The first week of the 2015-16 season was very eventful and full of great match-ups. Below is Coach K's Northern California Men's Basketball rankings for Week 1.
This ranking is solely for entertainment and educational purposes only, and is in no way affiliated with the CCCAA or any other association. It is purely my opinion based on my discussions from around the basketball community and my own personal observations and gut feeling. I appreciate you taking the time to read our blog.
#1 City College of San Francisco (3-0)Stays at my #1 ranking after an impressive showing at the CCSF Tip-Off tournament where they posted wins over Yuba (94-81), Mt. San Antonio (72-68) & Fresno City (94-81). The win over Fresno City seemed the most impressive as CCSF dominated the visiting Rams from start to finish. Jalen Canty proved he will be a handful as he dominated the paint all weekend long, putting most opposing defenders in foul trouble and swatting shots away on the other end. He earned tournament MVP and looks to be one of the most dominant forces inside that I've seen in a long time at this level. The rest of the CCSF squad showed they can really play together and also shoot the lights out, as many players, including 6'9 Jashandeep Kahlon, knocked down jumpers from beyond the arc. CCSF's full-court press also looks to bother most teams, as they have a deep bench and get after it on the defensive end. The press seemed to bother both Mt. San Antonio and Fresno City, which is very impressive since these teams usually are the one's pestering teams full-court.
CCSF will be back in action in Fresno for the Fresno City Tournament. They will face West Hills-Coalinga in the first round on November 13th.
#2 Fresno City College (2-1)Stays at my #2 spot after defeating Napa Valley (111-64) and Santa Rosa (79-74) in the CCSF tournament before falling in the championship. Despite losing in the championship, they lost to my #1 ranked team, which is only going to force me to place them just behind CCSF for now. Fresno did not suit up all their players in the championship, so if they face CCSF again in their own tournament this weekend, the results could be very different. The Rams are very talented this year and should stay at the top of my rankings all year long. They open up against Sierra this weekend in the Fresno City tournament on November 13th.
#3 Chabot College (0-0)Has yet to play this year, but is still holding the #3 spot for now. Has plenty of talent to stay at the top, but only time will tell. They host the Chabot Tip-Off round robin this weekend where they will face Siskiyous on November 12th at 8pm, Feather River on November 13th at 3pm, and Lassen on November 14th at 3pm. This will give us better insight on where to place to Gladiators, especially how they perform against a tough Feather River College squad.
#4 Butte College (3-0)Took the Championship of the Las Positas tournament where they won against three worthy opponents. Starting off slow against Diablo Valley, Butte took them into overtime and came out victorious 71-66. They also defeated a solid Columbia team 77-68 and Sacramento City 79-68 in the next two rounds. Butte has a great group this year, and has plenty of size to compete with anyone. They are off for a couple weeks, but will face Simpson JV on November 23rd at 7pm before having a rematch with Columbia on November 28th.
#5 Feather River College (3-0)
Feather River has come out of the gates fast this year, taking down Reedley (101-65) and Sierra College (92-83) at the Sierra Tournament. Monday they also defeated Cosumnes River at home 98-89 which will raise everyone's eyebrows even more. FRC was not in my pre season top 15, but have jumped all the way up to #5. As usual, Feather River looks to have a couple of the State's leading scorers again, as Derrick Randolph is putting up 32.5 points per game plus Anthony Smith netting 29.5 so far. They will head down the the Bay Area for the Chabot Tip-Off round robin where they will face three more solid teams. They will face Marin on November 12th at 4pm, Chabot on November 13th at 3pm, and De Anza on November 13th at 1pm. If you can get to Hayward early on Friday, I would recommend getting their for the Chabot match-up as this should be a great afternoon game.
#6 Santa Rosa Junior College (2-1)
SRJC jumps out of non-ranked status into my #6 spot. Looked really good at the CCSF tournament, taking down two very good teams in Alameda (86-53) and Mt. San Antonio (75-63). They took Fresno City down to the wire in the second round before falling 79-74. They have a good mix of speed, length, shooting and size to compete with anyone this year. If their shots are falling it will be a rough night for any opponent. They will head down to the Fresno City Tournament this weekend as well, starting off against Merced on November 13th.
#7 Cabrillo (2-0)
The Seahawks jump up two spots in my rankings as they took away two wins in their own tournament. They defeated Modesto (75-66) and San Joaquin Delta (84-71) to prove that Cabrillo is going to be a force again this year. Cabrillo will have another home game this week, as they host Las Positas on November 13th at 7pm.
#8 Monterey Peninsula College (2-1)
Drops a couple spots, mostly because of the emergence of Santa Rosa and Feather River in my rankings. They had two solid wins at San Jose City last weekend, coming away victorious over Foothill (72-62) and Lassen (83-63). They lost to Riverside City College (77-83) who went back to southern California undefeated. MPC will face Foothill again on November 12th at 5pm.
#9 Merritt College (2-1)
Moves up one spot in my rankings after an impressive showing at the SJCC Tip-Off. They took home wins against San Jose City (81-74) and Foothill (74-68) before losing to Riverside (65-69). Merritt has a completely new squad, but they look very balanced this year. They are off this week, but will be back in action against American River in the first round of the Shasta Tournament on November 20th at 4pm.
#10 Columbia (2-1)
Moves up five spots in my rankings after taking home third place in the Las Positas Tournament. They won a thriller against Contra Costa on a buzzer beater (74-73) to get into the winning bracket. In the second round they fell to eventual champion Butte College (68-77). In the third place game they defeated tournament host Las Positas (73-64). The Claim Jumpers will be back in action November 14th against West Valley at 6pm.
#11 Contra Costa (2-1)
The Comets are another team that has jumped into my Top 15. They recovered from a heartbreaking loss to Columbia by defeating a solid DVC squad the next night (70-66) to stay alive in the consolation bracket of the Las Positas Tournament. They then pummeled Mendocino (109-74) in the consolation bracket final to prove they are one of the top teams in Northern California this year. The Comets will take the rest of the month off before jumping back into action on December 3rd against Santa Monica in the Diablo Valley Tournament at 2pm.
#12 Cosumnes River (0-1)
The Hawks drop four spots in my rankings after falling to Feather River in their sole game of the season so far. However, since Feather River is in my top 5, I am not going to punish CRC too much, since they have not had a chance to face any other teams this year. They continue their road trip up north as they will face Lassen on November 11th at 2pm.
#13 Sacramento City (2-1)
Another pleasant surprise to Juco fans on opening weekend, Sac City opened up with wins over Siskiyous (84-81) and Las Positas (76-74) before falling to Butte in the Championship game (68-79). Sac City is back in action this weekend in the Solano Tournament where they will open up against Solano on Friday at 7pm.
#14 Shasta (2-0)
Another team that has jumped into the Top 15 out of nowhere is the Knights from Shasta College. They came away with two wins at the Cabrillo round robin over the weekend, defeating Delta (93-85) and Modesto (86-76). Is this a foreshadowing of the Golden Valley Conference emerging as a top conference this year? We will get to see how Shasta will continue as they open up in the Solano Tournament against American River on Friday at 3pm.
15-TIE
#15 Skyline (1-0)
They have only one game under their belt, but proved they can put the ball in the hoop this year, as they defeated Alameda (115-96). We will get to see more of Skyline as they also will be in the Solano Tournament this weekend. They open up against Redwoods at 5pm on Friday.
#15 Marin (1-2)
Not sure what happened in the consolation game against Alameda, but I did get to see Marin in the first two rounds of the CCSF tournament. I feel the dominant game against Yuba was most impressive, as Marin only suited up 7 players and had about a week of actual practice before the tournament. With some more practice time, and possibly a few more bodies on the bench, they could be very very good this year.
Falling off:
Yuba (0-2)
Hyped as one of Northern California's best teams this year, but didn't really compete against either CCSF or Marin. I believe they have the most talent, hands down, in Northern California, so I can't help but feel disappointed as a basketball fan. Is good enough to beat the mediocre teams on talent alone, but that won't be enough to get back into the playoffs.
DVC (0-2)
Started strong against Butte before falling in overtime. Was a setup for a frustrating weekend as they had to face a solid Contra Costa team in the consolation bracket. Has a week off before facing Cabrillo in the Shasta Tournament.
San Jose City College (1-2)
Has some talent, but seems to be missing the firepower that Speed City needs to play their type of game. Losing 2 of 3 in your own gym is not how anyone wants to begin the season.
Modesto Junior College (0-2)
Lost two games, to two teams that are currently undefeated. So trying not to look too much into their record, but they still need to pick up some wins. I thought they would be the sleeper this year, but only time will tell.
Cañada College (0-2)
Two games and out at the Cuesta Tournament. It seems they won't be the same without Crisshawn Clark suiting up this year for the Colts.
Las Positas (2-2)
Took fourth in their own tournament. Not a bad start, just not good enough to stay in my Top 15, for now.
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