News Bits
Dave McMenamin: "With the preseason concluding, the Lakers announced they have waived RJ Davis, Augustas Marčiulionis, Anton Watson and Nate Williams."
Let's see if Marčiulionis ends up playing for the South Bay Lakers. He remains hindered by a foot injury as he didn't play in any of the Laker pre-season games.
AND
Exhibition game: Arizona 81 | Saint Mary's 68 box
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"Lakers News: Gabe Vincent Discusses His Strong Preseason"
Vincent is the pride of St. Mary's High in Stockton.
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At the Basket Under Review site:
Montana junior Money (Oakland High) Williams is listed as the pre-season Player of the Year in the Big Sky Conference. Teammate Te'Jon (Salesian Prep/Cal Baptist/CCSF) Sawyer, listed as a grad student, has a spot as a Third Team All Conference member.
The Griz also have 6-foot-4 Courtney (Dublin High) Anderson, a transfer from Colorado plus JC transfer Tyler (San Ramon Valley High) Isaak. 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman Tyler (Vanden High) Thompson returns and true freshman 6-foot-3 Luke (Arcata High) Moxon arrives.
Northern Colorado grad student Quinn (Bellarmine College Prep/Cal State San Marcos/Idaho) Denker has a Second Team Big Sky Conference ranking.
6-foot-7 senior Nigel (Archbishop Mitty/Idaho/Utah State) Burris returns for a final go-around at Weber State and freshman guard Aidarius (Oakland Tech) Grayson has arrived.
With Sacramento State, 6-foot-8 freshman power forward Mark (Rocklin High) Lavrenov has arrived.
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At the Busting Brackets site, all 319 D1 coaches are rated (what an undertaking!). Here are the NorCal coaches in ascending order beginning with:
349. Mike Bibby (Sacramento State) (Last year: N/A) Overall record: 0-0
The second overall selection of the 1998 NBA Draft, Bibby was a talented point guard who starred at Arizona and then spent 14 years playing in the NBA. He worked for several years as a prominent high school coach though he lands at Sacramento State without any collegiate experience. We haven’t seen Bibby impacting the college game since his final minutes playing with the Wildcats, though the former national champion hopes he can bring and inspire new talent for the Hornets.
319. Dave Smart (Pacific) (Last year: 332) Overall record: 9-24
In all reality, Smart deserves a spot far higher on this list for what he’s meant to basketball in Canada though he’s still finding his place in American college sports. A native of Ontario, Smart was the head coach at Carleton for nearly two decades and won a boatload of games and championships with that college. His introduction to American basketball was an assistant at Texas Tech before he was named head coach at Pacific, with a 9-win campaign in his first season with the Tigers.
309. Vance Walberg (Fresno State) (Last year: 310) Overall record: 20-61
A revered basketball coach who has touched this game for more than four decades, Walberg as extensive experience as a high school coach and also worked in the NBA back in the 2010’s. He led Pepperdine for two less than notable seasons before that and has spent many years in Fresno, at the high school and junior college level. A 6-26 mark in his first season with the Bulldogs wasn’t really a surprise, though Walberg is hoping he can make a more significant impact moving forward.
273. Alex Pribble (Idaho) (Last year: 326)
Overall record: 25-40
Pribble played at California two decades ago before spending time as a high school head coach and collegiate assistant in the San Francisco area. His first collegiate head coaching job was at Saint Martin’s, taking that program to the D2 Sweet Sixteen. Sandwiching that first experience was a pair of stints under Jim Hayford, including four years on Seattle’s staff before Idaho came calling. Pribble just finished his second season with the Vandals, taking a step forward with a 14-win effort.
252. Mike DeGeorge (Cal Poly) (Last year: 335) Overall record: 16-19
For the last 25 years, DeGeorge has been a very solid head coach in college basketball and has recently worked his way up to D1 ball. While there were mixed results early at Eureka and Cornell (Iowa), DeGeorge took both the latter and Rhodes to the D3 Tournament and had plenty of D2 success over his years leading Colorado Mesa. Last offseason he inherited a Cal Poly program in terrible shape and a 16-win campaign right off the bat is actually remarkable work.
172. Rick Croy (Cal Baptist) (Last year: 175) Overall record: 118-99
In the late 90’s, Croy was a player at San Francisco State and started his career with coaching stints at schools out in his home state. He won a ton of games at Citrus College at the junior college level before joining Randy Bennett’s staff at Saint Mary’s. Since 2013, Croy has been entrenched at Cal Baptist and has helped lead the program’s transition to the D1 level. Earlier in his stint with the Lancers, he made five straight D2 Tournaments and most recently is coming off a 3rd place finish in the Big West.
151. Chris Gerlufsen (San Francisco) (Last year: 178) Overall record: 76-40
After his work playing at Randolph-Macon, Gerlufsen has worked his way up through the coaching ranks over the years. Following long stints on staff at The Citadel and Hartford, he made his way west, eventually becoming San Francisco’s associate head coach under Todd Golden. In 2022, he was named head coach when Golden parted for Florida. Gerlufsen has averaged more than 22 wins a season and is fresh off a second straight trip to the NIT with the Dons
145. Mark Madsen (California) (Last year: 145) Overall record: 97-89
Despite starring at Stanford in the late 90’s, Madsen has been making his mark in recent years at rival California. A former 1st round draft pick, he played in the NBA for nearly a decade and spent several years on NBA staffs, including with the Los Angeles Lakers. Madsen got his head coaching career started at Utah Valley and won a pair of WAC regular season titles, including a run to the NIT semifinals in 2023. Shortly thereafter he was brought to Berkeley, and while he’s just 27-38 has the challenge of this adjustment to the ACC.
44. Jim Les (UC Davis) (Last year: 149) Overall record: 364-356
Way back in the 80’s Les was a standout player at Bradley and a late NBA draft pick in 1986. He played nearly a decade of pro ball before settling into his coaching career. His alma mater employed him for nine seasons during which he led them on an incredible Sweet Sixteen run in 2006. Les then bounced back with UC Davis, where he’s worked since 2011, and reached the Big Dance with the Aggies in his sixth season. He’s won a pair of Big West titles and has done largely successful work, though UC Davis did finish under .500 last year.
138. Tim Miles (San Jose State) (Last year: 137) Overall record: 240-282
An experienced leader with nearly three decades of head coaching position, Miles is in the midst of his 6th head coaching gig and his third at the D1 level. He helmed Mayville State, Southwest Minnesota State, and was the final coach at North Dakota State before the Bison jumped to D1. He led both Colorado State and Nebraska to the Big Dance before finding his current standing at San Jose State back in 2021. Rebuilding these Spartans isn’t easy but he has a 20-win season under his belt and took the program to last year’s NIT.
70. Herb Sendek (Santa Clara) (Last year: 76) Overall record: 574-415
Many things have changed in the game of basketball since Sendek served under Rick Pitino at Providence and Kentucky. Sendek has spent more than 30 years as a D1 head coach, with his stops at Miami (OH), NC State, and Arizona State. He won NCAA Tournament games at all three schools and has many postseason appearances, but has now been with Santa Clara since 2016. The work isn’t easy out in the WCC, but Sendek has now taken the Broncos to three NIT berths in four years and is regularly winning 20 games a season.
64. Kyle Smith (Stanford) (Last year: 79) Overall record: 279-207
Despite growing up in El Paso, Smith has made his name coaching on the west coast, though his first head coaching experience did come at Columbia. He spent many years under Randy Bennett at Saint Mary’s before that opportunity with the Lions, winning a CIT title. Smith then laid the groundwork for a revival at San Francisco before a 5-year stint at Washington State, taking the Cougars to the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Smith hopped to Stanford this past offseason and nailed the Cardinal’s landing to the ACC, winning 21 games and making the NIT.
28. Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s) (Last year: 32) Overall record: 562-222
Bennett went to school in San Diego and spent several years coaching for the Toreros, but it’s northern California where he’s made his mark. He was also an assistant for Lorenzo Romar at Pepperdine and Saint Louis before taking the Saint Mary’s job in 2001. Bennett remains with the Gaels 24 years later as his first and only head coaching gig, doing impressive things in Moraga. He’s made 11 NCAA Tournaments, won a boatload of games, built a mid-major power, and has won an incredible three straight WCC titles.
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Martin County Boys Basketball: "Thrilled to welcome legendary Head Coach Dave Smart and Coach Charles of University of the Pacific to Inez for the first official day of Kentucky Hoops! Coach has won 13 National Championships. State scoring leader Brax Keathley has a D1 offer from Coach Smart."
Pacific REALLY wants this young man who is located in Kentucky.
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Damarion Vann-Kelly: "Blessed to receive an offer from UTSA new coaching staff!!"
Have no read at all about Vann-Kelly. Would he like to return to Cali to play(he's in Florida now) or is it not that important to him?
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Verbal Commits: "2027 Wauwatosa West (WI) G Jalen Brown has received an offer from California."
Brown is a 6-foot-4 point. Great basketball name. No insurmountable competition for him as yet but Wisconsin has offered. Not Marquette, yet.
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Jeremy Silver: "Beyond blessed to announce my commitment to Doane University! Thank you to Coach McKeithen and Coach Coleman for this incredible opportunity! Thank you to everyone who played a role in my journey! Go Tigers."
With a 4.3 GPA, the 6-foot-3 Silver attends Monte Vista Christian High in Watsonville, CA. Doane is located in Nebraska.
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Not NorCal related but still...
Idaho Coach Alex Pribble and his Vandals received a solid writeup as a Big Dance darkhorse. Pribble has deep Bay Area roots with playing at Tamalpais High and California, assisting at San Francisco State, then Eastern Washington and Seattle plus an 83-40 record in four years heading the St. Martin's program.
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"Miles’ year five at the helm of Spartan basketball"
SJSU Coach Tim Miles and his program receive a fair writeup by Vic Aquino.
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The media pre-season pick for the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year is Miles Byrd, Jr., G, San Diego State. He is out of Lincoln High in Stockton.
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In Thursday's 137-131 overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors, Aaron (Archbishop Mitty) Gordon tallied 50 points, shooting 17-21 overall, 10-11 from three-point range and 6-6 at the foul line. He also grabbed eight boards.
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Hawaii Basketball: "Excited to bring back a former standout guard and Diamond Head Classic legend to our Hawaii MBB staff!"
McClanahan is out of Vallejo and Salesian Prep and earned a B.B.A. in Entrepreneurship in 2022 from UH.
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UC Davis Men's Basketball: "The final newcomer to know. Meet Chase Rawlins.
- 6’4 guard from Folsom HS
- Four-year varsity standout and section champion
- 2024 Sierra Foothills League Co-MVP and First Team All-Section
- Averaged 17 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST as a senior"
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UC Davis Men's Basketball: "Your next Aggie to know: Jalen Stokes 🐴
- 6’5” combo guard from Oakland, Calif.
- NCS Division I Champion and Player of the Year
- Averaged 24 points and 9.3 rebounds as a senior
- First-team All-State, All-Bay Area, All-Metro and All-NCS honoree"
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UC Davis Men's Basketball: "Get to know Ylan Esso-Essis 🤝
- 6’8” guard from France 🇫🇷
- 2025 Big 8 Conference Player of the Year & NABC All-American
- Averaged 15.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.0 APG at Modesto JC
- Former pro with Metropolitans 92 (LNB Pro A)"
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