‘It’s different’: Here are our 1st high school basketball rankings for wild spring season
High school basketball games are here in bits and pieces only, no thanks to the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Teams in the Elk Grove Unified School District started play last week after a good many in Placer, El Dorado, Yolo and Sutter counties started weeks earlier. But they’re playing, at least, and some of those teams rank high in The Bee’s tipoff rankings.
Antelope of the Capital Valley Conference heads the girls’ basketball rankings under coach Sean Chambers and Stanford-bound star guard Jzaniya Harriel.
Jesuit of the Delta League tops the boys’ rankings under coach Tim Kelly and its own Stanford-bound star guard, Isa Silva. The Marauders last month were prepared to play a schedule without Delta League teams, since the majority of them reside in the EGUSD. But when the district cleared the way for basketball, the league decided on a round-robin schedule: one game against the other as compared to the traditional two meetings per season. Jesuit has looked the part of a top-ranked squad. It is 9-0 and will host longtime Delta League heavyweight Sheldon on Thursday.
In the Sacramento City Unified School District, where some of the most heated action is in Zoom meetings between teachers, unions and district heads in trying to hammer out deals to hold indoor classes, teams have not yet been cleared to condition indoors. So it’s out to the blacktop for boys’ and girls’ teams for close to a month now, which at least allows a chance to work on fundamentals. But don’t take a charge or you’ll end up with a body full of road rash.
“It’s different, it’s not easy but at least we’re out here together,” said McClatchy girls’ coach Jeff Ota while supervising a workout. “I don’t know how mad we’re supposed to be. We keep dangling the carrot of playing a season, and the carrot is still over there. Can’t reach it. I’ve told our girls that if they want to play AAU, go ahead. Really, it looks like we’re just preparing for next season.”
Once SCUSD programs are allowed indoors, it will require teams to practice at least five days before a game. With no Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for basketball, any game is cherished. Those who have played understand this. Those still waiting to dribble and shoot indoors wonder what it’s going to be like.
“Heck no, we don’t have answers,” said Burbank boys coach Lindsey Ferrell, whose team is ranked 11th and is led by star guard Tyree Gill. “I feel so sorry for these kids in this district. We’re supposed to play Tuesdays and Thursdays but we can’t even get into our own gym. But our school can vaccinate 1,000 people in our gym and I can’t even get our 13 players in there. I’m frustrated as hell.”
The Sierra Foothill League scene for the girls includes No. 2 Oak Ridge, No. 3 Del Oro, No. 4 Whitney, No. 5 Folsom and No. 8 Granite Bay. McClatchy is ranked ninth and is in the Metro League with No. 6 Laguna Creek.
For the boys, Capital Christian is ranked second. SFL members Rocklin and Folsom are ranked No. 4 and 5, respectively. Grant of the Twin Rivers Unified School District is ranked seventh and just this week was cleared to go. It will play at Capital Christian on Monday night.
Area teams are testing up to twice a week. Games have felt different, without fans, and with spaced-out seating for players on the bench. That’s an adjustment still difficult to fully understand for most.
Said Oak Ridge girls coach Steve White, “I consider myself a pretty logical person, but it doesn’t make too much sense to me (with bench seating). We’re not sitting next to each other for 15 minutes at a time. We can go out and touch each other in a game, but can’t acknowledge each other after the game. The sportsmanship part is missing. It’s extremely hard to team build. There were times we couldn’t be at school at all. You had half of the kids there then you couldn’t be indoors for anything. It’s been extremely difficult to team build and figure things out.”
Said Jesuit’s Tim Kelly of the season in general, “It’s unusual — that’s a pretty fair word. Everything is a little off in terms of a regular rhythm of a basketball season. Going home when the sun is up is not normally what we do in basketball season. I’m just happy we’re out here playing and competing especially for our seniors.”
He added, “We’re trying to be as safe as possible. We’re lucky here because the school has done a good job. It’s unusual and it has a different feel to it, having the benches spread out. It hurts a little bit of the sense of community and team.”
Sheldon entered the season not ranked No. 1 by The Bee for the first time in several seasons. The Huskies graduated nine seniors from a team that was closing in on a CIF Open Division Northern California threepeat before COVID-19 roared in and canceled those rounds of the 2020 playoffs.
“We’re young but they play hard,” said Sheldon coach Joey Rollings, whose team is led by 6-foot-5 forward Brandon Fisher. “We’re still trying to get used to how different things are. We’ll do the best we can. It’s all we can do.”
With experienced clubs, Jesuit and Capital Christian expected a championship run if this were a normal season, including a chance to bump off Sheldon. Jesuit’s other key players include Sacramento State-bound guad Chris Holley and sophomore wing/forward Andrej Stojakovic, son of retired Kings shooting star Peja Stojakovic.
Capital Christian is paced by guards Caden Flowers and Sione Lose.
The Antelope girls are 5-0, with Harriel doing Harriel things, including averaging 28.6 points a game. Other cogs for the Titans include Kaiija Lesane, Alina Daffon and freshman Samaya Dillard.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Girls
With last season’s record
1. Antelope (29-4)
2. Oak Ridge (24-7)
3. Del Oro (24-11)
4. Whitney (6-22)
5. Folsom (19-10)
6. Laguna Creek (28-4)
7. Woodcreek (24-6)
8. Granite Bay (20-10)
9. McClatchy (26-5)
10. Lincoln (26-5)
11. Christian Brothers (24-9)
12. Colfax (30-5)
13. Vanden (27-6)
14. Placer (26-4)
15. Vista del Lago (20-11)
16. West Campus (21-6)
17. Grant (17-11)
18. Sacramento (16-14)
19. Franklin (24-6)
20. Inderkum (14-12
Bubble: El Dorado (23-9), Elk Grove (15-15), Davis (17-13), Monterey Trail (17-6), (Nevada Union (15-14), Pioneer (22-7), Rocklin (12-17),Roseville (14-12), Sheldon (16-13), St. Francis (15-14). - Cameron Salerno
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Boys
With last season’s record
1. Jesuit (22-10)
2. Capital Christian (25-9)
3. Sheldon (28-5)
4. Rocklin (25-7)
5. Folsom (22-7)
6. Elk Grove (21-9)
7. Grant (26-6)
8. Vanden (27-7)
9. Inderkum (21-9)
10. Sacramento (17-13)
11. Burbank (22-8)
12. Franklin (17-13)
13. Cosumnes Oaks (19-11)
14. Antelope (19-10)
15. Placer (10-18)
16. Center (13-15)
17. Whitney (26-7)
18. Wood (25-8)
19. Davis (15-11)
20. Florin (23-6)
Bubble (alphabetical order): Bradshaw Christian (20-14), Christian Brothers (17-13), Cordova (15-15), Del Campo (18-12), El Dorado (21-9), Granite Bay (7-19), Kennedy (15-13), Liberty Ranch (18-15), Lincoln (20-9), Monterey Trail (18-11), Oakmont (17-7), Ponderosa (19-11), Rio Americano (17-11), River City , Sacramento Adventist (20-10), Union Mine (21-11), West Campus (15-13), Yuba City (16-13). - Joe Davidson
This story was originally published May 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.