Central California – On Saturday, November 23rd, Demetrius Porter (Director of Exposure Sports Elite) and Jarvis Turner (Head Coach of Beverly Hills High School) will host their 3rd Annual Heart of California Basketball Classic at the Save Mart Center at Fresno State University to kick-off the high school season. This event was designed to feature some of the top teams from Southern and Northern California playing against the top teams from the Central Section of California. Last year’s event saw the addition of 2 girls basketball games and a couple of prep school match-ups, which spanned over two-days.
This year, Porter and Turner went back to the one-day showcase format with a 9-game slate of action starting at 8:30 a.m. and wrapping up around 10:00 p.m. There are four key match-ups between some of the Central Section’s top teams, including defending Division 1 Section Champs Clovis North, going against one SoCal squad and three NorCal opponents. Also, there is a high profile match-up in the middle of those four games between two of the nation’s top prep schools this season, in what could be looked at as the afternoon/evening portion of the event. The morning and early afternoon portion of the event will feature some intriguing match-ups between Central Section schools across different leagues and divisions.
In keeping with the tradition that has been set the first two years of the HOC Classic, Central Cali hoop fans will have the opportunity to watch some of the nation’s top prospects. There will be ten Top 100 nationally ranked players on display at Save Mart Center in Darryn Peterson (247’s #3 for 2025), Mouhamed Sylla (247’s #30 for 2025), Niko Bundalo (247’s #31 for 2025), Winters Grady (247’s #75 for 2025), Jason Crowe Jr. (247’s #7 for 2026), Miles Sadler (247’s #37 for 2026), Seven Spurlock (Rivals’ #65 for 2026), Paul Osaruyi (ESPN’s #5 for 2027), Gabe Nesmith (ESPN’s #6 for 2027), and Obinna Ekezie (ESPN’s #19)
The final game of the event will feature last year’s Central Section Division 1 Champs in the Clovis North Broncos taking on the Sacramento Dragons of NorCal. The marquee game of the HOC Classic will be between last year’s co-TRAC League Champs, and Central Section powerhouse, the Clovis West Golden Eagles taking on the Inglewood Sentinels of Southern California. Inglewood’s Jason Crowe Jr., one of the nation’s top scorers and top 10 juniors in the country, is making his 2nd appearance at the HOC Classic. Last year, while attending Lynwood High School, Crowe dropped 34 points in a buzzer beater win over Central Section power San Joaquin Memorial, and he will look to have another big game at this year’s event as he eyes the all-time scoring record for the state of California.
The prep school match-up between national power, and fully reloaded, Prolific Prep and Bella Vista Prep-CIA EYBL will feature some of the nation’s top players, headlined by 247’s #3 ranked player in the 2025 class in Darryn Peterson. Multiple guys in this game are projected NBA draft picks in their respective graduation class, and Peterson has been on an absolute heater to start his senior season. The afternoon/evening portion of the event will see two other cross regional match-ups between the Buchanan Bears and NorCal’s Fremont Tigers, and the Bullard Knights going against the Grant Pacers of Sacramento.
The morning/early afternoon portion of the event will feature several interesting match-ups between Central Section teams. Sunnyside Wildcats will take on the Central Grizzlies, which may have some guys a bit sore, as both schools are still playing in the Section football playoffs and have games the night before the HOC Classic. The Sanger Apaches will take on the McLane Highlanders, the Fresno Christian Eagles against the Redwood Rangers, in what I see as one of the best games of the day, and the first game of the 3rd Annual HOC Classic between small schools McFarland Cougars and Mendota Aztecs.
Tickets for the 3rd Annual Heart of California Basketball Classic can be purchased at the box office window at Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA, or you can purchase online through Ticketmaster using the following link: https://savemartcenter.com/events/the-heart-of-california-basketball-classic-2024/
Below is a preview of each game, the game times, and the spotlight players to watch for each team. Thank you to Ronnie Flores (CalHi Sports and Ball is Life), Simply Basketball, and various coaches for providing player names for those I did not have on hand.
Schedule of Games (Saturday, November 23rd):
8:30 p.m. Clovis North Broncos (Fresno CA) v. Sacramento Dragons (CA)
Spotlights Players:
Broncos: 6’3 Loukas Jones (2025), 5’11 Nolan Birchall (2025), 5’9 McKae Amundsen (2026), 6’6 Elias Gish (2026), and 6’2 Jahlil Montgomery (2027)
Dragons: 6’6 Shobal Barksdale (2025), 6’4 Sir Marius Jones (2025), and 5’10 Ishan Wallace (2025)
7:00 p.m. Clovis West Golden Eagles (Fresno CA) v. Inglewood Sentinels (CA)
Spotlight Players:
Golden Eagles: 6’2 DJ Stickman (2025), 6’ Jace Kellogg (2026), 6’1 Myron Pondexter-Johnson (2026), 5’11 Spencer Kubit (2027), and 6’3 Lawrence Moore (2027)
Sentinels: 6’4 Dwayne Boston (2025), 6’9 Parker Jefferson (2025), 6’4 Jason Crowe Jr. (2026), and 6’5 David Conerly (2027)
5:30 p.m. Prolific Prep (Napa CA) v. Bella Vista Prep-CIA (Phoenix AZ)
Spotlight Players:
Prolific: 6’5 Darryn Peterson (2025), 6’10 Niko Bundalo (2025), 6’8 Winters Grady (2025), 6’5 Seven Spurlock (2026), 6’2 Rajan Roberts (2026), 6’11 Obinna Ekezie (2027), and 6’5 Gabe Nesmith (2027)
Bella Vista: 6’10 Mouhamed Sylla (2025), 5’11 Miles Sadler (2026), and 6’9 Paul Osaruyi (2027)
4:00 p.m. Buchanan Bears (Clovis CA) v. Fremont Tigers (Oakland CA)
Spotlight Players:
Bears: 6’1 Connor Sheets (2025), 6’8 Brayden Harris (2026), 6’4 Carter Finley (2026), and 6’4 Broden Burger (2027)
Tigers: 6’1 Zion Roper (2025), 6’8 Tyreese West (2026), and 6’2 Roy Bishop (2026)
2:30 p.m. Bullard Knights (Fresno CA) v. Grant Pacers (Sacramento CA)
Spotlight Players:
Knights: 6’4 James Miranda (2025), 6’2 Dalen Felder (2026), 6’2 Ja’Vance Coleman (2026), and 6’ Sean Smith-Sharkey (2026)
Pacers: 6’4 Andre Gomez (2026), 6’7 Nadir Lockhart (2026), 6’1 Coby James (2026), and 6’7 Roger Vanderhoen (2026)
1:00 p.m. Sunnyside Wildcats (Fresno CA) v. Central Grizzlies (Fresno CA)
Spotlight Players:
Wildcats: 6’4 C.J. Jones (2025), 6’2 Malachi Barnes (2025), and 6’2 Tanner Wilson (2025)
Grizzlies: 6’4 Gerld Perry (2025), 6’5 Na’Jae Stevenson (2025), Stanley Makely (2026), and 6’1 Sier Harbin (2027)
11:30 a.m. Sanger Apaches (CA) v. McLane Highlanders (Fresno CA)
Spotlight Players:
Apaches: 6’3 Caleb Ramirez (2025), 6’8 Micah Cole (2025), and 6’3 Luke Ramirez (2027)
Highlanders: Airian Chourn (2025), Keyvon Burcher (2026), Khristian Smith (2026), and Keshawn Langenfeld (2027)
10:00 a.m. Fresno Christian Eagles (CA) v. Redwood Rangers (Visalia CA)
Spotlight Players:
Eagles: 6’1 Aden Millwee (2025), 6’3 Beckham Klein (2025), 6’3 Trevor Engelman (2025), 5’10 Jeremiah Mason (2025), 6’6 Devin Gaines (2026), 6’ Noah Coutlon (2026), and 6’6 Tycen Ramirez (2026)
Rangers: 6’9 Cole Gilcrest (2025), 5’10 Elijah Casas (2025), 6’4 Moses Saulsbury (2025), and Zander Jensen (2027)
8:30 a.m. McFarland Cougars v. Mendota Aztecs
Spotlight Players:
Cougars: Ulises Molina (2026), 6’3 Malachi Davis (2027), and Levi Diaz (2027)
Aztecs: Ryan Preciado (2025)
