Carlsbad High boys basketball coach Clark Allard has a simple philosophy: when in doubt, put the ball in the hands of reigning San Diego Section Player of the Year Jake Hall and get out of the way.
“There have been a lot of games over my coaching career where we turn to the just give the ball to Jake offense,” Allard said. “We try to get him the ball in areas where he has the space to create and we just let him read and react.”
The Jake or bust offense was on full display in the second game of the young season — an impressive overtime 74-72 victory at home against Mater Dei, with Hall going 16 of 25 from the floor.
“The entire second half and most of the first half was get Jake the ball in some space and see what he can do,” Allard said. “He has delivered time-and-again. He has earned that trust from me.”
Hall, a 6-foot-4 senior guard and UC San Diego commit, entered this season with 2,155 career points — No. 14 all-time in San Diego Section scoring — and three first-team all-section honors.
“He is a great player and great teammate,” said Tony Duckett, a Carlsbad alum and University of San Diego freshman point guard. “He can really shoot it and has a sneaky quickness that he takes advantage of by using hesitations and spins.”
Within 90 seconds of Hall’s high school debut, Allard recognized a future offensive star.
“I had Jake coming off the bench,” Allard remembered. “I knew he was a good prospect but a freshman playing varsity is a learning curve. I brought him in with our first group of subs and he had 11 points in a-minute-and-half. I turned to my assistant coach and said ‘that’s the last time he’ll ever come off the bench.’ He was the most polished freshman I’ve ever seen.”
Hall averaged nearly 22 points per game in his first season of varsity basketball, culminating in a 37-point outpouring in the season’s final game — a playoff loss to Foothill.
“He sent me a text after his freshman year – one of the best freshman seasons anyone has ever had in San Diego – asking me, ‘What do I need to do to get better,'” Allard said. “I told him, ‘Skill-level wise, you are already playing at a college level; you just need to get used to the speed and physicality of the next level.’ For the next three years he has taken his strength and conditioning very seriously. There are not many times when he is not the strongest player on the court.”
As a sophomore, Hall was good for a tick over 26.
The Lancers are the defending San Diego Section Open Division champions, coming off a 30-3 season and regional semifinal run that ended with a down-to-the-wire, 73-72 loss to eventual state champion Harvard Westlake.
At 8-0, with wins over Mission Bay, Mater Dei, Coronado, Los Alamitos, Rancho Bernardo, Ramona and Sage Creek, Carlsbad boasts a No. 16 MaxPreps state ranking.
“I’m super excited to get some good wins early on in the season,” Hall said. “We are clicking right now. Everyone is playing inside their roles and we are playing well together. I want to continue doing what I am doing and winning.”
“We’ve played one of the toughest schedules in the whole state,” Allard added. “Jake is doing a great job of facilitating and making the right plays. He’s a great passer too.”
The graduation of “professional scorer” Duckett and post-anchor Jael Martin has put even more of the offensive load on Hall’s shoulders.
“They are irreplaceable,” Hall said. “The focus this year is taking on a new identity. But for the younger guys, going up against college level players like Tony, Jael and Euan [Davis], and getting those reps at practice every day helped shape our team this year.”
“[Jake] knows that he is going to be face guarded, denied and double-teamed,” Allard added. In most games, he will see the other team’s best defender. He’s the San Diego Player of the Year and has definitely gone another level up.”
Frequent childhood visits to the Encinitas rec center with his father and brother helped shape Hall’s prolific scoring ability.
It has been a full circle year for him, with training outings to Activ8 in Carlsbad coinciding with youth practices for the California Bear Cats youth basketball club, the Lil Cats.
“They were my first team – a lot of credit to them,” Hall said. “It’s funny seeing all of the Lil Cats and remembering where I came from.”
Hall named former Los Angeles Lakers great Kobe Bryant his all-time favorite hooper and pointed to Dallas Mavericks scoring virtuoso Luka Dončić his current favorite to watch, whose style of play is perhaps an apt comparison to his own.
“I can score from all three levels,” Hall said. “I just use my knowledge of the game better than anyone. I know where my spots are on the floor. I’ve watched so much basketball, it doesn’t matter what type of defense they are in I am able to get to my spots and be crafty around the rim.”
According to Hall, he considered enrolling early at UCSD, foregoing his senior year of high school, but as his coach sees it, there are still a few points left to score.
“He has some extra motivation,” Allard said. “He’s climbing the charts as far as all-time points scored in San Diego. If he averages 26.5 per game for the rest of the way, he will be around 3,000 (career points). If he goes 27.5, he will be the second all-time leading scorer in San Diego history. Those are fun things to chase.”
Troy Leaf of Foothills Christian, class of 2010, is the all-time section leader at 3,318 points.
At UCSD, Hall will have a familiar name on the coaching staff, with Clint Allard, Clark’s brother, the associate head coach.
“I am super grateful for the opportunity,” Hall said. “I always had a feeling I was going to end up there – they just have a home feeling. I knew it was the right fit at my official visit.”
For now, he’s just trying to stay in the moment.
“It’s super difficult staying present,” Hall reflected. “But we have such a fun team this year and I love these guys.”
