David Hiroshi Yanai (born 1943) is a retired basketball coach from the 1960s to 2000s. Yanai primarily coached boys basketball from the late 1960s to mid 1970s with Fremont High School. During this time period, Yanai won the 1975

CIF Los Angeles City Section The CIF Los Angeles City Section (CIF-LA) is the governing body of high school athletics for public schools in the city of Los Angeles and some surrounding communities. All of these schools were once associated with the Los Angeles Unified School ...

title in boys basketball with Fremont. He continued his boys basketball career with

Gardena High School Gardena High School (GHS) is a public high school in Harbor Gateway, Los Angeles, California, United States, adjacent to the City of Gardena. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Small Learning Co ...

during the late 1970s. As a high school coach, Yanai had 120 wins and 31 losses. In men's basketball, Yanai accumulated 288 wins and 233 losses as coach of the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros. While with Dominguez Hills from 1977 to 1996, Yanai appeared at the

1979 NAIA men's basketball tournament Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and 1981 NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament. He also was the first coach of

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest Asi ...

descent for an American college basketball team during his time at Dominguez Hills. As coach of the

Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles The Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles (also Cal State LA Golden Eagles) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Los Angeles in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Golden Eagles compete as members of the Cal ...

from 1996 to 2005, Yanai and his team were at the

1998 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament The 1998 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was the 42nd annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States. The official culmination of the 1997� ...

and

2000 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament The 2000 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was the 44th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States. Officially culminating the 1999–200 ...

. He ended his basketball coaching career in 2005 following 114 wins and 131 losses with Los Angeles.

Early life and education

In 1943, Yanai was born during World War II in Manzanar. When the war ended, Yanai and his parents moved to Gardena, California alongside his six siblings. Growing up, Yanai was a second baseman. For his post-secondary education, Yanai went to

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

during the 1960s.

Career

High school

In the late 1960s, Yanai went to Los Angeles to work as a baseball coach for Fremont High School. While at Fremont, Yanai became a basketball coach in 1969. During the 1970s, Fremont reached the boys' basketball final for the

title. In individual years, Yanai and Fremont were runner-ups in 1972 and 1974. In 1975, he won the CIF boys' basketball title for Los Angeles City with Fremont. The following year, Yanai lefted Fremont to coach for

. With Gardena from 1976 to 1977, Yanai and his team made it to the semifinals of the Los Angeles City tournament for the 3A section. With the two schools, Yanai had a combined total of 120 wins and 31 losses as a basketball coach.

University

In 1977, Yanai moved from high school basketball when he became coach of the Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros. With the Toros, Yanai and Dominguez Hills reached the first round of the

. While Dominguez Hills was part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, Yanai had 44 wins and 37 losses between 1977 to 1980. In 1980, Yanai and Dominguez Hills joined the California Collegiate Athletic Association. In 1981, Yanai and his team were first in the CCAA. At the

CCAA men's basketball tournament The California Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball tournament is the annual conference basketball championship tournament for the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The tournament was held annually between 1986 and 1995, disc ...

, Yanai reached four semifinals with Dominguez Hills. He also won this tournament with the Toros in 1987. Yanai appeared at several tournaments as a member of the NCAA, which included the final of the West region during the 1981 NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament. With his combined 244 wins and 186 losses in the NCAA, Yanai had 288 wins and 233 losses before he finished his coaching position at Dominguez Hills in 1996. Yanai was also an assistant coach for the men's basketball event at the 1990

U.S. Olympic Festival The U.S. Olympic Festival was a junior multi-sport event held in the United States by the United States Olympic Committee in the years between the Olympic Games. It was started in 1978 as an American counterpart to the communist Spartakiad – a si ...

while with Dominguez Hills. In 1996, Yanai joined the

as their men's basketball coach. His team reached the regional semifinals at the

and the first round of the

. Yanai remained with Los Angeles until he ended his basketball career in 2005. With Los Angeles, Yanai had 114 wins and 131 losses.

Additional positions

During his coaching experience, Yanai taught basketball in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

during the mid 1980s. Yanai was also working for them as an advisor before he retired from basketball during the mid 2000s. In California, Yanai held basketball camps for teenagers by the late 1980s. Yanai's sports experience also included a position in drug prevention and working in youth sports.

Honors and personal life

With Dominguez Hills, Yanai was Coach of the Year in men's basketball for the CCAA in 1987 and 1988. While with the Toros, Yanai was the first coach for an American college basketball team of

descent. He remained the only Japanese American to hold this position until Jeff Hironaka became a coach in the 2000s. Yanai has held the record for most wins at Dominguez Hills for over twenty years leading up to the 2020-21 season. He was an award recipient at the 2000 John R. Wooden Awards. In 2010, the Dave Yanai Court was opened as part of the Torodome for Dominguez Hills. In 2021, the John R. Wooden Award Committee gave Yanai the Legends of Coaching Award. With the Legends of Coaching Award, Yanai became the first coach of a Division II school to be chosen for this award. He had two kids during his marriage.

References

1943 births High school basketball coaches in California Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches American sportspeople of Japanese descent Living people Japanese-American internees {{Wooden Legends of Coaching Award