Prep boys’ basketball rankings: Top dogs Inderkum and Sheldon meet, Ponderosa up to No. 2

Last month during a holiday basketball tournament, a group of fans were talking about ranked teams and potential showdowns.

Wouldn’t it be great, the theme was, if the Sacramento area’s top program of recent years took on this season’s top dog? The thinking was that Sheldon, the top-ranked team in Northern California the previous two full seasons, would make for a terrific showdown against upstart Inderkum. On the surface, it seemed the only way that could happen was if the programs met in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs that start next month.

Now one only has to wait until Saturday.

The capper of the all-day Sheldon Challenge features preseason Bee No. 1 Sheldon taking on Inderkum, which is No. 1 in The Bee’s basketball rankings for the first time (the school opened in 2004).

That one tips off at 8:30 p.m., and it follows another showdown area fans have clamored for: Capital Christian vs. Jesuit in the 7 p.m. contest. Those programs have produced standout teams for years but have never met in a game. They, too, could also meet in the section playoffs.

The other games at Sheldon: Davis vs. Oak Ridge at 10 a.m.; Monterey Trail vs. El Camino at 11:30 a.m.; Vanden vs. Liberty at 1 p.m.; Pleasant Valley vs. Shadow Hills at 2:30 p.m.; Whitney vs. Edison at 4 p.m. and Folsom vs. Sacramento at 5:30 p.m.

Sheldon dipped from No. 1 last week to No. 5 this week after suffering its first local loss amid a schedule heavy with out-of-town or state competition. No. 4 Elk Grove beat Sheldon 66-64 in a Delta League opener last week as Isaiah King fed Grant Golanka with the winning bucket in the closing seconds.

Ponderosa is ranked No. 2 and Grant No. 3. Grant’s two losses were to Inderkum. Sheldon is led by Rashaud Bradley, who, remarkably, leds the team in every statistical category. The 6-foot-3 guard scores 13.6 points a game, pulls down 7.5 rebounds, dishes out 2.8 assists and comes up with 1.7 steals.

Inderkum is 12-1 with no local losses. The Tigers are paced by 6-6 guard Derrick Claxton, who averages 21.3 points and 8.1 rebounds.

Grant’s MLK

Grant is the host venue for the 7th Martin Luther King Classic on Saturday that includes four games. They are: River City vs. Cordova at 3:30 p.m.; Antelope vs. Weston Ranch at 4:30 p.m.; Burbank vs. Ponderosa at 6 p.m. and Grant vs. Fortune Early College at 7:30 pm.

Ranch uprising

Cody Smith has led the charge for surging Liberty Ranch, winners of seven consecutive games.

The 6-7 forward in wins last week over Venture and Calaveras did a lot of everything. In the first game, the junior had 20 points and 11 rebounds and followed with 19 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals for the Hawks of Galt, who are 10-4 and contenders in a wide-open Sierra Valley Conference race that includes El Dorado, Union Mine, Rosemont, Bradshaw Christian and Galt.

Scoring marvel

Brandon Herrera of Foothill has emerged as the leading scorer in the section. The 5-10 guard is scoring 29.6 points a game, opening the season with a 40-point effort against Del Campo with games of 45 against Rosemont, 33 against Rio Linda and 35 against Valley Christian.

Second in section scoring is Isaiah Griffin of Burbank at 26.9 and then Juanluis Rubio of Rio Linda at 26.2. Lamanz Cummings of Florin is scoring 25.5 and Braeden Beaman of Sacramento Adventist Academy is putting up 24.4.

THE BEE’S TOP 20

Records entering Monday

1. Inderkum 12-1

2. Ponderosa 15-0

3. Grant 11-2

4. Elk Grove 10-3

5. Sheldon 8-8

6. Burbank 11-2

7. Whitney 13-3

8. Folsom 11-4

9. Antelope 15-2

10. Wood 13-4

11. Rio Americano 10-6

12. Jesuit 6-7

13. Rocklin 112-7

14. Oak Ridge 11-6

15. Capital Christian 6-7

16. El Camino 9-6

17. Sacramento 6-4

18. Pleasant Grove 12-4

19. Placer 14-3

20. Lincoln 13-2

Bubble teams: (alphabetical order): Bella Vista 12-4; Center 9-5; Del Oro 12-6; Granite Bay 11-8; Liberty Ranch 10-4; Marysville 13-3; McClatchy 9-4; Oakmont 11-6; Placer 14-3; River Valley 6-5; Rocklin 9-7; Roseville 10-8; Union Mine 14-5; Vacaville 9-5.

This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 2:29 PM.