Sac-Joaquin Section Playoffs

[cptmycpa]

SJS Semi-finals next Tuesday, 2/19 at higher (better) seeded team

D1:
#13 Monterey Trail at #1 Bear Creek
Who would have thought Monterey Trail would be the "cinderella team". You got to root for them. Just seven days ago on 2/8, Monterey Trail lost to McClatchy by 35 points, at Monterey Trail's gym. Monterey Trail has nothing to lose--two roads win now.

#3 St. Mary's at #2 McClatchy
One of two SJS monster matchups of the season (the other would be Sac High vs. Antelope--barring upsets). McClatchy has played in St. Mary's gym many times before in MLK tournaments, but St. Mary's has never played in McClatchy's "old" gym. Should be a great game.

D2:
#5 Elk Grove at #1 Antelope
Elk Grove upset #4 Del Oro last night 63-47 at Del Oro. Antelope has beaten Elk Grove this season 83-70 on a neutral court, but that was on December 1 (Antelope's 3rd game of season). Things can change over time. Elk Grove was 4th in the Delta League, but the only survivor left.

#3 Whitney at #2 Sacramento
Whitney is the only surviving team from the strong Sierra Foothill League (Folsom, Oak Ridge, Granite Bay, Del Oro all eliminated early). Great matchups here: Andriana Avent & Ryanne Walters for Sac. against Jada Lewis of Whitney. No head-to-head, but common opponent, Sac beat Montgomery 61-48, and Whitney lost to Montgomery 55-52.

D3:
#8 Bradshaw Christian at #5 Nevada Union
Talk about upsets--#1 & #4 seeds eliminated. Bradshaw knocked off Vanden at Vanden 61-53.
No head-to-heads and no common opponents. This game is a toss-up.

#3 Placer at #2 Christian Brothers (CBS)
A very close matchup. CBS' Maxpreps is #1 in SJS D3, while Placer is #2 in SJS D3. CBS also has a higher SOS and played a very tough schedule. CBS is battle tested.
http://www.maxpreps.com/high-school...(sacramento,ca)/girls-basketball/schedule.htm

D4:
#4 Union Mine at #1 Colfax
Colfax looks to be the heavy favorite here. They've been here before--annual section contenders.
Colfax's Grace Bliss vs. U.M.'s Alli McDonald matchup. No head-to-head's, and both teams lost to common opponent Del Oro.

#11 El Dorado at #2 West Campus
West Campus also is the heavy favorite--two consecutive state titles; experience; a tough non-league schedule. Got to love El Dorado knocking off #6 Capital Christian at C.C. in the 1st round.
Common oppoents: W.C. beat Calaveras, while El Dorado lost to Calaveras.

 

[ClayK]

Great job ... thanks.

 

[basketba11]

When does the SJS schedule for championship games come out? All the brackets just say Feb 22 or 23rd TBA at Golden 1.

Also did anyone notice that for NorCals this year, the championship games aren't at Santa Clara? On the CIF website, it says all the regional championship games are at the Host sites and on a Tuesday night. Is that correct?

 

[observer22]

Also did anyone notice that for NorCals this year, the championship games aren't at Santa Clara? On the CIF website, it says all the regional championship games are at the Host sites and on a Tuesday night. Is that correct?

I saw that. It looks like only the state finals will be at a neutral site (Golden 1 in Sac) on March 8-9.

http://www.cifstate.org/sports/basketball/bb_champ_info

 

[OnBall8]

When does the SJS schedule for championship games come out? All the brackets just say Feb 22 or 23rd TBA at Golden 1.

Also did anyone notice that for NorCals this year, the championship games aren't at Santa Clara? On the CIF website, it says all the regional championship games are at the Host sites and on a Tuesday night. Is that correct?

yup.. that's what I saw too. CIF wants basketball over with sooner so they eliminated that week between the Friday/Saturday regional final and the Friday/Saturday state final... gets it all done in one week instead. Schools that possibly have to travel long distances for both may be affected more logistically. Family and fans might have trouble making a tuesday night final. Coaches that have been there before won't like the 2-3 day prep time for a state final. Most kids probably won't realize the difference.

 

[basketba11]

yup.. that's what I saw too. CIF wants basketball over with sooner so they eliminated that week between the Friday/Saturday regional final and the Friday/Saturday state final... gets it all done in one week instead. Schools that possibly have to travel long distances for both may be affected more logistically. Family and fans might have trouble making a tuesday night final. Coaches that have been there before won't like the 2-3 day prep time for a state final. Most kids probably won't realize the difference.

how can the NorCal finals NOT be at a neutral site? That is bogus.

 

[OnBall8]

how can the NorCal finals NOT be at a neutral site? That is bogus.

I don't disagree with you.

 

[salgovernaleisaturtle]

When does the SJS schedule for championship games come out? All the brackets just say Feb 22 or 23rd TBA at Golden 1.

They probably won't finalize it until the matchups are set.. so Tues night or Wed AM. But if I'm a betting man, you'll have Friday 6pm D2 girls, 8pm D2 boys, Sat 6pm D1 girls, 8pm D1 boys. and the rest dependent on the matchups

 

[ClayK]

It's possible NorCals will use neutral sites for the finals, but I doubt it. Crowds probably won't be very big, especially since no one will know who's playing until Saturday night, and thus renting a bigger arena would probably lose money.

But if there were enough teams close to a decent arena, say it's Pinewood-Mitty, and a boys' game is local too, then a place like Santa Clara might make sense.

One thing, though -- that week before a state final was always really long. Not only has it been a really, really long season for the girls and coaches, the two-game-a-week rhythm has been going on for a while.

 

[OnBall8]

One thing, though -- that week before a state final was always really long. Not only has it been a really, really long season for the girls and coaches, the two-game-a-week rhythm has been going on for a while.

I get why they did it and I support it. But you can't convince me that coaches (not talking kids) don't welcome an entire week to rest the kids, breakdown as much film as they can, rep the game plan multiple times, ice boo boo's, etc, in preparation for the biggest game of the year and possibly their career.

 

[ClayK]

Maybe so ... all I know is I was really, really tired, and bringing the energy to practice for two hours every day was not that easy. After all, you've been grinding for months, and it's only gotten more intense the past three weeks -- every game seems like a war.

 

[OnBall8]

Maybe so ... all I know is I was really, really tired, and bringing the energy to practice for two hours every day was not that easy. After all, you've been grinding for months, and it's only gotten more intense the past three weeks -- every game seems like a war.

exactly why you probably shouldn't be going 2 hours a day every day at this point of the season anyway... an hour and a half should be plenty most days... sometimes less is more

 

[Pbacoach]

exactly why you probably shouldn't be going 2 hours a day every day at this point of the season anyway... an hour and a half should be plenty most days... sometimes less is more

Onball you seem to have all the answers why don’t you coach? Or hand out manuals

 

[OnBall8]

Onball you seem to have all the answers why don’t you coach? Or hand out manuals

Hahaha just my opinion, not an absolute answer. But it’s mid/late feb, your kids know your plays and are in shape.. skill work, getting shots up, and a little game prep shouldn’t be extremely taxing or tiring on anyone including the kids. But hey like you said I’m not a coach, and clay has done it for a long time so he knows his stuff. Good to know if MM makes a state final that he’ll be counting down the hours until it’s over

 

[Pbacoach]

Hahaha just my opinion, not an absolute answer. But it’s mid/late feb, your kids know your plays and are in shape.. skill work, getting shots up, and a little game prep shouldn’t be extremely taxing or tiring on anyone including the kids. But hey like you said I’m not a coach, and clay has done it for a long time so he knows his stuff. Good to know if MM makes a state final that he’ll be counting down the hours until it’s over

Yes any coach over working these kids at this point of the season will get a early exit from the playoffs! Which I know some coaches do.

 

[ClayK]

Actually, most practices are 90 minutes at this point ... but they're still really hard. As a coach, you start going at it every day about a week before the season starts, and then you have Sundays off during the year, basically. You're heavily focused, scouting, planning, running practices, dealing with the inevitable issues, and by season's end, the tank is almost empty.

And that last week of practice before state, especially if the weather is really good, is a grind. The fewer days you have to come up with ways to motivate yourself and your kids, the better. It's not like you're going to change everything or put in a lot of new stuff -- if you've gotten that far, you should be pretty confident that if you do what you do well, you'll have a chance to win.

 

[CW Golden Eagles]

There is no absolute on this. I’ve seen coaches give days off or go 90 minutes and lose. I’ve seen teams go 2+hours every day and win.

It definitely is a long week, but it also depends on your team and who you are playing. A veteran team may be ready to roll and have 3-4 years of tweaking and adjustments already in place they can draw upon. A young team may need all the time they can get.

The year we played Mitty, we went nearly 2 1/2 hours every day. We went live and hard for 90-105 minutes. The rest was breakdown and prep. When preparing for a great team like Mitty, we had so many sets and BLOBs to cover and learn inside and out. We utilized every minute to prepare. I had many people telling me to give them a day off or go shorter. But I did what we felt our team needed most.

Sometimes at this point in the year, we go lighter. Some years our league was really weak and we went 2 1/2 hours HARD every day because on game day, my starters only played half the game and we needed to maintain cardio for games down the road where they would have to play 4 quarters. The shortest we go is 2 hours. We are always adding new sets and BLOBs and also refining skill work.

Our style isn’t for everyone but it works for us. Each coach needs to know their team and what their team needs. I check in with our leaders and see how their bodies feel and we can adjust accordingly. Know your team and stay true to that and don’t worry about how everyone else does it.

 

[northbaybbguru]

those extra couple days of preparations are huge for a good coach. Just look at the Ncaa tourny where certain coaches who get a week to prepare in the later rounds almost never lose (even as underdogs)

the quick turnaround is an advantage for the physically superior team