Prep notes: One of the best area basketball coaches gets a rare honor
Mike Wall wanted to surprise and honor his mentor and friend at the same time.
He did.
Wall is Folsom High School’s longtime boys basketball coach, a multiple Sac-Joaquin Section champion who has for years picked the considerable brain of Stan Harms, one of the area’s most charismatic and classy champions.
Harms is a household name in regional coaching, having coached Folsom from 1978-95, the last 13 of those as varsity head coach. Harms was moved to find out Friday the annual Folsom Basketball Classic would now bear his name — during the actual tournament.
That happened Friday as Well made the announcement the event will now be known as the Stan Harms Classic. Nearly 50 former players, friends and family were on hand to soak it in. Harms’ best team was in 1985, a group that went 34-2 and won the CIF State Division III championship. Harms during that playoff run called his Bulldogs, “a team of destiny, and we will win.”
Harms has spent retirement bouncing from football games in Loomis to basketball games near and far, and he has called Wall, “a great coach and person, and we’re lucky to have him.”
Hot shots at national level
Top-ranked Sheldon went 3-1 in the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, a national showcase that showed the Huskies are again at a national level.
Led by Arizona State-bound wing Marcus Bagley, Sheldon beat Riverdale Baptist of Maryland 69-63, Westchester of Los Angeles 48-37, lost to highly ranked Gorman of Las Vegas and then beat longtime power Mater Dei of Santa Ana 70-62.
On Thursday, Sheldon and coach Joey Rollings hit the road again. It plays Gulliver Prep of Miami in the national Torrey Pines Tournament in Southern California.
No. 4 Davis is 9-0 under longtime coach Dan Gonzalez and has early big wins over ranked Oak Ridge (66-47) and Wood (77-58).
Last season, Gonzalez in his 20th year led his program to its first playoff victory since 1999.
The Kendall Arnett Tournament at Placer is the longest-running such event in the state, in its 78th year.
It starts Thursday and ends Saturday and tips off with Foothill of Palo Cedro against Del Campo at 3:30 p.m. followed by: Del Oro-Rio Americano, Nevada Union-Union Mine and Placer-Bear River.
Natomas’ Mitchell is prolific
Scoring in bunches in relative obscurity on the girls front is Erikah Mitchell.
A senior guard, Mitchell has dropped in games of 34 points, 41, 48 and 61 and leads the section in scoring at 26.9 points a game.
“Great kid,” Natomas coach Don Mosher said. “Very coachable. She is a pure shooter, dropping three’s from NBA range, and when shots are not falling, she is a tremendous driver.”
Now the bad news: Mitchell on Friday went down against Johnson, suffering a microfracture in her right foot. She will know more about her injury after visiting with a doctor.
Mosher has two guards of note. The other is Aaliyah Holston, also a senior. She and Mitchell are team captains for a Nighthawks team that is 6-8 and seeks the program’s first winning season since going 14-13 in 2010-11.. Holston is averaging 12.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists and had 23 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in an 86-42 win over Mesa Vede.
“I’ve been coaching in Sacramento for 25-plus years and that was one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen at this level,” Mosher said of that triple-double.
Mosher is leaning on his captains to lead a young team, saying, “they are true team leaders who have taken the reins and pushed their teammates more than any coach good. Both are good in the classroom and the best of friends.”
Woodcreek off to a historic start
Woodcreek (11-2) is off to one of its best starts in school history. The Timberwolves knocked off previously second-ranked Oak Ridge 49-41 at its home tournament, the Trojan Clash.
Woodcreek has been led by captains Sophia Covello and Abbey Moore and top scorer from last season, Eden Perry.
Placer rolls on
The Chavez Christmas Classic between Foothill Valley League rivals Placer and Lincoln went down to the wire. Placer senior Kylie Garten nailed two free throws in overtime with less than a minute left to seal a 36-34 win and move to 10-2. Michelle Chamberlin, Baylor Herlehy and Taryn Ryan earned all-tournament honors for the Hillmen.
Parry Milestone
Del Oro forward Madison Parry made history at the Mike “Tako” Takayama Memorial tournament, becoming the program’s all-time leading rebounder, passing Meghan Griffith, whose previous record was 893.
An all-time program great as a scorer and defender, Parry is the daughter of Del Oro defensive coordinator Josh Parry, who had brief stints in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks.
Brickhandler on the move
Whitney junior quarterback Eli Brickhandler has transferred to Pittsburg High School in the Bay Area.
Brickhandler passed for 2,259 yards and 18 touchdowns this season and rushed for 743 yards and eight scores. He helped power Whitney to the section D-II championship game after the Wildcats went 0-10 in 2018.
“I’m definitely excited for a new start and just to see where life and God takes me on my path,” Brickhandler said. “Whitney served me great and got me through my freshman to junior years. I know that I’m making this decision and it was not anyone else’s decision. It’s a business decision and a decision I’m going to live with forever. It’s time to put my head down and start grinding.”
THE BEE’S TOP 20 BOYS BASKETBALL RANKINGS
Boys
1. Sheldon (7-0)
2. Jesuit (7-1)
3. Whitney (12-1)
4. Davis (6-0)
5. Vanden (7-2)
6. Capital Christian (5-4)
7. Monterey Trail (7-2)
8. Grant (7-3)
9. Franklin (8-4)
10. Folsom (7-4)
11. Oak Ridge (8-2)
12. Woodcreek (13-2)
13. Rocklin (10-2)
14. Inderkum (5-2)
15. Vacaville (9-2)
16. Ponderosa (8-4)
17. Wood (8-2)
18. Christian Brothers (9-5)
19. Bradshaw Christian (8-4)
20. Elk Grove (6-1)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Antelope (8-5), Burbank (8-4), Cosumnes Oaks (7-3), Del Campo (10-3), Del Oro (8-5), El Dorado (10-3), Lincoln (9-5), Oakmont (8-2), Rio Americano (6-4), Union Mine (7-5).
- Joe Davidson
Girls
1. Antelope (8-0)
2. McClatchy (11-0)
3. Woodcreek (11-2)
4. Oak Ridge (8-2)
5. Vanden (10-1)
6. Folsom (7-2)
7. Del Oro (8-3)
8. Laguna Creek (9-1)
9. Placer (10-2)
10. Franklin (10-3)
11. Granite Bay (7-5)
12. Colfax (8-3)
13. Christian Brothers (8-5)
14.Vista del Lago (6-3)
15. Lincoln (9-2)
16. St. Francis (6-6)
17. Rocklin (9-5)
18. Monterey Trail (9-0)
19. Bear River (8-0)
20. Grant (6-5)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Capital Christian (6-4), Forest Lake Christian (10-3), Inderkum (6-3), Nevada Union (6-5), Pioneer (11-2), Rio Americano (7-3), River Valley (8-3), Sacramento (3-6), Sheldon (8-6), Whitney (4-8).
- Cameron Salerno