Sacramento-area boys basketball star has his long-held California scoring record broken
Tounde Yessoufou was the man of the hour on Saturday night in Santa Barbara County, but he kept deferring to those around him, deflecting attention to those he deemed equally as worthy of a moment in the spotlight.
As prolific as the dazzling 6-foot-6, Baylor-bound guard has been in setting the California high school career scoring mark held by one of the Sacramento region’s greatest players, Yessoufou couldn’t help dishing out assists in reminding that records should not be defined as an individual thing but as a team-wide conquest.
After breaking the state mark of 3,462 points held by Sheldon’s DeMarcus Nelson since 2004 in a nonleague home victory for the St. Joseph Knights of Santa Maria over Weston Ranch of Stockton, Yessoufou thanked all of his teammates, his classmates, his coaches, teachers, family and friends. The family link stretches to the West African nation of Benin, where Yessoufou grew up a soccer player before moving to California before his freshman season.
Yessoufou moved to the United States, he said, for a chance to play college athletics and to earn a degree and to make his family proud. He didn’t know a word of English when he first set foot in this country, and his basketball game was raw. Now he’s quite the polished player for quite the powerhouse team, and he speaks well, smiling and laughing when reminded that he’s a good talker.
“I was excited (to come to America),” Yessoufou said after his record-setting effort. “I wanted to come to the United States for a better life for me and my family. I believe I would never break a record, but I knew deep down in my heart I will fight for anything I can do to be able to provide for my family and myself and a better life for my mom for sure.”
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Setting records with class
Yessoufou and the Knights of the Central Section are the best player and team I have seen this season. He’s also the best reminder that one can bear down on a major milestone with humility and class. His team could wind up back at Golden 1 Center, home of the Sacramento Kings, next month for the CIF State Open Division championship, and Yessoufou and company are worth a watch.
What stands out most after watching Yessoufou take apart a solid Weston Ranch team with inside moves, dunks, 3-pointers and intense defensive pressure is that he has no hot-dog to his game. He doesn’t showboat. He competes. He was genuinely moved and humbled by the outpouring of support he received in finishing with 30 points to push his record to 3,467 points for a 26-1 team.
“This is going to be one of those things I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” Yessoufou said. “This is a team award. When you play basketball, you don’t play by yourself. You play with five people, and it felt like there were all 20 of us (setting the record).”
How about that? In an era where sportsmanship is too often a low priority when prep players chase down scoring records at the expense of an overmatched, winless team, Yessoufou is a reminder of why high school sports is so uniquely fun and refreshing.
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Cartwright, Nelson set previous standard
When a prep All-American leads the charge of sportsmanship, then everyone should follow.
That was the case 50 years ago when the 7-foot Bill Cartwright of Elk Grove High set Sacramento and state scoring records before starring four seasons at the University of San Francisco and logging a long NBA career. Cartwright said then and for years since that his greatest feat as a prep was winning championships, not setting scoring records.
That was the same theme echoed when Nelson set the state career scoring in a playoff game at Arco Arena in Sacramento in leading his Elk Grove Unified School District program. The 6-3 guard in 2004 and since has mentioned teammates and friends more than milestones. He played three varsity seasons at Vallejo High before his final season at Sheldon, leading to a four-year run at Duke and a long professional career overseas.
So of course Nelson sent a cellphone video tribute of appreciation to Yessoufou, and it was played for the crowd to hear on Saturday night.
Nelson said, in part, “You should really be proud of this record, but don’t stop here. Congrats to the new all-time state scoring leader from the former record holder.”
Said Yessoufou: “It was a sign of respect to see (Nelson) do that. For him to offer congratulations means a lot.”
Mark Tennis, the editor of CalHi Sports over the decades, has charted records for his online site and tracked this one. The Sacramento-area product whose office is in Stockton made the drive to Santa Maria to watch history, and he presented Yessoufou with a certificate detailing what he had done.
Might a Sacramento team face Yessoufou?
St. Joseph and Yessoufou will be in the Open Division, the big boys, a bracket that can be six to eight teams deep. If a Sacramento-area team wins the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship in unseating three-time defending champion Modesto Christian along the way, that team will likely be placed into the NorCal Open.
This region’s top D-I teams are Bee-ranked No. 1 Inderkum, No. 2 Monterey Trail, No. 3 Folsom and No. 4 Sheldon, among others.
So a local team taking on Yessoufou is possible if St. Joseph is placed in the NorCal bracket (it could also be placed in the SoCal bracket as the Central Section can go either way).
I remember covering 6-6 Fresno prep All-American guard Jalen Green in a 2018 NorCal Open Division game at Sheldon, and though Green dazzled with dunks and 3-points and had 23 points, the hometown Huskies won 67-65 in overtime. Green went on to become a first-round draft pick in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, where he leads the club in scoring at 21.5 points.
Yessoufou is even more impressive as a complete player than Green was at this age. Stay tuned.
Big Red D
No. 9 Jesuit is in the Sierra Foothill League championship chase because of the leadership of senior guard Asher Schroeder, a Bee Player of the Year candidate, and especially for the way the Marauders defend. Everyone on the roster gets involved on defense, moving their feet, collapsing on players, trapping and boxing out for coach Tim Kelly.
The most points Jesuit has surrendered this season is 65, to Bishop Gorman of Nevada on Dec. 6 in a tournament, and to Folsom in SFL play on Jan. 22. Both of those were losses, so the mantra is Sub-60.
Jesuit beat Rocklin 59-55 in overtime on Jan. 15, making star Thunder forward Mark Lavrenov work for all of his 19 points. The Marauders twice put the clamps on Whitney, winning 73-43 and 52-37 after leading 16-1 after the first quarter and 28-4 at the half.
“It really is a team effort,” Kelly said. “I wouldn’t say we have any exceptional individual defenders but rather, a group of players that understand team defense and are willing to help each other. Asher Schroeder and Amaury McKinney are really good rebounders, and defense isn’t over until you get the ball back.”
Jesuit visits No. 10 Rocklin in Placer County on Wednesday, a game that will be streamed live on the NFHS Network through ABC Jam Productions and play-by-play voice Matthew Bessette.
Casa Roble Rams uprising
Led by leading scorer Benny Ambriz and a superb supporting cast, Casa Roble of Orangevale enters The Bee’s Top 20 at No. 20, sporting a 20-4 record with a group that is in the thick of the Golden Empire League race.
A senior guard, Ambriz averages 18.2 points. Senior forward Moses Oginni scores 14.5 a game and junior forward Mason Pearcy 12.4.
Oginni also averages 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 1.8 blocks and 3.3 assists for a Rams team that just two local losses - to Roseville and GEL first-place and Bee No. 14 Natomas. The Natomas rematch is Feb. 11 in Orangevale.
The Bee’s Top 20
(Records entering Tuesday)
1. Inderkum (21-1)
2. Monterey Trail (19-5)
3. Folsom (20-3)
4. Sheldon (14-9)
5. Franklin (20-4)
6. Christian Bros (19-6)
7. Vanden (17-8)
8. Destiny Christian (14-11)
9. Jesuit (17-6)
10. Rocklin (16-8)
11. Woodcreek (20-5)
12. Placer (21-2)
13. Sacramento (15-9)
14. Natomas (18-6)
15. Rio Americano (16-9)
16. Oak Ridge (15-7)
17. Grant (15-9)
18. Antelope (17-7)
19. Whitney (16-8)
20. Casa Roble (20-4)
Bubble: Burbank (15-8), Elk Grove (15-8), Fairfield (17-6), Fortune (15-7), Lincoln (18-5), Marysville (18-6), McClatchy (13-8), Rodriguez (18-5), Roseville (15-8), Twelve Bridges (17-6), Sacramento Waldorf (21-2), West Campus (13-9), Woodland Christian (19-5).
This story was originally published February 4, 2025 at 12:35 PM.