Prep basketball rankings: Top teams on a roll; Harriel and Beaman are milestone-makers
The playoffs will not happen for basketball in the Sac-Joaquin Section this season, the same for all other section sports this academic year that has been jammed up by the pandemic, but the milestone moments are happening.
There were balloons and celebration after Inderkum High School senior captain Joél Benoit scored her 1,000th career point. She’s a guard heading to Morgan State this fall to continue her basketball career.
Antelope’s four-year starting guard Jzaniya Harriel also reached a milestone. She eclipsed 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds. The Bee’s two-time Player of the Year, Harriel is averaging 28.5 points over eight games this shortened season and could have scored a ton more if there was a traditional 30-game season, or longer. She is off to Stanford this fall to play on scholarship and to study law.
To put the girls scoring milestones in perspective, consider that all-time shooting great Danielle Viglione of Del Campo 1990s fame scored 1,300 points as a junior and 1,002 as a senior in 1993. She had 3,089 for her career, spanning 93 games, still a regional record, including records for most made 3-pointers. Those career totals are from Cal-Hi Sports, a state-record database for decades. Viglione played four seasons at Texas and professionally and has in recent years mentored area players on shooting.
Second on the all-time area scoring list is Karen Smith of Rio Americano, a point guard who had 2,335 points from 1977-80 while winning four consecutive section championships. She has for years worked as a high school governing body commissioner in the North Coast Section.
Harriel ranks third in regional career scoring with 2,223 points, followed by center Denise Curry of Davis, who had 1,798 from 1975-77, was a two-time Cal-Hi Sports Player of the Year and went on to become the all-time career scorer at UCLA for men or women. The region’s most accomplished women’s basketball player, Curry is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. She is retired, living in Southern California and keeps her eye on her roots.
Curry, Smith and Viglione are all members of the Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame and the CIF’s all-time winter All-Century Team.
Beaman closing in on 2,000
Breckin Beaman from small-school power Sacramento Adventist Academy is 26 points shy of 2,000 career points. He is a fourth-year starting point guard who, according to his spirited coach Scott Tedmon, “could play on any team in this region. He’s that good. A great player.”
Guard DeMarcus Nelson, a star for three years at Vallejo High before finishing at Sheldon in 2004, is the state’s all-time career scorer with 3,462, according to Cal-Hi Sports. The area’s second highest career scorer is Liberty Ranch guard Jalen Patterson with 2,993, through 2020, followed by forward Darius Nelson of Sheldon (2,543 through 2011), center Bill Cartwright of Elk Grove (2,449 through 1975) and guard Jordan Ford of Folsom (2,394 through 2016).
Wheatland’s Tanner McAdams eclipsed the 1,000-point mark against East Nicolaus.
Uniform change
The Grant Pacers unveiled some slick new boys’ basketball uniforms this season, purple and gold with “The North” splashed across the front.
Wait. Are these not the Pacers of blue-and-gold tradition? They are. Grant coach Deonard Wilson also embraces the past of the school, and he dug deep in going with a throwback look.
Wilson explained that up through World War II, Grant’s school colors were in fact purple and gold. As the war came to an end in 1945, Grant was in need of new uniforms.
Cal came to the rescue, donating armloads of gear in Cal’s blue and gold colors. It stuck for Grant.
“We embrace our past here,” Wilson said, “and the kids love wearing throwbacks.”
Off the dribble
▪ El Camino sophomore guard Kiku Parker had 33 points, five assists and four rebounds in a 77-74 win over Sacramento. The Eagles also beat Center 64-46.
▪ The Davis girls improved to 8-4 after wins over Cordova, St. Francis and Sheldon. Against St. Franics, Mara Bledsoe had a game-high 26 points. The Blue Devils are in the top 20 for the first time this season.
▪ The Colfax girls have won six straight after a 44-32 win over Woodcreek. The Falcons are paced by senior guards Jazzy Owens and Natalie Lundberg.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Girls’ basketball
1. Antelope (7-1)
2. Folsom (5-0)
3. Del Oro (8-2)
4. Oak Ridge (5-2)
5. Vanden (6-0)
6. Laguna Creek (2-0)
7. Inderkum (4-1)
8. Whitney (4-6)
9. Colfax (7-2)
10. McClatchy (0-0)
11. Grant (5-0)
12. Davis (8-4)
13. Granite Bay (3-5)
14. Woodcreek (3-5)
15. Lincoln (5-1)
16. Christian Brothers (4-1)
17. Vista del Lago (3-2)
18. Franklin (2-0)
19. West Campus (0-0)
20. Monterey Trail (3-1)
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Del Campo (4-2), El Dorado (4-2), Elk Grove (0-1), Pioneer (4-1), Placer (2-6), Rio Americano (3-3), River City (2-4), Rocklin (1-4), Sacramento (1-3), Sacramento Adv. (10-0), Sheldon (4-1) - Cameron Salerno
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Boys’ basketball
1. Jesuit (12-0)
2. Capital Christian (7-2)
3. Elk Grove (5-0)
4. Folsom (8-1)
5. Rocklin (10-3)
6. Grant (2-1)
7. Burbank (0-0)
8. Whitney (5-2)
9. Antelope (12-4)
10. Inderkum (5-1)
11. Cosumnes Oaks (2-2)
12. Ponderosa (5-0)
13. Lincoln (7-3)
14. Woodcreek (9-3)
15. Christian Brothers (5-5)
16. Sacramento (3-3)
17. Center (6-3)
18. Wood (4-2)
19. Vanden (4-3)
20. Vacaville (3-2)
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Bradshaw Christian (4-5), Davis (3-1), Del Campo (3-2), El Camino (4-7), El Dorado (10-3), Florin (0-1), Franklin (0-4), Granite Bay (5-8), Kennedy (0-0), Natomas (5-0), Oakmont (8-5), Pioneer (4-0), Placer (7-5), Rio Americano (3-4), River City (1-0), Sacramento Adventist (6-5), Sheldon (1-4), Union Mine (4-2), West Campus (0-0). - Joe Davidson