Prep basketball notes: Sheldon’s Marcus Bagley feels his brother’s (foot) pain
This was already the best basketball team in all of Northern California before the five-star recruit dropped out of the sky.
Or walked into the gym, but it felt that way — a gift from hoops heaven.
When Marcus Bagley arrived at Sheldon High School before the start of last season, the Huskies went from great to goodness-sakes great. A 6-foot-8 guard with a complete game, Bagley earned Bee co-Player of the Year honors last season in helping Sheldon go to the CIF State Open Division championship at Golden 1 Center.
A bulk of the Sheldon team returned this season with Bagley, who made The Bee’s All-Decade team, but the Arizona State-bound senior has been sidelined of late with a sore left foot. He is in a walking boot, though the Huskies have rolled on without him, improving to 19-4 after taking apart Jesuit 65-48 on Friday night in a Delta League contest.
If foot aches sound painfully familiar to regional basketball fans, here’s why: Bagley’s older brother, Marvin Bagley III of the Kings, has also been sidelined with left-foot soreness. He, too, has had a walking boot. Bagley III will be reevaluated in three weeks, the Kings said, putting him out through the All-Star Game.
Bagley of Sheldon has missed his team’s last five games, a stretch in which the Huskies have gone 4-1 with the setback coming to Missouri state-ranked No. 1 Vashon of St. Louis. Averaging 24.5 points, Bagley hopes to be back any day.
“We’ll see this week,” Bagley said in a text with a hands-up prayer emoji. “Going back to the doctor this week.”
Huskies lean on guards
Sheldon rolls on because of its experience, tremendous defense and depth. Coach Joey Rollings has been impressed with his team’s grit, saying, “We’ll always play hard and compete.”
Josh Williams has played like a Bee Player of the Year candidate at point guard, averaging nearly 15 points. He is flanked by guards who can defend, shoot and attack the rim in Xavion Brown and Xavier Brown with help from forwards Dontrell Hewlett and Darren Tobias.
Titan tall
No. 5 Burbank edged rival and No. 7 Grant 66-61 in a Metropolitan Conference thriller. Kyrie Dunn scored 17 and Tyree Gill had 15 to pace the Titans, but it was an unsung player who delivered the biggest shot. Sophomore Omari Nesbit hit a 3-pointer for a 62-61 lead, much to the joy of his mother, Cherrae Rushton, a star multi-sport athlete at Valley in the 1990s.
Burbank and 500-game winning coach Lindsey Ferrell are 7-1 in Metro play, two games ahead of Grant, with four games to go.
Bulldogs bite Rocklin
In a show of team growth, new No. 4 Folsom beat previous No. 3 Rocklin 70-66 on Friday night in a Sierra Foothill League contest. Rocklin won the first meeting 79-69 on Jan. 10.
Both teams are tied for first in the SFL at 5-1 with four games to go. Jaylen Wells led Folsom with 20 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter, and Mailk Rose had 16. Darrius Kendall led Rocklin with 16.
Girls basketball
The battle for the Sierra Foothill League title will come down to rivals Folsom and Oak Ridge. Both are 17-5 overall and 5-1 in league play. The Trojans beat Folsom 40-35 last week to take sole possession of first place. Oak Ridge opened league play with a loss to No. 14 Granite Bay 51-46. The teams meet in the league finale Feb. 14.
Union Mine is tied for first place in the Sierra Valley Conference with El Dorado after beating the Cougars 53-47 at home behind 27 points from Alli McDonald and 20 from Kyla Denualt. El Dorado won the first meeting 49-27 without McDonald in the lineup. Both teams are 6-1 in league play with three games to go.
Susac national notice
Jesuit pitcher Tonko Susac was selected by the Major League Baseball Prospect Development League as one of the top 80 juniors in the county.
The event takes place in Santa Clara from June 20 to July 8. The top 40 players from the league will play in Los Angeles on July 10 during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game weekend.
“It means a lot to me to be selected and it was one of my main goals going into the season,” Susac said. “When I got the email about it I was pumped and called my dad (John) right away and we were screaming about it over the phone.
“It’s an honor to be selected and recognized as one of the top 80 players in the country and I can’t wait to go compete in Santa Clara and prove myself with the best of the best.”
Susac is also looking forward to the upcoming baseball season that starts this month.
“We are going to have a very good team this year and we have a bitter taste in our mouth after last year’s loss (to Vacaville) in the Sac-Joaquin Section championship,” Susac said. “We have unfinished business, and I know every single kid on our team is going after one goal this year.
“I have tons of confidence in our guys and I believe that we’re going to have a great year. I’m pumped for the season and I’m ready to go right now.”
Del Campo coach earns props
Del Campo softball coach Sharon Props was named the California Fastpitch Softball Coach of the Year by the National Federation of High Schools for the 2019 season, an honor recently announced.
It’s more of a career award as Props has coached the Cougars since the early 2000s, including teams of 25-8 in 2014, 25-7 in 2017 and 20-3 in 2018.
The Cougars last season went 22-6 and won Capital Atheltic League with an 11-1 record and also reached the section Division III semi-finals.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Boys
1. Sheldon (19-4)
2. Capital Christian (17-7)
3. Folsom (18-6)
4. Burbank (18-6)
5. Rocklin (19-5)
6. Grant (18-5)
7. Jesuit (16-6)
8. Woodcreek (21-4)
9. Whitney (21-3)
10. Franklin (13-10)
11. Cosumnes Oaks (16-7)
12. Vanden (18-6)
13. Inderkum (19-5)
14. Elk Grove (18-5)
15. Davis (13-7)
16. Wood (18-5)
17. Oak Ridge (13-8)
18. Sacramento (12-11)
19. Monterey Trail (14-10)
20. Florin (19-5)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Antelope (15-9), Bradshaw Christian (12-9), Christian Brothers (14-10), El Dorado (18-7), Kennedy (14-11), Lincoln (17-7), Oakmont (15-4), Ponderosa (14-10), Rio Americano (16-7), Sacramento Adventist Academy (15-9), Vacaville (15-6), Venure Academy (19-3, Western Sierra (20-2).
Girls
1. Antelope (21-3)
2. Laguna Creek (21-1)
3. McClatchy (21-2)
4. Woodcreek (18-4)
5. Oak Ridge (17-5)
6. Folsom (17-5)
7. Placer (20-2)
8. Franklin (19-4)
9. Colfax (20-4)
10. Lincoln (21-3)
11. Del Oro (17-7)
12. Vanden (19-4)
13. Christian Brothers (16-7)
14. Granite Bay (14-8)
15. West Campus (16-5)
16. Vista del Lago (15-8)
17. Monterey Trail (15-4)
18. Sacramento (11-12)
19. Grant (15-9)
20. St. Francis (12-10)
Bubble teams (listed alphabetically): Capital Christian (12-12), Davis (13-9), El Dorado (17-7), Forest Lake Christian (17-5), Inderkum (12-10), Nevada Union (13-11), Pioneer (21-4), Rocklin (12-12), Sheldon (13-10), Union Mine (11-10).
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 9:34 AM.