Boys’ best is a jump ball, but Mitty girls rule all they survey
Picking the best boys basketball team heading into the 2016-17 season takes some doing, but the consensus is that Salesian-Richmond is the best of a tightly grouped bunch.
The choice for the best girls team, on the other hand, is a no-brainer.
With 13 of 14 players returning from last season’s 23-4 team, including three college signees — Madeline Holland (St. Mary’s), Dani Guglielmo (UC Irvine) and Heleyna Hill (San Jose State) — Mitty is “fabulous,” according to MaxPreps national girls basketball editor Clay Kallam.
The core of Mitty’s talent is probably in the underclassmen, including Haley Jones, one of the top sophomores in the country.
“They’re deep and talented and tall,” Kallam said.
Kallam said if Mitty gets through a rugged preseason schedule unscathed and wins the state Open championship, “it could be the best team the area has ever seen.”
The Monarchs are ranked No. 2 in the country by both MaxPreps and USA Today.
The Salesian boys return 11 players from last season’s North Coast Section Division 4 champions, including All-Metro selection James Akinjo.
Depth, shooting and quickness will be the team’s strengths, although with five players on the football team, it might take some time for the Pride to jell.
After Salesian, it’s a tough choice, but Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland might have the second-best guard trio in the state with B.J. Shaw (son of former NBA guard Brian Shaw), Elijah Hardy and Naseem Gaskin.
O’Dowd beat Salesian decisively in a scrimmage Nov. 12, but the Pride were missing many of their top players.
“We obviously have a long way to go,” O’Dowd coach Lou Richie said.
[...] if we play unselfishly and focus on the defensive end, this could be a special squad.
Not only does Sacred Heart Cathedral’s boys team have a new coach in Sean MacKay, but it also won’t have three-year starter and two-time All-Metro selection Alfred Hollins, a four-star forward who transferred to Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix for his senior year.
NorCal Tip-off:
Some of the Bay Area’s best players will be on display Saturday in the 10th annual NorCal Tip-Off Classic at Newark Memorial.
The finale of the day’s seven-game slate is nationally ranked Bishop Montgomery-Torrance (Los Angeles County) against Bishop O’Dowd at 8:30 p.m.
Christian Brothers-Sacramento (2:15), No. 3 Moreau Catholic-Hayward vs.
Bishop Alemany-Mission Hills (5:30) and Newark Memorial vs.
Girls volleyball:
The CIF Northern California playoffs continue 7 p.m. Tuesday with semifinal play.
In the Open Division, top-seed Mitty (35-4) hosts No. 5-seed Marin Catholic-Kentfield (29-6) and No. 6-seed Campolindo-Moraga (30-10) travels to No. 2-seed St. Ignatius (31-8).
Campolindo beat No. 3-seed Sacred Heart Cathedral on Saturday 21-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22.
Other top seeds in the lower divisions are Menlo-Atherton (D1), St. Francis (D2), Miramonte (D3), Menlo School-Atherton (D4) and Head-Royce-Oakland (D5).
Regional finals are Saturday and the state championships are Dec. 2-3 at Santiago Canyon College in Orange County.
Cross-country:
The CIF state meet is Saturday at Woodward Park in Fresno.
North Coast Section boys champions crowned Saturday at Hayward High were Neil Braganza (Dougherty Valley-San Ramon, D1), Isaias DeLeon (De La Salle-Concord, D2), Liam Anderson (Redwood-Larkspur, D3), Ryan Cutter (Hercules, D4) and Cooper Teare (St. Joseph, D5).
Teare, the defending state 3,200-meter track champion, ran the 3-mile course in 14 minutes, 47.2 seconds, the day’s best time.
NCS girls champions were Aushmitha Grewal (Dougherty Valley, D1), Meredith Corda (Monte Vista-Danville, D2), Glennis Murphy (Redwood, D3), Cassy Haskell (Miramonte-Orinda, D4), Kiera Marshall (St. Joseph, D5).
Mitch Stephens covers high school for The San Francisco Chronicle.
Chronicle top 20 boys basketball
School
NR
Moreau Catholic
St. Joseph Notre Dame
Monte Vista
NR
De La Salle
Oakland Tech
Marin Catholic
NR
Freedom
Palo Alto
NR
Chronicle top 20 girls basketball
School
Cardinal Newman
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Eastside Prep
Heritage
NR
NR
Palo Alto
NR
