State Regional Championship.
Before arriving at Santa Margarita, Bell built an impressive collegiate coaching résumé. He served as the Associate Head Coach at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), where he was named Interim Head Coach midway through the 2017–2018 season and led the Highlanders to a Big West Tournament berth. Prior to UCR, Bell was the Associate Head Coach at Concordia University, Irvine, where he helped guide the Eagles to the 2012 NAIA National Championship.
Bell began his coaching career at De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif. (2007–2010). As a player, he starred at Escondido High School in San Diego County, earning four All-League honors and leading his team to the CIF Championship game as a senior. He went on to play point guard at Saddleback College, where he helped his team win a league championship and reach the California Community College Final Four. He later transferred to UC Riverside, competing in the Big West Conference.
Following his playing career, Bell worked for the Golden State Warriors as an Assistant Youth Basketball Coordinator before transitioning full-time into coaching. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Riverside and a Master of Arts degree from Concordia University, Irvine.
Coach Bell resides in South Orange County with his wife and their three daughters.

Brandon Hood: Varsity Assistant Coach

Prior to SMCHS, Coach Brandon Hood has been an integral part of the Huntington Beach High School basketball program since 2018. Joining the staff following a two-win season in 2017, Coach Hood helped revitalize the program by emphasizing player development, skill refinement, and competitive culture. His hands-on approach to training and mentorship brought a new dynamic to the program, contributing to consistent growth and success on and off the court.

Youth Basketball Development: Coach Hood began his coaching journey with Ackright Premier, an elite training organization founded by professional basketball player and overseas champion Alex Acker, a former NBA pro. During his time with Ackright, he worked closely alongside Chris Acker (Head Coach, Long Beach State) and Phil Scott (Assistant Coach, Long Beach State), gaining invaluable experience in player development and team building. He is also the Owner and Director of Wolf Pack Training D1, a youth basketball program dedicated to developing young athletes ages 7–17. The program emphasizes player development, exposure, and unity, while fostering a family-style culture rooted in hard work and accountability. Wolf Pack Training D1 fields high school teams competing on the NXTPro Puma Circuit, where the program has grown from being unranked to ranked in the Top 25 nationally. In addition to competition, Wolf Pack Training D1 also hosts free community clinics, youth camps, and team gatherings, continuing Coach Hood’s mission to use basketball as a tool to uplift and unite the community.

Playing Career: A Hawthorne High School graduate (Class of 2011), Coach Hood was a two-year Varsity player. He went on to play at West Los Angeles College (2011–2015), where he earned Athlete of the Year and was named First Team All-Western State Conference during his sophomore season. He later attended Vanguard University (2015–2018) in Costa Mesa, where his playing career was cut short by injury during his first and final year

Atur Turakhia: Varsity Assistant Coach

Coach Atur Turakhia, better known to the team simply as “Doc,” joined the Eagles for the 2020-21 season and was a part of that team’s 2021 CIF Southern California Boys Basketball Division 2-AA Championship run. Turakhia brings a wide range of experience to Santa Margarita Catholic High School. Focused on making the intangibles tangible, he has created and authored a self-published playbook titled Find Net Mindset: A Playbook for Aspiring Leaders and Champions. The book has four chapters -- Grit, Grind, Chemistry, & Culture -- and he brings these concepts to the team. The foreword of this book is written by NBA skills coach Drew Hanlen, who Turakhia has been mentored by for 3 years. Hanlen is best known for his work with NBA stars such as Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, Zach LaVine, and more. Turakhia spent time assisting Hanlen with pre-draft and offseason workouts and was able to learn insider practices about working with rising stars at all levels of basketball, including drill development, teaching microskills, and using film to give feedback. Born and raised in Southern California, Turakhia later graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, obtained his medical degree at UC Irvine, and completed both general psychiatry residency and child & adolescent psychiatry fellowship at UC San Diego. He has been recognized by peers in his region as a 3-time Physician of Excellence and served as the chair of the Youth Sports Committee for the International Society for Sports Psychiatry. From early on, Coach Turakhia embodied the Eagle way of pursuing excellence while still upholding important community values, becoming the youngest Boy Scout in his troop to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. He looks forward to contributing to future teams' successes.

GARRETT jEFFERSON: Varsity Assistant Coach

Jefferson joins the Eagles with an array of experience both as a player and coach. Prior to joining the Eagles Jefferson began his coaching career as a varsity assistant during the 2021-2022 season at Servite high school. Upon completing a year at Servite he moved on to become a graduate assistant for the California Baptist University Riverside Lancers during the 2023 – 2024 season.

While at Cal Baptist Jefferson helped the Lancers finish 16-17 and make the WAC Tournament for the third consecutive season where they defeated #5 Utah Valley in the opening round before falling to Seattle U in the Quarterfinals. While at Cal Baptist Jefferson played a crucial role, supporting the team in player development, scouting, defensive strategies, and day to day basketball operations.

Before joining the staff at Cal Baptist Jefferson played 7 seasons of professional basketball overseas in Peru, Germany, and Australia. Prior to playing overseas Jefferson played JUCO basketball at citrus college where he helped lead his team to a 27-6 record before eventually falling in the state finals to San Francisco City College. He then played two years at the university of Hawaii before finishing his senior season at Cal Baptist. During his time at Cal Baptist, he lead the team to a 16-0 start best in program history, while also helping them win the PacWest Championship, and earn a spot in the NCAA division two tournament.

Jefferson hopes to use his coaching and playing experience to bring even greater success to the Santa margarita basketball program.

Kevin Tate: JV Coach

Coach Kevin Tate has over a decade of coaching and player development experience, with a strong commitment to helping athletes reach their full potential on and off the court. His coaching journey began with JW Basketball and Nikos Basketball, where he developed a deep passion for the game and for mentoring young athletes.

For the past five years, Coach Tate has been part of the Santa Margarita Catholic High School basketball program, contributing to the team's growth through structured training programs, leadership development, and strategic game planning. In addition, he has spent the last three years coaching at Eagle Select, where he plays a key role in player development, helping athletes strengthen their fundamentals and prepare for the next level of competition.

With 10 years of coaching and 10 years of specialized training experience, Coach Tate is known for his high-energy coaching style, emphasis on fundamentals, and ability to build strong, disciplined teams. His passion for the game and dedication to athlete development have made him a respected figure in the basketball community.

Outside of basketball, Coach Tate has been married for 15 years and is a proud father of two children. In his free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and exploring different coffee shops with his wife, creating memories both on and off the court

 

donald green: jv blue - assistant coach

Coach Green is excited to serve as an assistant coach for the Freshmen team, and instill what it means to be an SM Eagle both on and off the court. Donnie is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. Donnie attended Saint Louis University where he earned his  B.A. in Media and Journalism  with  a minor in Sports Business.  He went on to earn his Masters in Education from the University of Notre Dame in 2015. Through his time in education, he has served in various roles of teacher, coach, and administrator. Donnie enjoys boxing, paddle boarding, listening to podcasts, and cheering on all of the Cleveland sports teams. 

 

 

 

Chuck Walker: Freshman gold - head coach

Coach Walker is in his fifth year on the Eagle Basketball Staff. He will continue to focus his time on the incoming Freshman. He received his B.A. in Business from Loyola Marymount University and his M.B.A from Pepperdine University. Coach has worked for over 30 years in executive leadership positions in the IT Consulting industry. During the coming season Coach Walker will also finish up his master’s in theological studies and be available to substitute teach. He was born in Salem, Ohio and played under legendary coach Jack Errion at Saint Anthony’s High School in Long Beach, California. Coach brings what he learned from Coach Errion to his teams today, they will be fundamentally sound, disciplined and will always respect the game, teammates and opponents. Prior to joining the staff at Santa Margarita, Chuck coached for over 30 years in the local youth sports scene. He coached travel basketball and soccer teams. Many of the kids Chuck has coached have gone on to excel at SMCHS, including Wolfie Wood, currently on the coaching staff. Although this is Chuck’s fourth year coaching at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, he has been involved with the school since 1992, watching his 6 children graduate. They were all active in SMCHS athletics; daughter Sarah, basketball and swimming; Melissa, soccer; Johnny, football and track, Jessi, basketball and track; Chris, basketball and soccer and Emily, volleyball.
 

Selah Robins: Freshman gold - Assistant coacH
 

derek mcgregor: freshman blue - Head Coach

Coach Derek has twenty years of experience coaching sports; six of those years at Santa Margarita Catholic High School. He has and is currently coaching two sports at SMCHS: Boys’ Basketball and Girls’ Softball. His philosophy is simple work hard, put your team first, be prepare, implement structure, encourage each other, and keep a positive mindset. Coach Derek has watched three of his own play sports at SMCHS prior to attending TCU and Oklahoma State. He also had an exchange student for six years who played basketball at SMCHS and is now a professional player in China. He has been married for the past twenty-nine years to wife Debbie McGregor. Coach Derek currently runs a successful engineering firm for the past thirty-five years. Along with coaching, Derek gives back to his community by sitting on public and private boards and teaching after school programs.

 

 

Dennis Kozak: Freshman Blue- Assistant Coach

Coach Dennis is in his 3rd year serving as Assistant Coach, Boys Freshman-Blue, Santa Margarita Catholic High School. The Freshman-Blue achieved a record of 40 wins, 12 losses the past 2 seasons combined, winning the Trinity League outright in 2024 and finishing 2nd in 2025. Previously, Coach Dennis served as Head Coach for 7 years in Rancho Santa Margarita National Junior Basketball, including leading the RSM NJB All-Star U-11 team to the Regional Championship.

Coach Dennis lettered in High School basketball four years, playing for Birmingham Brother Rice in Michigan, where he was a two-year starter, helping lead them to two Detroit Catholic League Championships, a #11 ranking in the U.S. while earning all Detroit Catholic League honors. Dennis graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing. Dennis worked for 36 years for Pfizer Pharmaceutical, with roles in sales and marketing, retiring recently after serving the past 20 years as Vice President of Sales.

Dennis and his wife Andrea have been a part of the SM community for the past 8 years spanning the years their daughters attending SM (Grace -class of 2020 and Emma -class of 2027)

kRISTI nEMETH: DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS

Kristi joins Santa Margarita High School as the director of basketball operations. She comes with an extensive background in business and sports. Starting with growing up as the daughter of legendary and late basketball coach, Jim Harris of Ocean View High School. She also played club (Cal Jrs), high school (El Toro HS), and collegiate volleyball (USD) earning accolades such as national titles, all league, and team captain at every level. She played for the University of San Diego and graduated with a Business Administration degree. She worked for Cathy Jean Shoe Company for 17 years after graduating, and ended her career as VP of sales. She has since worked for Ladera Sports Center and The Ranch resort in Laguna Beach in the accounting department. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for over 30 years and has three adult children and one son in law. All of whom played sports like soccer and basketball at the highest levels. All this experience as a coach's daughter, a player, and a parent of a player, will allow her to give a unique perspective on the job and to the members of our program. 

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• 1993 - League Champions
• 1994 - CIF Champions
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• 1995 - League Champions
• 1996 - CIF Champions
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• 1998 - CIF Champions
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• 1999 - League Champions
• 2004 - CIF Champions
• 2004 - League Champions
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• 2021 - CIF-SS Regional Champions
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