Central Section, CA – The holiday tournament portion of the preseason has come to a conclusion and league play starts for most teams this week. This is the ideal time to update my team rankings to reflect how teams played over the past two to three weeks. The top three are still in a class of their own. St Joseph continues to impress and look like one of the best teams in California, as Baylor-commit Tounde Yessoufou inches closer to setting the all-time scoring record for the Central Section, which was just set by Logan Kilbert last year, as well as the all-time state scoring record. Clovis North had a rough go at the Classic at Damien but played some of the best teams in the country and the Western region and still has some of the most impressive wins over teams in California. San Joaquin Memorial had a strong showing at the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic and will be the heavy favorites to win the CMAC.
The next tier of teams is still Clovis West, Buchanan, Clovis East, Bakersfield Christian, and Bullard. These teams have either played each other, or have played a common opponent, and Buchanan has emerged as the top team in this tier at the time of this writing. However, with TRAC League play around the corner, this could all shake up after the first run through TRAC play. Bakersfield Christian and Bullard play each other on the 18th, which could provide more clarity on where these teams will be slated when I update this list next time.
After the first two tiers of teams, it gets really congested. Bakersfield beat North Bakersfield, Bakersfield lost to Sanger, Sanger lost to Central and Sunnyside, Hoover defeated Sunnyside in its own tournament but lost to Hanford. Tulare Union has a lot of wins but lost to Kingsburg who lost to North Bakersfield. Mission Prep and San Luis Obispo have amassed a significant number of wins and will play each other two times in league to sort those two squads out for playoff seedings. South Bakersfield and Frontier are on the cusp of this tier of teams, as well as Fresno Christian, Clovis, Roosevelt, Redwood and Hanford. League play will help sort most of this congestion out and the next two weeks should lead to some big changes when the next round of team rankings comes out.
1. (1) St. Joseph Knights (Santa Maria CA) (13-1)
The Knights continue to hold steady at the top of this updated list of Top 15 Team Rankings, as it comes off a successful holiday tournament and showcase portion of the high school preseason. The Knights earned wins over Edgewater of Florida and Gibbs of Florida to win the Sunshine Series Championship at the illustrious City of Palms Classic. St. Joseph followed that up with a 3rd Place finish at The Classic at Tennessee High School with wins over West Ridge of Tennessee, Orem (#1 team in Utah), and Milton (#3 ranked team in Georgia). Its only loss of the season to this point came at the hands of Calvary Christian Academy of Florida (a top 20 team in the country), who were the champions of the The Classic at Tennessee. The Knights came back to Cali and got a big win over St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs in the 17th Annual Real Run Showcase at Inglewood High School. The Knights are currently ranked #18 in the country according to MaxPreps and will head to Fresno on Wednesday to take on Clovis West, a team it defeated last year in the Central Section D1 Semifinals and look to get a win over one of the Section’s top teams. St. Joseph has a few big games in one-day showcases, but it should run through Central Coast Mountain League play, but its strength of schedule may not be hindered as much as it has been the past few seasons with Mission Prep and San Luis Obispo having really good seasons at the time of this writing.
2. (2) Clovis North Broncos (Fresno CA) (13-4)
The Broncos remain at #2 in this updated Team Rankings list and is coming off some tough losses in the top division at The Classic at Damien (the Platinum Division), which featured some of the countries top teams. When this was updated last time, the Broncos had just wrapped up a 3rd Place finish at the Gridley Invitational over San Ramon Valley of Danville, and its only loss at that time coming at the hands of Riordan of San Francisco, the recent runner-ups at the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic. The Broncos followed that up with a tournament championship win over fellow Fresno rival Bullard at the Mission Prep Christmas Classic in San Luis Obispo. The Broncos were placed in the top division at The Classic at Damien and got a first round win over Los Alamitos. Clovis North would lose its last 3 games of the Damien, but all against high level opponents in eventual tournament champs, and MaxPreps #1 team in the country, Roosevelt of Eastvale; O’Connor of Phoenix (the #2 team in Arizona), and Heritage Christian of Northridge. Despite going 1-3 in The Damien Classic, which, outside of St. Joseph, not sure if any other team from the Central Section beats those same three teams, Clovis North has earned wins over some of the state’s best and is still a top 20 team in California. The Broncos will travel to Mountain House on Tuesday and look to get back to its winning ways.
3. (3) San Joaquin Memorial Panthers (Fresno CA) (12-4)
The Panthers hold idle at the #3 spot in this updated list and are coming off a tough loss to a quality Moreau Catholic of Hayward squad at the annual NorCal Sports TV Central Valley Showcase at Sanger High School. San Joaquin got a win over Bakersfield High to start the holiday break before taking part in the illustrious Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, where it would go 3-1 and take 5th Place in the Senator’s Division. The Panthers will take on a solid Hanford squad this Tuesday before starting CMAC play against Edison of Fresno. The Panthers earned wins over Santa Fe Christian, Sacramento High, and Rancho Buena Vista, and its only loss at the Holiday Classic came against Brentwood School who would go on to win the Senator’s Division. The remainder of the Panthers schedule is against Central Section opponents, including a few non-league games in one-day showcases.
4. (6) Buchanan Bears (Clovis CA) (16-2)
Moving up two spots from the last round of team rankings, and coming in at #4 is the Bears of Buchanan. Despite its undefeated record at the time of writing the last round of rankings, I was skeptical of moving the Bears up past teams like Clovis East and Bakersfield Christian due to lack of a quality win compared to the teams mentioned above. Buchanan participated in one of the best events on the high school basketball calendar, the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, playing in the 4th highest division, the Gatorade Division. The Bears would go 3-1 in the Gatorade Division and finish 5th Place with a win over Weston Ranch of Stockton. The Bears would follow this up with a strong showing at the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic, earning wins over Venture Academy of Stockton, Vanden of Fairfield, and fellow TRAC opponent Clovis West, before falling to the host team in the Championship Game, 65 to 54. The remaining schedule for Buchanan is TRAC League play and it will have a chance to either stay in this spot or move up higher if it can get a win over Clovis North. Given that the TRAC League has been considered the toughest league in the Section according to MaxPreps Strength of Schedule measure, the fate of the Bears seeding really comes down to how well it fairs in the TRAC.
5. (8) Clovis West Golden Eagles (Fresno CA) (7-10)
Jumping up three spots and rounding out the Top 5 is the Golden Eagles at #5. Although Clovis West still has a losing record, the wins it has amassed since the last round of these team rankings is the key reason I moved the Golden Eagles back into the Top 5. The Golden Eagles played in the Tarkanian Classic, one of the top high school events of the year, in the Nike Division, the second highest division of the event. Despite going 1-3, Clovis West lost to Parish Episcopal of Texas, Pasadena, and Roosevelt of Oregon, and got a win over American Fork of Utah. However, it was the Golden Eagles showing at the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic that made me move it up past several teams with better overall records. Clovis West earned wins over Bullard of Fresno in the quarterfinals and Clovis East to finish 3rd Place. Buchanan defeated the Golden Eagles in the semifinals, which is why I have the Bears above Clovis West. In head-to-head match-ups, an indicator I have always valued in team rankings, Clovis West has a win over Clovis East, who has a win over Bakersfield Christian. Bullard has lost to Clovis East and Clovis West, which is why I have these four teams slotted in the order they appear in this round of team rankings. Clovis West got a big win over Sheldon of Sacramento this past Friday night and is set to take on the Section’s top team in St. Joseph this coming Wednesday, which will be a major test for the Golden Eagles.
6. (4) Clovis East Timberwolves (CA) (13-4)
Despite moving down two spots to #6, the Timberwolves have been one of the top 6 teams all preseason and has continued its high level of play throughout the holiday tournament portion of the season. Clovis East earned wins over Pleasant Valley of Chico and Weston Ranch of Stockton in the first two rounds of the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic before falling short to the host team in the semifinals. This would set up a match-up between TRAC foes for the 3rd Place game, where the T-Wolves would fall to the extremely battle tested Golden Eagles by a score 66 to 59. Clovis East would then head to Arizona for the Nike Tournament of Champions tournament. After earning wins over Westwood of Arizona and Providence of Burbank, the T-Wolves would lose a close one in overtime to Victory Christian Academy of San Diego, 71 to 69. Other than a match-up against Redwood of Visalia at the Pagmeter Showcase at Fresno Christian, Clovis East plays its remaining games in TRAC play. Like all the teams in the TRAC, how Clovis East finishes out in league play will determine where it is seeded for the D1 Playoffs.
7. (5) Bakersfield Christian Eagles (CA) (9-6)
The Eagles move down two spots in this updated list at #7, but are playing their best basketball of the season heading into league play. The Eagles won the Consolation Championship at the St. Francis Holiday Hoopfest defeating St. Bonaventure of Ventura. The Eagles earned a win over Birmingham of Lake Balboa in the Eastside High School of Lancaster Showcase. Bakersfield Christian took part in the BSN Showcase held at Pacifica Christian of Newport Beach, where it fell short by one point to Montgomery of San Diego 45-44. Montgomery is the top team in the SD Section and was ranked #9 in California at the time of that game, which is a great loss for the Eagles. Bakersfield Christian has some big non-league games coming up against Frontier of Bakersfield and Bullard of Fresno, as well as league opponent Bakersfield High. The rest of the games for the Eagles this season will be in Bakersfield. The strength of schedule in league play may be enough to keep the Eagles out of the Top 5 for playoff seeding, unless the TRAC teams beat-up on each other and there are a bunch of splits between teams in that league, which could help out the Bakersfield Christian.
8. (7) Bullard Knights (Fresno CA) (10-7)
Moving down one spot and coming in at #8 is the Knights from Bullard. The Knights were putting together a solid run of wins at the Mission Prep Christmas Classic and a semifinal win over West Ranch of Valencia before reality had set in. During the semifinal win, junior standout lead guard Ja’Vance Coleman Jr. went down with a foot injury. By Monday’s championship game it had been determined that Coleman would not only miss the championship game against Fresno rival Clovis North, but he would be out for at least 4 weeks, as he would fracture the foot he injured last season that took Coleman out of the line-up for the remainder of the season. The time-table to return has been stated as 4-6 weeks, but this would negatively impact the Knights on the court, as it would struggle in the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic. After an opening round win over Amador Valley, the Knights would lose the next 3 games against Clovis West, Vanden of Fairfield, and Weston Ranch in the 7th Place game to round out the tournament. The Knights were able to rally last season and ended up going undefeated in CMAC play and a final four run to the D3 State Playoffs. With the firepower of juniors Dalen Felder and Sean Smith-Sharkey, to go along with the impressive play of senior James Miranda, Bullard will put the pieces together and always seem to find a groove once the postseason arrives. I am hoping Coleman is able to get back on the court this season, as the Knights will need him to make a significant run in the D1 Section Playoffs, but I still have them in the top 8 based on team wins and Bullard will welcome CMAC play, as San Joaquin is the only team I would predict to beat them in league.
9. (10) Mission College Prep Royals (San Luis Obispo CA) (14-3)
The Royals move up one spot and come in at #9 in this updated list, as it has earned the same amount of wins halfway through this season compared to all of last season’s total wins. The Royals have quality wins over Fresno Christian, Clovis High, Roosevelt of Fresno, and South Bakersfield. I have the Royals one spot ahead of the Drillers based on Mission Prep beating Oxnard who beat Ventura who beat Bakersfield High in the Santa Barbara Holiday Tournament. At this point in the season, it would appear that Mission Prep and San Luis Obispo are the likely contenders to chase 2nd place in Mountain League play, as St. Joseph is poised to run through the league once again. Nevertheless, the schedules and records of both the Royals and the Tigers should help St. Joe’s overall strength of schedule, which has not been the case the last three seasons or so.
10. (9) Bakersfield Drillers (CA) (10-6)
Rounding out the Top 10 and sliding down one spot at #10 is the Drillers of Bakersfield High. The Drillers have been much improved this season and look to be getting back to being one of the top teams in the South Valley. After the Lloyd Williams Tournament, the Drillers hosted Section power San Joaquin Memorial the Friday night that started the holiday break. The Drillers had the lead at half and were only down 6 points going into the 4th quarter, 47-41. Julius Olanrewaju went off in the final frame to cap off a 33-point performance and the Panthers ran away with the game in the 4th quarter, but Bakersfield athleticism combined with its quality guard and perimeter play kept the Drillers close for most of the game. The Drillers played in the Santa Barbara Holiday Invitational to end the calendar year, where Bakersfield went 1-2 with losses to Ventura and Orange Lutheran, and a win over Davis Sr. I have kept the Drillers ahead of North Bakersfield, as Bakersfield got the head-to-head win over the Stars in the early going of the preseason. The Drillers host Edison of Fresno tomorrow and have a big-time league match-up against Bakersfield Christian on the 16th of this month.
11. (13) North Bakersfield Stars (CA) (13-4)
The Stars move up two spots and land at #11 for this round of team rankings. After taking 2nd Place in its own Lloyd Williams Holiday Hoops Tournament, the Stars headed to Visalia to take part in the Polly Wilhelmsen Tournament at Mt. Whitney and Redwood High Schools. The Stars would run it back and win its 2nd consecutive Polly Championship with wins over Pioneer Valley, Hanford, Dinuba, and Kingsburg. The Stars start league play this week and have a big game this coming Saturday against Frontier of Bakersfield. At the moment, the Stars are playing quality basketball and are looking like the team to beat in the D3 Section Playoffs.
12. (15) Tulare Union Tribe (CA) (16-2)
The Tribe have continued to tally up the wins and move up three spots to #12 in this updated round of team rankings. Tulare Union has earned quality wins over Sunnyside of Fresno, Redwood of Visalia, Corcoran, and Central Valley Christian of Visalia. The loss to Kingsburg in the Polly Wilhelmsen Tournament was a bit of a surprise to some, but Kingsburg has suffered some losses this season that do not reflect how good the Vikings could be if it could string some wins together. The Tribe have been led by its backcourt duo and will be the favorites to win the West Yosemite League, but Hanford will have something to say about that. Although Tulare Union does not have many quality wins, as long as it keeps winning games it will stay in the top 15 of these team rankings.
13. (9) Sanger Apaches (CA) (13-4)
The Apaches move down four spots and come in at #13 in this updated list of team rankings. Sanger got a win over Justin Garza at the Hoover HIT Tournament, but suffered some tough losses to Fresno teams Central and Sunnyside. The Apaches have gotten on a roll and won its last three games, with the most recent win coming against Lemoore at its own Central Valley Showcase event this past Saturday. Sanger has a big game in Bakersfield against Centennial Tuesday night and will serve as a good test to see if the Apaches are back to its winning ways or continue to be bunched up in the 3rd tier of teams in the Section. Sanger is the favorite to win the 2nd tier of the new CMAC League format.
14. (NR) Central Grizzlies (Fresno CA) (13-5)
The Grizzlies have had a much better start to this season and make their debut in this list of Top 15 Teams in the Section, coming in at #14. The Grizzlies are coming off a solid week of play at The Classic at Damien, going 3-1 and taking 5th Place in the Bronze Division with wins over Orange Vista, Blair, and Albany before coming back to the Central Section and getting a win over Justin Garza in the Sanger Central Valley Showdown. The Grizzlies have a game against Corcoran at the Pagmeter Showcase at Fresno Christian but the rest of its games will be in TRAC League play. League play will be tough but if Central can accumulate some wins, it could have a true bounce back season from last year.
15. (12) Fresno Christian Eagles (CA) (10-4)
Rounding out the Top 15 and dropping a couple of spots at #15 is the Eagles of Fresno Christian. The Eagles participated in the Mission Prep Christmas Classic and lost to the host team on the final day of the tournament, but have not played since December 23rd. Given the lack of games played over the last two weeks, it was inevitable that the Eagles would drop from its previous spot in these team rankings. Fresno Christian has a big game against Kingsburg on Tuesday, Sunnyside the day after that, and a huge game against San Joaquin Memorial at the Pagmeter Showcase held at its gym.
Honorable Mention :
Frontier Titans (Bakersfield CA) (7-10)
Hanford Bullpups (CA) (11-4)
Hoover Patriots (Fresno CA) (8-5)
Kingsburg Vikings (CA) (7-9)
San Luis Obispo Tigers (CA) (13-3)
Sunnyside Wildcats (Fresno CA) (13-5)
