NorCal HS & College BB Central: October 2024

Potpourri, Oct 30

News Bits

Chase Rawlins: "Let’s get it!! Honored to announce my commitment to UC Davis. Go Aggs🐴"

An underrated 6-foot-6 Sacto area backcourter decides to move on to GuardU. Very smart move. Rawlins will be killer by the time he's an upperclassman, if not sooner. He's one of the prides of Folsom High and the Rose City Ballers. He'll be joining fellow guard 6-foot-5 Jalen (Dougherty Valley High) Stokes who committed in early October.

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Alem Fejzić: "Blessed to receive a Division 1 offer from University of the Pacific! Grateful!"

He's a 6-foot-3 freshman shooting guard at a hoops prominent Oklahoma JC (Frank Phillips).

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Damien Reese: "I will be taking an official visit to Southern Oregon on January 3rd!"

At Weston Ranch High and with the Rose City Ballers, Reese is a 6-foot-2 guard.

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Remember that Leo (De La Salle High) Ricketts will be manning the point for Sacramento State this season.

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24/7 High School Hoops: "NEWS: 2025 4⭐️ Nicholas Randall tells LeagueRDY he’s committed to Missouri. Randall is a 6-10 forward with great touch around the basket. An impressive defender who protects the paint and plays with a high motor. He chose Mizzou over San Francisco, Creighton and many others."

Randall would have been a very solid get for USF's middle and a good matchup with other WCC inside talent.

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Father Sauer Holiday Invitational

4th Annual Father Sauer Holiday Hoops Invitational, December 20th thru 22nd

Welcome to the 4th Annual Holiday Hoops Tournament. On behalf of the Sauer Academy, we would like to welcome you to our school and the 2024 Holiday Hoops Basketball Tournament.

This tournament will provide an opportunity for our participating athletes to showcase their teamwork, skills and competition. The 3 days are also an opportunity for you to meet new people, cheer on the teams, and further build camaraderie on your own teams.

Our hope is that the spirit of sportsmanship prevails during the tournament and that the passion all of you have for this incredible sport drives you to be your very best at all times.

Mr. Jamal Baugh, Athletic/Outreach Director

Girls Divisions: 5th A, 6th A, 7th A, 8th A
Boys Divisions: 6th, 7th, A and B , 8th Level A, 5-8 Team Divisions
High School Rules - modified CYO/PPSL
4 Game Tournament
$350.00 per team
School Teams only - Verified Place Team Award Tournament Prizes

St. Ignatius College Prep, 2001 37th Avenue, San Francisco, Ca 94116

Information: Rob Marcaletti 650 455-1821 / Jamal Baugh 415 205-1313

Registration/Scheduling : Alfonso Joo, (650) 267-3678 alfonsojoo@yahoo.com

*Please note Start and End times for each Day

Friday, December 20, 11:00 am 1st Games, -- 7:15 pm last game
Saturday, December 21, 10:00 am 1st Games, -- 8:15 pm last game
Sunday, December 22, 9:00 am 1st Games, 5:15 pm last game

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Bill O'Rear: "Congrats to former San Diego State standout Keshad Johnson on making the Miami Heat’s official 18-man roster for the 2024-25 season. Keshad is 1 of 3 players on a 2-way contract that can play on the Heat’s G League team & be moved up to play with the NBA team during the season."

Johnson is the pride of San Leandro High and Envision Academy in Oakland.

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College Basketball Report: "Hansel Enmanuel is starting for Austin Peay tonight in a charity exhibition game."

You might shrug and say 'so what?' The 6-foot-6 Enmanuel possesses but one arm, his right one.

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"COLLEGE SPORTS' MONEY MACHINE

The hidden NIL economy of college sports"

Don't know how much more thorough an article on this subject could be.

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Hoop Narratives: "Stephen Golatte, class of 2026 shooting guard at Destiny Christian Academy, is one of Northern California's top shooters and has developed into an elite defender. With great size, length, and athleticism, he’s poised to make a big impact this season."

Golatte stands 6-foot-1 and Destiny Christian is located in Sacramento.

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Joe Tipton: "NEWS: 4⭐️ Isaiah Sealy is down to four schools, he tells On3Recruits. The 6-7 Small Forward and Springdale, Arkansas native is a Top-75 recruit in the 2025 class."

One of those is California. The others: Arkansas, Mississippi and Boston College. What an eclectic mix.

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Basketball Recruitment: "2025 6'9 PF Spencer Ahrens has trimmed his list to the following schools.

Finalists:

Illinois
Gonzaga
Washington
Stanford
Boise State
San Francisco"

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Potpourri, Oct 28

News Bits

Basketball Recruitment: "2025 6'3 SG Gavin Sykes has committed to Long Beach State. Sykes chose The Beach over Sam Houston, San Jose St, Sacramento St, Montana, California, UC Riverside, Pepperdine, Vermont, and Southern Utah."

Did Cal go cool after commits from a pair of guards or is this choice simply a decision to head elsewhere? Sykes likely broke a few coaching hearts with one. He officially visited The Beach in late September.

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Team Supreme: "Congratulations to 2025 Ty Virgil on his commitment to Pepperdine!! The WCC just got a great one! Ty is a special talent."

Malibu versus Stockton as Pacific offered almost simultaneously. The 6-foot-6 Virgil once was attending Laguna Creek High but is now at Hillcrest Prep in Arizona.

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Kelly Hallinan: "Anthony (Dublin High) Roy has 46 points in UW Green Bay’s exhibition game against St. Norbert. He’s been lethal from beyond the arc including a logo three. (Coach Doug) Gottlieb has had him on the bench most of the second half but just checked him back in."

"Obviously really proud of our group mostly proud of myself I credit myself for cooking Anthony Roy a steak dinner last night, that was a spectacular performance but what makes it even more special to me is we butted heads a lot in the summer about mid range jump shots, not a fan, I have a rule, you can take a mid range jump shot but you better make it so he's really embraced it and instead of those shot fakes and getting to a middy a 17 foot pull up he's really disciplined himself and I can't be more effuse in my praise in him not because not because he made shots but he's doing what we want," said (Coach Doug) Gottlieb.

Granted it was St. Norbert College but 46 points and nine treys (especially the latter), wow. The 6-foot-5 senior was at USF as a freshman.

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Here's a William Jessup preview from the Kat's Paw Substack fan site covering University of the Pacific men's basketball (but not affiliated with the school.) Here's how to support the site if you so wish.

"Scouting William Jessup Warriors

The Warriors come off an 18-12 season, their final campaign as an NAIA program as Head Coach Mark Darnall completed a successful first season at the helm. This is Darnall’s first head job after stints as an Assistant Coach at Eastern Washington (under new Washington State Head Coach David Riley), Chico State (D-II) and UC-Davis.

Jessup loses their top two scorers from last season’s team that was an at-large selection to the NAIA tournament: 6’0” Miles Corey, the program’s all-time leading scorer who transferred to South Alabama (Sun Belt conference) and 6’1” graduated senior Ty Artis. The pair of guards each averaged over 31 mpg, took almost 40% of the Warriors threes and averaged a combined 35 ppg.

Jessup does return 6’1” Ja’Maris Blackmon (13.6 ppg including 38 3’s) who started 29 games last season after transferring in from Seattle Pacific (NCAA Division II). Blackmon also shot 38% from downtown on a team that averaged 26.5 threes attempted per game.

Up front, the Warriors feature 6’5” SR Aydan Janssan (Australia) who averaged 10.6 ppg while averaging 35% from beyond the stripe. Off the bench come 6’6” Nigeria native SO Anthony Enoh (5.2 ppg/4.7 rpg as a freshman) and 6’9” Duke Gipson, entering his sophomore season after prepping at Junipero Serra High School in Los Angeles.

A potential minute-eating transfer joining this season’s roster is 6’6” Josh Lincoln (Australia - 15.5 ppg/6.4 rpg) who played the past two seasons at Portland Community College.

A plethora of freshmen also arrive highlighted by 6’3” TJ Latu (Jefferson H.S./Portland, OR), who was a two-time Oregon All-State selection, 6’3” Murphy Rodgers, part of the New Zealand Tall Blacks U-19 program this past summer, 6’6” FR Noah Roth (Christmas Valley, OR), 6’3” Cayden McDaniel (Silas H.S./Tacoma, WA/1st Team All-State) and 6’5” Spanish forward Curro Segura, who played this past season in Greece for Olympiacos Piraeus U18 team.

Jessup was a perimeter-oriented team offensively last season with no starter over 6’5” so a “five-out” offensive philosophy predominated. The Warriors took 42.5% of their field goal attempts from beyond the arc, shooting 35% as a group from that range and averaged over 80 points per game.

The Tigers staff will be able to have a first look at the Warriors who open their season on October 31st, 2024, hosting Pacific Union College (NAIA/Cal Pac Conference)."

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PD Web: "2026 Caeden Hutcherson of Archbishop Mitty and Team Lillard has earned an offer from Saint Louis."

He's a 6-foot-5 shooting guard.

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Fridrik Leo Curtis: "Happy to receive a Division 1 offer from Stanford University!!"

Out of Iceland, he's a lean, 2025 7-foot-1 talent currently at a school near Boston. Indiana has offered as has Xavier, Arizona State (visit), Alabama, West Virginia and Central Florida.

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HS Top Recruits: "(6-foot-4) 2026 4⭐️ Marcellous Jackson tells me he has scheduled the following unofficial visits.

Oklahoma St - 10/2
California - 10/16"

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24/7 High School Hoops: "NEWS: 2025 4⭐️ Nicholas Randall is down to three schools, he told

LeagueRDY:

Missouri
San Francisco
Creighton

Randall will make his college announcement this coming Monday. He’s playing his senior season for AZCompass_Prep."

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"How Warriors’ Gary Payton II was shaped by 2 years at Salt Lake Community College"

Gotta loves guys who make it on hustle, grit and smarts.

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The Toronto Raptors defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 115-107 on Friday. From the game report: "(Jonathan (USF) Mogbo finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds (team-high 5 offensive), 5 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks, and was a game-high +21 ... Mogbo was flying around defensively, at one point, blocking a Maxey three-point attempt(!). On another possession, he flew in out of nowhere to grab the offensive rebound, then feed an open Dick for a triple. Mobgo then jumped the passing lane at the logo and eventually earned a pair of free throws. Speaking of free throws..." Mogbo shot 6-6 after finishing the season with the Dons at 52%.

Mogbo was the 31st selection, going in round two of the NBA draft.

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6-foot-8 Panola Junior College (TX) wing Travis Torain will visit University of Pacific on Thursday. He's out of Tracy. San Jose State University has also offered.

Zach Smart: "Highly skilled floor stretcher with efficiency from 3-point range, smooth middy, length and versatility."

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Ryder Bush: "After a great visit, I am grateful to have received a D1 offer from Fresno State University! Thank you to Coach Harris and the rest of the staff for believing in me!"

Bush is a 6-foot-2 2025 guard attending Archbishop Riordan and known for his plus athleticism and defensive effect.

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Potpourri, Oct 25

News Bits

"'Unimaginable tragedy': Former Oakland High basketball star loses both parents"

Money Williams is back in Oakland caring for his siblings after losing his mother and father. Here's hoping he can transfer somewhere close to home and earn a nice chunk of NIL money in doing so. It will be needed. Do help out if you can at his GoFundMe page.

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Arman Jovic: "Frank Philips’ Alem Fejzic is taking an official visit to Pacific this weekend. The 6’4 guard is a lights out shooter, had some inconsistency’s with his shot to begin the JUCO Advocate Rocky Mountain Jamboree but once he got going, he rarely missed."

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Verbal Commits: "2026 Archbishop Stepinac (NY) F Darius Ratliff has received an offer from California."

Ratliff is a 6-foot-9 wing playing in New York state.

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"Golden State Warriors NBA Preview: Moving On Without Klay Thompson"

A very lengthy look at this season's GSW squad from Forbes mag.

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On Sunday, San Diego State bopped UCLA 77-72 in Pauley Pavilion behind BJ (Modesto Christian High) Davis' 28 points. Miles (Lincoln High) Byrd provided nine points plus seven rebounds in the closed-door scrimmage. Davis committed six turnovers, Byrd five.

In another exhibition, host New Mexico edged Santa Clara 77-75 in another closed-door scrimmage held last Saturday.

San Jose State University fell to host Arizona State 79-75 in overtime.

USF earned a vuctory over Stanford 80-79 in another closed-door scrimmage.

No word yet on St. Mary's, Sacramento State or Pacific.

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Isaac Finlinson: "I want to thank the coaching staff at Cal State East Bay for offering me a scholarship!"

He's a 6-foot-7 sophomore wing attending Snow College in Utah. CSEB Coach Bryan Rooney's competition to date: Fairfield, Northwestern State, Maryville University, Colorado Mesa University, Chaminade, Arkansas Tech, Gannon and Charleston.

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Elijah Sykes: "Blessed to receive a offer from Alma Scots MBB."

Sykes is a 2025 5-foot-10 guard at Sheldon High. He also plays with the Rose City Ballers. Alma College is located in Michigan.

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Chase Rawlins: "Thank you to the UC Davis for having me on my official visit!!"

The 6-foot-6 2025 combo guard attends Folsom High and Plays AAU ball with the Rose City Ballers.

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JUCO Recruiting: "North Top 20

San Francisco City
West Valley
Sequoias
Modesto
San Jose City
Las Positas
Chabot
Skyline
Yuba
Santa Rosa
Columbia
Redwoods
Diablo Valley
Butte
Lemoore
Shasta
Fresno City
Contra Costa
Porterville
(tie) American River, Sierra

Other receiving consideration: Cabrillo; Los Medanos; Canada; Marin

"San Francisco, Fullerton Open Season as Region's Top Teams /// West Valley, defending state champions, open as No. 2 team in the North"

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JUCO Recruiting: "2025 Leyton Mcgovern from College of the Sequoias has committed to (Cal State) Bakersfield."

McGovern is a 6-foot-4 freshman guard out of Indiana.

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According to the following, Cal grad Jaylon Tyson may not play a lot this season because of the veterans ahead of him but he has performed well: "The 20th overall pick is the lone newbie. Despite Atkinson singling out Jaylon Tyson numerous times and admitting that it will be difficult to keep the rookie off the floor, Tyson is caught in an early-season numbers game. Theoretically, he plays the two positions — shooting guard and small forward — where Cleveland is deepest. Perhaps in a pinch he could slide to the 4. But that would be matchup specific.

So, how does he get playing time?

Given that the Cavs didn’t draft him to make an immediate impact, Tyson could be a candidate to play with the G League affiliate Charge at some point — if the organization believes on-court reps and minutes would aid in his development."

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Jake Lieberman: "2026 6'7 PF Ethan Griffin out of Westminster HS (CT) had Holy Cross in to see him practice, I'm told. Also, he's heard from Siena & Stanford."

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Verbal Commits: "2025 Eastern Arizona College (AZ) F Kahuranaki Treacher has received an offer from Sacramento State. Qualifier w/three years to play."

He's 6-foot-9, 220 and out of New Zealand.

plus

Jake Lieberman: "2025 6'6 PG Max Ndlovu-Fraser from Western Canada Prep Academy played well at The Border League in Las Vegas over the weekend. He ended the second game with 20 points. Sacramento State & Boston U have shown interest. Holds an offer from LIU."

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UC Merced Men's Basketball: "Cameron Brown’s top 5️⃣ games from 2023-24:

Jan. 20 vs. USK | 36 pts, 8 rebs
Feb. 1 @ ERAU | 28 pts, 4 steals
Feb. 3 @ La Sierra | 24 pts, 3 steals
Jan. 2 vs. Simpson | 23 pts, 10 rebs
Jan. 27 vs. Cal Maritime | 23 pts, 5 steals

Junior year 🔜"

The 6-foot-3 Brown is a Bishop O'Dowd graduate.

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Potpourri, Oct 23

News Bits

PD Web: "⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2026 Elias Obenyah (6’4 G) of Salesian (CA) & Team Lillard has earned an offer from San Jose State."

Obenyeh may just stay in the Bay area considering this Spartan offer plus an earlier offer from California."

* Kudos to PD Web for the thoroughness in this post, providing Obenyah's eligibility year, size and both his high school and AAU squad. Too may posts omit this information.

Patrick O'Brien/Phenom Hoops Report with a recent Obenyah interview.

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"‘Hard not to cry’: For coach Kyle Smith and son with autism, Stanford could be life changing"

Just when you think your troubles are insurmountable, consider the entire Smith family, especially Bo. A big thank you to Ron Kroichick.

Do let me know if this link doesn't work and I'll get you the article somehow, someway.

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Shams Sharania: "Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon has agreed to a four-year, $133 million contract extension with the franchise, with a player option in 2028-29 and a trade kicker, Klutch Sports’ Calvin Andrews and Rich Paul, and Elise Gordon told ESPN."

and

"Aaron Gordon agrees to 4-year, $133 million extension with Nuggets: Why Denver kept its ‘heart and soul’"

File this under That Didn't Take Long. $30+ million dollars a year ain't insult money. Gordon's sister, Elise, is an Archbishop Mitty and Harvard grad in government and played there, as well as her brother's manager. I'm going to borrow her the next time my review comes up. 'Course, that may be on my deathbed.

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"Brandon Jennings Reveals He Stopped Playing Basketball Because Friends And Family Constantly Asked For Money"

In a recent article, Al Pacino said he went broke until he reigned in his spending by 'laying off' family members (and firing his shady accountant):

"In his memoir, Pacino shares that he was paying $400,000 a year to maintain a home he didn’t live in and paid for 16 cars and 23 cellphones.

“The kind of money I was spending and where it was going was just a crazy montage of loss,” he writes in the book. “The door was wide open and people who I didn’t know were living off me.”

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"Warriors remain 'far apart' in Jonathan Kuminga's contract negotiations"

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Transfer Portal for Playing Times: "Latest: Starting in 2025-26, teams will be allowed to offer a mix of partial and full scholarships as NCAA D1 basketball shifts from a headcount to an equivalency model. Programs can also choose to operate with fewer players or scholarships."

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Verbal Commits: "UCLA and USC offered 2027 Prolific Prep (CA) F/C Obinna Ekezie, Jr."

The power programs are more than taking notice.

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Congrats to Moreau Catholic High Coach Frank Knight:

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"Utah Jazz Brass Willing To Spend Millions In NIL Money For No. 1 Basketball Recruit AJ Dybantsa To Play At BYU"

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Potpourri, Oct 21

News Bits

Brandon Jenkins: "𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦: Winters Grady, the No. 74 overall recruit in the senior class, tells 247Sports he has committed to Michigan."

The key? "... Coach May and Justin Joyner did a great job recruiting me," Grady said on his commitment. "Coach Joyner was with me on Mondays of every single week recruiting me. We had 30-minute conversations. We had a prior relationship when he was at Saint Mary's..."

Joyner's hire away from St. Mary's by May has already paid off as so much for Grady being from Oregon and just having visited Eugene. Dana Altman has to be asking himself 'what more could I have done?' Having also miscalled his choice, the prognostication power wires here certainly need rewiring. Prolific Prep turns out yet another major talent.

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"Spurs Sign Jamaree Bouyea To Exhibit 10 Deal"

The former Palma High and USF star is still in the NBA mix but will be starting at the point in the G League. Still thinking that overseas is his best bet -- how many years can he play on the cusp?

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Out of Castro Valley High and Marquette, Juan Toscano-Anderson is back with the Mexico City Capitanes.

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"Nuggets Unwilling To Offer Aaron Gordon A 4-Year, $150 Million Max Contract"

While Gordon is a good but not a great player, he has clearly helped the Nuggets win crucial NBA playoff games -- so does he accept less $$$, leave, and do the Nuggets have a replacement for him?

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Transfer Portal for Playing Time: "Latest: Starting in 2025-26, NCAA D1 men’s basketball teams will have a roster limit of 15 total players, allowing for 15 scholarships instead of the current 13. This adds 724 more scholarships annually with the increase of 13 to 15 available."

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Jonathan Feigen: "Rockets announce the signing of 6-4 free agent guard Matt Bradley, a former San Diego State and Rostock Seawolves (Germany) player. Rockets have not made many Vipers moves this preseason, but Bradley was a 39.1% 3-point shooter for two All-Conference seasons in the Mountain West."

Bradley also played at California for three years.

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Basketball Recruitment: "2025 7'1 C Jackson McVey will make his college decision on Tuesday, per his IG page.

Finalists:

Georgia
Florida
Georgia Tech
Stanford
Florida State"

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Draymond Green on Jonathan Kuminga: "Warriors forward Draymond Green has high expectations for teammate Jonathan Kuminga as the 22-year-old enters his fourth NBA season, per Joaquin Ruiz of NBC Sports Bay Area. Asked by NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke what would make the season an individual success for Kuminga, Green replied, “All-Star.”

What, specifically, does Kuminga have to do to earn his first All-Star berth?

“Score the basketball,” Green said. “(He) has to be a great scorer. He needs to be above 20 points per game, six (or) seven rebounds a night, and we need to win. Especially if you want to become a first-time All-Star. We know what he’s capable of and we believe in him. … Anything less than an All-Star is a failure for him.”

Kuminga remains eligible to sign a rookie scale extension up until Monday at 5:00 pm Central time, but a Friday report indicated that he and the Warriors are still “far apart” in negotiations and that the former No. 7 overall pick is comfortable with the idea of betting on himself in 2024/25. If Kuminga ends up not getting an extension in the coming days, an All-Star season would certainly go a long way toward securing him a significant payday as a restricted free agent next summer..."

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