Shanan Rosenberg has had an extensive coaching career serving as the lead assistant coach at Canada College in Redwood City,
Calif., for four years. He was graduate assistant at Chico State University for a year. Rosenberg was also the assistant head coach at
Lewis and Clark College for three years and head coach at Foothill College in Los Altos, Calif., for 11 years.
At Foothill College, Rosenberg took over the struggling basketball program in 2002. By the time he left the position this past year,
the program had obtained the best single-season record, 22-5, in Foothill’s history with a number five final state ranking. Foothill
had become an annually top-10 regionally ranked program and over an 11 year span, the student-athletes achieved a 99 percent
graduation rate.
Now, Rosenberg is starting a new journey here at Linfield College. With his impressive background, Rosenberg has a strong skill set
that will give him an edge for the upcoming basketball season.
“I’m focused on moving forward,” Rosenberg said. “From a game-coaching standpoint I have a substantial amount of experience and
enthusiasm that I can bring to this post. I’m really excited about building a unique culture that represents Linfield men’s basketball as a
team of success on the court, in the classroom and in the community.”
Rosenberg also refers to another major addition to the program. Mickey Polis, the new assistant coach, will also give the team an
edge for the upcoming season. Polis graduated from Portland State University in 2009 and played as a transfer student for Linfield for
two seasons. During that time, the Portland State team won 46 games, two Big Sky Tournament titles and qualified twice for the NCAA
tournament.
“Mickey is a great addition to our program,” Rosenberg said. “Together we will bring a lot of experience, energy, work ethic and love
in shaping the future of men’s basketball into a highly esteemed and coveted program.”
So why would a tenured professor with one of the most successful basketball programs in the nation want to start fresh in a small
town like McMinnville? Not to mention a basketball program that has been weak for the past couple of years.
A connection to Linfield was made early in the his career when he served as assistant head coach at Lewis and Clark College. He
explained while even playing against Linfield, he always felt that there was a sort of gravity the school had that always seemed to draw
him in.
“Linfield College has always been on my short list of ideal jobs over the past 14 years,” Rosenberg said. “The college has great
tradition and an academic environment that I aspire to be a part of, and the McMinnville community is a great fit for my family. There is
great potential for the team to be successful and I bring a strong teaching background in kinesiology. This was the ultimate opportunity
for me both professionally and personally.”
As for what we can expect from the team, not much can be said quite yet.
“I don’t have a history with the current players so it’s definitely a learning curve for me,” Rosenberg said. “My immediate job as a
coach is to see what I have to work with, and make the most of our personnel.”
What seems to be most important to coach Rosenberg is creating a sense of community with not only the men’s basketball program
but also the rest of Linfield community.
“We want people to watch us play and get excited about our team,” Rosenberg said. “We want our teams to be something that the
Linfield and McMinnville community can enjoy and thoroughly support.”
The basketball season starts Nov. 1 with an exhibition match against Western Oregon University.
By Camille Weber / Sports columnist
