Boys Top 20 rankings: No. 1 Rocklin Thunder headlines deep Sierra Foothill League race
The Rocklin Thunder wrapped up its 2023-24 nonleague schedule with encouraging results.
The Thunder emerged from the holiday tournament season as the only unbeaten team left in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section at 18-0 and top ranked by The Sacramento Bee for the first time since 2008-09, a banner season that ended with a Northern California Division II championship behind all-time program great Brendan Lane, a senior who played at Pepperdine and professionally overseas.
Steve Taylor was the coach then and now. He stepped away to catch his breath following the 2009-10 season and returned for the 2016-17 season. Rocklin is powered by junior forward/center Mark Lavrenov, a 6-foot-8, 230-pounder who can bang inside and score from outside. He recently scored his 1,000th career point.
Rocklin has won three tournaments, including one in Hawaii and the Coach Corn Classic at Yuba College, named after 500-game winning Yuba College basketball coach Doug Cornelius. The Thunder open Sierra Foothill League play on Friday at home against rival and No. 7-ranked Del Oro. The girls teams will play before the guys in a unique and fun SFL doubleheader.
Lavrenov is the lead force for the Thunder, but this is no one-man gang. The other starters are sophomore guard Josiah Andrews, 6-6 center/forward Isaiah Elston, senior guard Kainoa Marasco and senior guard Kanyon Rice. This is also a deep team as sophomore guards Connor Bow and Reeve Slone contribute off the bench. Slone is a Bee All-Metro football player who quarterbacked the football team to a 12-2 season.
The SFL will not be an easy tour as it is deep, including No. 11 Folsom, No. 12 Oak Ridge, No. 13 Whitney and always-dangerous Granite Bay, which reached the last two section Division II title games under coach Jason Sitterud.
Folsom (9-6) is the six-time defending SFL champion under 500-game winning coach Mike Wall. Folsom and Rocklin tied for the crown in 2019-2020. Folsom opened this season with a 74-61 win over Grant and had tight losses to Sacramento (58-54), Capital Christian in overtime (75-72) and Ponderosa (67-62). The Bulldogs, led by 6-5 junior guard/forward Chase Rawlins, open at Granite Bay on Friday.
Oak Ridge (12-5) hosts Whitney on Friday in El Dorado Hills following the girls game. On Jan. 10, the Trojans play at Rocklin. National tight end recruit Kaleb Edwards, a 6-6 junior, leads Oak Ridge in scoring (13.5 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg) and blocked shots (1.6 bpg). Senior forward Dylan Sayer scores 12.5 points per game and senior guard Romo Finney 11.7. Sayer was the MVP of the recent Bradshaw Christian Tournament, leading the team in scoring in two of those three games.
Whitney, the defending D-II section champion under coach Nick French, is 11-6 with five out-of-area losses amid a challenging nonleague schedule. The Wildcats have won six consecutive games.
Del Oro (14-3) has won two holiday tournaments: the Les Curry Invitational and the 81st Kendall Arnett Tournament in Auburn with a 74-66 victory over No. 9 Placer. Bee Large School Football Player of the Year Caden Pinnick earned MVP honors in both events. He had a tournament record 41 points in an Arnett semifinal and 31 in the finals. He alone makes Del Oro a handful in hoops, and he has help in senior center Jake Williams.
If the SFL isn’t the section’s toughest league, then it just might be the Delta League, which is heavy on Elk Grove Unified School District teams and includes defending champion Jesuit. The No. 4 Marauders (8-4) play at longtime powerhouse Sheldon on Wednesday in a league opener.
Jesuit is paced by senior guards Kevin Haupt and Ahjani Lewis and 6-8 senior forward Cole Epperson, a threat to hit 3-pointers. Sheldon is led by guards Jaden Spears and Jaden Woodard. This will be Sheldon’s first game against an area opponent this season.
No. 6 Franklin is also in the Delta hunt after a 14-2 start behind sophomore guard Aiden Rollins, depth and defense. Franklin opens Delta action on Wednesday at home against No. 18 Cosumnes Oaks, which is led by leading scorers in senior guard Ny’j Joiner (13.7 ppg) and senior forward Henry Hill (13.0 ppg).
No. 3 Capital Christian (7-5) is the favorite in the Capital Athletic League, a race that will include No. 8 Sacramento (10-4), No. 20 Christian Brothers and defending champion Rio Americano. The Cougars are battle tested, having played in monstrous tournaments near and far. Capital Christian is unbeaten locally and has been led by junior guard Jaylen Valdez (22.0 ppg) and senior guard CJ Willenborg (11.3 ppg).
No. 8 Sacramento has also played an ambitious nonleague schedule, opening with an 82-68 loss to Monterey Trail, beating Folsom 58-54 and routing Laguna Creek 73-46 when not playing out-of-area powerhouse programs. The defending section D-III champion Dragons of Oak Park are led by senior guard Sir Marius Jones (21.3 ppg), senior guard Kendahl Hearne (18.8 ppg) and junior forward Shobal Barksdale (11.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg).
No. 9 Placer is the favorite to win the Foothill Valley League under first-year coach Nate Swesey, who slides over from assistant coach to replace longtime coach Mark Lee. Placer (15-2) is led by guard Ben Manley. The PVL includes Nevada Union (12-5), West Park (10-5), Lincoln (10-6), Oakmont (9-7) and Ponderosa (8-7).
No. 10 Woodcreek and No. 19 Inderkum headline the Capital Valley Conference, won easily last season by Inderkum and veteran coach Fred Wilson. Inderkum lost a ton to graduation but still boasts a lot of talent. Junior wing/forward Taylen Goodman is averaging 16.7 points and freshman guard Sincere Hudson 13.7.
Woodcreek (12-3) is also led by a veteran, big-name coach in Drew Hibbs, who won CIF state titles as head coach at Foothill in 1994 and 2003. His current team is led by senior forward Aidan Triplet (12.9 ppg) and 6-9 sophomore forward Max VanLaningham (11.3 ppg). Woodcreek has won six consecutive games, including a 78-74 victory over Del Oro.
No. 2 Monterey Trail started the season top-ranked by The Bee, the program’s first such honor, and went 3-1 in last week’s Holiday Classic in San Diego. The Mustangs tied Grant and Laguna Creek for the Metro League championship last season and stand as the favorites now under coach Robert Fields and senior leader Brandon Gibson, who can score inside and out, run the floor and defend.
No. 14 Laguna Creek is led by guards Jaylan Virgil (12.8 ppg) and KJ Ramey (8.5 ppg) and Jalen Flenory (5.4 apg). No. 15 Grant is paced by 6-4 sophomore guard Andre Gomez, who can hit 3-pointers or score inside.
The Metro race also includes No. 16 Kennedy, a regional power in past decades, which has played well this season under alum coach Jerist Robers with senior wings Dondre Prothro (12.7 ppg) and Taylor Shirley (6.1 rpg).
Capital showcase: Capital Christian on Saturday will host an all-day showcase of games. The schedule: Saint Mary’s of Berkeley vs. Fortune of Elk Grove at 10 a.m.; Manteca vs. St. Patrick’s/St. Vincent’s of Vallejo at 11:30 a.m.; Ponderosa vs. Antelope at 1 p.m.; Edison of Stockton vs. Granite Bay at 2:30 p.m.; Laguna Creek vs. Lincoln-Stockton at 4 p.m.; Granada of Livermore vs. Sheldon at 5:30 p.m.; Bakersfield Christian vs. Folsom at 7 p.m.; and Capital Christian vs. Campolindo of Moraga at 8:30 p.m.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Boys basketball
Records entering Tuesday
1. Rocklin (18-0)
2. Monterey Trail (11-1)
3. Capital Christian (7-5)
4. Jesuit (8-4)
5. Sheldon (6-6)
6. Franklin (14-2)
7. Del Oro (14-3)
8. Sacramento (10-4)
9. Placer (15-2)
10. Woodcreek (12-3)
11. Folsom (9-6)
12. Oak Ridge (12-5)
13. Whitney (11-6)
14. Laguna Creek (7-4)
15. Grant (7-6)
16. Kennedy (10-4)
17. Cosumnes Oaks (10-4)
19. Inderkum (7-5)
19. Christian Brothers (9-6)
20. Union Mine (16-2)
Bubble: Antelope (7-7), Burbank (9-5), Cordova (6-6), Granite Bay (4-7), Nevada Union (12-5), Ponderosa (8-7), Rio Americano (5-5), Roseville (10-5), Twelve Bridges (10-4), Vacaville (9-5), Western Sierra (12-2), West Park (10-5).
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 1:21 PM.