Cal-Hi All-State teams are hard to make. Here’s why it is so tough to be named
From an initial pool of hundreds, boiled down to dozens, selecting an all-state basketball team of the top high school players in the most populated state in the country is a tireless task to behold, a process to be appreciated.
For the staff at Cal-Hi Sports, it’s not much different than heading to the beach with a bucket and attempting to thin out the ocean.
Good luck with that.
Headed by Cal-Hi founder Mark Tennis of Sacramento-area roots and aided by guru assistants Ronnie Flores for boys selections and Harold Abend for the girls teams, Cal-Hi has unveiled its teams for the 2018-19 seasons. Calhisports.com has All-State teams dating to 1982 and breaks down all of this season’s selections.
No Sacramento-area players made the 2019 Cal-Hi Sports Elite Boys Basketball Team, which isn’t a slight on this region. It’s reflective of how much talent there in is Southern California, which towers over the NorCal scene in sheer number of athletes and teams, championships and scholarships (the same can be said of the girls).
The 10-member All-State team included five-star players and those who competed on nationally ranked powerhouse programs, including Mr. Basketball Onyeka Okongwu, who led his Chino Hills team to the CIF State Division I championship last month at Golden 1 Center.
The NorCal Player of the Year is Jalen Green of San Joaquin Memorial, a five-star guard. He was the only NorCal player on the squad, one that included Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth stars KJ Martin and Cassius Stanley, a team that beat Sheldon in each of the past two CIF Open Division state finals.
Playoff success is always a critical factor, much like how The Bee selects its All-Metro teams (parents pounding their chests on statistics and go winless in the playoffs have an empty audience). These are common-sense teams.
Bee co-Player of the Year Marcus Bagley of Sheldon made Cal-Hi’s second team as a guard/wing, the only NorCal player to make that group. He is a junior.
Bagley made Cal-Hi’s 15-member First Team Open/Division I team, and Bee co-Player of the Year Justin Nguyen made the Third Team. Franklin guard Leland Estacio of Franklin made the Fourth Team. Guard Levelle Bailey of Burbank and guard Steven Richardson of Grant were first-team Division II picks.
The Cal-Hi girls teams All-State Elite Team and for those by division will be posted this weekend.
Baseball showcase – The 11th Albie Swingin’ for Life Baseball Showcase features four games of prominent programs at Sacramento City College’s Union Stadium.
The event has raised more than $125,000 to help those diagnosed with breast cancer in the region, including services to provide resources, financial assistance, testing and advocacy. The event was created in 2002 in memory of Albie Carson. Her husband, Doug Carson, created this foundation. More information can be found at Albieaware.org.
The schedule: Granite Bay vs. St. Mary’s of Stockton at 10 a.m; Whitney vs. NorCal No. 1 De La Salle at 1 p.m.; defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion Vacaville vs. Elk Grove at 4 p.m., and Bee No. 2 Jesuit vs. rival Christian Brothers at 7 p.m.
Streaking – Defending section D-V champion Colfax has won 13 consecutive games under first-year coach Chris Nave, storming to a 10-1 start in the Pioneer Valley League.
John Louis Pantlick is batting .415 with 39 RBI, and pitchers Jason Holm, Jaron Nicholas and Alex Weir are a combined 12-0 for the Falcons (18-6).
Woodland (15-4) had its 15-game winning streak halted but remains in first place in the Golden Empire League under coach Joe Whitehead.
Cooper Hjerpe leads the team with 33 RBI and in strikeouts as the staff ace with 77 in 32 innings.
Halls of Fame – Nevada Union and Placer are having athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and dinners Saturday, reflective of the history of the programs.
For Nevada Union, the inductees include football cornerstones in football coach Dave Humphers, a 195-game winner and leader of four football section title teams, volleyball coaches Larry Peterson and Bob Rogers (six section and three NorCal titles) and athletes Chad Bartlome, Steven Conrad, Ali Daley, Erik Flores, Joe Hart, Jefferson Heidelberger, Spencer Havner, Brennan McFadden, Josh Roenicke, Jon Sheets, Josh Van Matre and Lauren Zealear.
Longtime football team chaplain and statistician Andy Owens, photographer John Hart and public-address voice Fred Anderson are also being inducted for their years of dedication.
For Placer, inductees date to basketball player Effa Lardner Gordon of 1910. Other athletes inducted: Terry Banderas, Ron Childs, Jerry Lopes, Larry Prewitt and Chris Wallgren.
Placer’s 11-0 football team that was state-ranked No. 1 at Division II by Cal-Hi Sports will be inducted, as will rifle coach Frank Bonito and team physician Bill Kirby.
Lardner Gordon was the captain and leading scorer for the Placer girls basketball teams from 1907-10, decades before the Title IX mandate for gender equity became law. This was an era when girls played six on six and the court divided into three zones.
Placer traveled by train to face teams in Chico, Marysville, Nevada City, Oroville, Sacramento and Woodland, and some games were contested outdoors on dirt, according to Placer Hall of Fame director Bob Burge, who found in the Placer Herald accounts from that time that players competed in rain, overcame officiating and blamed one defeat on a dance from the night before.