SOQUEL >> Chris Christensen, 49, has been promoted from junior varsity to varsity coach for Soquel High’s boys basketball program.

Christensen replaces Greg Baskovich, who led the Knights the past two seasons.

Soquel (14-14, 6-4) took third place in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League last season and qualified for the Central Coast Section Division IV playoffs. The team’s success was hindered in the preseason by the absence of several starters who were busy helping the football team win the CIF 4-AA state championship.

Baskovich had hoped to return for a third season, but the Knights elected to go a different direction.

“He’s a great guy,” said Stu Walters, the Knights’ athletics director, of Christensen. “He’ll do a really great job. He’s a hard worker. I’m excited to see how it goes.”

Christensen, the founder of Precision Physical Therapy & Fitness, counted Golden State’s two-way basketball players in Santa Cruz among his clients from 2012-22.

Christensen played basketball at Gilroy High in the late 80s and early 90s. After high school, he played one season under legendary coach Bob Williams at UC Davis and his final three seasons at UC San Diego.

He coached one season at Orange Glen High in Escondido before he returned to UCSD and served as an assistant coach for two seasons.

He and his wife, Brenda, had two boys: Cole, a sophomore at Soquel, and Brady, an eighth-grader at Aptos Junior High.

Christensen had no intention of coaching the junior varsity team last year because he didn’t want to coach his sons. But the school had a vacancy and he was more than qualified.The Knights could return several players who saw significant action last season, among them Nico Ramirez, Steely Deans, D’Rell Hopkins, Chase Petersen, and Tanner Trowbridge. The latter three play football.

“We have six to seven seniors who want to make something happen this year,” Christensen said. “I need to teach them to compete and win as a team.”

Christensen said his No. 1 priority is to change the culture of the program and have his players compete with synergy.

“I want to create an opportunity for these kids to learn something besides basketball,” he said, noting that his players will also be heavily involved in community service. “I want them to get engaged in the community. And, in return, the community will get engaged in the team.”

The Knights open their season with a home game against Westmont on Nov. 26.

Without divulging too much, Christensen gave an idea on what fans might expect to see.

“We’re going to play with a little more pace and tempo this year than we have in the past,” the coach said. “It’s going to give more kids an opportunity to play.”