San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN BOYS HOOPS WORKING THROUGH REBUILDING PHASE
Young team, new coach have a plan for Knights to come charging back
When you look at the Foothills Christian boys basketball record, then compare it to their roster, it starts to make sense.
The Knights were 6-16 starting the week, losing their first 10 games, then winning six of eight, before losing four in a row.
Streaky — about what you’d expect from a team that has just one senior and whose two top scorers are freshman Julian (Juju) Lebel and sophomore Angel Escarcega. They have one player at 6-foot 5inches and nine under 6-foot.
This is the same school that was a section Open Division powerhouse under Brad Leaf that coach Charles M. Gilbert says is rebuilding with a different approach but the same overall goals. Give the program another year or so, and the Knights will be back.
“Any time there’s change, it’s tough,” said Gilbert, one of Leaf ’s assistants when Leaf decided to step down. “A new coach means a new culture.
“The pandemic really hit us hard, and although we were one of the first schools to go back to oncampus classes, many of the parents were hesitant, so we lost some of the players.
“We had a number of transfer students interested in coming, but that was one of the administration’s decisions, to build a pipeline starting in junior high. You can have instant success with transfers, but then you have to keep getting them. You start a pipeline and you have kids who know and appreciate the school and program.”
So, the Knights, who won an average of better than 20 games a season the previous decade, are now scratching to find their way.
“We went from having highquality players to having to teach some of the kids how to make a layup,” said Gilbert, noting that Foothills Christian is now Division II. “When we lost our first 10 games this year, one of the major problems was free throws. We’d be right there in most games and then lose when we missed those free throws.
It not only hurts you, it gives the other team momentum.
“But we’re improving as the players learn how to play together. That will be huge next year, and the year after that we should be back where we were a few years ago.”
With Lebel (25.2 points, 9.5 rebounds a game) and Escarcega (18.9 points, 2.3 assists a game), he has a good base.
Lebel’s decision to attend Foothills wasn’t that surprising as he watched his older brother, Jaden, play for the Knights until Jaden was one of those who moved, playing at Cathedral Catholic his last two years (20202022).
“That was one of the results of COVID, but I always wanted to come to Foothills Christian,” said Juju, who is a still sprouting 6-3 ½ forward who is projected to stand 6-7 by the time he graduates. “My teammates make me laugh. It’s a great culture, and the school is so small everyone knows each other, which is good.
“We couldn’t close out games early and after a while we just wanted to win one. Next year we’ll be a lot stronger, and I want us to have a winning record. After that, I want a (championship) ring for my finger.”
Juju is a higher scorer than his brother, who had a 42-inch vertical, and he’s learning on the run.
But Gilbert is certain that when the right players merge with the right atmosphere at Footballs Christian, it will be like old times. Maybe better.
“It’s more than just basketball,” said Gilbert, who stopped coaching club ball to focus on Foothills. “Sure, I believe we’ll make some noise next year when Juju and Angel are like Batman and Robin. But one of the things we want to stress are Christian values. We want those strong values on and off the court, we want the players to be humble but to have a lot of energy and tenacity.
“I think there are a lot of younger players who are looking for that kind of experience, who realize that doing the right thing, at the end of the day, is what matters.”