Week 3 included some grueling competition as well as giving us a peak at all of NorCals competition for the 2013-14 year, as all teams have now played this season. One thing I can tell for sure, is that this is going to be one of the most competitive years for California JC ball in quite awhile! Their is no clear runaway top team, as almost everyone seems to have raised their talent level from last year. Looking at the Top 15 I feel that every team on the list can win on any given night against any team. It's still early in the year, and some teams have a greater upside than others, while others could be considered 'early peakers', and others just need to play against better competition before we can decide where to rank them.
Here is Coach K's unscientific look at his Top 15 in Northern California JC Basketball
*Again, this is not an official ranking, this is only my opinion. This ranking is only as serious as you make it*
----Updated Rankings---- Coach K's Week 4 Rankings click here ------ Week 5 Rankings click here ---
1 - Yuba (4-1) Massey ranking #2
Still holding down the #1 spot in my opinion for this season. Did not play this past week, but still holds the only victory over CCSF who Massey has ranked #1 in Northern California as well as in the State of California.
Center High (Antelope) standout Chris Smith leads the way offensively posting 23 pts, 7 rebs & 5 assists per contest.
Next game vs. Columbia on December 3rd @ 4pm in the 76th Modesto Tournament which features 16 teams. I am going to come right out and say this ahead of time, whoever wins this tournament will be my automatic #1 bid for that week! Take a look at the bracket here.
2 - Fresno City (8-1) Massey ranking #3
Has won 2 tournaments this year, the grueling San Francisco Tournament with key wins over Santa Rosa & Yuba, and also the El Camino Tournament this past weekend with wins over host El Camino (2-3), Moorpark (2-4) & Lassen (4-2) in the Championship. So since they beat Yuba, who I currently still place #1, you're probably asking why I have FCC ranked #2. Losing on their home court to Sierra is currently haunting FCC at this point in my ranking scale, but they still earn a spot ahead of San Francisco for winning 2 solid tournaments this year and starting out with an impressive 8-1 record.
Bay Area product Dejon Budreaux (San Leandro High) averaged 12 pts after going scoreless in the opening game. James O'Neal (Freedom High) averaged 9 pts and 5 assists over the final two games of the tournament.
Next action Dec 3rd vs. De Anza @ 2pm in the 76th Modesto Tournament. Not a bad afternoon of basketball. Yuba plays at 2pm followed by FCC at 4pm. More great games follow. Might be worth taking an entire week off!
3 - San Francisco (5-1) Massey ranking #1
So I knocked them down a spot for not playing this past week? You're absolutely right, I'm a basketball fan and since FCC went and won another tournament while CCSF took a week off, I'm going to have to punish them a bit. Actually it was a very tough decision but I felt that both Yuba and FCC had better arguments at this point for the #1 spot in my warped mind than CCSF so there you go.
CCSF, however did win the Fresno City Tournament with victories over Allan Hancock (3-3), Santa Rosa (3-3) and Sierra (2-1). They are still monsters on the glass and their size and athleticism will overwhelm most opponents. Oh yeah, and they have this guy named Dulani Robinson.
Next action at Hartnell (0-2) on 11/26 @ 7pm & Santa Rosa on 11/30 @ 7:30pm on the road.
4 - Ohlone (5-1) Massey ranking #5
Moves up from #14 in my ranking after a very impressive weekend winning the Championship of the Shasta Invitational Tournament. Solid wins over Merritt (4-2) 97-83, Canada (1-6) 86-64 and Diablo Valley (2-1) 67-54 in the Championship give Ohlone enough clout to jump up to #4. Only loss was opening game of the season to Delta (3-1) at home, which will haunt their memories for a little longer. But with a showing like last weekend, that memory is fading fast.
Newark Memorial product Casey Norris posted a double-double of 21 pts & 10 assists in the opening round over Merritt College.
Next action is 11/30 vs West Valley (2-3) @ 5pm
5 - Sierra (2-1) Massey ranking #4
No games this past week. Impressive win over Fresno City on the road in the opening round of the FCC tournament is what keeps them in the top 5. Lost to San Francisco in the Championship. I'm also biased because I've seen them play and they are arguably the best all-around team Sierra has had in a long time, which should make them contenders in conference and state this year.
Next action is against Los Angeles Pierce in the Citrus College Tournament on 11/29 @ 6pm
6 - Cosumnes River (5-1) Massey Ranking #12
Jumps up seven spots to #6 after running off three wins in their own tournament this past weekend. Solid wins over Columbia (4-3) 76-48, Portervillle (5-3) 86-68 & handing Chabot their first loss of the season (6-1) in the Championship game by a score of 81-74.
6'9 post Daiveon Leverett (Weston Ranch) is out with an injured finger, but CRC seemed to be playing just fine while they await the return of their freshman big man. Jaycob Velasco, AJ Bridges and Rodney Cook seem to be a triple threat as they scored 55 of the 81 points in the Championship game.
Next action vs Reedley (2-1) on December 3rd @ 8pm in the 76th Modesto Tournament. *If CRC and Chabot can escape the first round, be on the lookout for a rematch between these two.
7 - Delta (3-1) Massey Ranking #10
No games this past week. Previously ranked #10 by Coach K, but actually benefited from Ohlone jumping up so high in the rankings, since they gave Ohlone (6-1) their only loss of the season, at home, in the opening game of the Ohlone Tournament. Delta also has a solid win over Cabrillo (4-2) as they took home the Championship of that tournament. Could be ranked higher, but suffered a loss at home to Columbia (4-3).
So far St. Mary's (Stockton) product Alex Simmons leads the way on the offensive end posting 16 pts per contest followed by Jerrel Green of Bear Creek who is averaging 14 pts & 9 rebs while shooting just under 60%.
Next action is at Merced (0-6) on 11/26 @ 7pm.
8 - Los Medanos (5-0) Massey Ranking #7
NorCals sole undefeated team, comes off a weekend winning the Mendocino Tournament. Wins over Modesto (3-3) 89-81, Siskiyous (4-2) 77-71, and Butte (3-3) in the Championship by a score of 86-75. I am looking forward to seeing LMC go up against more worthy opponents in the Monterey Classic & Santa Rosa Tournaments in December.
No stats are currently posted up for LMC so far for this season.
Next action vs. Gavilan (1-4) in the opening round of the Monterey Classic on 12/5 @ 7pm.
9 - Lassen (4-2) Massey Ranking #14
Stays at the #9 spot after heading down to Southern California for the El Camino Tournament and finishing 2nd after falling to Fresno City (8-1) 63-80. Actually held a 7 point halftime lead 41-34 over FCC before getting outscored 46-22 in the 2nd half. Comes back home from SoCal with wins over Sequoias (2-6) 75-68 and Cuesta (3-3) 85-77. Oakland High prospect Meshawn Beard averaged 14 points & 5 assists in the tourney, and McClymonds standout Lawrence 'Steady' Otis averaged 10 points over the weekend.
Next action Lassen faces Contra Costa (1-2) in the opening round of the DVC tourney on 11/29 @ 6pm.
10 - Chabot (6-1) Massey Ranking #13
Falls from last weeks #6 spot after losing to Cosumnes River (5-1) 74-81 in the Championship of the Cosumnes River Tournament. Had wins over Merced (0-6) 96-49 and Napa (2-3) 78-64 in the first 2 rounds. Unfortunately for Chabot, the Cosumnes River game was really their first against a top tier opponent, and by falling to the Hawks it is going to hurt their ranking at this point. Chabot has a chance at redemption in the Modesto Tournament where they could face Cosumnes River on a neutral court in the 2nd round, as well as other top tier opponents, if they can advance in the winners bracket.
Chabot has an impressive roster, and if they can put it together, can compete with anyone. Oakland Tech product, Leo Smith scored 17 points in the Championship game and averaged 13 pts & 3 assists over the weekend. Skyline High prospect Paris Davis averaged 10 points & 4 rebounds while Sacred Heart Cathedral point guard Khalil James started all 3 games during the tourney. Bay Area native & University of Memphis transfer Matt Simpkins is averaging close to a double-double to go with 4 blocks per game. Rumored to have dominated at times on the defensive end, Simpkins could be scary when he realizes he could also dominate on the offensive end by staying in the post
Next up is Shasta (1-6) on 12/4 @ 2pm in the opening round of the 76th Modesto Tournament.
11 - Diablo Valley (2-1) Massey Ranking #8
DVC decided to unveil their 2013-14 squad 3 weeks into the season, and posted some solid wins over Cabrillo (4-2) 68-63 and Foothill (3-3) 69-60, before falling to Ohlone (6-1) 54-67 in the Championship of the Shasta Invitational Tournament.
Bishop O'Dowd prospect Justin Yeargin scored 11 in the first game, while De La Salle product Joe McNiff had 6 treys on the way to 19 points. Jermaine Edmonds of Salesian posted 18 points in the second victory, while A.B. Najee out of Berkeley scored 13.
Next up DVC faces Solano (2-3) in the first round of the Diablo Valley Tournament on 11/29 @ 8pm.
12 - Cabrillo (4-2) Massey Ranking #11
Cabrillo drops one spot thanks to the emergence of DVC in the rankings. Cabrillo took the Consolation Championship this weekend with a victory over American River (1-4) 67-62 & solid win over Merritt (4-2) 83-76. Lost to DVC (2-1) in the opening round 63-68.
Detroit product Warren Jackson leads the offense with 14 pts per game.
Next up Cabrillo hosts the Cabrillo Tournament starting 12/6. Bracket has yet to be posted
13 - Santa Rosa (3-3) Massey Ranking #6
No games this past week. But actually moves up a few spots to #13. 2 of their losses are to San Francisco, and the other to Fresno City. Took San Francisco down to the buzzer in the second match. Santa Rosa has weapons both inside and outside, and has a chance at revenge when they face San Francisco again at home on 11/30 @ 7:30pm
Northern Cali products Alec Kobre (Montgomery High) & Matt Hayes (Pleasant Grove) lead the way on the offensive end averaging 16 & 15 respectively.
14 - Merritt (4-2) Massey Ranking #9
Drops all the way from last weeks #5 spot down to #14 after suffering 2 losses in the Shasta Invitational. Won the San Jose Tournament in the opening weekend, but losing in the Consolation Game this past weekend is not something to brag about. Lost in the opening round to Ohlone (6-1) 83-97 and Cabrillo (4-2) 76-83. It's sole win over the weekend was over Shasta (1-6) 97-83.
Oakland native Denzel Bellot averaged 15 pts & 4 rebs over the weekend. El Camino product Anthony Knight averaged 19 pts & 6 rebs over 3 games. San Jose State transfer, David Andoh, posted 19 pts & 10 rebs in the loss against Cabrillo.
Up next Merritt faces Bakersfield (4-1) on 11/29 @ 5pm in the Bakersfield Tournament.
15 - San Jose City (2-2) Massey Ranking #18
San Jose goes on a 2 game skid after suffering a loss to Reedley (2-1) at home 82-87.
Next up San Jose City faces Sacramento City in the opening round of the DVC Tournament on 11/29 @ 2pm.
*** Feel free to chime in with comments about how you feel teams should or could be ranked, or what you may have noticed about any particular teams so far. I have not seen most of these teams play, and am going off of rumors, numbers, traditions, rosters, and whatever other data I can pull up. Be interesting to hear what other readers may have to say about NorCal teams!
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