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 Photo Town Crier File Photo Matt Christman scores 10 points per game for Foothill. The Foothill College men’s basketball team is off to its best start under coach Shanan Rosenberg, and he knows why.
“There are two reasons,” the Owls’ eighth-year coach said of starting 10-2. “We have a core group of third-year guards who are very talented, and the guys on this team really like each other – they’re a cohesive, tight-knit group.”
Foothill ranks sixth in Northern California and 12th in the state. Both losses came against state-ranked teams, including 60-55 to No. 1 Riverside.
“The guys are playing really well together,” Rosenberg said.
Foothill returns six players – three of them starters – from a squad that went 18-15 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NorCal playoffs last season.
Rosenberg continues to employ a guard-heavy attack. He starts four guards, and his first three men off the bench are backcourt players as well. Six of them are sophomores, most are in their third year of college after red-shirting or transferring.
The all-sophomore starting lineup includes point guard Bobby Macias, shooting guards Matt Christman, Jake Poppen and Marseilles Stewart and post player Austin McQuay.
The 5-foot-11 Macias was an all-state honorable mention selection as a freshman. The Thousands Oaks native leads the team in scoring (16.5 points per game), assists (4), steals (3) and free-throw percentage (78).
“He does a lot of things for us,” said Rosenberg, a St. Francis High graduate.
Stewart is second on the team in scoring at 13 points per game. The 6-3, 225-pounder “is a great rebounder,” Rosenberg said, averaging nine per game. Stewart’s twin brother Dominic, also a graduate of San Francisco’s International Studies Academy, comes off the bench.
Christman and Poppen are each producing 10 points per game and shooting 41 and 39 percent, respectively, from 3-point range. The 6-3 Christman, a Serra High grad, is “playing great,” Rosenberg said. The 6-4 Poppen attended Thousand Oaks High with Macias.
The man in the middle, McQuay, has been one of the team’s pleasant surprises. Although only 6-4, the Santa Teresa High grad has held his own against bigger centers and is shooting 60 percent from the field.
“Austin came out of nowhere,” Rosenberg said. “He’s turned into an awesome player.”
The coach has a capable group of reserves to support his starters. Sophomore guards Dominic Stewart and Josh Scheibley are usually the first players Rosenberg calls on, followed by freshman guard Kyle Hypes.
Rosenberg said the 6-foot Scheibley nearly didn’t play this season due to a heart condition discovered over the summer, but medication has enabled the Sobrato High product to continue his career.
“He gets winded earlier and needs to play in smaller intervals,” the coach said, “but it’s a tremendous story that he’s able to play at all.”
The 6-2 Hypes last season helped St. Francis High win a Central Coast Section title and advance to the Northern California finals.
“He was so well coached and is a really smart player,” Rosenberg said. “He’s getting better and better and playing more and more. He’s a tremendous talent.”
When the Owls need more 3-point shooting, they often bring in guard Tim Williams. The 6-2 sophomore from Boise, Idaho, is shooting a team-best 50 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 8 points per game.
“He’s another guy who came out of nowhere,” Rosenberg said.
When Foothill wants to get bigger, the coach turns to Jason Dandridge. The freshman from San Francisco’s Hawthorne High is the tallest player on the team at 6-9. Derek Halliwell, a 6-5 freshman from Los Altos High, plays spot minutes up front.
“Derek’s been great,” Rosenberg said. “He works very hard and has a great attitude.”
The coach hasn’t had to worry about adjusting attitudes this year, noting that “team chemistry is alive and well on this team.”
The Owls are a balanced bunch as well, according to Rosenberg, and don’t have to rely on one player to carry them. With an array of scorers – from slashers to 3-point specialists – Foothill is averaging 70 points per game. The team is shooting 45 percent from the field and 38 percent on 3-pointers.
The Owls have been just as good on the defensive end. They are allowing only 59 points per game and averaging 10 steals.
“We’re a very good defensive team,” Rosenberg said. “These kids are really good defensively.”
But they aren’t good at making free throws. The Owls are shooting just 58 percent from the line, which befuddles the coach.
“That’s the only thing we don’t do well,” he said. “It’s hard to believe, considering how well we shoot from the floor.”
But Rosenberg is confident Foothill will get better, making the team even harder to beat. There is little margin for error playing in a Coast Conference North Division that includes a City College of San Francisco team ranked No. 1 in Northern California and second in the state.
“We should compete for the league title, but it’s going to be a challenge,” Rosenberg said. “We have the most competitive conference in Northern California; four of the seven teams in our division are ranked.”
The Owls’ next two games are against teams ranked in the state. Foothill is scheduled to visit No. 4 San Jose City 5 p.m. Dec. 30 and open division play 7 p.m. Jan. 6 at No. 13 Ohlone.
Contact Pete Borello at
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