Reeve Slone takes cool QB act to basketball; late 3s help Rocklin top rival Del Oro in OT
.jpeg "Rocklin’s Reeve Slone, right, guards Del Oro’s Caden Pinnick in a showdown of Bee All-Metro quarterback stars. Slone hit the game-winning 3-pointer to help Rocklin remain unbeaten with an overtime win over Del Oro.")
Teammates hoisted Reeve Slone up for a moment during a delirious postgame scene in Placer County, careful not to drop him.
Slone had eight points for the Rocklin Thunder in this Sierra Foothill League opener against No. 7-ranked rival Del Oro on Friday night, but six of those led to all the excitement and moved The Bee’s top-ranked team to 19-0.
The cool sophomore guard, known for his cool quarterback play during a memorable Bee All-Metro season, hit the corner 3-pointer that sent the game to overtime. He then made a 3 from the same spot to win it 93-91 in overtime, and then he wondered what all the fuss was about.
There is no ego with this guy. He played beyond his years in helping steer Rocklin football to a 12-2 season, and he’s been the same team-first contributor this winter, an impossible-to-rattle cog who helps make it all go.
And more: Slone a time or two got to guard another area All-Metro quarterback star of note. Caden Pinnick had a game-high 32 points to continue his torrid scoring rampage for Del Oro, but his last-play shot to win it just missed as Slone did his best to defend.
“This was my first SFL basketball game on varsity and I try to bring energy,” Slone said afterward. “They found me and I just knocked it down.”
Slone said he appreciated the opportunity to face Pinnick, as multi-sport athletes tend to do. The reason these two play different sports is for the experience and the memories. Slone won’t forget this night any time soon. Neither will Pinnick, who was already looking forward to a rematch on Jan. 26 in Loomis.
“I’ve had a great time already in basketball,” Slone said.
Rocklin coach Steve Taylor watched Slone work his football magic from August through early December, and he welcomed the lanky 6-foot-2 guard to the basketball program. There is always room for a Slone sort.
“He played his first games last week because of a leg injury from (the CIF Northern California playoff game) against Grant,” Taylor said Friday. “He didn’t practice for a month. He’s been in so many pressure situations and that’s why we wanted him to be there at the end of the game, and he guarded their best player at times. He’s a great athlete who loves to compete.”
Taylor was ecstatic with the effort, if not spent from the experience. He knows that in this sport, it is brutally difficult to remain unbeaten. The Thunder are the only undefeated boys team in the 195-member CIF Sac-Joaquin Section.
Rocklin floor leader Kanyan Rice, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, had 13 points. Sophomore guard Josiah Andrews had 21, mostly by attacking in the paint. Senior guard Kainoa Marasco had 18 and provided a lot of energy, and the team’s every-game star Mark Lavenov had 20 on a variety of spin moves in the paint, putbacks and dunks. He is a 6-8 junior who recently scored his 1,000th career point.
“He’s a special player,” Slone said of Big Mark.
Coach ecstatic with Rocklin rise
Rocklin is a veteran group that vowed to play like champions after going 14-15 in 2022 and 14-16 in 2023. Winning three tournaments this season helped bond the team, proof that hard work does indeed pay off.
The Thunder won a share of the SFL title in 2019, going 25-7 overall, and Rocklin may well be on its way to another banner season, so forgive the coaches for getting a bit excited for wins like this.
For Taylor, it was extra special because Paul Greco, one of his beloved coaches from his Roseville High School playing days, was on hand in the packed Rocklin gym. They spoke at length after the game.
Taylor was a forward on the 1980 Roseville Tigers team under head coach Paul Gonzalez that won the CIF NorCal Division II championship, a year before the state tournament was introduced. The land where Rocklin High now sits was all open fields when Taylor grew up. He and pals rode bikes through the area as kids. Rocklin High opened in 1992.
“This is a rush we get from coaching that we can’t get any more as players,” Taylor said. “I’m not a very good golfer. I’m not patient enough to fly fish, but coming out here with these kids does it for me.”
He added: “The boys with their composure in a big game like this is because of our experiences. We took our lumps the previous two years. Whatever doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, right? This is a really special group.”
Taylor coached Rocklin to three section championships in the 2000s, when he regularly wore a shirt and tie on game night. These days? He’s casual with a Rocklin polo shirt and Nike sneakers. But there’s a reason for this look: Superstition.
“I can’t stop now,” Taylor said with a laugh. “I’ve worn these Jordans exactly 19 times this season. Every game.”
SFL is deep
Del Oro nearly halted that superstitious run behind the determined Pinnick, who had scoring outbursts of 41 and 31 points in leading his team to the 81st Kendall Arnett Tournament championship over Placer.
For Del Oro, Reid Brear, a 6-6 junior forward, had 20 points, fellow big man Jake Williams contributed 11, and freshman guard Brendan Hawkins and senior guard Carter Erickson combined for 18.
The fourth quarter and overtime featured 17 ties or lead changes.
Brear’s 3 put Del Oro up 91-90 with 23.4 seconds left, and after a time out, it was Slone’s time to shine.
If this is what the SFL will be about, then buckle up. The SFL also includes Bee-ranked squads Folsom, Oak Ridge and Whitney.
“Two great teams in a great game tonight,” Del Oro coach Geoff Broyles said. “The league is going to be like this every night.”