Jason Llantero will coach the Woodside High boys basketball team after all, said Wildcats athletic director Chuck Velschow.
Llantero served as the Wildcats' interim coach mid-way through last season after a team hazing incident led to the ouster of the previous coach. He was a finalist for the permanent position last spring, but Ola Dean -- the former St. Mary's-Albany coach -- was hired.
"Ola coached summer league and then decided he was done with high school and then Jason was appointed," Velschow said. "Jason is a great guy and an experienced coach, he's on campus, has high integrity and he's put together a good staff."
Said Dean, now an assistant at Notre Dame De Namur, by text: "I had been considering moving on to the college level for several years and decided to make the jump after being offered the NDNU position this summer. My goal is to return to the DI college level in the Bay Area and to one day coach in the NBA and/or pro overseas. I decided that Woodside wasn't right for me for many reasons and decided to resign after summer league."
Dean, a former Tamalpais High star, played at Cal with a team ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation that included St. Joseph's grad Jason Kidd and former Kennedy-Fremont High standout Lamond Murray. Both were standouts in the NBA.
Llantero played basketball at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High. He is an admirer of iconic coach Bob Knight and attended his camps at both Indiana and Texas Tech and also of Utah coach Rick Majerus and attended Majerus's camp as well. He also admires pro coach Gregg Popovich.
Llantero hopes to bring stability to Woodside basketball.
"Our coaching staff plans to revitalize the program and face any challenges in front of us. Moving forward, our staff will
focus on empowering the students while they are on the journey of becoming the best people they can be. Team success will be a by-product of our combined aspirations and our commitment to one another," Lantero said via release.
Besides his stint as the interim coach at Woodside last season, Llantero coached underclassmen ball at his old high school before becoming a varsity assistant. He is a teacher at Woodside after getting his credential from San Jose State.
Llantero -- a fan of the Golden State Warriors, Oakland A's and San Francisco 49ers -- was married (Erika) last year.
Woodside is also seeking a softball coach, said Velschow, following the retirement after seven years of former coach Mike King.
