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Archbishop Riordan CCS Open Champions!

jordan24

jordan24

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With non-league and Holiday tournaments now concluded, the WCAL starts this week. Good to see so many of the teams play some of the top teams in the State and even Country. To kick things off, Riordan visits St. Francis on Jan 2nd as this is the lone game of the night in order accommodate Riordan's Jan 6th game against Bishop Gorman-NV in the inaugural Coastal Catholic Classic at Crypto.com in LA. The rest of the WCAL kicks off Jan 4th with games closing out the week on the 6th. Here's my predicted order of finish.

  1. Archbishop Riordan
    • Top Returning Players - 6-4 So Andrew Hillman, 6-6 Jr Jasir Rencher, 6-4 Sr Kaia Berridge, 6-5 Sr Nate Tshamala
    • New Players - 6-8 Sr Zion Sensley (returns from Prolific Prep), 6-10 Jr Steve Emeneke, 6-6 Jr John Tofi Jr, 6-3 Sr Jordy MacKenzie, 6-8 So Tommy Tofi, 6-4 Sr Durde Curcic, 6-2 Ryder Bush, 6-0 Fr Cole White
    • Top Games Non-league - Roosevelt (75-70 loss); University (73-63 loss); SRV (70-59 win), Branson 63-51 loss), Clovis North (74-65 win) - Upcoming Non-League Games: Bishop Gorman-NV (Coastal Catholic Classic @ Crypto.com-LA), Salesian (MLK@DLS), Centennial-Corona (Crush in the Valley)
    • Notes: Crusaders have not played as a full team yet due to injuries, transfer SOP, CIF suspension carryover from Inderkum incident, but should be at full strength this week. Team still needs to gel, but based on Coach Curtin's track record, they should be in sync come playoffs. Playing hard, sharing the ball, be quick - but don’t hurry (thanks Coach Wooden) and tough defense are the keys for their success. Riordan is a NorCal open contender.
  2. Archbishop Mitty
    • Top Returning Players - 6-8 Sr Gavin Ripp, 6-3 Sr Tyler Jones, 6-3 Sr Kai Grouleau, 6-2 Sr Nathan Noronha
    • New Players - 6-4 So Caeden Hutcherson (from SI)
    • Top Games Non-league - Branson, Salesian, Carlsbad and St. Augustine (losses):Strake, Brophy (AZ) Santa Margarita, Montgomery (wins)
    • Notes: Mitty and Riordan shared the WCAL title last year. The Monarchs look to have another strong campaign and will be the top challenger to Riordan for the WCAL and CCS Open title. Mitty is a NorCal Open contender.
  3. St. Ignatius
    • Top Returning Players- 6-8 Sr Theo Lamb, 6-2 So Raymond Whitley, 6-2 So Steele Laubagh
    • Top Games Non-league - University(2), Dublin, Sacred Heart Prep (wins); Redwood (loss)
    • Notes: The "Cats concluded an impressive non-league in spite of losing arguably its best player in Mitty transfer Caeden Hutcherson. SI the darkhorse for the WCAL crown
  4. Serra
    • Top Returning Players - 6-3 Sr Ryan Pettis, G Sr. Alex Naber, G Jr Mikey Ballout (best name btw!)
    • Top Games Non-league - Sacred Heart Prep (win); Central Catholic, Granada (losses)
    • Never count out the scrappy Padres and coach Rapp. The Jungle always provides challenges to visiting teams.
  5. Sacred Heart Cathedral
    • Top Returning Players - 6-1 Sr, Fedrick Pernell, 6- Jr Mykel Patton, 6-0 Sr Zemaury Erfe
    • Top Non-league games - Albany, Lincoln (wins); University, St. Marys-Berkeley (losses_
    • Notes: The luck of the Irish hit again as SHC captured the CCS Open Title last year despite a 7-7 WCAL finish. The Irish are fast and have good guard play that will keep them competitive in all their games..
  6. Bellarmine
    • Top Returning Players - 6-7Sr Nick Corbett 6-2 So Will Corbett
    • Top Non League Games - Heady Royce, Clayton Valley, Jesuit (wins); Brophy, Cathedral Catholic, SHP, Canyon View (losses)
    • The Bells look to take the next step up as this squad vastly improved at the end of last season. Non-league slate was challenging and should help this team this season.
  7. St. Francis
    • Top Players - 6-11 Jr Alexeander Gklaros-Stavopoulos, 6-2 Sr Charles Withers
    • Top Non-league Games - Hayward (win); St Josephs-Santa Maria, SHP, Bishop Manogue, Berkeley, Spanish Springs (losses)
    • Notes; Former USF Don Rodney Tention takes over from longtime coach Motil. The Lancers are a young squad.
  8. Valley Christian
    • Top Players - 6-4 Sr Tzhahari Trevino
    • Top Non-league games - Piedmont Hills, Acalanes (wins); Ygnacio Valley, Menlo Atherton (losses)
    • The Warriors lost its big man to Modesto Christian this year and will need to rely on its senior guard and underclassmen to lead them through the tough WCAL gauntlet.
 
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I’d put Si above Mitty, but other than that, I think this is a good list.

When si plays Mitty, Mitty will most likely know exactly what’s coming, thanks to the transfer Hutcherson.

WCAL should still go to Riordan when complete but every year there are surprises in this league
 
1. Bellarmine is a lot better than their record, but they lost their wing who transferred at the semester.
2. Valley does have a big guy who is pretty good (I think his name is Martinez). Every time you see tweets about their scores he has 20 points and 10 plus rebounds.
3. St Francis is struggling this year 2-8 in preseason. I think it's going to be a long year.
4. On paper Riordan is the most talented and deepest team. They can be scary good if it all comes together.
5. Mitty has played a great schedule and will be battle-tested.
6. Haven't seen SI play but they have had an impressive preseason. They run the same system with a lot of 3's. If shots are falling they will be a problem. Lack of size may hurt them against bigger teams.
7. Serra will be Serra, someone else besides Pettis needs to step up.
 
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SI's Theo Lamb injured an ankle in their game against SHP and was still wearing a boot at the Marin Catholic tournament. Anyone know how long he will be out? They have no height in the middle without him but did well in the tournament.
 
Will be curious how many WCAL teams will qualify for the CCS Open Pool. The top 4 are virtual locks…
Non-WCAL candidates: SHP, Menlo-Atherton, Piedmont Hills, Los Gatos, Santa Cruz
 
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jordan24 said:
Will be curious how many WCAL teams will qualify for the CCS Open Pool. The top 4 are virtual locks…
Non-WCAL candidates: SHP, Menlo-Atherton, Piedmont Hills, Los Gatos, Santa Cruz
Click to expand...

If Santa Cruz can win out….maybe a loss to Oakland or Uni and then undefeated other than that. They will get a spot in open if that occurs. Even though they lost they deserve credit for playing a really good St Joseph’s team

SHP and Menlo-Atherton deserves spots. So that’s 7.

I think the teams in contention for the final open spot are: Branham (11-1), Kings Academy (8-2) and Palo Alto (8-3).

Some dark horses: Cupertino (11-1), Valley Christian (6-1), and Carmel (10-1)
 
They seem always to take 5 WCAL teams, even 6. MA and SHP are in for sure. They have wins over WCAL teams and will roll in their leagues
 
padrewhipser said:
They seem always to take 5 WCAL teams, even 6. MA and SHP are in for sure. They have wins over WCAL teams and will roll in their leagues
Click to expand...

Right now my open for CCS would look like

1) SI vs. 8) Branham
2) Riordan vs. 7) Menlo-Atherton
3) Mitty vs. 6) Sacred Heart Prep
4) Serra vs. 5) Sacred Heart

Was really tempted to put Valley Christian at 5, but I think SH is a better team.
 
colhenrylives said:
...might switch SI and Serra...
Click to expand...

Might need to switch SI with Riordan. SI looks really good. Only loss is to Redwood, which maybe the best 8-7 team in high school basketball history.

Also, while I still think Zion Sensley (Riordan) is the clear cut favorite to win WCAL Poy, I think Gavin Ripp (Mitty), Caeden Hutcherson (Mitty), as well as Raymond Whitley (SI) could all challenge for the award.
 
1. Mitty (10-4)
2. Riordan (9-5)
3. SI (8-6)
4. Serra (8-6)
5. SHC (7-7)
6. Bellarmine (6-8)
7: SF (4-10)
8. VC (2-12)

POY: Ripp
 
ayalar09 said:
Might need to switch SI with Riordan. SI looks really good. Only loss is to Redwood, which maybe the best 8-7 team in high school basketball history.

Also, while I still think Zion Sensley (Riordan) is the clear cut favorite to win WCAL Poy, I think Gavin Ripp (Mitty), Caeden Hutcherson (Mitty), as well as Raymond Whitley (SI) could all challenge for the award.
Click to expand...
POY usually goes to a senior. But if you are putting sophomores Hutcherson and Whitley in the mix, Riordan's Andrew Hilman is the best of the lot based on his play (win or lose) against the likes of Roosevelt, Branson, SRV and Clovis North this season. IMO - he's the best player on the Riordan roster at the moment.
 
Looks like Riordan has almost everyone in uniform, tonight, except for Nate Tshamala and Nes Emeneke
 
ARHS Stats said:
Looks like Riordan has almost everyone in uniform, tonight, except for Nate Tshamala and Nes Emeneke
Click to expand...

Yikes that’s not good for Riordan. Emeneke must be dealing with an injury.

Riordan destroyed St Francis by 35-40 tonight.
 
padrewhipser said:
1. Bellarmine is a lot better than their record, but they lost their wing who transferred at the semester.
2. Valley does have a big guy who is pretty good (I think his name is Martinez). Every time you see tweets about their scores he has 20 points and 10 plus rebounds.
3. St Francis is struggling this year 2-8 in preseason. I think it's going to be a long year.
4. On paper Riordan is the most talented and deepest team. They can be scary good if it all comes together.
5. Mitty has played a great schedule and will be battle-tested.
6. Haven't seen SI play but they have had an impressive preseason. They run the same system with a lot of 3's. If shots are falling they will be a problem. Lack of size may hurt them against bigger teams.
7. Serra will be Serra, someone else besides Pettis needs to step up.
Click to expand...
Where did he transfer to?
 
ayalar09 said:
Yikes that’s not good for Riordan. Emeneke must be dealing with an injury.
Click to expand...
On the news tonight, they discussed a car accident this week which killed a 14 year old kid with the last name of Emeneke. They also mentioned he had been looking forward to playing basketball at Riordan next season. It almost certainly has to be a relative of Nes. Prayers to the family as they deal with this horrible tragedy.
 
observer22 said:
On the news tonight, they discussed a car accident this week which killed a 14 year old kid with the last name of Emeneke. They also mentioned he had been looking forward to playing basketball at Riordan next season. It almost certainly has to be a relative of Nes. Prayers to the family as they deal with this horrible tragedy.
Click to expand...
Thank you @observer22,….I think it would be appropriate to send support & good wishes to the immediate family and the @TheR family in general.

It is these moments that reveals the importance of Banners vs. TheR family,…

#GodBlessUmyFriend
#JCurtin-Consoler&Coach🙏🙏
#SmileToTheFaceB4TheTear2TheEye🏀❤️🙏
 
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observer22 said:
On the news tonight, they discussed a car accident this week which killed a 14 year old kid with the last name of Emeneke. They also mentioned he had been looking forward to playing basketball at Riordan next season. It almost certainly has to be a relative of Nes. Prayers to the family as they deal with this horrible tragedy.
Click to expand...
That’s terrible news! Prayers and condolences to the families. Different spelling of last name. Is the other boy related to former BOD star, Ivan Rabb? Excerpt from SJ Mercury: “ Amahje Amenike, 13, and Arsenio Rabb, 12, died after being taken by ambulance to a hospital following a vehicle crash that happened at about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. Police said they were traveling in a car that collided with another vehicle, and that driver then fled.”
 
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ArmchairGOAT said:
That’s terrible news! Prayers and condolences to the families. Different spelling of last name. Is the other boy related to former BOD star, Ivan Rabb? Excerpt from SJ Mercury: “ Amahje Amenike, 13, and Arsenio Rabb, 12, died after being taken by ambulance to a hospital following a vehicle crash that happened at about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. Police said they were traveling in a car that collided with another vehicle, and that driver then fled.”
Click to expand...
www.ktvu.com

Vigil held to honor 13-year-old boy killed in Antioch hit-and-run crash

13-year-old Amahje Emenike was killed in a hit-and-run crash just days before Christmas.
www.ktvu.com www.ktvu.com
 
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jordan24 said:
With non-league and Holiday tournaments now concluded, the WCAL starts this week. Good to see so many of the teams play some of the top teams in the State and even Country. To kick things off, Riordan visits St. Francis on Jan 2nd as this is the lone game of the night in order accommodate Riordan's Jan 6th game against Bishop Gorman-NV in the inaugural Coastal Catholic Classic at Crypto.com in LA. The rest of the WCAL kicks off Jan 4th with games closing out the week on the 6th. Here's my predicted order of finish.

  1. Archbishop Riordan
    • Top Returning Players - 6-4 So Andrew Hillman, 6-6 Jr Jasir Rencher, 6-4 Sr Kaia Berridge, 6-5 Sr Nate Tshamala
    • New Players - 6-8 Sr Zion Sensley (returns from Prolific Prep), 6-10 Jr Steve Emeneke, 6-6 Jr John Tofi Jr, 6-3 Sr Jordy MacKenzie, 6-8 So Tommy Tofi, 6-4 Sr Durde Curcic, 6-2 Ryder Bush, 6-0 Fr Cole White
    • Top Games Non-league - Roosevelt (75-70 loss); University (73-63 loss); SRV (70-59 win), Branson 63-51 loss), Clovis North (74-65 win) - Upcoming Non-League Games: Bishop Gorman-NV (Coastal Catholic Classic @ Crypto.com-LA), Salesian (MLK@DLS), Centennial-Corona (Crush in the Valley)
    • Notes: Crusaders have not played as a full team yet due to injuries, transfer SOP, CIF suspension carryover from Inderkum incident, but should be at full strength this week. Team still needs to gel, but based on Coach Curtin's track record, they should be in sync come playoffs. Playing hard, sharing the ball, be quick - but don’t hurry (thanks Coach Wooden) and tough defense are the keys for their success. Riordan is a NorCal open contender.
  2. Archbishop Mitty
    • Top Returning Players - 6-8 Sr Gavin Ripp, 6-3 Sr Tyler Jones, 6-3 Sr Kai Grouleau, 6-2 Sr Nathan Noronha
    • New Players - 6-4 So Caeden Hutcherson (from SI)
    • Top Games Non-league - Branson, Salesian, Carlsbad and St. Augustine (losses):Strake, Brophy (AZ) Santa Margarita, Montgomery (wins)
    • Notes: Mitty and Riordan shared the WCAL title last year. The Monarchs look to have another strong campaign and will be the top challenger to Riordan for the WCAL and CCS Open title. Mitty is a NorCal Open contender.
  3. St. Ignatius
    • Top Returning Players- 6-8 Sr Theo Lamb, 6-2 So Raymond Whitley, 6-2 So Steele Laubagh
    • Top Games Non-league - University(2), Dublin, Sacred Heart Prep (wins); Redwood (loss)
    • Notes: The "Cats concluded an impressive non-league in spite of losing arguably its best player in Mitty transfer Caeden Hutcherson. SI the darkhorse for the WCAL crown
  4. Serra
    • Top Returning Players - 6-3 Sr Ryan Pettis, G Sr. Alex Naber, G Jr Mikey Ballout (best name btw!)
    • Top Games Non-league - Sacred Heart Prep (win); Central Catholic, Granada (losses)
    • Never count out the scrappy Padres and coach Rapp. The Jungle always provides challenges to visiting teams.
  5. Sacred Heart Cathedral
    • Top Returning Players - 6-1 Sr, Fedrick Pernell, 6- Jr Mykel Patton, 6-0 Sr Zemaury Erfe
    • Top Non-league games - Albany, Lincoln (wins); University, St. Marys-Berkeley (losses_
    • Notes: The luck of the Irish hit again as SHC captured the CCS Open Title last year despite a 7-7 WCAL finish. The Irish are fast and have good guard play that will keep them competitive in all their games..
  6. Bellarmine
    • Top Returning Players - 6-7Sr Nick Corbett 6-2 So Will Corbett
    • Top Non League Games - Heady Royce, Clayton Valley, Jesuit (wins); Brophy, Cathedral Catholic, SHP, Canyon View (losses)
    • The Bells look to take the next step up as this squad vastly improved at the end of last season. Non-league slate was challenging and should help this team this season.
  7. St. Francis
    • Top Players - 6-11 Jr Alexeander Gklaros-Stavopoulos, 6-2 Sr Charles Withers
    • Top Non-league Games - Hayward (win); St Josephs-Santa Maria, SHP, Bishop Manogue, Berkeley, Spanish Springs (losses)
    • Notes; Former USF Don Rodney Tention takes over from longtime coach Motil. The Lancers are a young squad.
  8. Valley Christian
    • Top Players - 6-4 Sr Tzhahari Trevino
    • Top Non-league games - Piedmont Hills, Acalanes (wins); Ygnacio Valley, Menlo Atherton (losses)
    • The Warriors lost its big man to Modesto Christian this year and will need to rely on its senior guard and underclassmen to lead them through the tough WCAL gauntlet.
Click to expand...
  1. Riordan (WCAL outright champion)
  2. Mitty
  3. SI
  4. Serra
  5. SHC
  6. Bellarmine
  7. Valley Christian
  8. St. Francis
POY: Zion Sensley
 
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Riordan beat St Ignatius 68-51

Mitty beat Bellarmine 61-41

Serra beat Sacred Heart Cathedral 76-69
 
Dorde Curcic number 0 for Riordan is a real game changer for them. There is just something about the European player that is different from the American player.

I’m stunned he has no D1 offers yet.
 
ayalar09 said:
Dorde Curcic number 0 for Riordan is a real game changer for them. There is just something about the European player that is different from the American player.

I’m stunned he has no D1 offers yet.
Click to expand...
To generalize, the Euros understand basketball's overall TEAM concepts rather than focusing on one-on-one isolations. Watch Jokic with Denver. He is a giant point center, the result of Euro training. Name one U.S. big man even close to his skill set. And so it goes.
 
colhenrylives said:
To generalize, the Euros understand basketball's overall TEAM concepts rather than focusing on one-on-one isolations. Watch Jokic with Denver. He is a giant point center, the result of Euro training. Name one U.S. big man even close to his skill set. And so it goes.
Click to expand...
To be fair.. American big men when in high school get stuck on the block in the 9th grade. So their skills are stunted.
 
colhenrylives said:
To generalize, the Euros understand basketball's overall TEAM concepts rather than focusing on one-on-one isolations. Watch Jokic with Denver. He is a giant point center, the result of Euro training. Name one U.S. big man even close to his skill set. And so it goes.
Click to expand...
Prime Kevin Love. Can shoot, can pass, can rebound. Before him, lets go with Tom Tolbert.
 
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