6-foot-0 Ohlone guard Matt Villanueva has known Cal State East Bay Head Coach Bryan Rooney since the baller began his freshman year of high school at Moreau Catholic. They would exchange a pleasant greeting plus a handshake each time the pair's hoops paths would cross. Rooney even developed a nickname for Villanueva, calling him "Shooter." Cal State East Bay also just happens to be situated five minutes from Villanueva's home. Well there's no need to bother suggesting that the two should join forces since that recently took place and now Villanueva will be manning the point for the Cal State East Bay basketball program.
"I loved the visit and it's local so it works for me and my family," said Villanueva, who likely took the shortest official recruiting trip of historical record on April 25. He says “ The well-respected Rooney is known for identifying and zeroing in on local/regional talents as often as possible and has successfully done so once again.
Not Something New
Villanueva gained familiarity with basketball recruiting processes after graduating from Moreau Catholic High. He began his hunt for a new basketball home by looking at multiple community colleges (and not necessarily including Ohlone at that point) and also by beginning to talk with D1 UC Riverside about walking on there. At that point, current Ohlone College Head Coach, Jordan Lee, was assisting at UC Riverside and he and Villanueva became acquainted. When Lee then landed the Ohlone job, the relationship continued and blossomed.
Of Lee, Villanueva said, "He runs a great program and we both share similarities in work ethic and race."
So how does Villanueva feel about his decision to head to Ohlone College post high school? "Coach Lee pushed me past my limits and kudos to him. I knew he would get me better in two years. These past two years I have never thrown up more in a program than Ohlone’s program."
This season, Villanueva averaged 10.9 points on 46%, 45% and 79% shooting respectively, alongside 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals. His production earned him both All Conference and First Team All Defense honors.
Villanueva is expecting to be positioned at the point.
Top Hoops Moment
Asked to detail his best basketball moment, Villanueva provided a curious, different, but very compelling answer, "My best basketball moment would be elevating my game between my junior and senior years during COVID. My mind completely shifted and so did my work ethic which defined myself and established my identity. I started working really hard, making sure I polished my game every opportunity I could. The switch was the mindset that I can make something happen with the game of basketball. Before, I was lazy, wasn't working hard, and thought I was good enough already."
"Now my work ethic is what separates me from a lot of people. I bring energy—I'm the Energy Guy—and I push my teammates to be better players and better people."
He noted a number of individuals in thanking those for their assistance in his basketball journey. "My family and friends are my #1 support system, Coach Larry Salas, the very first coach to ever put a basketball in my hands, Moreau Catholic Coach (Frank) Knight, Coach KP (Kelvin Potts) who helped with my skill development during my Team Arsenal days, (Ohlone Coach) Jordan Lee, (Ohlone Assistant Coach) Nate Millheim and (Ohlone Assistant Coach) Terrence Broussard in developing my game and helping me in becoming a mature young man."
Villanueva will major in Health Sciences because of the variety of jobs that it covers for which he will then be qualified to perform.