Sacramento-area boys basketball Top 20: New No. 1 Inderkum plays defense and above the rim
They are tall, talented, well coached and defensive minded with the ability to man-up on teams in an era of zone defenses. They are a joy to watch with some high flyers to match the defensive intensity that often leads to breakaway buckets or alley-oops.
That’s the quick scouting report on the Inderkum Tigers, The Sacramento Bee’s new No. 1 basketball team in the region.
Coach Fred Wilson says simply that, “I love our team,” and there’s plenty to appreciate about a team that has hit its stride.
It starts with intense practice sessions that Wilson designs to challenge the troops. The rewards are in the victories. At 15-1, the Tigers are riding a nine-game winning streak entering Tuesday night’s Capital Valley Conference showdown at No. 13 Rio Americano with first place on the line.
Inderkum is unbeaten in CIF Sac-Joaquin Section play, the loss coming to San Diego power Mission Bay on Dec. 26. Inderkum has wins over two Fresno powers that beat previous Bee No. 1 Monterey Trail, and the Tigers have a 57-42 triumph of No. 4 Sheldon in a nonleague contest.
In league play, Inderkum beat No. 5 Christian Brothers (77-65) and No. 9 Woodcreek (60-48). The Tigers on Monday capped their own Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Day Classic with an 85-59 rout of storied Oakland Tech, blocking nine shots and putting on a clinic of all-out effort.
The Tigers may attack the rim with abandon with a lineup of dunkers, but the team’s best player is their steadying force and as good of a point guard as there is in the section in sophomore second-year starter Siincere Hudson. He is averaging just under 18 points and nearly six assists and three steals.
The rim wreckers include 6-foot-7 Taylen Goodman (averaging 13.4 points a game), 6-3 LJ Chadwick (9.3), 6-6 Jaeden Goodman and the 6-10 Malachi Johnson. Hudson is a rock at 6-2, poised beyond his years as a second-year varsity starter.
Goodman had three of his team’s nine blocked shots against Oakland Tech and has impressed his coaches with his ability to defend, a mandate for all players from the stern coach who often gives the impression of being irked but applauds his team with equal zest.
Sheldon surge
Sheldon always schedules a brutal nonleague slate to prepare for the Delta League and the section playoffs, the formula working to the tune of a trophy case full of league and section championships.
The Huskies are 10-9 but have just two in-section losses, to Bee No. 1 Inderkum (57-42) and No. 2 Monterey Trail (65-62).
Since then, Sheldon’s four-game winning streak includes a big weekend. It started Friday with a 65-51 effort over Franklin in Delta action at home and then a 45-37 defensive masterpiece over storied Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland the next night to cap the program’s all-day and night Block Party showcase.
Sheldon held O’Dowd to 9 points total in the second and third quarters and led by 19 when coach Joey Rollings pulled the starters, including leaders such as seniors Chadwick Johnson, Zion Johnson, Sebastian James and sophomore Baron Sabir.
Titans on the move
Anyone who graduated from Burbank or attends the school, will tell you that it’s located on 3500 Florin Road.
The Titans of 3500 Florin Road have fielded solid to superb teams since the early 1980s, first under coach John Copeland, and since 2007, by Lindsey Ferrell after he produced championship girls teams on campus. He has more than 500 total victories as a girls and guys coach on 3500 Florin Road.
This season’s Titans are 12-5 and 4-0 in the Greater Sacramento League, having been realigned after decades in the Metro League. Burbank is riding a 7-game winning streak and is 10-1 since suffering a 57-48 loss to Atwater, a Division I team that is 18-2.
Early losses to ranked teams Natomas (63-62), Grant (60-51) and Christian Brothers (63-55) got Burbank off to a 0-3 start before the Titans started to heat up.
Senior guard Michael Butcher is averaging 14.6 points, freshman guard Terron Tagger 12.6 and senior forward Cedric Sydnor 12.1. Sydnor leads the team with an 8.3 rebounding mark and in blocks at 2.9. Butcher leads in assists (5.0) and steals (3.4).
Burbank on Wednesday hosts Fairfield of Solano County, a team riding a nine-game winning streak as senior Johnnie Jones leads the team in scoring (21.9) and rebounding (10.7).
Milestone makers
‘Tis the season for Sacramento-area players to make their mark on their programs, including reaching the 1,000-point career milestone.
Those who have done so this winter:
▪ Manno Jenkins of Natomas, a third-year varsity junior guard who is averaging 21.3 points for the favorites to win the Golden Empire League championship.
▪ Moses Oginni, Casa Roble, a fourth-year varsity forward who is averaging 15.0 points for a team in pursuit of the GEL crown and is off to a 17-3 start entering Tuesday’s showdown at Natomas.
▪ Aiden Rollins, Franklin, a third-year varsity starting guard as a junior is averaging a career-best 22.3 points for a team in the Delta League championship hunt in a three-team sprint with Sheldon and Monterey Trail
▪ Jaylen Valdez, Destiny Christian Academy, a fourth-year varsity starting guard for the powerhouse Lions, formerly known as Capital Christian, is averaging 18.4 points for a team seeking the Metro League championship.
▪ Zach Villanueva, West Campus, a third-year varsity starting guard as a junior is scoring 20.1 points a game a year after going for 22.3 for a team seeking the Greater Sacramento League championship.
Club 2,000
If scoring 1,000 career points is something worth celebrating, then what about 2,000 points? Maybe a parade in Yolo County?
The 2,000-point mark is what Woodland Christian guard Romello Bruhn has accomplished in three seasons as a varsity guard for the Cardinals. He’s only a junior, and he is averaging 29.1 points, a hair below his 29.6 average a year ago.
Woodland Christian is one of the section’s top small-school programs, sitting at 14-5 overall and 5-0 in the Sierra Delta League.
The Bee’s Top 20
(Records entering Tuesday)
1. Inderkum (15-1)
2. Monterey Trail (15-4)
3. Folsom (16-2)
4. Sheldon (10-9)
5. Christian Bros (17-4)
6. Vanden (13-7)
7. Franklin (16-3)
8. Destiny Christian (10-9)
9. Woodcreek (15-5)
10. Jesuit (13-5)
11. Rocklin (11-8)
12. Placer (17-2)
13. Rio Americano (14-6)
14. Sacramento (9-9)
15. Oak Ridge (12-5)
16. Natomas (13-6)
17. Grant (13-7)
18. Antelope (15-6)
19. Burbank (12-5)
20. Whitney (13-6)
Bubble: Casa Roble (17-3), Elk Grove (14-5), Fairfield (14-4), Kennedy (11-6), Marysville (14-5), McClatchy (11-6), Rodriguez (16-3), Twelve Bridges (15-4).
This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 12:19 PM.