Prep boys’ basketball rankings: Grant-Burbank matters for all the right reasons
The first time I saw these schools play each other was in 1989, on the eve of the holiday season.
I was so new to The Bee that I was still peeling off the bubble wrap as I bounded off to 3500 Florin Road for a basketball clash between the top-ranked Grant Pacers and the No. 3 Burbank Titans.
A back-and-forth first half delighted an overflow crowd. It was a much-see theater. But the game was barely a moment into the third quarter before hell ensued, leading to what remains the most panicked scene I witnessed for a high school event. It had nothing to do with the coaches. John Copeland of Burbank and Steve Williams of Grant were great friends, and they are well into retirement. There were no issues with the players. The respect ran deep between both sides, because the teenagers saw a lot of themselves in each other: tough-minded kids from a tough part of town, using sports to elevate their game, their school, their communities.
It was a nobody in the stands, then another nobody, and then another, each chirping, each full of bluster, and the fistfights were on. It was tied to former students who wanted a piece of the action. It took awhile to restore order. The image of crying 6-year-olds struck me. The game was called off. The players were crushed, angered that people who couldn’t act their age ruined their day. The coaches shared that angst.
The coaches vowed to play again, to keep that rivalry going, to not buckle to outside elements. They did. The rivalry roared on. It remains as good of a series when these teams play as any on the prep menu.
Flash to Monday. Same teams, same location, same sort of intense action and same amount of mutual respect, from coaches to players. And the fans were spirited, only there was no idiocy and chaos. Fortunately, that sort of thing hasn’t been an issue over the years.
This Metropolitan Conference game was scheduled for last week but moved to Martin Luther King Jr. Day because of an entirely different outside element: COVID-19, the uninvited cloud that continues to hover. The coaches, Burbank’s Lindsey Ferrell and Grant’s Deonard Wilson, decided to move the game back a few days so both teams could be at full strength. Burbank last week was thinned by COVID-positive tests.
“Coach Lindsey was willing to play us last week as originally scheduled, call some junior varsity guys up, and I wasn’t for that,” Wilson said. “I wanted his team to be at full strength. It was the right thing to do. It was the right call for our kids and our schools and the communities we represent, because this game and rivalry means so much. So we played on Monday.”
And play they did. A crowd of parents and siblings and probably a few friends who smuggled in to catch the action soaked in the scene. The crowd was supposed to be limited to help mitigate COVID spread concerns, but like so many games between these proud programs, the show was too good to miss.
Grant won 66-53 in a show that was much closer than that final tally. There were 3-point shots, runners down the lane, put-backs, back-door plays, blocked shots and thunderous dunks — and a lot of feel-good postgame chatter between the teams. It felt good to be a part of it. The gym looks the same as it did 33 years ago: cozy and cool. The concern in 1989 after these teams played was that outside forces — nobodies with a cause — would ruin it for good, that the school districts would either stop these games or have so much security on hand that no one would want to yell and cheer.
No chance. The outside forces faded off. All these years later and these programs continue to find a way, overcoming challenges seen or not. They continue to play for their schools and their families. They’re easy to root for.
Burbank’s leading scorer is Isaiah Griffin. He’s the son of one of this region’s all-time single-season scorers in Ben Griffin, who starred for Burbank in the mid 1990s. Ben was there Monday, all grins beneath his face mask — everyone doing their part to not let COVID-19 crash their party.
“So proud of him,” the elder Griffin said of his star guard son. “These schools still play great games.”
The teams will meet again on Feb. 2, this time in Del Paso Heights, and quite possibly for the Metro championship. Ferrell, the Burbank coach, knows how to get to Grant. He graduated from that school and has been a 500-game winner coaching the girls and guys at Burbank.
“Yeah, but he’s still a Pacer!” Wilson cracked.
Grant is the defending CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II champion, deep, skilled, fast. Burbank expects to compete for that title, too, as the Titans are also talented and well coached. The teams may face off two more times, playoffs included. I’m here to suggest the more, the merrier.
Tigers on hold
COVID-19 hit top-ranked Inderkum, leading to several canceled or postponed games. One game not likely to be rescheduled was the much-anticipated showdown against preseason No. 1 Sheldon, which would have been the nightcap of the all-day Sheldon Challenge.
Inderkum (12-1) is unbeaten in section play, falling only to Sacred Heart Prep of the Bay Area 78-63 on Dec. 2. The Tigers have won 10 straight since and hope to host Yuba City on Tuesday night in a Capital Valley Conference contest, COVID permitting.
Huskies prevail
Imagine the angst for the Sheldon staff that scrambled to get games in for its event, each listed as “subject to change.” Teams pulled out, leading to schedule changes throughout the week.
Sheldon wound up taking on Northern Section power Pleasant Valley of Chico, which came in 16-2, including wins over Vacaville (83-38) and Cosumnes Oaks (61-52). Sheldon was too much, prevailing 73-53 as Rashaud Bradley had 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Sheldon takes on Pleasant Grove and Jesuit this week in Delta League play.
Showdown at last
Capital Christian has been eager to take on Jesuit in basketball for years. It hasn’t happened, for whatever reasons, but it did in the Sheldon event.
Behind football/basketball stars Anthony Garcia and Kanye Clark, Capital Christian won 55-49.
The Cougars have endured injuries and their own share of COVID-related stalls and delays this season. The Cougars are 3-0 in the Capital Athletic League, a deep race that includes Rio Americano, Sacramento, El Camino, Vista del Lago, Del Campo and Christian Brothers.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Records entering Monday
1. Inderkum 12-1
2. Ponderosa 18-0
3. Grant 14-2
4. Elk Grove 13-4
5. Sheldon 10-8
6. Burbank 11-4
7. Whitney 15-4
8. Folsom 14-4
9. Antelope 16-3
10. Wood 14-5
11. Rio Americano 12-6
12. Capital Christian 9-7
13. Jesuit 7-8
14. Pleasant Grove 14-5
15. Oak Ridge 13-7
16. Sacramento 7-5
17. Oakmont 12-6
18. Placer 15-4
19. Lincoln 13-2
20. Del Oro 12-8
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Bella Vista 14-5; Center 10-5; El Camino 11-7; Granite Bay 12-9; Liberty Ranch 12-5; Marysville 13-3; McClatchy 8-4; Rocklin 12-9; Roseville 12-8; Union Mine 16-5; Vacaville 11-6.