Back during the 1979-80 season, former Cerritos College men's basketball player Dean Sears had such an impressive year, it caught the attention of UCLA. Sears, who played two seasons with the Bruins and was then drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA) passed away recently.

Sears, who was the Vice President of America West Termite Company, where he worked for 34 years, recovered from cancer a few years ago. However, he developed an illness that he was unable to recover from.

Sears, a graduate of Excelsior High in Norwalk, spent two years with the Falcons and helped them win the South Coast Conference championship in 1979-80 and was named the conference's Most Valuable Player. He averaged 17.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and converted 59% of his field goals, as the Falcons went 23-10 on the year under head coach Bob Foerster. They were defeated in the second round of the SoCal Reginal Playoffs by Cypress College, who were led by his future UCLA teammate Mark Eaton.

In his two seasons with Cerritos, Sears averaged 11.7 points and his teams posted a combined 38-22 record.

He went on to spend two years at UCLA and played for Larry Farmer, where they posted a combined 41-13 record and qualified for the NCAA Tournament his junior year.

After his collegiate career came to an end, Sears was selected in the sixth round by the Denver Nuggets, but did not appear in any games.

A memorial service to honor Dean will be held on February 21 at 11:00 a.m. On The Greens Catering and Conference Center in Cypress.