Rojas moving to the Great Northwest

Two years ago, Siaan Rojas came out of Concord High as a Diablo Valley League First Team honoree after averaging 16.5 points per game and signed on at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC). He realized his skills needed honing and a greater consistency was required in order to continue his advancement. Now as a 6-foot-5 sophomore, Rojas is headed to DII national power Western Washington University (WWU).

"I want to win and coach [Tony Dominguez] wants to win a national championship," Rojas explained regarding his attraction to the Vikings program. Dominguez is 88-37 in his four seasons at WWU. The team won the national championship in 2012 with Dominguez as the associate head coach and reached the national semifinals in 2013.

So what will Rojas bring with him? "A lot of versatility. I can pass, dribble and shoot." Rojas averaged 13.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists (a solid 106 assists to 53 turnovers) for Santa Rosa in the 2015-16 season, finishing as the leading scorer and second in rebounding and assists. "Me playing both guard positions my whole life and being tall, I've always been able to see over the defense and get my teammates involved."

All that, plus "I'll play hard. I can be positioned anywhere from the 1-4."

Asked why he chose SRJC, Rojas explained, "Coach Mac [Craig McMillan] just told me about their tradition. I really liked coach from when we talked and he never promised me anything. A lot of other schools told me I would be this and that and could do this and that but coach never did any of that. I also felt like I would get a lot better from Coach Mac because he played at the DI level and coached there."

He added, "I got babied in high school and I had to learn how to play hard. Coach Mac pushed me every second and I realized I can't take any plays off."

Rojas will be joining forces with 6-foot-5 senior Jeffrey Parker, out of Salesian High, who should end up as the all-time leading scorer at Western Washington.

He noted three particular basketball influences in his life. "Coach Mac for helping me become better, teammate Jacob Wilson for always pushing me and my cousin Cheo White. He has taught me a lot about the game and gives me advice all the time."

Majoring in Behavioral Studies at SRJC, Rojas isn't set yet but will likely continue in that direction at Western Washington.