Prep talk: Cooper Stearns of Irvine has become favorite basketball player among officials

Irvine High won its first league basketball championship since 1991, and its star player, Cooper Stearns, is also known for his golf skills, so much so that officials who work Irvine games are always talking golf with him.

“The referees know,” coach Harry Meussner said. “They all want to talk to him about golf. Everywhere we go, they’re talking about it.”

The 6-foot-5 Stearns is averaging 19.5 points and 13 rebounds a game. He’s one of the best two-sport athletes in Southern California. In the league championship game, he had 28 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.

Stearns has committed to Stanford for golf, is a three-time Pacific Coast League golf MVP and was MVP in basketball this season. He started playing golf with his father when he was 6.

“We would play at 6:30 in the morning on weekends at Santa Ana Country Club,” his father, Alan, said. “He also played basketball the entire time.”

While Cooper now outdrives his father in golf, he still hasn’t passed him in the height department — his father is 6-6.

It’s been a dream season in basketball for Irvine, which is 26-2 and set to host Desert Christian Academy in a Southern Section Division 3AA playoff opener on Wednesday. .

“Everyone has put in their best work,” Meussner said of his team. “We’ve really clicked. We’ve been consistent in a surreal way.”

Just don’t expect anyone in the Irvine program to challenge Stearns to a chipping match. One time it happened, everyone was excited.

“The rest of us were having fun,” he said. “Everyone chipped it up close. He stepped up and got it within two.”

Lesson learned. Don’t challenge Stearns in golf or basketball.

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