Prep boys’ basketball rankings: SFL stands tall; top-ranked Inderkum faces showdown
The Sierra Foothill League stands as one of the best in the Sac-Joaquin Section for all sports.
This includes boys’ basketball, where the league race features first-place and Bee No. 5-ranked Folsom at 6-0 (and 18-4 overall) ahead of the pack. But no one rests easy in the SFL. Upsets happen. Intensity, big crowds and big moments are the norm.
Entering Tuesday, No. 8 Oak Ridge and No. 9 Whitney were tied for second in the SFL with 4-2 records, with ever-dangerous Granite Bay and Rocklin sitting at 2-4, ready to jam up seasons with an upset. Tough-luck Del Oro is 0-6, though Folsom had to squeeze past the Golden Eagles 58-55 last week, a week after Oak Ridge beat Del Oro 74-72 in overtime.
When your last-place team is a threat, then the league is stout top to bottom.
“It’s always been a great league, with a lot of depth, good players and great coaches,” said longtime Rocklin coach Steve Taylor. “And here we are again with another great league.”
Folsom has won eight consecutive games under longtime coach Mike Wall, whose team has lost locally only to No. 2 Ponderosa, which also owns a win over No. 5 Elk Grove. The Bulldogs feature a big man with skills in 6-foot-5 senior Brycen Shackleford, a captain. He is flanked by guards/wings Joaquin Battle, Tyson Hazel and Miles Macayan and Jake Thoensen, a 6-4 forward. Micah Johnson, a junior guard and captain, is the sixth man.
“Our half-court defense has carried us this year more than our full-court pressure,” Folsom assistant coach Matt Mills said. “Macayan and Johnston lead our defense and Shackleford and Thoensen lead our offense.”
Lowdown on the showdown
When the prep governing body CIF lifted a ban on playing on Sundays earlier this season to help allow schools to squeeze in games postponed due to COVID-19 issues, that led to a showdown of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s top two teams.
On Sunday, Sacramento Bee No. 1 Inderkum will play at Modesto Bee No. 1 Modesto Christian, a 3 p.m. showcase that could also be a section Division I finals preview.
In the weekly NorCalPreps.com rankings, Modesto Christian is No. 1 and Inderkum is ranked third (Campolindo of Moraga is top-ranked). In the CalHiSports.com state rankings, Modesto Christian is ranked 10th (and second in NorCal) and Inderkum is 24th, behind Mitty of San Jose and De La Salle of Concord.
Inderkum and Modesto Christian have no losses within the section. Inderkum (18-1) has won 16 consecutive games and has two wins over No. 3 Grant, the defending section Division II champion. Derrick Claxton, Inderkum’s superbly skilled 6-6 senior guard, leads the Tigers in scoring (21.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.6).
While Inderkum is Bee top-ranked for the first time in school history (the school opened in 2004), Modesto Christian (20-3) is as storied as they come.
The Crusaders have won a record 27 section championships to go with seven CIF Northern California titles and three CIF state crowns. The Crusaders have just one in-state loss, as it plays a national schedule. The Crusaders are 9-0 at home. They are led in scoring by 6-3 sophomore guard Jamari Phillips at 24 a game. B.J. Davis, a 6-1 guard, averages 17 points.
Back in flow with a hiccup
Vanden sports one of the most talented teams in the section but got off to a slow start at 0-6 and 1-7 with losses to Grant (67-40), Burbank (66-65), Inderkum (76-61), Folsom (67-63) and Sacramento (66-62) and later to Cosumnes Oaks (63-61). But the Vikings have come on strong to claim first place in the deep Monticello Empire League. Then rival Vacaville beat the Vikings 48-43 Friday as the Bulldogs allowed just three fourth-quarter points.
Vacaville moved to 5-1 in the MEL behind Vanden’s 6-1. Vacaville’s 6-6 junior post Nathan Schnell led his team with 13 points.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Records entering Tuesday
1. Inderkum 18-1
2. Ponderosa 22-0
3. Grant 19-3
4. Sheldon 15-9
5. Elk Grove 17-5
6. Folsom 18-4
7. Burbank 15-5
8. Antelope 21-4
9. Oak Ridge 15-8
10. Whitney 18-6
11. Capital Christian 13-9
12. Liberty Ranch 19-5
13. Oakmont 14-7
14. Rio Americano 15-8
15. Jesuit 10-11
16. El Camino 15-8
17. Sacramento 11-8
18. Lincoln 17-5
19. Placer 18-6
20. Vanden 11-12
Bubble teams (alphabetical order): Bella Vista 16-7; Center 14-6; Granite Bay 13-11; Marysville 20-3; McClatchy 11-8; Pleasant Grove 15-9; Rocklin 13-11; Union Mine 19-6; Vacaville 14-7; Vanden 11-11; Wood 15-7.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 7:30 AM.