Game on: The Bee’s All-Decade girls and boys prep basketball teams
We will take our five against any other five, and then some.
In trying to come up with The Sacramento Bee’s All-Decade Teams for girls and boys basketball, we took it literal: a complete team.
We went with a full roster of 15 and will go at anyone in waves of five with length, skill, tenacity and sheer will.
The girls Player of the Decade was no easy selection, so we went with one who competed only in this decade. We pondered Sara James, one of the region’s all-time greats, but three of her varsity seasons were last decade at Oak Ridge. We might have gone with Gigi Garcia of McClatchy, the focal point of The Team of the Decade, but she missed her senior season due to injury. And Jzaniya Harriel may be the Player of the Decade for the 2020s as the Antelope star is only a junior.
So we go with a sure thing in four-year starting Folsom playmaking guard McKenzie Forbes, as skilled, dominant and determined of a player as we have covered in our 31 years on The Bee beat. She made the game fast and fun. She learned to play against the guys, including brother Mason Forbes, who made the boys All-Decade list for Folsom for more than just his famous ‘fro.
The siblings have always been close as twins. Both are at Harvard, which speaks of their academic prowess. In 128 varsity games, Forbes averaged 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and her squads went 54-10 her final two seasons.
The boys Player of the Decade was no easy pick, either.
Do we go with someone from Sheldon, the top regional program this decade under Coach of the Decade Joey Rollings? And which one? The only active player for the boys All-Decade Team is Sheldon’s Marcus Bagley, fast becoming an all-time area great.
Do we go with Jordan Brown of Woodcreek, a national recruit, three-year starter who drove his program to record heights? Brown left for Prolific Prep in Napa following his junior season, shaping the regional hoops landscape.
We went with another Jordan, as in Jordan Ford, the dynamic and efficient point guard for Folsom. Ford was a two-time Bee’s Player of the Year and a four-time All-Metro pick. In 125 varsity games, Ford averaged 19.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Ford’s teams went 87-13 his final three seasons. He is in the midst of a stellar career at Saint Mary’s.
The girls Coaches of the Decade were sentimental choices with Mike Takayama of Del Oro and Larry Price of Florin and Elk Grove.
Neither won a CIF State championship, but they were champions by every other measure, and they are missed. A kindly fellow with a subtle sense of humor, Takayama died in 2016 from a heart attack at 56, a winner of two section titles and 18 league championships.
A tall and gregarious sort who dripped of sweat and intensity during games in leading two programs to record success, Price also succumbed to a heart attack, in 2018. He was 61, a beloved figure who called each of his players, “my girls.”
On the topic of classy coaches, John Langston led West Campus to back-to-back CIF State girls championships, in Division IV and III, and he earned back-to-back Bee Coach of the Year honors as he was also in the running for Coach of the Decade.
And more of the same theme: Jessica Kunisaki coached the Gigi Garcia-led McClatchy Lions to history in winning the 2015 CIF State Division I championship in double overtime against Serra of Gardena, the first for any sport in the Sacramento City Unified School District. Kunisaki is a graduate of the school.
The boys team also includes two players who became first-round draft picks in Marquese Chriss of Pleasant Grove and D.J. Wilson of Capital Christian, continuing this region’s tradition of such ascent.
Rollings this decade at Sheldon has won five section championships and the last two CIF Northern California Open Division titles. A native of Canada, Rollings he coaches with a fierce determination of defense and sharing the ball. Of all of his teams this decade, the one we chose as the Team of the Decade is the 2013 team that reached the CIF NorCal Open Division finals against Mitty of San Jose and Bay Area News Group Player of the Decade Aaron Gordon, now in the NBA..
That Sheldon team, led by four-year starters Dakarai Allen and D’Erryl Williams, led several area coaches to say it is the region’s second greatest behind the 1975 Bill Cartwright powerhouse at Elk Grove.
THE BEE’S ALL-DECADE GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM
Player of the Decade: McKenzie Forbes, Folsom
Team of the Decade: McClatchy, 2015
Coach of the Decade: Mike Takayama, Del Oro and Larry Price, Florin/Elk Grove
G Grace Bliss, Colfax, 2020
G Madeline Campbell, Del Oro, 2011
C Lauren Craig, St. Francis, 2016
G Jordan Cruz, McClatchy, 2017
G McKenzie Forbes, Folsom, 2018
F Gigi Garcia, McClatchy, 2016
G Jzaniya Harriel, Antelope, 2021
G Brandy Huffhines, Rio Linda, 2017
G Kiara Jefferson, West Campus, 2018
G Sara James, Oak Ridge, 2010
C Dalayna Sampton, Florin, 2014
G Brittany Shine, Sacramento, 2010
G Mira Shulman, Elk Grove, 2016
C Baylee Vanderdoes, Placer, 2016
G RyAnne Walters, Sacramento, 2019
All-Decade Coaching Staff (longtime coaches who won section titles or beyond): Mike Takayama, Del Oro and Larry Price, Florin/Elk Grove; Suzanne Baker, Capital Christian; Sean Chambers, Antelope; Ron Gulley, Christian Brothers; Jerry Huffhines, Rio Linda; Jessica Kunisaki, McClatchy; John Langston, West Campus; James McKeever, Pleasant Grove; Michele Massari, Sacramento; Jeff Ota, McClatchy; Vic Pitton, St. Francis; Mike Ruble, Bradshaw Christian; Rich Simpton, Colfax; Steve White, Oak Ridge.
THE BEE’S ALL-DECADE BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM
Player of the Decade: Jordan Ford, Folsom
Coach of the Decade: Joey Rollings, Sheldon
Team of the Decade: Sheldon (2013)
G Dakarai Allen, Sheldon, 2013
G Marcus Bagley, Sheldon, 2020
F Jordan Brown, Woodcreek, 2017
C Marquese Chriss, Pleasant Grove, 2015
G Dale Currie, Sheldon, 2018
F Elias King, Christian Brothers/Jesuit, 2018
C Mason Forbes, Folsom, 2018
G Jordan Ford, Folsom, 2016
F Cam Oliver, Grant, 2014
F Isaiah Pineiro, Placer, 2013
G Bryce Pressley, Jesuit, 2012
G Christian Terrell, Sacramento, 2016
G Jared Wall, Folsom, 2016
G D’Erryl Williams, Sheldon, 2013
F D.J. Wilson, Capital Christian, 2014
F Solomon Young, Sacramento, 2016
All-Decade Coaching Staff (longtime coaches who section champions, 300-plus games or a lot of NorCal success): Joey Rollings, Sheldon; John DePonte, Pleasant Grove; Lindsey Ferrell, Burbank; Nick French, Whitney; Greg Harcos, Jesuit; Paul Hayes, Woodcreek; Drew Hibbs, Foothill/Woodcreek; Devon Jones, Capital Christian; Rob Richards, Antelope; Patrick Roth, Cosumnes Oaks; Dean Stark, Sacramento Waldorf; Derek Swafford, Sacramento; Steve Taylor, Rocklin; Scott Tedmon, Sacramento Adventist; Mike Wall, Folsom; Josh Williams, Liberty Ranch; Deonard Wilson, Grant; Fred Wilson, West Campus.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 10:38 AM with the headline "Game on: The Bee’s All-Decade girls and boys prep basketball teams."