Hello all & Welcome to the 4th Annual Riley Christiansen Memorial Classic. This event will take place over December 19th-21st at Clayton Valley Charter High School. Here are the 1st Round Matchups followed by a breakdown of each team.

Thursday, December 19th
4:00 PM Carlmont vs. Chaparral-Colorado
5:30 PM Liberty vs. Lincoln-Stockton
7:00 PM Clayton Valley Charter vs. Berkeley
8:30 PM Cardinal Newman vs. Granada

Berkeley 3-2...#46 in NCS...#325 in CA
This is the Berkeley Yellowjackets first time at our event. This North Coast Section D1 team plays in the West Alameda- Foothill League. Berkeley so far this season has wins over Foothill, El Cerrito and De Anza. Last season Berkeley finished 20-7 and made it to the NCS Quarterfinals in Division 1 before losing to Liberty of Brentwood.

Cardinal Newman 6-2...#19 in NCS...#129 in CA
The Cardinal Newman Cardinals from Santa Rosa & the North Bay-Oak League so far this season have played a tough non-league schedule by participating in some of the top pre-season showcases. Cardinal Newman is a North Coast Section D4 school, but has major wins this season over Oakland & Bullard-Fresno. The Cardinals finished their previous 2 tournaments this season by making the championship game at the Clovis North tournament before falling to the host school by 3 and this past weekend taking home their Rose City Classic Championship at Cardinal Newman by 25 vs. Casa Grande. Last season Cardinal Newman finished 26-4 and made it to the NCS D2 Quarterfinals before losing to St. Patrick-St. Vincent.

Carlmont 3-3...#28 in CCS...#306 in CA
The Carlmont Scots from Belmont represent the Central Coast Section D1 in this year's tournament and play in the Peninsula-Bay League. So far this season Carlmont has played in the Crusader Classic at Archbishop Riordan and has key wins over Saint Francis & Miramonte. Last season Carlmont finished 18-8 and advanced to the CCS D1 Quarterfinals before falling to Palo Alto.

Chaparral 5-0...#1 in CO
The Chaparral Wolverines come to us from Parker, Colorado where they are considered one of the best basketball programs in their state and currently ranked #1 in Colorado on MaxPreps. Chaparral is in the Colorado Class 6A, which are the biggest schools in the state. Last season Chaparral finished 20-6, winning their league and making it all the way to the Colorado State Quarterfinal before losing to eventual State Champion Valor Christian. The Wolverines finished the 2023-2024 season ranking 5th in the state of Colorado.

Clayton Valley Charter 4-2...#14 in NCS...#96 in CA
Clayton Valley Charter is a part of the North Coast Section D1 & the Diablo Athletic League. The Ugly Eagles are off to a solid start to their season playing one of the most difficult schedules around. Clayton Valley Charter this season has key wins over Weston Ranch, Clovis West and Branson. They finished last weekend competing at the Gridley Invitational where they finished 1-2 having tough battles with both Clovis North & Destiny Christian Academy. Last season the Ugly Eagles finished 23-10 and made it to the North Cost Section Open Playoffs. Clayton Valley Charter's 2023-2024 season ended in the CIF Northern California D1 Quarterfinals after losing to Archbishop Mitty on the road.

Granada 4-6...#69 in NCS...#525 in CA
Granada come from the North Coast Section D1 & the East Bay Athletic League. The Matadors have already played 10 games this season competing in the Bishop O'Dowd Thanksgiving Showcase, the Edison-Stockton Winners Classic and the Vacaville Tournament. This season Granada has key wins over Sacramento & Head-Royce. Granada has one more game before the Riley Christiansen Classic Tuesday night at Rodriguez in Fairfield. Last season Granada finished 26-5 and was invited to play in the NCS Open Division for Section. For the CIF State Playoffs Granada made it all the way to the NorCal Championship where they lost to San Ramon Valley.

Liberty 4-1...#36 in NCS...#213 in CA
Liberty is a member of the North Coast Section D1 & the Bay Valley Athletic League. The Lions have a key win over Vanden in the NorCal Ultimate Showcase at San Leandro High School earlier this season. Liberty has one more game this week before the Riley Christiansen Classic at Antioch Tuesday night. Last year Liberty finished 25-4 and undefeated in league. They made it all the way to the 2024 NCS D1 Semi-Finals before losing a tight one to Dublin.

Lincoln-Stockton 3-1
Lincoln of Stockton is this year's representative from the Sac-Joaquin Section D1 and plays in the Tri-City Athletic League. Lincoln so far this season has played in the NorCal Tip-Off at Dublin defeating San Ramon Valley at the buzzer in Overtime, as well as making the championship game at the Edison-Stockton Winners Classic where they fell the Folsom. Last year Lincoln finished 26-7 and was the runner-up in the Sac-Joaquin Section D1 Playoff where they fell to Modesto Christian in the Section Championship. Lincoln then advanced to the CIF State Playoffs in D1 where they lost in the first round to Serra.

All of us at Clayton Valley Charter & the Christiansen Family look forward to hosting another fantastic event and hope everyone will join us this upcoming weekend!

Here are two games that I think will be really good this weekend

1-AA: Pittsburg vs. Lincoln-San Diego (this has become the premier game most years with Open likely being a no contest. Lincoln has a big win over Grant)

3-AA: Frontier-Bakersfield vs. Amador Valley (Frontier had an early season win over Oak Rdige, but lost to Liberty. AV comes in playing well with a good offense)

Mitty wins the first game of the day, 68-50 over George Rogers Clark from Kentucky.

Obviously the gap is still large beween Serra and MD/Bosco. Potentially the best team/defense in school history and it still was not enough to avoid a running clock. Any suggestions/ideas on how Serra can close the gap with these So-Cal powers?

Looks like this one will be happening week 0 followed by Serra the next week.

🍿

This is crazy to drop any team in December for some adidas gear. I’ve never heard a VP (Tonia Coleman) override the Coach & the AD….this is why Berkeley High will never be a place that student-athletes wanna attend because it’s no loyalty from the top.

Had frosh team drop have a game available tonight and tomorrow morning email paul@gsfarms.net asap

UConn 102-75 over URI in at Hoophall in an exhibition.

Aidan was a bit quiet in the first half, got pushed around some (but still scored 5) ...

But he was a LOT more assertive in the 2nd half, ending up with 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting, 3 of 5 from the arc. 3 assists, 2 steals...

Didn't start, but he played 23 minutes, 3rd most on the team.

Not bad for that kid from the back alleys of Moraga!

Actually, we can take two schools or six schools (entries have to be divisible by four), but given that it's getting late, I'm assuming we won't get six more entries.

So if you've got three games open, the Jamboree wants you.

CalPreps says Mater Dei will bop the Spartans, 44-3. If we get such a result, will it be time to send the Mater Deis and St. John Bosco's to a national tourney with programs of their own ilk like IMG Academy and Bishop Gorman?

Christmas is coming and nothing better than imagining the section playoff seedings. With the new format starting, it is shaping up to be very interesting. Especially interesting when we start to evolve into latter part of div 1 and all of div 2.

North coat section

Open

Salesian
DLS
SRV
Clayton
Moreau
Dougherty *

Div 1

Ygnacio
Campolindo
Dublin
Liberty
Bishop Odowd
Amador Valley
Redwood *
Benicia
Alameda
Monte Vista
California
Northgate
Pittsburg

Div 2

Cardinal Newman
St Marys Berkeley
Acalanes
Heritage
Mckinleyville
Washington
University
Montgomery
Terralinda
Livermore
Arcata
College Park

Div 3

Branson


Div 4

Cornerstone

I love the knowledge the posters have in Northern and Southern California Sports! I want to spread some love to all of you as you show all the qualities of being a good sport in this world of me. Go love someone and go watch some hoops! Merry Christmas to you and yours, God Bless all here on this site as I consider you part of my world!!! Wishing each of you health, happiness, prosperity, and a great old fashion!! Cheers

Marshall Collins is taking over at St. Mary's High School. This will shake up some thangs in the next
coming years. Marshall has coached at the Juco level for many years and is a highly successful
coach. You may also know him from coaching the Soldiers top team and leading them to
the 2017 Nike Peach Jam Championship. Can't wait to watch this.....

After numerous tries over the past few decades, the Marin County Board of Supervisors approved field lights for Marin Catholic's football, soccer and lacrosse stadium. So there will be Friday night lights for football moving forward! A nice opportunity for the school and the county overall.
MC field lights approved

Given the recent court decision in favor of Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia, which challenges the NCAA's rules about counting JuCo play towards NCAA eligibility, we could see a big shift in how high school athletes view junior colleges. This ruling could transform JuCos from just another step to a key training ground without burning NCAA eligibility years. Could Junior College football become the new high-level training ground?

This would be a huge win for the athletes!

Warriors trailed 22-9 early, but went on a 16-1 run in the third quarter to take the lead for good. Bryant Clark with 16 points and five assists, and 6'9 sophomore Teni Bamisebi scored seven of his 11 in the third quarter. Dougherty Valley extremely frustrated with a couple of late calls.

Valley Christian won't be in the WCAL basement this year. Question is if the Warriors can crack the top four. I have a feeling they'll be a far better team at home than on the road, considering their physicality and how WCAL games are officiated in favor of home teams. Their lack of depth may be a concern, but I really like their starting five.

https://bayprepsinsider.substack.com/p/south-bay-shocker-valley-christian

So this year, 75% of the top 100 teams from CalPreps are in Southern California. I imagine it has been like this in past years. Yet Northern California schools are leading (pretty significantly) in the number of state titles won. So why aren't more Northern California schools ranked in the Top 100 by CalPreps? Seems like 75% of the state titles should be won by SoCal schools since 75% of their teams are in the Top 100. Is there something in the CalPreps algorithm that favors Southern California schools? Maybe the Southern California Open, D1 and D2 type schools are often better than the Northern California Open, D1 and D2 schools, but Northern California is superior on the lower than D2 (or D3) level? And since there are more lower than D2/3 title games that is why Northern California leads in the "who has won most state title game" tally. Or maybe it is as simple as there is just that there are more schools in Southern California. Any thoughts?

For those that are looking to come see or watch some basketball over the next few days, below is a link to the JS Christmas Classic bracket. The tournament is at Justin-Siena High School and we are very excited about the competitive field at the tournament this year. All games will be broadcast on the NFHS Network as well.

JS Christmas Classic Bracket

GoFan Ticket Link

NFHS Link

Looking forward to a great tournament!

I am at Placer High’s wonderful Hoosiers-like gym

Right now, the Antelope freshmen are boatracing Placer’s frosh…. was 54-12 at the half, running clock entire 2nd…

66-12 at the 3:25 mark 4th.

No Etiwanda, Sierra Canyon or Long Island Lutheran? Where are these going instead?

Recently, I've observed many qualifying players with FCS offers opting for community college football instead.

In the era of the transfer portal, for players aiming to compete at the FBS level, is it more advantageous to initially accept scholarships at FCS schools or to attend junior colleges, particularly considering development opportunities and visibility to scouts?