Meet Brian Dietschy

The novelist Thomas Wolfe was wrong, at least in Brian Dietschy's case, Having starred on the hardcourt at Las Lomas High and later spending close to 20 years as an assistant varsity basketball coach (5 years at Acalanes High School and 13 at his alma mater Las Lomas), Dietschy is now fully in charge as the head coach at the Walnut Creek school.

"I couldn't be more fired up to be back at Las Lomas," Dietschy explained. "Basketball feeds my soul. I love the game. I have a passion for it and for working with kids." The opportunity will allow Dietschy to put his stamp on the program. That will be "defense first, unselfish basketball. We'll play hard and for each other. I want these guys to really enjoy playing with one another.”

"I played at Las Lomas, Skyline College and the College of Notre Dame (now Notre Dame de Namur) and as soon as my playing career ended, I went into coaching," Dietschy said.

But let's not skip over his successful playing career. The all-time leading Las Lomas scorer, he earned MVP honors as a senior and was an All Bay Area honoree as both a junior and a senior. Dietschy was a sophomore on the Las Lomas team that fell in the Nor Cal finals. Recalling his early days, he offered, "The game meant a lot to me. I remember walking to the gym carrying my bag on game day through a long hallway. There was a JV or girls game taking place and I would sprint down the hall once I heard the ball being dribbled and the squeak of the shoes. I was a gym rat." Spending the days, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the local parks playing was his norm.

At Skyline College, he was an all conference selection and his College of Notre Dame team made the program's very first post-season appearance.

What's telling is Dietschy being named captain at every stop in his playing career. "It was bestowed upon me by my teammates. I took the game very seriously even at a young age. I was always pushing myself and my teammates to get better.”

This anecdote displays Dietschy's tenacity. "My Mom's brother played at Chaminade on the team that beat Virginia (the Ralph Sampson-led squad, 77-72 in 1982). My uncle was a really good high school and college player. Growing up we would often play one-on-one to 50 and he would never let up on me. He would beat me like 50-5 but eventually I beat him. We never played again after that."

Asked about next season's Las Lomas team, Dietschy said, "the sky is the limit. I wouldn't put any ceiling on how good we can be. We definitely have talent but that will not be enough -- nothing good ever comes without hard work. My job will be to get the players to want it more than I do."