Golshani hired as Warriors' boys basketball coach

Moe Golshani has been hired as the new Fallbrook High School boys' basketball coach.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity," Golshani said.

Golshani replaces Ryan Smith, who took the position as the Oceanside High School coach. Golshani was hired March 3.

"It's a tremendous hire," Pat Walker, athletic director at Fallbrook High School, said. "He is something special."

Golshani did not coach during 2019-2020 but was the head boys' coach at Bishop Manogue Catholic High School in Reno, Nevada, for the previous five seasons. During those seasons, the Miners reached the Northern Nevada championship game three times, and twice were undefeated in Sierra League play.

Bishop Manogue also reached the 2018 Nevada state championship game before losing to Bishop Gorman High School of Las Vegas, and in 2019 the Miners won the Northern Nevada 4A championship and were in the final four at the state tournament.

Golshani also coached the Northern Nevada All-Star team in 2019, and several Bishop Manogue players received offers to play at the four-year or two-year college level.

"I'm pretty impressed with him," Walker said.

The path to the 2018 state championship game included a victory over top-seeded Canyon Springs High School of North Las Vegas.

"We did not have a player over 6-foot-3 that played," Golshani said. "We found a way to pressure them defensively."

Defeating Canyon Springs gave Bishop Manogue a berth in the final against Bishop Gorman. "We hung tough with them for three quarters," Golshani said.

Golshani made a sufficient impression upon Grant Rice, the head coach at Bishop Gorman that Rice served as a reference in Golshani's application to coach at Fallbrook High School. The other three references Golshani listed are assistant coaches at four-year colleges.

The references indicated that Golshani's skills include mentorship as well as tactics.

"Those kinds of things are powerful," Walker said.

The 6-foot-2 Golshani, who was raised in the Sacramento suburb of Roseville, was a three-sport athlete at Sacramento Lutheran High School before his 1998 graduation. Golshani was a point guard and shooting guard on the Panthers' basketball team, primarily a tight end with some snaps at offensive line for the football team, and a third baseman and first baseman on the baseball team.

Tom Abatemarco, head basketball coach at Sacramento State University, offered Golshani a scholarship, but Golshani broke a bone in his foot. He opted against surgery, and with the support of Abatemarco, he played junior college basketball at Sierra College in Rocklin during his freshman year. He broke the same bone while at Sierra College, however, ended his playing career as well as his season.

His brother and his brother's friends were on an Amateur Athletic Union team, so Golshani began coaching at the AAU level.

"I fell in love with the game as far as being a coach," he said.

Before Golshani moved to Northern Nevada, he coached Check-Up AAU Basketball Club teams ranging from third grade to high school varsity. He also joined the coaching staff of Mira Loma High School in Sacramento in 1999, and he was the head junior varsity coach and assistant varsity coach for nine seasons.

Golshani was not an on-campus coach and professionally is in the automobile dealership business. He moved to Reno, Nevada, in 2009 and became the general manager of a Dodge dealership. In 2012 he founded the Reno Kings AAU Basketball Club and was involved in that until relocating to Orange County in 2019.

In Nevada, 4A is the highest classification, and like California, the divisions are based on competitive balance rather than enrollment. Bishop Manogue Catholic High School has an enrollment of approximately 600 students.

"Kids bought in. That's the most important thing," Golshani said. "You can't compromise toughness and effort. Those are the things that will lead you to victory down the road as we develop as a team."

Golshani cited a second important factor.

"You've got to have the parents' support and understanding," he said.

Golshani will seek a tough preleague schedule for the Fallbrook High School team.

"I feel like that makes us better mentally down the stretch," he said.

The Dodge dealership was sold in 2019. Golshani moved to the Laguna Niguel/Dana Point border and took a year off from coaching.

"I saw the opening for the Fallbrook job," he said.

A Fallbrook position also eliminated the conflict of coaching his daughter's team. Golshani's older daughter is a freshman at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita. His younger daughter is in sixth grade at St. Mary's in Aliso Viejo.

Golshani learned more about Fallbrook.

"It was about an hour drive each way," he said.

The town itself rather than the location appealed to Golshani.

"You're the coach for the community," he said. "I'm excited about the fact that it's a small community."

The interview for the Fallbrook High School position was by Zoom teleconference, but Golshani visited the high school itself.

"I drove down and took a look at the campus," he said.

Fallbrook had an 18-9 record in 2019-20 after finishing 1-25 in 2018-2019. The 2019-2020 squad which reached the CIF Division V semifinals included six seniors.

"It's kind of like a rebuilding situation," Golshani said. "We have a lot of young kids. We can groom these kids into our system."

Golshani experienced rebuilding a program with Bishop Manogue, whose records were 4-20 for the 2012-2013 season and 11-11 in 2013-2014 before the Miners posted an 18-9 record in his first season as head coach.

"I look forward to doing the same thing here and most importantly getting to know and being a part of the community of Fallbrook," Golshani said.

"I'm excited that he's going to be able to connect with the community," Walker said.

"I want to build a culture with longevity," Golshani said. "I want to build something stable."

Golshani said that the hometown feel of Fallbrook can augment success.

"I believe it's going to be awesome," he said. "It uplifts the entire community. That's what I'm excited about, being part of the success of the entire community."

Tryouts began March 13.

"This year's going to be a challenge," Golshani said.

The coronavirus shutdown compressed the normal fall, winter and spring CIF seasons into two seasons, so athletes who play multiple sports will have to select a sport.

"I actually encourage my kids to play multiple sports," Golshani said.

If the three-season format is returned for 2021-2022 the basketball program will likely have more players. Golshani said he prefers the current situation to not playing at all.

"I'm glad that the CIF decided to move forward with this," he said.

"I'm asking the kids to get excited because the way we play is going to be fun," Golshani said. "I'm really excited to get back in the gym."

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].