News Bits
"The Juco Recruiting Top 100 Players"
Who made it from northern California:
62. Damarion (Monterey Trail High) Vann-Kelly 6'4 sophomore NW Florida St. Vann-Kelly is averaging 10.6 points per game and shooting 41%, 33% and 87% alongside 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists.
6-foot Citrus College sophomore guard Leo (De La Salle) Ricketts earned Honorable Mention status - Ricketts is averaging 20.4 points per game, shooting 53%, 53% and 82% alongside 4.1 assists.
6-foot-5 Chabot College sophomore guard Zion (Salesian Prep) Yeargin earned Honorable Mention status - Yeargin is averaging 19.1 points per game, shooting 57%, 35%, 73% alongside 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
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"Sac State’s Prophet Johnson Earns Second Player of the Week Title
After leading the Sacramento State Hornets to a 3-0 week, Prophet Johnson has been named Big Sky Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the second time this season. Johnson was also named CollegeInsider.com National Player of the Week yesterday.
He averaged 29.3 points per game in Hornet Pavilion against Montana, Montana State and Weber State. Additionally, he ended the home stretch with 19 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 steals and two Blocks. In his 114 minutes he was incredibly efficient, shooting 63 percent from the field and 67 percent from three. In Big Sky play, Johnson is now averaging 20.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.6 steals while shooting 49% from the field and 40% from the 3-point line. Johnson is the Big Sky leader in steals, second in rebounding and third in scoring."
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Evan Sidery: "The Suns now plan to sign Jamaree Bouyea to standard contract soon after going under the luxury tax, per @Gambo987. Currently on a two-way contract, Bouyea is averaging 7 points, 1.6 assists and 1.1 stocks for Phoenix."
Great news for the 6-foot-2 Palma High and USF product.
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"YEARGIN HAS COME OF AGE AT CHABOT"
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SI's Kevin Sweeney has California on the bubble for the Big Dance: "A surprise inclusion in the field this week is Cal, which has a sneaky solid résumé after winning at Miami over the weekend for the Bears’ third Quad 1 win. Mark Madsen’s team has shown tangible progress in his third year on the job, and a big February looms with a chance to get back to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade on the line. The schedule sets up well, with all four road games left (Syracuse, Boston College, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest) looking very winnable."
and
Verbal Commits: "2026 Dodge City CC (KS) C Wesly Rosa has received an offer from Sacramento State."
Out of Africa, Rosa stands 7-foot-2. LaSalle, Grambling State and Jacksonville State have also offered the sophomore. In 19 games, 17 starts and 20.3 minutes a contest, he has 67 blocked shots, is grabbing 9.4 rebounds a night, and scoring 7.7 points an outing while shooting 71% overall, no threes attempted, and 46% at the foul line.
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Verbal Commits: "2027 Southeastern Prep (FL) G Beckham Black has received an offer from California."
He's a 6-foot-3 point with a total of 21 offers to date, including Kentucky and North Carolina.
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"CCCMBCA 21025 Academic All State Team"
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Former Moreau Catholic High point Trey Knight is a 5-foot-11 sophomore at Wallace State in Alabama this season and is averaging 13.8 points per game on 44%, 40% and 50% shooting plus 4,8 assists and 2.8 rebounds. He has 97 assists to 52 turnovers alongside 30 steals in 20 games/starts and 25.0 minutes a contest. Don't know what is up with his 54-109 free throw shooting
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Joe Tipton: "25-year-old pro player Kyree Walker has scheduled his first official visit to Maryland for next Wednesday, he told @On3. The 6-foot-6 wing is exploring a move to college basketball."
I remember him from his time in northern Cali with the Oakland Soldiers and Moreau Catholic High.
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"Santa Clara is playing their best basketball" Tuck Clarry
"While the top of the league took a drastic stumble, the Broncos have pieced together a rather decisive 7-game winning streak following their loss to Gonzaga in Spokane. They’ve held an 18.4 point margin of victory in that span, which includes an 8-point win over Saint Mary’s and a decisive 15-point victory over their Bay Area neighbors, San Francisco.
What makes the Broncos a real tournament-worthy team isn’t the fact that they lead the WCC in offensive efficiency, effective field goal percentage, while being second in the league in turnover rate. It’s that their defense has completely overcome their inconsistencies from the nonconference and has held the 21st-best defensive efficiency in the country according to Bart Torvik over their last 7 games.
Heading into their game against Pacific, Santa Clara has held a top-5 turnover rate on defense in the country since January 10th, including a 26.5% turnover rate against Pacific on Wednesday night. Santa Clara leads the conference in both opponent turnovers per game and fast break points per game in league play.
And while the defense ramps up, the offense continues to hum. The Broncos have four of the eight qualifying players in WCC league play with effective field goal percentages of 55% or more and usage rates over 20%. Sash Gavalyugov, Allen Graves, Elijah Mahi and Christian Hammond are all averaging 9.5 points or more in league action."
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D1 Scores
Sacramento State has been rolling of late. Acting as host to Weber State, the Hornets jumped out to a 53-32 comfortable score after 20 minutes. The Wildcats then cut into the margin some but not enough and lost 104-90. Coach Henry Bibby's guy like their homecooking, having won seven in a row in The Hornet Pavilion. Again, 6-foot-3 senior guard Prophet Johnson was the bellwether with 35 points in 38 minutes, shooting 11-16, 3-5, 10-13 and teammate Jahni Summers tallied 22 points, burying 5-6 three-pointers in addition to leading the team with both five assists and five steals. Freshman forward Mark (Rocklin High) Lavrenov provided a team best nine boards and also 18 points. Sacto shot 62% overall, 12-19 on trey attempts and went 28-36 from the foul line. The Hornets earned 21 assists on 32 buckets. For Weber, 6-foot-7 forward Nigel (Archbishop Mitty) Burris played commendably with 17 point plus eight caroms. game report
Big Sky Conference leader Portland State (yes, Portland State!) came to Sacto to face the blazing Hornets and the game generally went back and forth until the Vikings out on top by one, 74-73.Sac State didn't score in the last 2:16 of the game and missed a shot at the buzzer. It was 'Backcourt Night' for Coach Henry Bibby's crew with Prophet Johnson, per usual, leading in scoring with 28 points plus seven rebounds. Mikey Williams scored 26 points in an off-shooting night (4-15) but he nailed it at the foul line going 16-18. But Sacto frontcourters Mark (Rocklin High) Lavrenov and Shaqir O'Neal failed to score and just one point was provided by the guys coming off the bench. When a team makes six more treys than the opponent and goes a +5 on made free throws, a victory is secured but not here. The Hornet were out-boarded 45-32. game report
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Over in Moraga, St. Mary's got rolling again, jumping out to a 44-25 halftime lead and finishing up 87-60 versus San Diego. The Gaels are now 19-2 overall, 8-2 in the WCC. 6-foot-7 freshman forward Dillan Shaw led with 14 points and added 10 rebounds, big Andrew (Granada High) McKeever concluded with 12 and 12 in just 21 minutes while Joshua Dent topped the team with six assists and nabbed three steals. game report
St. Mary's then hosted USF and grabbed an 11 point, 40-29 halftime lead. A 39-25 second 20 minutes ended with a 79-54 Gael success. Paulius Murauskas enjoyed 20 points, eight rebounds plus four assists, guard Mikey (Prolific Prep) Lewis poured in 15 points in 27 minutes, Joshua Dent produced 13 points plus 11 assists while big Andrew (Granada High) McKeever posted a 14 point, 14 rebound double-double as well as two shot rejections coming off the bench. For the Dons, David Fuchs earned his own double-double via 11 points plus 10 boards and teammate Junjie Wang led USF with 14 points. 30 of the 57 San Francisco shots were three-pointers and they connected on seven, shooting 28% overall. game report
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Santa Clara paired up with host Pacific and the visitors grabbed a four point lead, 30-36, after 20 minutes. A 41-30 second half brought the Broncos a 71-56 victory with James Ensminger topping his team with 13 points and 6-foot-9 teammate Allen Graves posted a 12 point, team high eight boards plus five steals. TJ Wainwright led the Tigers with 13 points and supplemented that with eight rebounds. Justin Rochelin topped the Stockton-ites with 11 caroms. game report
Way up in Pullman, Washington State and Santa Clara played it close before the Californians came away with a high-scoring 96-92 win. For the victors, 6-foot-9 redshirt freshman Allen Graves exploded for 30 points in 24 minutes, 13 rebounds (nine offensive), four assists, two steals and not a single turnover while coming off the bench. 6-foot-4 guard teammate Christian Hammond was next with 16 points. The Broncos are now 21-5, 12-1 in the West Coast Conference. game report
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Host UC Davis grabbed an eight-point lead after 20 minutes and ended up winning by 10 points, 85-75 versus UC Santa Barbara. Marcus Wilson led the charge with 24 point, six boards and six assists in 28 minutes for the victors. The Aggies shot 52% overall, 10-18 on treys plus 23-26 at the foul line. Zion (Archbishop Riordan) Sensley just missed a double-double with 14 points plus nine rebounds for the Gauchos who also received 15 points plus a team best six assists via Aidan (Campolindo High/St. Mary's) Mahaney but he shot 5-18 on the night. game report
UC Davis again hosted, this time Cal Poly, and the homecourt advantage again proved too difficult to overcome as the Aggies took a 67-58 victory versus the Mustangs. For the victors, Marcus Wilson led with 24 points, followed by Connor (Dougherty Valley High) Sevilla's 19. Plus, for someone who scored zero points in 33 minutes, 6-foot guard Braden Fagbemi still contributed mightily via team highs of nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Jess Esso Essis enjoyed the best afternoon for any of the CP players with 12 points, eight board and two assists. He shot 5-7 from the floor, 2-3 on three-point attempts. His twin brother, Ylan Esso Essis, is on the Davis roster but has yet to play this season. game report
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19-4, 9-1 Clemson came west to Maples Pavilion and liked the road cookin' versus Stanford to the tune of 66-64, overcoming a two-point halftime deficit. Aidan Cammann paced the Cardinal with 19 points and teammate Ebuka Okorie tallied 19. Okoroie missed a three-pointer with 2+ seconds left, then hit a layup at the buzzer but it wasn't enough. The Farm crew shot but 40% overall and earned just nine free throws, making seven. Clemson shot 46% overall and shot 17-22 at the foul line. game report
Stanford employed a 52-33 second half to down visiting Georgia Tech 95-72 as rookie guard Ebuka Okorie completed his reign on the court with 40 points. He shot 12-21, 3-6 a13-13 besides contributing five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Teammate Jeremy Dent-Smith shot 6-11 overall, 4-8 from long distance to conclude with 16 points. It was a night of overall accuracy with 54%, 44% and 89% overall accuracy for Coach Kyle Smith's squad. Stanford now stands 15-9, 4-7 in the ACC. game report
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In a shocker, Loyola Marymount hit the Bay Area and downed USF 84-75. The Dons shot 32% overall, 6-21 on three-pointers but a very impressive 37-42 at the charity stripe, a +21 made over their opponents' 16-21. But LMU shot 48% overall. It was Ryan Beasley Night as he scored 30 points, buttressed by 21-24 at the foul line and teammate Junjie Wang provided 19 points. game report
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In a pairing whose outcome came right down to the end, Cal State Northridge edged Cal Poly 97-96 in San Luis Obispo as Mahmoud (Santa Teresa High/West Valley College) Fofana shot 6-9 overall plus 5-5 from the charity stripe to finish with 17 points. It was a big plus efficient scoring night for Mustang Hamad Mousa as he tallied 33 points on 10-15, 7-11, 6-6 shooting in the loss. game report
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Pacific enjoyed a 92-59 romp over Pepperdine down in Malibu behind 27 points (in 28 minutes) including 6-10 three-point accuracy from TJ Wainright, 17 points, eight boards and eight assists via Jaden Clayton plus a 14 point, 13 rebound double-double courtesy of Ralph Elias. Pacific shot 53% overall, 14-23 on trey attempts and 80% on 15 free throw opportunities. The Tigers earned 21 assists on 33 baskets and also out-boarded the Waves 44-26. game report
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Host Colorado State owned a 30-29 lead after 20 minutes which was solid for San Jose State University but the Spartans tend to wear down in the second 20 minutes due to lack of healthy bodies (six players sidelined) and that storyline held true once again with a 65-57 CSU success. The Rams shot 38% overall to 35% for SJSU but won big elsewhere: 48 rebounds to 28 for San Jose as well as a +5 on made free throws. As almost always, guard Colby Garland led the Spartans with 21 points but the three SJSU starting backcourters each played 40 minutes. game report
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In Ogden, Northern Colorado used 31 points, nine assists and five boards from Quinn (Bellarmine College Prep/Prolific Prep/West Valley College) Denker in defeating Weber State 88-74. He shot 12-19, 3-7, 4-5. Nigel (Archbishop Mitty) Burris totaled 16 points for the hosts.
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In spite of 25 points from Money (Oakland High) Williams, Montana fell 82-74 at home against Eastern Washington. On the plus side if there is one after a home court loss, Williams committed just two turnovers in 35 minutes.
Non-D1 Scores
In Hayward, Cal State East Bay is now 21-0 having taken down Cal State Los Angeles 102-79. The victors shot 57.4%, owned the paint 60 points to 28 points and earned 30 points off turnovers to eight for CSLA. CSEB also was credited with 25 assists on 39 baskets. game report
Then, Cal State East Bay continued to roll, this one 79-57 versus visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills as Tyree Campbell led with 20 points. Make that #22 wins versus zero defeats. game report
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Let's hope there was a chant of "More, Mora, Mora" for a certain Cal State Monterey Bay talent as Michael (Palo Alto High) Mora produced 41 points in 28 minutes, plus nine boards, in the Otter 97-80 triumph over Cal Poly Pomona. He shot 11-22, 8-12, 11-11. A 52-29 first 20 minutes for CSUMB put the game out of reach. game report
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Andre Norris topped William Jessup University with 25 points on an extremely efficient 9-11, 2-2, 5-6 shooting as WJU edged Azusa Pacific 81-79 in Rocklin. AP missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer. Coach Mark Darnall's bunch now stand 12-11 overall, 9-8 in the Pacific West Conference.
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Nick (St. Patrick-St. Vincent/Sonoma State) Medeiros tallied 24 points and also five boards in the Dominican University 85-79 defeat of Fresno Pacific. Brandon (Monterey Trail High) Gibson Jr. paced FP with both 16 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of court time.
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In irvine, CUI defeated Menlo College 78-66 as Marcellus (Archbishop Riordan/Chabot College) Edwards shot 10-15, 2-3, 5-6 in scoring 27 points.
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Powered by Sterling (Vanden High/Las Positas College) McClanahan's 28 points, UC Merced bested visiting Cal Poly Humboldt 83-63. Additionally, McClanahan provided five assists.
"McClanahan Earns FloCollege/CCAA Player of the Week"
Here's a January 2025 McClanahan feature.
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Going 13-15 at the foul line, Jaden (Kennedy High-Sacto) Tengan tallied 26 points in the Cal State Monterey Bay 89-82 victory versus Cal State San Bernardino. Teammate Mezziah (CCSF) Oakman posted a 14 point, 11 rebound double-double. game report
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Up in Rocklin, Cayden McDaniel impressed via 25 points (6-11, 3-4, 10-13 shooting), five rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers in 33 minutes as William Jessup University handled Fresno Pacific 81-73.
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6-foot-6 junior Joey (University High) Kennedy scored just six points on a subpar shooting afternoon, but still provided 12 rebounds and nine assists for a just missed unusual double-double in the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 84-69 defeat of Whittier College.
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Chico State nabbed a 73-69 road win against Cal State Stanislaus with Jeremiah (Clayton Valley High/West Valley College) Dargan posting 18 points despite taking just six shots from the floor. He went 3-6.3-5, 9-10. game report
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6-foot-7 Diego (Valley Christian High) Martinez tallied 24 points and brought down eight boards in 26 minutes as San Francisco State pummeled with Cal State Los Angeles 84-56. He shot 9-14, 2-4, 4-5. For the Southlanders, Michael (Modesto Christian High) Pearson Jr. finished with 21 points, shooting 5-8 from long distance. game report
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In a rivalry matchup, Las Positas College took care of Chabot College 86-60 behind the contributions of a trio of talents: 6-foot-7 sophomore Kodey (Weston Ranch High) Weary scored 23 points, grabbed 17 boards and blocked four shots, 6-foot-3 sophomore Jaden (Sheldon High) Woodard tallied 21 points alongside four assists and 6-foot-9 freshman Ted Bigg-Wither loomed large with 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven shot rejections.
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In the Feather River College 110-80 defeat of Shasta College, 6-foot-5 sophomore Damonte Duhart finished with 24 points, 10 boards and six assists.
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