Rich Forslund didn't have a lot of time to talk Saturday as he was -- naturally -- headed off to coach basketball.
Forslund's Our Lady of the Pillar eighth-grade team was playing St. Cecilia's of San Francisco in a CYO game and Forslund didn't want to be late for pre-game. He never is.
The Half Moon Bay High coach knows accountability is a big part of it all as he stewards both his HMB varsity (now 6-0) and his grade-school team through a season of hoops action.
"I'm taking it light this year," joked Forslund, who during a three-year period since resigning at Riordan in 2007, coached eight coastline youth teams spread out over Cunha Middle School and Our Lady of the Pillar parish.
"My wife (Jan) is part saint," Forslund said with a laugh. "She's known me since I've started coaching and she's seen it all or heard it all by this point."
Half Moon Bay High (27-9 last season 12-0 in the PAL-North) are off to another hot start this season, winning both the Paul Spates Memorial Tournament at The King's Academy and the more prestigious Burlingame Lions Tournament.
Junior 6-foot-6 center Austin Hilton was MVP of the TKA tourney and junior 6-3 guard Tommy Nuno took top honors at the Burlingame tourney.
"Tommy is the best player on the team," Forslund said. "He's a point guard who always guards the opponent's best player. He had his best game (against Los Altos), scoring 20 points."
Besides its 61-49 Burlingame Lions title-game victory against Los Altos, HMB also knocked off Irvington 57-36 and Menlo-Atherton 42-32 in the event.
Cougar post player Hilton is up from junior varsity and has made an impact.
"He's a 6-6 and was the best player on the JV team last year," Forslund said. "He just needs more seasoning because he just turned 16 at the end of November. He's going to be a big boy by the time he gets to college. He's getting better every time out."
Another key performer is senior 6-7 power forward Case DuFrane, who has been averaging 11 points per game. DuFrane and Nuno both initially started on varsity as sophomores until DuFrane incurred a concussion that sidelined him for a month.
"He has the wingspan of someone 6-10 and can shoot and run the floor," Forslund said. "The only hiccup in his game is sometimes he makes poor decisions and will reach for the ball instead of walling up and closing out (on defense)."
Also, senior 6-1 guard Caelin Batstone has been scoring 6.4 points per game off the bench. And if Forslund is tempted to start Batstone he's also -- as he puts it -- mindful not to "try to fix it, if it's not broke."
The HMB program in 2006-2007 was definitely broken, going 1-21 until John W. Parsons took over as coach and resurrected the Cougars. Within a few years John W. and his father John M. Parsons (also a coach) convinced Forslund to take over the HMB program to see if he could take it to the next level.
Forslund had scaled the heights before, coaching his alma mater Riordan to the state Division III title in 2002, a year after finishing state runners-up. Forslund's Crusader teams won 194 games in 10 years -- not bad since the Riordan grad never even made it past the freshman team as a player.
But by '07 the Montara resident needed a break and his wife was feeling poorly, contributing to his decision to step down at Riordan. However, by 2010 he was re-charged and started building the HMB powerhouse that started 10-0 last season and regularly packs the Cougars' cozy gym, rooted on by their orange-clad, student, 6th man cheering section.
HMB fans in this one-school town eat it up with a fork and a spoon as the team regularly is introduced in a darkened gym with strobe lights flashing and music pumping.
This season promises to be another good one on the coastline.
"We're off to a great start after graduating eight seniors," said Forslund, a real estate broker by trade who manages to mix in plenty of hoops.
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TEAMS TO WATCH
(In alphabetical order with last season's record)
Bellarmine (12-17)
The Bells didn't fare well in league last season but managed a CCS Division I title, defeating Menlo-Atherton in the finals. Bellarmine opened with wins against Independence, Homestead, Mills and Bentley, but fell to a strong San Ramon Valley team 55-35. Masa Swain, Kyle Owens and Angelo Athens are the Bells' top players. Big man Jonah Underwood transferred to Willow Glen after last season.
Half Moon Bay (26-7)
Won the PAL-North by five games last season. Has opened 2014-2015 season with wins against Oakwood 71-38, Los Gatos 58-50, Gunderson 57-34 and Irvinton 57-46. The Cougars are led by Austin Hilton (15.7 ppg.), Case DuFrane (11.0), Tommy Nuno (10.0) and Jake Salinero (10.0).
Hillsdale (14-13)
The Knights are 7-0 under coach Brett Stevenson and have won the Westmont tourney, led by Adam Cook, Adam Schembri, David Badet and Taiga Schwarz.
Homestead (17-10)
The Mustangs were 5-1 through Dec. 15 with their only loss to Bellarmine (57-55). Standouts are Aditya Reddy and Jay Slaney who both average 14.5 ppg. Slaney also averages 9.3 rebounds and two steals per game.
Leland (17-9)
The Chargers opened the season with wins against Fremont (53-50), Gunn (61-45), Lincoln-San Jose 58-39 and Willow Glen (50-28). James Kelbert averaged 16.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists through four games and he's complemented by senior 6-2 G Josh Kim who averages 16.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and one steal per game.
Mitty (27-5)
The Monarchs have won five consecutive WCAL and CCS titles and three of the last four CIF-State NorCal titles, falling to Capital Christian-Sacramento in last year's semifinals. They have also won two state titles in the past five years. Junior 6-7 C Ben Kone and sophomore 6-6 G Sebastian Much (a transfer from SoCal) will help lead the Monarchs who will also rely on senior Cameron Korb, junior Michael Scott, senior Dakari Monroe, senior Sam Serra and sophomore Kyle Peterson. Peterson is a transfer from Leigh and the brother to former Mitty star Connor Peterson. Replacing graduated standout PG Matt McAndrews will be a key for the Monarchs, who have tough non-league games left against El Cerrito at Chabot College on Dec. 20 and vs. Etiwanda-Rancho Cucamonga at Rancho Mirage on Dec. 26.
Piedmont Hills (22-6)
The Pirates were 2-0 through Dec. 15 with wins against Stagg (82-57) and Palo Alto (58-44). Coach Pete Simos' top player is senior 6-4 forward Isaiah Stewart. Piedmont Hills finished second to unbeaten Leigh during the 2013-2014 BVAL-Mt. Hamilton regular season.
Riordan (19-12)
The Crusaders through Dec. 15 were 3-1, with their only loss to O'Dowd in the Merv Booker Classic at Kezar Pavilion, 59-41. Riordan showed its potential with an opening 85-26 win against El Camino, on Dec. 9 a 73-27 victory against South San Francisco and last weekend with a triumph against University-San Francisco. Stansberry, who played at Serra as a freshman, really broke loose against University with 27 points. Riordan finished fourth in the WCAL last season with a 9-5 record and was without injured 6-8 junior Karim Ndiaye most of the season. Ndiaye has been cleared to play, but 6-6 senior Australian transfer Robert Colton is having his eligibility reviewed by CCS. Riordan made it to the CIF-State Division III NorCal Regionals last season, losing to Drake 54-49.
Sacred Heart Cathedral (19-12)
The Irish started the 2014-2015 season strong with wins against Sequoia, Menlo-Atherton and Las Lomas, but have dropped three straight to formidable teams in Drake (65-52), Salesian-Richmond (43-40) and Cosumnes River (62-43. They were young last season with two freshmen on varsity in Alfred Hollins and Ramzi Carter, both now 6-5 forwards. Other players to watch are senior 5-9 G Omari Brown and clutch shooter David Parsons, a 6-2 senior forward.
Sacred Heart Prep (21-8)
The Gators have won seven section titles in their history, including last season's CCS Division IV title. They're 2-1 this season with a loss to 2013-2014 CCS DI finalist Menlo-Atherton (51-45) and wins against Irvington (83-75) and Burlingame (60-55). Forward Cameron Koch (24 ppg., 11.7 rpg., 2.3 spg.) leads the Gators, who are also paced by James McLean (18 ppg.), football quarterback Mason Randall (9.3 ppg.), Connor Moses (8.0) and Andrew Daschbach. The Gators have tough non-league games against WCAL entrants Bellarmine and Serra.
Serra (22-9)
Serra finished second to Mitty in the WCAL regular season and in the CCS playoffs. Outside shooting whiz Danny Mahoney is now at San Jose State, but the Padres have some stalwarts left in senior 6-5 center Trevor Brown, senior 6-1 G Jimmy Wohrer and junior 6-4 F Jake Killingsworth. Serra opened its season with a blowout win over Logan and defeated Fairfield as well in the De La Salle tourney, but dropped a 70-51 decision to De La Salle in the finals. Wohrer can light it up from outside if left open, making five first-half threes and scoring 22 points in the win against Fairfield. Killingsworth had 14 rebounds and took six rebounds in the same game.
St. Francis (17-13)
The Lancers started last season 10-0 before dropping their first three league games (Mitty, Serra and Valley Christian) en route to a 3-11 league mark. Inexperience was an issue. St. Francis is more seasoned now and took down Mountain View 65-25 in a Dec. 1 Sportsmanship Game (does not count on overall record). Junior 6-7 PF/C Peter Hewett paces the Lancers, along with senior 5-11 G Riley Quinn, junior 6-3 G Curtis Witt, senior F Guissepe Benedetti and junior F Noah Stapes.
On the bubble: Menlo, Menlo-Atherton, Milpitas, Palma, St. Ignatius.
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PLAYERS TO WATCH
(In alphabetical order)
Mo Abdurasal, Senior, G, 6-1, Fremont
A high-scoring player again this season, Abdurasal is averaging 22.3 points per game.
Ben Dorfman, Senior, F, 6-5, Aptos
Has been hindered by injury early in the season, but has played three games and has averaged 12 points, 10.3 rebounds, four assists and 2.3 steals per game.
Peter Hewett, Junior, C, 6-7, St. Francis
Started on varsity as a sophomore and showed shot-blocking and rebounding ability and a soft touch inside and from mid-range.
James Kelbert, Junior, G, 6-2, Leland
Through two games has averaged 18.5 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals per game.
Corbin Koch, Senior, F, 6-3, Sacred Heart Prep
Koch is averaging 24 points per game for the defending section champions. He is complemented nicely by James McLean (18 ppg.) and others.
Ben Kone, Junior, C, 6-7, Mitty
Kone was the Prep2Prep CCS Sophomore of the Year last season. He is tough around the basket, has improved his free throw shooting and came up big in last season's come-from behind win against Serra in the CCS title game, scoring 28 points.
Sebastian Much, Sophomore, F, 6-7, Mitty
Much played varsity as a freshman last season at St. Margaret’s in San Juan Capistrano. He averaged 11.2 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. He also shot 53.8 percent from the field and made 9-of-31 from 3-point range. The new Monarch has already scored 24 points in an early season game.
Tommy Nuno, Junior, G, 6-3, Half Moon Bay
Averages 11.7 points per game. Has been shooting 41 percent from the floor (20 of 49) and 80 percent from the line (28-35). Started last season as a sophomore.
Kevin Mullin, Senior, G, 6-1, Palo Alto
Averaging 19.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.2 steals per game in leading Paly to a 4-1 record.
David Parsons, Senior, F, 6-2, Sacred Heart Cathedral
Clutch shooter and double-figure scorer. Last-second 3-pointer sent WCAL playoff game against Serra into overtime -- a game Irish won. Also made a key length-of-the-court shot for Irish last season.
Daniel Rosenbaum, Senior, G, 6-3, Los Altos
Has averaged 19 points per game through two games. Led Knights to league title last season.
Eddie Stansberry, Junior, G, 6-2, Riordan ,
Played varsity as a freshman on a strong Serra team. Departed San Mateo for Riordan at tail end of freshman year and sat out his sophomore year. Big and athletic, Stansberry will handle the ball and provide scoring for Crusaders and he also rebounds well.
Isaiah Stewart, Senior, F, 6-4, Piedmont Hills ,
Averaged 8.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in complementing graduated Pirates' big man Walter Bateast last season.
Jimmy Wohrer, Senior, 6-2, G, Serra
Streaky shooter who can hit 3-pointers in bunches, making five in the first half alone en route to a 22-point night in a win against Fairfield. He also connecting on his first two 3's to give Serra a 6-0 lead en route to a blowout win against Logan. Made all-tourney at De La Salle.
Kaijae Yee-Stephens, Senior, G, 6-2, Junior, Santa Cruz
Averaging 25.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, six assists and two steals per game this season. Soquel coach Stu Walters calls Yee-Stephens "the real deal."
On the bubble: Mo Abdurasal (Fremont), Trevor Brown (Serra), Adam Dietz (Leigh), Kiree Hutchings (Santa Cruz), Julian Jones (Wilcox), Jake Killingsworth (Serra), Cristian Mejia (Milpitas), James Slaney (Homestead).
