Week 4 was a light week, for most teams, due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. However, their still was plenty of action over the past 7 days and Coach K's rankings have been shaken up. It's still pretty early in the season, but some teams are showing strides while others are riding purely on their athletic ability or talent at the moment. Still, in looking at the Top 15, I feel that every team can win on any given night against anyone in the State of California. This is a critical point in the pre-season, as some teams seem to find themselves, while others seem to lack chemistry or identity. In addition, we have some BIG TIME Tournaments during Week 5 that could make the first week of December an epic week in the 2013-14 season. (The Modesto Tournament alone has 7 of the Top 15 teams in Coach K's ranking)
You will notice that the Top 4 remains unchanged from Week 3, but many teams are starting to work their way up the ladder as some 'big hitters' have fallen out of the rankings completely.
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*
1 - Yuba (4-1) Massey rating #2
Still holding down the #1 spot in my opinion for this season. Did not play the past two weeks, but still holds the only victory over CCSF who Massey has ranked #1 in Northern California. Another key victory was over defending state champs Mt San Antonio (4-2).
Next game vs. Columbia (5-4) 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! The tournament features 3 of my top 5 teams! Take a look at the bracket here.
2 - San Francisco (7-1) Massey rating #1
After a week off San Francisco went on a road trip to Hartnell (0-4) & Santa Rosa (3-4) and came home with 2 more wins. Although San Francisco is stacked with talent again I still feel that Yuba has a better argument for the #1 spot at this point since they won the head-to-head battle with San Francisco on the road.
San Francisco, however, did win the Fresno City Tournament with victories over Allan Hancock (5-3), Santa Rosa (3-4) and Sierra (2-4). 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 vs Imperial Valley (2-5) on December 6th @5pm in the Mt San Antonio Tournament.
3 - Fresno City (8-1) Massey rating #4
No games this past week. The loss at home to Sierra is starting to plague the Rams even more since Sierra has gone on a 4 game losing streak starting the season (2-4). For this reason I have slid San Francisco ahead of FCC this week. Fresno has had a solid start to the season. They have won 2 tournaments this year; the grueling San Francisco Tournament with key wins over Santa Rosa (3-4) & Yuba (4-1), and also the El Camino Tournament with wins over host El Camino (2-4), Moorpark (2-5) & Lassen (5-4) in the Championship.
Next action Dec 3rd vs. De Anza (2-3) @ 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!
4 - Ohlone (7-1) Massey rating #3
Holds solid at #4. Defeated West Valley (2-4) 80-61 to bring their winning streak to 7 games. Previously had a very impressive weekend winning the Championship of the Shasta Invitational Tournament. Solid wins over Merritt (5-3) 97-83, Canada (1-7) 86-64 and Diablo Valley (4-1) 67-54 in the Championship give Ohlone enough clout to keep their ground at #4. Only loss was opening game of the season to Delta (4-1) at home, which will haunt their memories for a little longer. But with their current run of 7 games in a row, that memory is fading fast.
Next action is 12/6 vs. Sequoias (2-6) at in Fremont @ 5pm.
5 - Cosumnes River (5-1) Massey Rating #12
No games this past week, but jumps up one spot from #6 after Sierra gave up the #5 spot by going 0-3 in Southern California over the weekend. Previously CRC jumped up several spots in the ranking after running off three wins in their own tournament. Solid wins over Columbia (5-4) 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.
Next action vs Reedley (3-3) 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.
6 - Diablo Valley (5-1) Massey Rating #5
DVC ran off 3 straight wins over the holiday weekend on track to winning the Diablo Valley Invitational Tournament. Wins over Solano (3-5) 70-40, Wayne CCC-Michigan (4-2) 86-78, and San Jose City (4-3) 69-67 in the Championship. Previously posted some solid wins over Cabrillo (4-2) 68-63 and Foothill (4-3) 69-60, before falling to Ohlone (7-1) 54-67 in the Championship of the Shasta Invitational Tournament.
DVC definitely has come back with a very talented squad after failing to make the playoffs last year. From what I saw over the weekend they are a very well balanced team who can compete with anyone in the state.
Next action is 12/12 vs. Monterey Peninsula (2-4) @ 4pm in the San Jose Classic Tourney.
7 - Delta (4-1) Massey Rating #10
Week included one game, a victory over Merced (0-6) 73-47. 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 (5-4).
Next action is at home against Las Positas (3-3) on 12/5 @5pm.
8 - Los Medanos (5-0) Massey Rating #7
NorCals sole undefeated team. Took this past week off. Previously won the Mendocino Tournament with wins over Modesto (3-4) 89-81, Siskiyous (6-2) 77-71, and Butte (4-4) 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.
Next action vs. Gavilan (1-4) in the opening round of the Monterey Classic on 12/5 @ 7pm.
9 - Chabot (6-1) Massey Rating #13
No games this past week. Fell a few spots 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. 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 athletically can compete with anyone.
Next up is Shasta (1-6) on 12/4 @ 2pm in the opening round of the 76th Modesto Tournament.
10 - Cabrillo (4-2) Massey Rating #9
No games this past week. Moves up two spots after Sierra and Lassen fell in my rankings. Cabrillo took the Consolation Championship in the Shasta Invitational with a victory over American River (1-4) 67-62 & a solid win over Merritt (5-3) 83-76. Lost to DVC (5-1) in the opening round 63-68. Also opened the season getting 2nd in the Ohlone Tournament.
Next up Cabrillo hosts the Cabrillo Tournament starting 12/6. Bracket has yet to be posted
11 - Merritt (5-3) Massey Rating #7
Moves up a few spots from last weeks ranking of #14 which resulted from suffering 2 losses in the Shasta Invitational. But over the Thanksgiving break they had a quality win on the road in the Bakersfield Tournament over host Bakersfield College (5-2) by a score of 78-54. Lost to Allan Hancock (5-3) in the Championship 82-79. Won the San Jose Tournament in the opening weekend and since they defeated SJCC in Silicon Valley, they are placed ahead of San Jose in my rankings.
Up next Merritt faces Ohlone (7-1) on 12/12 in the San Jose City Tournament @ 8pm.
12 - San Jose City (4-3) Massey Rating #14
San Jose ran off a couple key victories over the weekend on their way to getting 2nd in the Diablo Valley College Invitational Tournament. Wins over Sacramento City (4-4) 90-79, Lassen (5-4) 85-64 before falling to host DVC (5-1) at the buzzer in the Championship 69-67. Got 2nd place in their own tournament to start the season. The loss at home to Reedley (3-3) is hurting them in my rankings right now.
SJCC has lots of fire power from both inside & outside. They can outscore anyone on any given night. Another team that has stepped up the talent level and can compete with anyone this year.
Next action is vs. Alameda (0-3) on 12/12 @ 6pm in the San Jose City Classic Tournament.
13 - Lassen (5-4) Massey Rating #15
Drops a few spots from #9 after suffering two losses in the DVC Tournament over the weekend. Defeated Contra Costa (1-4) 67-62 before falling to San Jose (4-3) 64-85 & Wayne CCC-Michigan (4-2) 73-78. Previously traveled to Southern California to compete in the El Camino Tournament. Finished 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. Came back home to the North with wins over Sequoias (2-6) 75-68 and Cuesta (4-3) 85-77. Also helping boost Lassens ranking is the fact they are the only team to defeat Cosumnes River (5-1) this season.
From what I have seen Lassen is more talented than last years 23-8 team. However, on-court leadership & chemistry is lacking on this squad, which hurts them against the better opponents.
Next action Lassen faces Sacramento City (4-4) in the opening round of the Modesto Tournament on 12/4 @ 6pm.
14 - Siskiyous (6-2) Massey Rating #19
Edging their way into the rankings for the first time this year, Siskiyous starts the season with an impressive record. Best wins this year so far have been over Columbia (5-4) & Butte (4-4). Opting for the high energy offense, Siskiyous is always fun to watch. Look for them to face tougher competition this week in the 16 team Modesto Tournament. They open with Cuesta (4-3) on 12/4 @ 8pm.
15 - Sacramento City (4-4) Massey Rating #16
Makes the top 15 for the first time this year. So far they have beaten the teams they are supposed to, but have lost to the better competition. Lost to #1 Yuba, #10 Cabrillo & #12 San Jose. The loss that almost kept them out of the Top 15 was to Solano (3-5) in the 3rd Place game of the Ohlone Tournament. Sac City redeemed themselves over the weekend getting their revenge in a 92-76 victory over Solano in the Consolation Championship of the DVC Tournament.
Sac City has a talented team and will be another team that can give anyone a tough game this season.
Next action is vs. Lassen (5-4) in the opening round of the Modesto Tournament on 12/4 @ 6pm.
Honorable Mention
Santa Rosa (3-4) Massey Rating #6
Only one win over a team with a winning record this year, Marin (3-2). Otherwise has 4 losses, 3 of which they suffered to San Francisco (7-1), and the other to Fresno City (8-1). Has to get some victories before I can place them back in the Top 15. Has the toughest schedule in the entire state, but their is no virtue in suffering losses to some of the state's best teams, especially if it's over and over and over again. Must get some W's, but is up next against San Bernardino(7-2) in the tough Riverside Holiday Tournament on 12/11 @ 3pm.
Sierra (2-4) Massey Rating #11
I don't even know what happened here. Not sure if they have had injuries or if they just surprised Fresno City in the opening game of the year. Started strong with a victory on the road against #3 Fresno City (8-1), but has suffered 4 straight losses, some to top notch programs, and some to well, not-so-top-notch programs.... LA Pierce (2-7). Unless the cccaa website is incorrect of course. Other losses were to San Francisco (7-1), Citrus (4-2) & San Diego (5-4)
Has chance at redemption in the Cabrillo Tournament on 12/6
West Hills (5-2) Massey Rating #21
Up next vs San Diego Mesa at home on 12/7 @ 6pm
Foothill (4-3) Massey Rating #17
Up next vs Solano in the Foothill College Invitational on 12/13 @6pm
*** 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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