NORCAL ELITE COACHING STAFF
Frank Allocco, Jr.
DIRECTOR/CO-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.
Chris Whirlow
DIRECTOR/CO-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 basketbll, and his time with the Under Armour circuit teams.
Chris and his wife Audrey live in Danville with their daughter, Emerson.
Mark Doherty
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR / COACH
Mark coached in the Flight Elite Basketball program from 2006 to 2021. Mark graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a major in Sports Management. He was the Freshman Boys basketball coach at Campolindo High 2007-2008 and Assistant Varsity coach 2008-2009.
Mark has developed into one of the areas top coaches and several of his teams have won national level tournaments in the past over the years. Mark is also co-director of Warriors Basketball Program. Mark is a teacher in San Ramon and resides in Martinez with his wife, Kellen.
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 / COACH
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 is also a Level 1 skills trainer at the Ultimate Fieldhouse
Jesse Dawes
COACH
Jesse grew up in Walnut Creek where he developed a passion for the game of basketball. He played Varsity Basketball at Las Lomas HS, where he earned All-League honors his senior year.
Coach Dawes started coaching elementary students at Indian Valley after school while attending high school. He played Junior College basketball at Allan Hancock College, before transferring to Cal Poly SLO. While studying Recreation Administration and Sports Management, Jesse continued his coaching career with AAU, middle school, and high school level athletes, and has been coaching boys and girls for over 15 years.
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. Ron is currently the Head Varsity coach at 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.
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.
Lewis Schoenberg
COACH
After playing for Frank Allocco Jr., at the youth level, Lewis went on to play at Las Lomas High School. Upon graduating Lewis spent one year as Varsity Assistant Coach, then was the Head Freshman Coach at Acalanes and Northgate High Schools, as well as Varsity Assistant at both stop. He moved on to be a Student Assistant at UC Santa Barbara, where he coordinated video and statistics for the basketball team.
After Lewis has spent two years as an Operations Coach for the NBA G-League Ignite team, and is currently an Assistant Varsity coach at Clayton Valley Charter High School
Troy Druppal
COACH
Troy Druppal is from Richmond, CA. He attended El Cerrito high school where he was an assistant basketball coach for three years there. Having faced adversity so many times from losing his left arm and battling cancer for over 14 years, Troy found a passion for coaching and helping kids achieve their goals while teaching life lessons on and off the basketball court. In 2020 he was named the Golden State Warriors JR NBA coach of the year.
Lee Litvin
COACH
After playing Varsity Basketball at Las Lomas High School, Lee went on to attend Chico State where he worked for the men’s basketball team as the head manager for three years. Known for his passion and positive attitude, Coach Lee always brings great energy whenever he steps on the court.
Lee has been a prominent member of our programs for many years, and is reputable for his work as a trainer and a coach.
Taylor Mickel
COACH
Taylor grew up playing ASA for Frank Allocco, Jr. as a kid. 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.
Christopher Sprague
COACH
Chris played for Frank Allocco Jr. at the youth level, and has coached in the area for many years. Coach Chris spent time at Carondelet HS as the Head Freshman Girls Coach before joining the staff at Clayton Valley Charter HS in 2020 as the Head Boys Freshman Coach.
Chris has coached in our programs for years and is know for his passion and fire on the court.