The Boys Are Back
The Las Lomas Men’s Varsity Basketball team is on the verge of having a phenomenal season. This year the team has gained transfer student Nathan Robinson from Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory. According to junior guard JT Estes, Robinson, a shooting guard, will “bring a strong scoring presence.”
Robinson also played on the 18 year old and under Great Britain National Team. The national team he was part of made it to the finals, but they lost to Croatia, earning them a silver medal. His addition to the Las Lomas team will only bolster the team’s chances of going far in the NCS playoffs and possibly winning it. “The goal of the season is to go undefeated. I am excited to win games,” said Robinson.
The Knights had a tremendous season last year, going 22-7, winning league, making the playoffs as the second seed, as well as making it to state. Beating De Anza in the first round of the playoffs 91-64, Las Lomas barely lost to Montgomery 50-45 in the second round of the playoffs. Qualifying for state, they lost in the first round to San Joaquin Memorial 68-55, who was ranked as one of the top 100 High School Basketball teams in California.
Last year’s winning season was guided by head coach Brian Dietschy, who will be returning for his second season as head coach. Former Las Lomas student Dietschy was one of the best guards in the East Bay while at Las Lomas. During his senior year of high school he won MVP, and he is currently the all time leading scorer at Las Lomas. He went to Skyline Junior College and was the team captain as well as an All Conference player. After this, he went to Notre Dame College in Belmont, and led their team to their first postseason appearance.
Las Lomas will have their first regular season game on November 25th against St. Ignatius High School. Their first home game will be on December 1st against Envision High School.
The Knights will be in the same league as last year, playing the following schools: Acalanes, Campolindo, College Park, Miramonte, and Northgate.
League play will start on January 9th against Northgate. The Knights will play each of these teams twice and possibly another time in the tournaments they will participate in throughout the season. Last year, Las Lomas went 9-1 in league, only losing to Campolindo 62-59. Las Lomas beat Campolindo twice out of the three times they met.
In preparation for the upcoming season, the Knights have held workouts during the summer as well as participating in tournaments. Returning varsity player Zach Engle is very pleased with the results of the offseason summer workouts and tournaments. “We have been working hard during the summer. We also have played in many tournaments during the summer and played very well. We couldn’t be more ready for the season,” said Engle.
The Knights’ ultimate goal this season is to win a championship, and go far in state. Students did a great job supporting the team, and to some of the players that was the reason why they did well last year. In order for the team to achieve their ultimate goal this season (winning a championship), the attendance at the games need to be the highest of all time! This team can accomplish their goal, let’s be right next to them the whole season.
