Taking Up the Gauntlet at Pierce : DiMuro’s Challenge Involves Building Basketball Program From Scratch

Rob DiMuro is in the unenviable postion of starting a basketball program from scratch. His team, such as it is, has no center and no star.

So why was DiMuro smiling as he sat and watched six of his players go three-on-three in the Pierce College gym.

Well, for starters, coaching Pierce’s women’s team is the first collegiate job DiMuro has landed.

And secondly, he is pleased with the work ethic of his recruiting class.

“These girls are all the hardest workers on their high school teams,” DiMuro, 24, said between shouts of encouragement. “They were all starters, but not one was a high school MVP.”

Pierce has not fielded a women’s basketball team in four years, and when school administrators decided to resurrect the program, they took on a sizable task.

There were no players, no uniforms, no schedule and no coach.

Marian McWilliams, Pierce’s athletic director, conceded that the job would be difficult.

“When I hired Rob for the job I tried to paint a very black picture,” McWilliams said. “Any time you drop a sport, it is double hard to bring it back.”

DiMuro, who lives in North Hollywood, was hired in May and immediately hit the recruiting trail.

“When I took the job a lot of people said that I would be lucky to win four games,” he said. “They said there weren’t any players left.”

Undaunted, DiMuro made a list of 25 players that he knew of and started making phone calls.

“I let them know what they are getting into,” DiMuro said of his recruits. “But it was a good opportunity for some. Many of the teams had a lot of players returning. They realized that they had a good chance to play.”

In three weeks, DiMuro had signed four players and found an assistant coach. Cris Cavalin, the captain on last season’s Cal State Northridge women’s team, has signed on to help DiMuro.

“Beginning was the hardest part,” DiMuro said. “I was calling schools and girls and I was getting no response.”

To find opponents, DiMuro took a less strategic approach. “I simply opened a college directory and began calling schools,” he said.

The Brahmas now have a full schedule that will begins Nov. 10 against Cypress.

Although the past two months have been hectic for DiMuro, he is no stranger to hard work.

At age 19, he landed his first coaching job, at a Catholic elementary school in Encino, and immediately led the team to its first playoff appearance in six years.

“That was my first taste of building something,” DiMuro said.

Two years later, DiMuro was named girl’s varsity basketball coach at Notre Dame High. It was a job some felt he was too young and too inexperienced to handle.

“I love that label; it makes people take me less serious,” DiMuro said.

Once again DiMuro was successful where others thought he would fail, leading the Knights to their first playoff appearance.

Despite his past success, DiMuro says that at times he has second thoughts about coaching at the college level.

“There are times when I feel apprehensive when jumping levels,” he said. “But the game is still the same, the team that plays the hardest and works the hardest wins.”

Carol Shoenmann, a 5-foot-10 forward, is the nucleus around which DiMuro will build Pierce’s team.

“Carol is a big addition,” DiMuro said. “She is a such a great leader. She has been a great coach on the floor. She is the reason that we will be competitive next year. Without her, we would be 10 freshmen.”

Shoenmann, who transferred from Cal State Los Angeles because she was unhappy with her playing time there, said that the Brahmas will attempt to use the underdog image to their advantage.

Indeed, Pierce’s new coach has a track record of doing just that.