NORCAL ELITE COACHING STAFF
Meet the Team
FRANK ALLOCCO
Director & Founder
Frank was an all-state high school basketball player at Northgate High School under the guidance of Coach Frank Allocco, Sr. He led his team to a state championship in 1995, and scored 2,008 career points but more importantly, won 90% of his games.
​
Frank continued his basketball career by accepting a scholarship to Saint Mary’s College, where he was a three year starter, a WCC All-Conference player, and a participant in the 1997 NCAA tournament. He played for two renowned coaches, Ernie Kent and David Bollwinkel, who taught him what it takes to be a successful player at the college level.
​
Frank has recently returned to coaching high school basketball as the Head Varsity coach at Clayton Valley Charter High School. In his first full season the Eagles won the first Section Championship in school history. He previously coached for 12 years at the high school level, being a part of some of the most successful teams in California and winning a state championship as a coach in 2006. He has also has worked with the Excel in Basketball Camps for many years as an Assistant Director.
​
Coach Allocco was the founder of Prime Basketball which quickly rose to prominence as a top youth AAU program in the state of California. Prime and Flight Elite were two programs that came together to create NorCal Elite.
​
Frank and his wife Janis live in Walnut Creek with their three children, Greg, Mick, and Belle.
CHRIS WHIRLOW
Director & Founder
Chris co-founded Flight Elite in 1997 and helped build the program into one of the finest youth AAU programs in the West Region. Chris has coached teams from 3rd grade through High School Varsity since 1992.
He coached at Northgate HS in Walnut Creek from 1994-1997 and at Acalanes HS in Lafayette 1998-1999. Chris was the Head Varsity Boys coach at Campolindo HS in Moraga from 2001-2008. During his 7 seasons at the school, the Cougars compiled a 136-66 record, winning 3 DFAL league titles and 3 North Coast Section championships. These were the first for the school in over 30 years. He was named Contra Costa Times Coach of the Year in 2005. Chris resigned as Head Coach from Campolindo in 2008 to spend more time working with the Flight Elite program.
Chris also spent time as the Director of the West Coast Elite NorCal Under Armour Program. Coach Whirlow has been involved in the recruiting of countless players throughout the past two decades through Flight Elite, high school basketball, and his time with the Under Armour circuit teams.
Chris and his wife Audrey live in Danville with their daughter, Emerson.
RON PANGILINAN
Coach
Since 1994, Coach Ron has spent time as a Girls coach at Acalanes HS and Las Lomas HS. He was an assistant coach in 1999 when Acalanes won the Division 3 state championship. Ron has also spent time as a Boys coach at Bentley and Northgate HS and Head Royce HS where he led the Jayhawks to a league championship and finished as a Northern California Semi Finalist, one of the most successful seasons in school history.
​
Ron has spent well over a decade at the youth level preparing players to play at the high school level, and is a prominent member of our program.
KEITH BRUDER
Assistant Director & Coach
Keith was a standout player at College Park High School where he led his team to the first league championship in 15 years. He accepted a scholarship to William Jessup University where he was twice named to the NAIA All-Academic Team.
​
Keith spent several years as the Head JV Coach at College Park High School and is now the Lead Assistant Coach at Clayton Valley Charter High School, where he helped lead the Eagles to their first Section Championship in school history.
MARCUS ELLISON
Head of Player Development
Marcus attended Brigham Young University (BYU) where he worked in the athletic department by assisting the women’s basketball team with operations, coaching youth camps, and competing as a practice player.
​
Following his graduation from BYU, he eventually moved to the Bay Area and accepted an opportunity at De La Salle High School as a Varsity Assistant Coach. Marcus also spent time coaching at the collegiate level as an Assistant Coach at Cal State East Bay, and has coached in our programs since 2015. Marcus currently serves as a lead skills trainer at the Ultimate Fieldhouse.
ALI THOMAS
Coach
Considered one of the premier skill development coaches in the Bay Area, Ali has a wealth of basketball experience. He was a 4-year Varsity Starter at St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco, scoring over 1000 points in his prep career.
He continued his playing career at The University of San Francisco, where he played every game in his 4 year career. Ali was named the WCC Freshman of the year and was a key part of the 1998 NCAA Tournament team. He is the Don’s second all-time leading 3 point shooter and scored 1000 points in his college career. After leaving USF, he played professional basketball for 10 years, playing in several countries around the world.
​
​As a coach, Ali has spent the last 25 years helping to develop our next generation of players. He has been highly involved in many camps and clinics in the Bay Area, as well as working with players individually. He has served in coaching positions at City College of San Francisco, Saint Ignatius College Prep, and Napa High School.
TYLER FRENCH
Coach
Tyler brings a wealth of enthusiasm and experience to NorCal Elite. A student of the game, he has been involved in high level basketball all of his life. He played in both the Oakland Rebel’s and Prime AAU Club’s in his youth, before playing varsity basketball at Northgate HS.
He has has a tremendous passion for the fundamentals of the game and playing ’the right way.’ He recently graduated with his Marketing degree at Chico State University.
TAYLOR MICKEL
Coach
Taylor grew up playing ASA and Flight Elite Basketball. He then went on to become a varsity player at Northgate high school, where he was a captain his senior year. Taylor attended Arizona State University, where he assisted with the women’s basketball team, serving as a practice player.
Along with coaching for NoCal Elite and spending summers at Excel, Taylor now works as a math teacher at Miramonte high school. Coach Taylor is also the Head JV Coach at Clayton Valley Charter HS.
TONY KHOO
Coach
Tony has an abundance of experience coaching at the high school and college levels. He began his coaching career in 2004 at Cañada College as an Assistant Coach, then moved on to Saint Mary's College as the Director of Basketball Operations for the Women's team.
Tony spent 2006-2011 as the Head Coach at El Camino HS, where he won San Mateo County Coach of the Year honors in 2008-09. From 2011-2020 he was a fixture in the California High School basketball programs, where he spent multiple years as the Head Varsity Girls Coach and moved on to the boys side as the Head Coach for six years.
BRIAN GARSKE
Coach
Bio Coming Soon!
YORUBA HARRISON
Coach
Bio Coming Soon!
CHARLIE MILLER
Coach
Charlie grew up in the ASA Prime program and was part of the 2017 NCS Championship team under Coach Argenal.​
​​
Charlie is currently the Coach of Freshman Silver Team at De La Salle and has been since the 2018 season.​ Charlie also serves as the lead Skills Coach for Shots Up Clinics in Shoot 360.
STEPHEN CARTER
Coach
Bio Coming Soon!
BILL POWERS
Coach
Bio Coming Soon!
JALEN BATINGA
Coach
Bio Coming Soon!
KENNY EVANS
Coach
Bio Coming Soon!
MAX GREENE
Coach
Bio Coming Soon!