Congrats to the Wildcats. While most of us, me included were either at De La Salle & Monte Vista or James Logan and Newark, Dougherty Valley was wrapping up there 1st ever league Championship in a very tough DFAL and finishing with a 24-2 record. I think a strong case will be made for them to be the 2nd seed and at worst the 3rd seed in D1.
Dougherty Valley Wins 1st League Championship
- Thread starter NorCalScout
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Congrats to them. Great team and well coached. How was the de la salle and monte vista game? Also how was the Newark vs James Logan game?
I think San Leandro who may be a 12-14 seed can upset any team in the top 4 besides de la salle. I think it's a lot deeper. Even a Berkeley or a Castro Valley, James Logan and Pitt will be first round threats
question? How tough is the DFAL? Outside of Falls are there in any potential college players in that league? D1, D2 or D3??
Watson not being at Campo really hurt them. I think Clarke at Campo is D2 or D3 caliber, Ionescu D3 caliber. Maybe Prince at Las Lomas. But I agree that the DFAL is not particularly strong.
dhickma, I am with you. I am so glad to see someone stand up for themselves and I think in the long run, the school district made the right choice and I am glad to see Hansen come out on top. They say the sign of a Champion is how you deal with adversity, well Hansen and Dougherty are both Champions.
The DFAL is as good as any other league in the East Bay, they may not have the star talent others have but they have some great coaches, real nice players and much more team oriented then most of the leagues I've seen. They don't rely on 1 or 2 players like most other teams in the other leagues.
Falls (D1), Ionescu (walk on D1 or D2 &D3), Clark, Prince (D1), Manansala & Hocking can all play at the next level and this league has always taken a back seat to others in the area but Dougherty & Dublin should both be in the top 5 or 6 in D1, Miramont will be a top 5 & Campo top 10 possibly in D3 and Las Lomas as disappointing as they have been will be a top 10 in D2.
I agree on most takes about Castro Valley, James Logan, Berkeley & San Leandro being dangerous but keep in mind, there records speak for themselves, you don't play 25-26 games and say we had injuries, bad calls, bad refs or bad luck. These teams are all capable of playing a great game or two but consistently they have not done it for long periods of time.
I would love to see a Monte Vista & Freedom rematch and the winner (Freedom I am thinking) will take on De La Salle.
The DFAL is as good as any other league in the East Bay, they may not have the star talent others have but they have some great coaches, real nice players and much more team oriented then most of the leagues I've seen. They don't rely on 1 or 2 players like most other teams in the other leagues.
Falls (D1), Ionescu (walk on D1 or D2 &D3), Clark, Prince (D1), Manansala & Hocking can all play at the next level and this league has always taken a back seat to others in the area but Dougherty & Dublin should both be in the top 5 or 6 in D1, Miramont will be a top 5 & Campo top 10 possibly in D3 and Las Lomas as disappointing as they have been will be a top 10 in D2.
I agree on most takes about Castro Valley, James Logan, Berkeley & San Leandro being dangerous but keep in mind, there records speak for themselves, you don't play 25-26 games and say we had injuries, bad calls, bad refs or bad luck. These teams are all capable of playing a great game or two but consistently they have not done it for long periods of time.
I would love to see a Monte Vista & Freedom rematch and the winner (Freedom I am thinking) will take on De La Salle.
Not sure I understand your post PrepD.. Last time I checked, the best coaches in Bay Area in the past and present are not in the DFAL. Every time people talk about a school that does not have talented players, the first thing that comes up is how well the team is coached and how team orientated they are. Salesian, O'Dowd, Mitty, St, Joes, Moreau to name a few have stellar coaches. Most would argue the best in NorCal. They have D1 talent, win big time games and know when to coach and when to let their players play. Slowing the game down does not automatically translate to great coaching.
NS there is a difference between great coaches and great recruiters. All those private schools you mention pretty much have their pick of who they bring into their programs.
NSBasketball, there are good / great coaches all over the greater bay area. I would put Matt Watson up against any of those guys or teams you have mentioned. DFAL does have some fine quality coaches, Costello & Hansen to name a few. I would disagree with you on the stellar coaches with the exception of Salesian (Mellis), he can flat out coach.
How is O'Dowd doing after there D1 players have moved on? Moreau is well coached but I am not sure I would put him in the class of stellar or great coaches but he's getting better and better, let's see how he does after a few of his star plays graduate. Look no further then Ashmore @ Newark, Jones @ Monte Vista & Rapp @ Serra, they are as good any anyone in this game and they do it year in a year out without slipping or missing the playoffs for a few years in a row.
Some do a better job with the talent, some do a better job developing talent and some coaches are in a tough situation and they do it for the love of the game and like coaching, helping out and giving back. Some coaches build programs and not 1 or 2 year wonders.
O'Dowd & El Cerrito are two very disappointing teams, more so El Cerrito. Some say they are well coached, some say they are good coaches and some say they are poorly coached, we make make out own opinions but if you gave Rapp, Ashmore, Mellis & Jones, that kind of talent, I promise you they wouldn't be at 15-12 (El Cerrito) or 12-12 (O'Dowd).
How is O'Dowd doing after there D1 players have moved on? Moreau is well coached but I am not sure I would put him in the class of stellar or great coaches but he's getting better and better, let's see how he does after a few of his star plays graduate. Look no further then Ashmore @ Newark, Jones @ Monte Vista & Rapp @ Serra, they are as good any anyone in this game and they do it year in a year out without slipping or missing the playoffs for a few years in a row.
Some do a better job with the talent, some do a better job developing talent and some coaches are in a tough situation and they do it for the love of the game and like coaching, helping out and giving back. Some coaches build programs and not 1 or 2 year wonders.
O'Dowd & El Cerrito are two very disappointing teams, more so El Cerrito. Some say they are well coached, some say they are good coaches and some say they are poorly coached, we make make out own opinions but if you gave Rapp, Ashmore, Mellis & Jones, that kind of talent, I promise you they wouldn't be at 15-12 (El Cerrito) or 12-12 (O'Dowd).
Just because a player projects as a d-1 player does not mean that he is a better high school player than someone who only projects to Juco. Mitu of MV last year was one of the best high school players the EBAL has seen in recent memory and he is not even playing college basketball. My point is don't count out teams that don't have those projectible types.
Really... Mitu didn't land on some college team somewhere, huh? Helluva player.
Of course, he could have personal-choice reasons for not playing... I don't know him or his family at all, but maybe he's a killer academic type or has some other calling in his life... Or maybe colleges just whiffed BADLY.
Of course, he could have personal-choice reasons for not playing... I don't know him or his family at all, but maybe he's a killer academic type or has some other calling in his life... Or maybe colleges just whiffed BADLY.
Cool... Maybe he'll walk on sometime in the future, too.
Never thought about this before... I wonder how walking-on works? 100 kids trying out in October for the chance to fill those one or two "designated-cheerleader" spots on the bench? Or some other agreement?
Never thought about this before... I wonder how walking-on works? 100 kids trying out in October for the chance to fill those one or two "designated-cheerleader" spots on the bench? Or some other agreement?
I could see Mitu schooling some of the guys on the IU hoops team in some pick up ball and making a name for himself. But I'm sure there are a lot of great HS basketball players at a school like that aren't on the basketball team for one reason or another. He'd be a hell of a pick up for someone on an intramural team though.
I am not knocking any kid or any coach. But in basketball games they keep score. So with that, winning is all that matters. If you don't win at a high level, I have a hard time designating a person as a great basketball coach. As far as being a good guy, a motivator or mentor thats great, but I was referring to basketball.
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