Local stars give fans plenty to cheer about in Monday night’s NCAA championship game

MARIN CITY — The Marin City Recreation Center was packed with family and friends of San Diego State guard Darrion Trammell. They watched with great intensity and joy. 

Win or lose, they said they said they would plan a parade for their hometown hero. 

Trammell’s two little sisters sat in the front row, and his rec center director and coach Wayne Price cheered him on with great pride. 

Price shared photos of Trammell winning MVP as a middle school student, playing in a high school league. 

“I became his basketball coach when he was in the 5th grade, I put him on my 8th grade basketball team, because he was just way too dominant for his grade level. And even in 8th grade when he played with us, we won the championship with him,” Price said. 

When he was 17, he played in the Marin City Men’s League and won the championship. Trammell went to St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco. He’s 5’10, but Price says he plays big. 

“He’s fearless, I don’t think he’s ever played against kids or adults his age, he’s always played above and up,” Price said. “So playing now at this level is really just second nature to him.”

San Diego State did not pull out the win Monday night in their first Championship appearance, but Price knows Trammell will continue to dream big. 

“He believed in himself, we believed in him, the whole time, but he knew what his goal was,” Price said. “Dreams are worth more than money – that’s what he always said. He has it tattooed on him, and that’s what he believed in and that was his motto.”

In nearby Novato, the UConn bar Finnegan’s was surprisingly quiet. 

“It has been packed elbow to elbow every night, and tonight it was just a nonstarter. I don’t know why maybe because it’s a Monday and it’s windy and cold outside,” said bar manager Adam Beck. 

Marin Catholic alum and UConn guard Joey Calcaterra is from Novato. 

UConn topped San Diego State 76-59.  

“I’m feeling great, and we’re really proud, the community’s really proud that we had somebody in there that was from Marin,” he added.