Koby Cervantes continues to etch his name throughout the record books of the storied Denair High School basketball program.
During Friday’s 77-10 throttling of Southern Athletic League opponent Le Grand, the senior standout scored 28 points to eclipse 1,500 career points. He is the first Denair player since statistics were tracked by MaxPreps in 2004 to reach the milestone, and it came nearly a year to the date after he passed the 1,000-point mark.
On Jan. 10 of 2025, Cervantes poured in 31 points in a 71-31 victory, also against the Bulldogs, to surpass the 1,000 points. The only other Coyotes to do so since 2004 are Clayton McDonald (1,085 from 2008 to 2011) and Mason Wooten (1,064 from 2006 to 2008).
Heading into Tuesday night’s road clash with reigning league champion Stone Ridge Christian, the 6-foot-6, 190-pound combo guard had 350 points on the season and was averaging 17.7 points per game. But he has been doing more than scoring, as he has grabbed 190 rebounds to average 14.6 per game.
Cervantes has his name all over the statewide statistical leaderboards. His points and rebounds per game rank 15th and ninth in California, respectively.
In his four varsity seasons thus far, Cervantes has scored 1,508 points and recorded 863 rebounds.
Circling back to Friday night, Cervantes also had 14 rebounds to extend his streak of double-doubles to 16 straight games, dating back to last season. The Coyotes also received a 28-point flurry from senior point guard Sebastian Esquivel.
The win pushed Denair’s record to 9-6 overall and to 2-0 against conference opponents. And Cervantes will be the first to say that getting wins is more important than any individual accomplishments.
“All that matters is winning,” Cervantes told the Journal last week. “And I have such great teammates around me, being aggressive, willing to sacrifice at any time to get these wins.
"It's definitely a great feeling to accomplish all these milestones and be as highly ranked as I am, yeah, but there's definitely room for improvement, definitely a way that I can get a little bit better.”
That’s a scary proposition.
Cervantes said he wants to be more aggressive driving the ball, get to the free throw line a lot more, and be more consistent in his 3-point shooting, even though he is already shooting at a 49 percent clip (36-for-74).
It’s a product of relentless offseason training, which he said consists of weightlifting, conditioning, mental strength exercises, attending camps hosted by established organizations such as Ball is Life, playing on travel teams, and of course, hours and hours of shooting.
At the forefront of his mind is to help the Coyotes win the Southern League, then make a deep playoff run, and ultimately lead the program to its first section title since 2022. At the same time, he is excited for what awaits after high school.
“A lot of junior colleges are the ones really looking at me right now, and that's actually where I'm probably going to go to help me develop physically and skill-wise and build a good foundation. But the main goal after that is to look for Division I opportunities after that.”
Denair head coach Kevin Storms believed there is no question Cervantes can make an immediate impact at the next level.
“He's a remarkable player,” Storms said. “What he has done here in his time has been incredible, really. He's just a good kid and plays hard with heart. He has a tremendous work ethic, he always wants to get into the gym, plays a lot in the offseason… I think we'll see him playing college basketball somewhere, and that's rare for an old, small school like this.”
