Prep basketball notes: Milestone makers, surprising coaching turnover and rankings
’Tis the season to set basketball milestones.
Maile Williams of Capital Christian and Breckin Beaman of Sacramento Adventist Academy eclipsed 1,000-point barriers, and Jalen Patterson of Liberty Ranch has set new scoring marks in Galt.
A senior guard, Williams broke the 1,000-point mark when she dropped 32 points on Oakmont in a 94-58 victory Dec. 3. She has also gone for games of 33 and 31 points and is averaging 23.9 points for a 5-3 team while also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
A junior guard, Beaman went over 1,000 for his career when he pumped in 31 in a 61-56 win over Valley Christian Academy, also on Dec. 3. He is second on the school’s all-time career scoring list with 1,155 points to Griffin Trull (1,451). Beaman is averaging a state-best 32.4 points and 8.1 rebounds for the small-school powerhouse coached by a judge that has scheduled up big this year and is 2-6.
“Breckin’s had a profound impact on our program,” coach Scott Tedmon said. “His leadership, character, competitive greatness and relentless work ethic to constantly improve his game is second only to his commitment to team-first success.
“He’s put up these impressive numbers against legit competition and not against small-school walkovers. These big schools are running double teams, junk defense. He’s easily one of the top point guards in the region.”
Williams has earned similar praise from her varsity coaches at Inderkum, Elk Grove and now in her second season at Capital Christian. An honors student, Williams said of her feat, “I’m very blessed and grateful for staying healthy to achieve the milestone. I worked on my game during the offseason to become more of a complete two-way player at point guard. I love this game and continue to play through Christ and my grandma, who passed away in 2015.”
Patterson has lit it up for four varsity seasons at guard, including going for 26.2 points a game this season to go with 6.6 rebounds and 5.7 assists.
He went for 40 on 14-for-25 shooting in a 70-59 win over Laguna Creek on Dec. 5, scored 38 in a 75-68 loss to Cosumnes Oaks on Dec. 7 and put up 30 points in an 80-61 loss to 10-0 Gregori on Dec. 12. Patterson is the first in school history to make more than 200 3-pointers and leads the program all-time in free throws made and other marks.
Girls basketball
Top-ranked Antelope won the Cartwright Classic and the Rocklin Tournament behind leaders Jzaniya Harriel, Jordan Goodwin and Kaiija Lesane.
Two Sierra Foothill League powers won their respective tournament championships. No. 2 Oak Ridge won Trojan Clash Tournament over host Lincoln of Stockton 43-21. Oak Ridge has lost only to 9-0 Clovis West of Fresno, these Trojans led by Teagan Brown, Lauren Helwig, Erica Ingram, Megan McConnell and Sophie Olson.
No. 5 Folsom won the Folsom-Vista Classic, downing ranked St. Francis and Christian Brothers on Saturday after a Friday game was pushed back a day. Charity Gallegos claimed tournament MVP honors and Paisley Specht and Katie Harris made the all-tournament team.
Oak Ridge on Friday will host its annual Trojan Toss-Up that includes Folsom.
No. 6 Del Oro will host the fourth Mike “Tako” Takayama Memorial Tournament from Thursday through Saturday, dedicated to the program’s longtime coach known for class and charisma.
Takayama was the coach at Del Oro for 29 years and racked up 627 career wins, 18 league championships and 28 playoff teams. This event will include Capital Christian, Granite Bay, Colfax, Franklin, Oakmont, South Medford of Oregon and Foothill of Palo Cedro. Del Oro is led by returning Bee All-Metro guard Madison Parry, who is closing in on the career rebounding and scoring marks.
Boys basketball
The Bee’s top six ranked teams have no Sacramento-area losses, a factor in rankings as these are power rankings and not win-loss standings.
Sheldon, the two-time defending CIF Northern California Open Division champion, is 4-0 after winning a national tournament called Battlezone, downing Eisenhower of Rialto 97-66, Hillcrest of Riverside, Centennial of Corona 74-67 and Santa Clarita Christian of Canyoun County, 87-56. The Huskies were powered by star guard Marcus Bagley.
Sheldon opens another national tournament on Wednesday in the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas against Riverdale Baptist of Upper Marlboro, Md. Then there’s the Torrey Pines Tournament in Southern California, and finally, a local game on Jan. 8 with a Delta League opener at Franklin. Sheldon’s first home game is Jan. 17 against Pleasant Grove.
No. 2 Jesuit is 6-1, falling to Brophy Prep of Arizona 40-38 in the 46th Father Barry Classic.
Led by national recruit guard Isa Silva, Jesuit hosts rival Rio Americano on Friday, then competes in the Damien Classic in the Bay Area, a 48-team, three-division format with teams from the West Coast.
No. 8 Folsom hosts its 29th Bulldog Classic that starts Thursday and will Friday officially rename the event “The Stan Harms Classic” to honor the ageless and wondrous old coach who led the Bulldogs to the 1985 CIF State Division III championship. He remains a fixture at games, a supporter of current coach Mike Wall, the winningest coach in program history.
Coaching turnover
The new coach at Sacramento High is the former coach at Capital Christian, now led by a former assistant.
McCall Wollman was surprisingly let go after two playoff seasons at Capital Christian, and Earl Allen was even more surprisingly relieved of duty shortly before the season opener, which is the life of any coach who works with year-to-year “at-will” contracts.
Allen worked at Sac High for 21 seasons, the previous three as head coach with three playoff teams.
He was informed of the change by new Dragons athletic director Brady King, who then brought in Wollman to head the program.
“It’s never easy making changes but we like the coaches we have in place and people are excited,” King said.
Said Wollman, “I told the guys that the goals don’t change, that we’ve got to stay tight and together because we all love the game. It’s not an overnight process.”
Allen was stunned, and still is. He said after his dismissal, “I am completely devastated. I’ve given half my life to that place. I can tell you this: I did and have done absolutely nothing (wrong) and have never been disciplined my whole tenure there.”
Replacing Wollman at Capital is a familiar face in Matt Filer, a beloved figure on campus for years from his previous coaching stints there.
Capital Christian, ranked third by The Bee, competes in the Tarkanian Classic this week.
On Jan. 10, Capital Christian hosts Sacramento in a Capital Athletic League contest sure to be heavy on intrigue, talent and emotion.
The Bee’s Top 20 boys basketball rankings
1. Sheldon (4-0)
2. Jesuit (6-1)
3. Capital Christian (2-2)
4. Whitney (8-1)
5. Davis (6-0)
6. Vanden (7-1)
7. Grant (5-2)
8. Folsom (5-2)
9. Franklin (6-4)
10. Oak Ridge (8-2)
11. Woodcreek (9-2)
12. Rocklin (9-2)
13. Inderkum (4-2)
14. Ponderosa (6-2)
15. Vacaville (7-2)
16. Christian Brothers (8-3)
17. Elk Grove (6-1)
18. Sacramento (3-2)
19. Union Mine (6-3)
20t. Antelope (7-2)
20t. El Camino (7-3)
The Bee’s Top 20 girls basketball rankings
1. Antelope (6-0)
2. Oak Ridge (7-1)
3. McClatchy (9-0)
4. Vanden (5-0)
5. Folsom (6-1)
6. Del Oro (6-1)
7. Woodcreek (8-2)
8. Christian Brothers (6-3)
9. Vista del Lago (6-2)
10. Laguna Creek (9-1)
11. Franklin (8-2)
12. Placer (6-2)
13. Colfax (5-2)
14. St. Francis (5-4)
15. Sacramento (2-3)
16. Grant (5-4)
17. Granite Bay (6-3)
18. Whitney (4-6)
19. Lincoln (5-1)
20. Monterey Trail (7-0)
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 6:06 AM.