Brett Paolucci hopes to
”
bring stability
”
to Live Oak boys basketball in his second stint as coach
MORGAN HILL — Brett Paolucci does not consider himself the keystone of Live Oak boys basketball, though the team has posted only nine wins since he left the program two years ago.
Paolucci hopes to resurrect the glory days of Live Oak hoops during his second stint as coach, but admitted he cannot do it alone.
“My thing is just to try to get stability back into the program. Those kids produce the good things,” Paolucci said during a telephone interview Tuesday, hours after being named the Acorns’ new coach. “You’ve got to get the kids to buy into the system. You need dedication; you need the kids to want to work out and get better. You just need the right kids to be successful.”
The Live Oak faithful can trust Paolucci, 39, in that regard. He saw success as a player there from 1983-87, helping the Acorns win a league championship in the 1985-86 season, and as Live Oak’s varsity coach from 1999-07. During that time, the team reached the CIF-Central Coast Section playoffs five consecutive years, including back-to-back 20-win seasons from 2002-04.
“I had some really dedicated players that bought into the system, a lot of good senior leadership,” Paolucci said. “The younger players see that, and it carries on.”
The Acorns took a step back during Paolucci’s final seasons — after Sobrato High School opened across town in 2003. They finished .500 from 2004-06 and 4-21 in 2006-07. Paolucci then stepped down to spend time with his growing family.
Live Oak went 2-22 under Joe Bonura from 2007-08 and 7-18 under Vince Pacheco this year, the 20th anniversary of the program’s last league title.
“Looking at the program now, it doesn’t get any better than having Brett back,” Live Oak football coach Jon Michael Porras, who played under Paolucci on the junior varsity team, said. “He was intense to play for, but he was also fun. He was one of those guys that made you know when it was time to get down to business.”
Paolucci, who teaches social studies at Live Oak, was asked to return after Bonura left the program for personal reasons, but did not feel the time was right. His wife, Patti, gave birth to twins a year earlier.
“We are extremely excited that Brett wants to get back into coaching,” Athletic Director Mark Cummins said in a statement. “He is a great person and teacher and will lead our program back in a positive direction.”
Cummins did not return phone calls Wednesday.
Paolucci likes the team he is inheriting, which includes players he coached as freshman. The Acorns have three starters coming back in forward Dominic Leach, and guards Cody Gallizioli and Michael Schreiber, a first-team all-West Valley Division honoree. Those three will be seniors next year.
“For some of those kids, this is their fourth coach in four years,” Paolucci said. “Those three seniors coming back … I’m familiar with them. I’m excited to get to coach them again. I’ll get a lot of leadership from them; they’re good kids. I feel confident we can get this program back to where it was.”
