The Bee’s Best: Our look at the 40-something boys’ basketball players in the Sacramento area
Basketball has been played in the city part of Sacramento for decades, often at the highest level at the high school level.
Be it at Burbank, Grant, Kennedy, Johnson, McClatchy or Sacramento, some of the best shooters, high-flyers and defenders hailed from Metro League programs. That still rings true, though Grant and Sacramento have for years been in different leagues.
A shortened season without the benefit of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs is underway, and Metro teams are also back in play within the Sacramento City Unified School District. Metro schools have been cleared to start indoor practices after weeks of blacktop conditioning. Grant plays at Capital Christian on Monday in what figures to be a showcase of talent. Grant is also trying to schedule Burbank as coaches Lindsey Ferrell of Burbank and Deonard Wilson of Grant are longtime friends — and the programs have faced off for decades.
The area’s top player could well be Jesuit guard Isa Silva, headed to Stanford on scholarship. He has two fine teammates on The Bee’s top-ranked team in Sacramento State-bound Chris Holley and sophomore wing Andrej Stojakovic — yes, the son of retired Kings shooting great Peja. Holley is out for the rest of the season with a fractured wrist. No. 2 Capital Christian has guards galore in Anthony Garcia, Caden Flowers and Sione Lose
Burbank features prolific guard Tyree Gill, whom coach Ferrell deems “one of the greatest players in school history.” Even the smallest schools on the radar have big-time talent, including fourth-year starting guard Breckin Beaman of Sacramento Adventist Academy, where coach Scott Tedmon says with conviction, “could play at any program in this section. He’s that good. Come watch him.”
Here’s The Bee’s Fab 43 Watch List of players, from returning experience and through coach nominations.
The Bee’s Fab 40
(alphabetical order):
Emmanuel Akpan, Rocklin
Breckin Beaman, Sacramento Adventist
Ameere Britton, Elk Grove
Rishod Brown, Grant
Kevin Burlaka, Antelope
Derrick Claxton, Inderkum
James Cook, Center
Brandon Fisher, Sheldon
Anthony Garcia, Capital Christian
A.J. Gbeintor, Rocklin
Tyree Gill, Burbank
Takai Emerson-Hardy, Vanden
Caden Flowers, Capital Christian
Jalen Hale, Yuba City
Kevin Haupt, Oakmont
Matt Hoffman, Rio Americano
Chris Holley, Jesuit
Sione Lose, Capital Christian
Dajon Lott, Elk Grove
Malik Madison, Sacramento
Jayson Matthews, Grant
Carter Miles, McClatchy
Michael Moreno, Christian Brothers
Keaton Massey, Davis
Jayson Mathews, Grant
Agjanti Miller, Vanden
Ravenna Miller, Cosumnes Oaks
Yaqub Mir, Granite Bay
Isaiah Moore, Vanden
Omari Nesbit, Burbank
Cameron Niles, Del Campo
Jaylen Patterson, Bradshaw Christian
Max Petrenko, Placer
Ben Roseborough, Sacramento
Branden Rutherford, Inderkum
Brycen Shackleford, Folsom
Joseph Schneider, El Dorado
Isa Silva, Jesuit
Cody Smith, Liberty Ranch
Andrej Stojakovic, Jesuit
Maxx Swanson, El Dorado
Jaden Tegan, Kennedy
Jackson Tucker, Woodcreek
Leo Wagner, West Campus
Jarod Webb, Florin
Jaylen Wells, Folsom
Anthony Williams, Whitney
Davion Wright, Franklin
Corey Yerger, Grant
* Who’d we miss? Is there a rebounder, a scorer, an assist maker deserving of Bee Watch List mention? Email to jdavidson@sacbee.com
This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.