Elbaum, Diaz lead way

Veterans guide inexperienced Charger boys’ basketball team




SLASH—Agoura’s Matthew Elbaum drives to the hoop at practice. Elbaum is one of the best guards in the Marmonte League.

SLASH—Agoura’s Matthew Elbaum drives to the hoop at practice. Elbaum is one of the best guards in the Marmonte League.

Twelve players graduated from the Chargers’ roster last year.

Only two are back.

Matthew Elbaum and Chris Diaz are three-year varsity veterans for Agoura High’s boys’ basketball team. The Chargers don’t just need Elbaum and Diaz to play well, they need the senior leaders and honors students to elevate the rest of the squad, too.

“Matt and Chris need to do extra work to keep the team together,” head coach Conley Oliver said. “They’re going to have to pull those guys along. That’s going to take a lot of work. That part’s going to be a challenge.

“I think they’re ready.”

Elbaum is a 5- foot- 10, 155-pound point guard who relentlessly attacks the rim with his speed and herky-jerky dribble drives. As a sophomore, he deferred to standout Ky Feldman, currently a sophomore guard for Syracuse, which reached the Final Four in the spring. Last season, Elbaum played second fiddle to Hudson Miller.

This season, Elbaum must instigate the offense. He’s the team’s most proficient player at creating his own offense.

He’ll get help from Diaz, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound forward and . . . point guard. That’s not a misprint: Agoura’s leading rebounder last winter will man point forward this season, giving Elbaum more freedom to run on the wing and get open. Diaz will continue to crash the glass, and he’ll be asked to defend opponents’ best players.

Bennett Wise, a senior point guard, spoke highly of Elbaum and Diaz.

“They bring a lot of experience,” said Wise, an outside hitter for the volleyball team. “They’re teaching us what to expect, giving us pointers on the intensity and how things work at the varsity level. We have to play as a team now more than ever, especially when we go on the road in hostile environments.”

Elbaum and Diaz know a thing or two about playing well on the road. They helped Agoura defeat Thousand Oaks 49-47 last season on the road.

What will Diaz remember most fondly about that winter night in January?

“The thrill of silencing the Green Hole,” Diaz said of Thousand Oaks’ rabid fan base.

Elbaum said he will relish leading the Chargers with Diaz, admitting that the team can’t rely solely on talent.

“It’s almost like we’re mentoring these guys, showing them the ropes,” Elbaum said. “We don’t have (superior) size or athleticism. We have hustle guys who’ll dive for loose balls. We’ll win because we’ll hustle and make hard plays and play tough.”

Diaz agreed with his teammate.

“I like how we’re the underdogs,” Diaz said. “We’re going to have to fight and grit out every win.”

Elbaum has spent the offseason developing a more consistent shot in the midrange and beyond the arc. He opened the season by scoring 24 points in a 62-56 loss to Windward on Nov. 21.

He has matured since joining the Chargers as a waterbug point guard in 2014. He speaks eloquently about the game and his role on this team.

“I expect great things because I do,” he said. “It’s a mentality. I don’t want to cruise through the season without winning, because this is it. You want to make the most of it.

“I feel the pressure to win games, but we don’t have to worry about individual stats. We’re looking to get wins, however possible.”

Elbaum, who sports a 3.95 grade-point average, is open to playing basketball at the next level. He’d like to study business in college, but he wants to have a career in the wide world of sports. His brother, Joey, is an Agoura freshman who plays volleyball and is active in theater.

The point guard said Diaz has steadily improved.

“Chris has matured a lot,” Elbaum said. “The year before, he played passively. He’s really taken charge.”

Diaz is playing confidently and aggressively. He’s gotten accustomed to banging in the paint against redwoods.

“It’s hard to box out 6-foot-8 guys,” he said. “I had to work hard every single chance I had.”

He’s relishing his chance to lead the Chargers on and off the court.

“I love doing this,” Diaz said. “For better or worse, win or lose, I’m there for them.”

Diaz, who has a 4.2 GPA, is active in Worldwide Soap, a nonprofit which donates soap to impoverished areas. He’d like to study business in college, and his first choice is the University of Washington in Seattle. His older siblings Peter and Lauren played hoops for Agoura.

Elbaum and Diaz are important to the Chargers. They’ve been a part of the team for every year Oliver, a third-year coach, has led the school.

“Chris and Matthew will be special this year, even in tough games,” Oliver said. “I told them that this will be a difficult year for them. They said, ‘We’re going to do the best we can for you, Coach.’”

Oliver has an idea of how he’ll react on senior night, when Agoura will play its last regular season home game.

“I’m thankful that they’re going to give me their time and energy this year. I’ll probably end up crying at the end of the year,” the coach said.

“I’m thankful to have guys like that in our program.”

Email sports editor Eliav Ap- pelbaum at eliav@theacorn.com.


STAND UP GUYS—Matthew Elbaum, left, and Chris Diaz are senior leaders for the Agoura High boys’ basketball team.

STAND UP GUYS—Matthew Elbaum, left, and Chris Diaz are senior leaders for the Agoura High boys’ basketball team.

Chris Diaz

Chris Diaz

 

 

 

 

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