Potpourri, Mar 19

Scores

Fri, Mar 21

NCAA D1 National Tournament First Round East Regional: Vanderbilt vs St. Mary's 12:15 p.m. Pacific TruTV

Tue, Mar 18 NCAA D1 scores

Big Dance

North Carolina 95, San Diego State 68 box. a 47-23 first half eliminated the Aztecs. It was not a nigher for Nor Cal talents as Miles (Lincoln High-Stockton) Byrd finished with four points in 24 minutes and BJ (Modesto Christian High) Davis was modestly better at nine points in 26 minutes. 

NIT

Stanford 87, Cal State Northridge 70 box. A 17 point halftime lead (46-29) proved insurmountable as the second 20 minutes scoring proved to be almost even. It was a one-two punch of Maxime Raynaud's 22 points, 10 boards and five blocked shots and guard teammate Oziyah (Modesto Christian High) Sellers with 20 points making the biggest difference. The home team, the one with the better talent, won.

Santa Clara 101, UC Riverside 62 box. The Broncos enjoyed being on their homecourt but the matchup indicated the talent difference between the Big West Conference and the West Coast Conference. A 57-29 second 20 minutes padded the 11-point SC halftime lead. One reserve and four starters scored in double figures for Santa Clara and the other starter tallied nine points. Barrington Hargress, Riverside's leading scorer, concluded with just seven points on nine shot attempts.

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News Bits

Verbal Commits: "Chico State G Jojo Murphy has entered the transfer portal."

The CCAA Player of The Year, he's 6-foot-3, out of Piedmont High-Oakland and is a 'build around' type of talent. Murphy played as a true freshman for the Wildcats (which is rare) and has enjoyed three exceptional years. This may be a 'feeler' type of transfer but Murphy will garner very solid NIL offers. St. Mary's would be a great pairing for both entities.

Also, Chico State has removed the interim tag from Head Coach Cevin Meador.

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JUCO Recruiting: "6’3 Frank Phillips guard Alem Fejzic has requested his release from Pacific and reopened his recruitment.

• Top 10 in threes made this season
• 40% from three"

Fejzic certainly would have helped the Tigers. Apparently he was still pursued despite having signed back in November. Is it because a higher NIL offer will be forthcoming?

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Travis Branham: "Matthew Able, the No. 30 overall recruit in the 2025 class and former Miami signee, will take an official visit to Stanford this weekend, a source tells 247Sports.Has taken visits to Alabama, Tennessee and Baylor since being released."

What's the weather supposed to be like this weekend? Stanford played tonight in the NIT (and won) so will likely get another home game next and that could be a recruiting benefit.

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Modesto Christian Basketball: "Congratulations to Gavin Sykes for being named 2025 T-CAL Player of the Year."

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Verbal Commits D2: "Chaminade G Jamir (Berkeley High/CCSF) Thomas has entered the transfer portal."

The 5-foot-10 Thomas averaged 13.0 points this season, shooting a very solid 42%, 39% and 75% alongside 29 steals but also posted a 20/37 assist to turnover ratio.

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Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Excited to welcome 6’5 Guard Isaiah “Zeke” Davis of the Division 1 NorCal Champions Lincoln High School to the Pirate family."

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Sean Paul: "Here’s where UC San Diego’s starters came from - 

• Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones - Hawaii Hilo (D-2)
• Hayden Gray - Azusa Pacific (D-2)
• Ty McGhie - Southern Nazarene (D-2)
• Nordin Kapic - Lynn (D-2)
• Chris Howell - St. Mary’s (averaged 1.5 ppg last year)

Eric Olen and staff found guys who fit into their system and it led to this moment."

San Diego won the Big West Conference and is in the Big Dance. That is amazing talent scouting and coaching.

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Elijah Sykes: "100% Committed!"

With the Rose City Ballers and attending Sheldon High, the 5-foot-10 Sykes is heading to the state of Michigan to play college ball.

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Sean Paul: "I actually do wonder if hiring JUCO coaches is a path mid-majors schools in smaller leagues start to pursue. I think it works with their familiarity with flipping roster quickly. Jeremy Shulman is doing a great job at UT-Martin and Hank Plona was one year removed from JUCO before getting the WKU gig."

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Swarthmore Athletics: "Another accolade for the rookie 👏 Congrats to Zander (Salesian Prep) Jimenez on being chosen D3Hoops Region V Rookie of the Year!"

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Potpourri, Mar 17

Scores

MARCH MADNESS TEAMS AND MATCHUPS

#7 St. Mary's versus #19 Vanderbilt, in Cleveland, on TNT.

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Sat, Mar 15, NCAA D1 scores

Cornell 87, Dartmouth 71 box. AK (Clovis North High) Okereke shot 10-15, 1-1, 4-4 to score 25 points and added nine rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots to carry Big C to victory. Connor (Clovis North High) Amundsen scored 10 points for Dartmouth.

Sun, Mar 16, NCAA D1 scores

Yale 90, Cornell 84  box. AK (Clovis North High) Okereke was again prominent with 22 points, eight boards and five assists but Cornell received just seven points from its bench and fell short.

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CCCMBCA Final Four scores for Sat, Mar 15

City College San Francisco 111, Citrus College 97 box. recap. CCSF won every stats category and Ram forward Antonio (Archbishop Riordan) Pusateri emerged for team bests of 20 points (10-13 overall shooting plus eight boards, four steals and a pair of rejections. It's rare when both teams shoot so very well: 58% for the victors, 54% for Citrus but the most telling numbers were San Francisco owning points in the paint 64-36. To the credit of the southlanders, Citrus led 53-50 at halftime but got blitzed 61-44 in the second 20 minutes. 61 points in half of a game is off the charts. 6-foot-4 sophomore Tyler (San Ramon Valley High) Isaak led CC with 27 points.

Fullerton College 83, San Bernardino Valley College 76 box. recap. FC out-shot SBVC 49% to 34%, probably the most significant numbers, besides the final score, coming out of the contest. Next would be the victors going 26-36 at the foul line to 18-21. The Orange County crew led by eight at the half and finished ahead by seven.

CCCMBCA Championship Game score for Sun, Mar 16

City College San Francisco 75, Fullerton College 58 box. recap. It wasn't close nor pretty but winning a championship is all that matters and CCSF easily did so. The Rams were paced by Miles Amos with team-leading 20 points and four assists and won the first 20 minutes by nine points plus the second half by eight points. Fullerton made just a single three-pointer in 40 minutes while CCSF buried ten treys. Coach Justin Labagh now owns the record with five CCCMBCA championships.

All-Tournament Team

• MVP - Miles Amos, San Francisco City
• KJ Perry, San Francisco City
• John Squire, San Francisco City
• Tyler Isaak, Citrus
• Khemanni Davis, San Bernardino Valley
• Jaqari Miles, Fullerton
• Joe Grahovac, Fullerton

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One Other College Score

College of Idaho 59, UC Merced 46 box. In the NAIA national tournament, the Bobcats were up in Famous Potato State and fell behind 24-19 after 20 minutes. The second half proved no better at 35-27. Guard Cameron (Bishop O'Dowd) Brown was the sole Merced-er scoring in double figures with 12 points and also paced his squad with eight rebounds. On the down side, Brown committed seven turnovers. Curiously, the Bobcats shot 28% overall for the game yet 7-14 on three-point attempts. Idaho shot 39% overall but just 23% (6-26) from long distance.

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Prep Scores

"Roosevelt’s Brayden Burries breaks CIF State scoring record in Open Division victory over Riordan"

Mitch Stephens: "Final: California Open Division boys: Roosevelt 80, Riordan 60. End of 2024-25 season. Brandon Burries (Roosevelt) 44 points. Jasir Rencher (Riordan) 22."

"Alijah Arenas’ CIF State basketball crowning spoiled by Jesuit’s stout zone defense"

"Priory routs Fresno Christian to win first California CIF State boys basketball title"

Mitch Stephens: "FINAL D4 BOYS: Priory 83, Fresno Christian 66 — Mate Palotai and Balazs Nyikos with 16 points apiece, leading six Panthers players in double figures. What a performance. Devin Gaines has 21 points for Fresno Christian."

"Sierra Canyon wins CIF State title with ‘will and want-to’, closing ‘James Era’ of glitz and glam"

"Conor Maguire leads International to first California (CIF) state boys basketball championship"

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News Bits

"Washington's Jase Butler entering college basketball transfer portal after freshman season with Huskies"

He played in 18 of 31 games at 10.7 minutes per outing. Drake (Rio Americano High/Hartford/Cal Poly) U’u is his agent.

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Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Ylan Esso-Essis has received an offer from Division 1 Cal Poly (Big West Conference)."

He's 6-foot-8 with three years to play. I believe that's five offers at this point. It seems unlikely he'll go Big West but NIL $$$ are always the unknown factor.

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Jake Lieberman: "6' PG Trey (Moreau Catholic High) Knight tells me that he's heard from Chipola College, Citrus College, SIUE & Cal State San Bernardino. Knight averaged 15.6 PPG per 40 minutes at Tacoma CC. Three years remaining."

He was at Tacoma Community College this season.

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"Maxime Raynaud Scouting Report" Ersin Demir

Demir has Raynaud going 12th in the NBA draft:

"12. Houston Rockets — Maxime Raynaud (#42, Stanford): Senior, 7'1"

The Rockets are one of the league’s best franchises in terms of depth. They don’t need much, outside of improving their depth at the center position. Raynaud comes at the right time. At over seven feet, he can add much-needed floor-stretching to Houston while also being able to play as a four. He’s not fully utilized as a passer at Stanford, but regardless, his court vision, great intangibles, and habits on top of his production as a dark horse to win ACC Player of the Year makes Raynaud a combination of upperclassman production and fit into what the NBA needs to make four, or even five-out schemes work. Raynaud changes the entire dynamic of the Rockets’ frontcourt."

Demir's NBA player draft analyeses are lengthy and he also covers JUCO draft prospects as well as foreign players. Definitely worth a subscription at $5.00 monthly or $50.00 annually.

Also: "19. Indiana Pacers — Andrej (Jesuit High) Stojakovic (#2, California): Sophomore, 6'7"

Roster versatility made the Pacers successful. Especially when considering they already have their two stars in place in Haliburton and Siakam. These are the guys Indiana tries to build around with offensively creative scorers and secondary playmaking. Stojaković didn’t put himself in the best position to succeed at Stanford, but his move to California made him seamlessly take over the large chunk of usage that was left on the table. I expect Stojaković to continue to develop as a pick-and-roll ball handler, which gives him a complete scoring package while having the physical tools, foot speed, and consistent rotations to ensure a role as a key role player off the bench."

Plus: "28. Boston Celtics — Miles (Lincoln High-Stockton) Byrd (#21, San Diego St.): Sophomore, 6'7"

Wing-sized ball handlers made the Celtics successful. Those gain much more value when they can effectively defend in multiple schemes and against different positions. Despite being a sophomore, Byrd shows many flashes of a scalable NBA game where Byrd can serve as the second guard while playing in a reduced role with fewer ball touches as a shooting and closeout-attacking wing. He’s a glue guy for Boston who they can slowly prepare to serve as a complementary guard in their already well-sized backcourt."

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"The University of California, Merced men's basketball team earned major awards at the Cal Pac Championship awards banquet on Thursday night, highlighted by Cameron (Bishop O'Dowd) Brown being named the Cal Pac Player of the Year and Kevin Pham taking Cal Pac Coach of the Year honors.

Brown is the program's first Player of the Year since Aki Chambers in 2013. Pham is the first Coach of the Year in program history.

Aidan (Dougherty Valley High/Regis University) Sevilla was named the Cal Pac Defensive Player of the Year, the third Bobcat to win his major award but the Bobcats first point guard to win it since 2018.

Also of note, UC Merced saw a program-record three Bobcats selected to the All-Cal Pac First Team. Brown and Sevilla were joined on the top team by Jaron (Clear Lake High) Mertle...

...Brown and Sevilla also landed on the Cal Pac All-Defensive Team..."

Go here for more.

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Jake Lieberman: "6'7 prospect Drew Larson out of Northwest College (Juco) has recently heard from North Dakota, Northwestern St, Missouri St, SEMO, Canisius, NMSU, Idaho St, UC Davis, Southern Utah & NAU. 15.2 PPG (40.9% 3PT), 7.7 RPG & 1.5 APG."

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"John Feinstein Never Stopped Doing Everything"

What a writer! His basketball books (the only ones of his I've read) are superb and quite the legacy.

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"College coaches write letter urging NCAA to change 'stringent' eligibility requirements for JUCO athletes"

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Potpourri, Mar 14

Scores

Wed, Mar 12, NCAA D1 scores

Iowa State 76, Cincinnati 56 box. On just six shots, Dishon (St. Patrick-St. Vincent/Washington State/Charlotte) Jackson put up 10 points and combined that with 15 rebounds while teammate Joshua (St. Mary's) Jefferson led ISU with 19 points and paired that with eight boards. 

San Jose State University 66, Wyoming 61 box. The Spartans led 38-22 at the half. SJSU got up 46 shots, 24 of them three ball attempts, making eight. They also buried 18-21 free throws. The Cowboys put up 59 shots but went just 2-19 from beyond the long distance line and a paltry 9-15 on foul shots. SJSU moves on in the Mountain West Conference tournament.

Stanford 78, California 73 box. Despite a 37 point outburst from Andrej (Jesuit High) Stojakovic (shooting 13-22, 4-7, 7-8), California fell short to Stanford which was powered by Maxime Raynaud's 23 points and eight rebounds (leading the Cardinal in both categories) plus Jaylen Blakes' 21 points and team high six assists. The Bears were minus prolific-scoring freshman guard Jeremiah Wilkinson. Stanford moves on.

"Playing for a chance to reach overtime for the third-straight game and trailing 76-73, Cal's Mady Sissoko was called for a blocking foul attempting to set a screen for Andrej Stojakovic with 6.9 seconds remaining. Cal then intentionally fouled Raynaud, who made two free throws with five seconds left to seal it."

Cal Poly 86, UC Davis 76 box. TY Johnson led with both 19 points and 11 assists, the Aggies shot 50% overall and gave up just nine free throws but CP shot 55.6% and 44% on 25 trey attempts to still succeed in the Big West Conference tourney. Davis led 47-38 at the half

Thu, Mar 13, NCAA D1 scores

Louisville 75, Stanford 73 box. Shooting 7-12, 4-6, 4-4, guard Oziyah (Modesto Christian High) Sellers tallied 24 points and Maxime Raynaud fouled out with 17 points. The Cardinal led 33-30 after 20 minutes, were ahead 52-37 in the second 20 minutes but Louisville came back to win on a buzzer beating 15-foot jumper.

New Mexico 63, San Jose State University 52 box. The Spartans enjoyed three starters scoring in double figures but just barely achieving that mark (13, 10 and 10), shot only 36%, were -9 on turnovers and earned but eight free throw attempts.

Middle Tennessee State 77, Louisiana Tech 75 box. Al (Franklin High) Green scored 28 points and also grabbed eight boards even though LT fell to MT in double overtime. 

UC Santa Barbara 78, Cal State Northridge 72 box. Mahmoud (Santa Teresa High/West Valley College/Cal State San Bernardino) Fofana finished with 17 points (9-10 at the foul line) and eight rebounds although Northridge fell to UCSB in the Big West Conference tourney.

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Thu, Mar 13, CCCMBCA state tournament quarterfinal games

City College San Francisco 82, Cerritos College 70 box. recap. The beginning of the recap that's provided says it all with "The hunt for five is on." Is that the "Jaws" film theme playing in the background? Ray-John (Sacred-Heart) Spears shot 6-13 from long distance to lead the Rams with 26 points. His 6-6 at the foul line exceeded his 2-5 total during conference play. CCSF led 40-30 after 20 minutes.

Citrus College 112, Las Positas College 73 box. recap. Jaden (Sheldon High) Woodard paced the northerners with 21 points and teammate Elijah (Weston Ranch High) Mobley contributed 19. CC led 58-34 at the half.

San Bernardino Valley College 68, West Valley College 40 box. recap. Jake (Las Lomas High) Davis and Robel (Oakland Tech) Zemmo each scored 12 points for WVC. Down by 11 at the half, the Vikings were outscored 32-15 in the second 20 minutes and committed 27 turnovers overall.

Fullerton College 68, Cosumnes River College 53 box. CRC played the Orange County-ites tough -- 30 to 26 -- in the first half but couldn't make further inroads. Mason (Whitney High) Marsh posted a 17 point, 11 board double-double and Kason (Franklin High) Johnson led with 18 points but CRC got just a single point from its bench.

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Other Scores & Items

"CIF State 2025 boys basketball championships: Game by game previews, top players. What you need to know for each California boys basketball state championship game on Friday and Saturday in Sacramento."

"CIF Open Division: Riordan Tops De La Salle, Advances to State Championship"

Also last Saturday and at home, Santa Cruz High's 6-foot-6 junior DeMarco Hunter achieved seemingly the impossible in the Cardinal 55-52 victory versus Lincoln High of San Francisco. Hunter scored all of his team's 22 points in the first half, finishing with a total of 33 plus 12 boards and eight blocked shots.

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News Bits

Verbal Commits D2: "Menlo F Landon (Will C. Wood High) Seaman has entered the transfer portal. Grad transfer. http://verbalcommits.com/players/landon-seaman"

He's 6-foot-9, his coach just left his job.

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Omari Nesbit: "My recruitment is now open! 

• 6’1 160 Ibs
• 24 min per game
• 11.7 pts per game
• 1.4 assist per game
• 2.3 rebounds per game
• 35% from 3
• 45% from the field"

He'll be a senior transferring from Rocky Mountain College in Montana. Out of Burbank High and College of the Sequoias.

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Tyree Gill: "Honored and blessed to receive an offer from University of Minnesota Crookston ! Thanks to Coach Beamish for believing in me. Go Eagles!!"

Gill is out of Burbank High and now attending College of the Sequoias.

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Potpourri, Mar 12

Scores

Mon, March 10 NCAA D1 scores

St. Mary's 74, Pepperdine 59 box. In Las Vegas again, the Waves got sucked dry this time, shooting 39% while allowing the Gaels to bury 50% of their shot attempts. This achievement was in spite of going an unusual 2-14 from long distance. St. Mary's also shot an uncharacteristic 14-25 on free throws. With rebounding, the Moraga-ites owned 'em, a doubling up at 45-22.

Gonzaga 85, San Francisco 76 box. USF led 37-35 at the half. Malik Thomas tallied 27 points and Robby (Dougherty Valley High) Beasley scored 13. Everyone one else was held in check. Both team shot evenly but even though the Spokaners were a bust at 4-17 beyond the three-point stripe, they earned 32 foul shots and buried 25. The dons was way behind at 9-14.

Nicholls 74, Incarnate Word 70 OT box. Dylan (Healdsburg High) Hayman produced 29 points on 12-20, 3-6, 2-2 shooting respectively, plus four boards and a trio of steals in the for naught cause.

Idaho 80, Portland State 70 box. 6-foot-8 Terri (Clovis North High/College of the Sequoias) Miller Jr. posted a 17 point, 13 rebound double-double in an unsuccessful cause. He added three assists and two steals, all in 33 minutes.

Tue, March 11 NCAA D1 scores

Gonzaga 58, St. Mary's 51 box.Sorry to let my feelings be so transparent but DAMMIT!!! Saxen showed up. So did Marciulionis. Luke (Piedmont High) Barrett was credited with nine points, nine boards and three assists. But Jordan Ross goes scoreless and Murauskas misses all seven of his shots, gets whistled for four fouls and ends up scoreless in 14 minutes. Off the bench, Mikey (Prolific Prep) Lewis is errant on all seven of his three-point attempts. The Gaels shot 38.5% overall and go 0-16 on treys. But the Big Dance awaits.

California 82, Viginia Tech 73 2OT box. Andrej (Jesuit High) Stojakovic finished with 29 points and Maddy Sissoko continued his consistency with another double-double consisting of 12 point and 10 boards. Rytis Petraitis was even better on this night with 16 and 10. Tech led by three points after 20 minutes.

Kansas State 71, Arizona State 66 box. Coleman (Antelope High/Prolific Prep/Illinois) Hawkins appears healthy again as he scored 26 points and collected eight rebounds in the victory.

Northern Colorado 72, Montana State 45 box. For UNC, Quinn (Bellarmine College Prep/West Valley College/Cal State San Marcos/Idaho) Denker finished with 12 points and four assists in 24 minutes.

Montana 78, Idaho 55 box. The Griz led by 11 at the half but then put it into another gear (or two). With a season high 20 points (what timing), Austin (Sonora High/Wofford/Sacramento State) Patterson led Montana and Money (Oakland High) Williams scored 13 points but didn't shoot all that well. He did grab four rebounds and dished out a team high five assists.

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News Bits

Modesto Christian Basketball: "We are excited to welcome Chris Teevan as our new head coach! Coach Teevan has been the head assistant next to Brice Fantazia for the past 5 seasons. In those 5 seasons they accomplished the following:

• 5 League Titles
• 3 Section Titles
• 2022 NorCal Open Champs"

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UC Merced Men's Basketball: "The Bobcats earned an at-large berth to the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship with a 20-6 overall record. No. 1 Seed College of Idaho (19 straight wins) will host the Bobcats (18-2 in last 20 games) next Friday in the NAIA First Round!

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Salim Arikat: "With my head coach stepping down I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility and a red shirt year available.

Highlights from 2024-2025..."

Out of Petaluma High, Arikat is 6-foot-9, 200 and attending Menlo College. He labels himself "a stretch four."

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Noah Thomas: "Officially in the transfer portal🚨🚨

Noah Thomas 6’2 185 PG, 2 years of eligibility remaining, 24-25 stats, University of Arkansas Monticello (D2):

• 20 GP
• 7.1 ppg
• 3 rpg
• 1.5 apg
• 30 steals
• 33% 3fg

FULL SEASON HIGHLIGHTS‼️"

He's out of Pleasant Valley High and Chabot College.

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Modesto Junior College Men's Basketball: "Ylan Esso-Essis has received an offer from Division 1 Long Beach State (Big West Conference)."

Loads of potential here and three years to play for the 6-foot-8 talent.

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Jake Lieberman: "Davis now has the following programs involved in his recruitment:

• Portland
• Davidson
• Northern Kentucky
• Charlotte"

Would like to see some Nor Cal suitors here such as Pacific, San Jose State University and Sacramento State. Each could use the sharpshooter.

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Travis Branham: "UMass Lowell guard Martin Somerville will enter the transfer portal, his agent Daniel Poneman tells 247Sports. The America East ‘Rookie of the Year’ averaged 13.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists this season, shooting 40.5% from three."

SJSU offered him last year but not sure how hard they pushed. The Spartans need a true point. The 6-foot-3 Somerville played at Southern California Academy before heading east. He's originally from Maryland so he may prefer the northeast. Coming out of high school, there was some doubt as to his right away ability to man the point but he posted a 116/48 assist-to-turnover ratio this season so that question has been blown to smithereens. He also grabbed 47 steals and went to the foul line 115 times, making 95.

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Ben Ross: "My kron4news feature on saintmaryshoops senior Luke Piedmont High) Barrett, who went from walk-on to All-WCC Honorable Mention."

Click here for the video feature.

Barrett's arc is really remarkable, achieving it at a very successful program.

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WCAL Sports: "The WCALSports 2024-25 Boys Basketball First Team All League!

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"College athletes can now make millions off sponsorship deals. Here’s the first look at California’s numbers"

Someone did their best to obtain actual figures. It's the recordkeeping process that's sketchy.

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Verbal Commits: "Richard J. Daley College (JUCO) and Shasta College (JUCO) offered 2025 Terror Prep (ON) G/F John Ridger."

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Potpourri, Mar 10

Scores

Fri, March 7 NCAA D1 scores

no reportable scores

Sat, March 8 NCAA D1 scores

Iowa State 73, Kansas State 57 box. Joshua (St. Mary's) Jefferson scored 14 points and grabbed a team high seven rebounds and teammate Dishon (St. Patrick-St. Vincent High/Washington State/Charlotte) Jackson contributed 11 points as Iowa State bested host Kansas State.

Louisville 68, Stanford 58 box. On the road, a 15 point deficit (33-18) put the Cardinal in a hole and Stanford lost five more points in the second 20 minutes. It was an overall shooting failure on accuracies of 30.4%, 26.9% and 53,8% with Maxime Raynaud again leading with 17 points, plus 11 boards and three blocked shots. None of his teammates scored in double figures. "Stanford Men's Basketball Drops Finale to Louisville, Awaits Fate"

Notre Dame 112, California 110 box. In four overtimes, host Notre Dame edged California despite freshman Jeremiah Wilkinson nailing 36 points and teammate Andrej (Jesuit High) Stojakovic finishing with 21 points. "Cal loses 4OT heartbreaker to end regular season"  - Write For California

San Jose State University 92, Fresno State University 68 box. In the last game prior to the conference tournament, SJSU blasted rival Fresno State despite still missing a starting backcourter. Former FSU guard Donovan Yap concluded the afternoon for the Spartans with 30 points on 11-14, 5-7 and 3-4 shooting. Another former Bulldog, center Robert (Archbishop Riordan) Vaihola brought down a bountiful 19 rebounds alongside 13 points for SJSU. Call it Revenge of the Now Spartans. "San Jose State wraps up regular season blowing out Fresno State. San Jose State concluded a difficult season with a dominant win before a loud crowd."

UC San Diego 68, UC Davis 57 box. San Diego is the Big West Conference regular season winner and held the Davis-ites to 34.5% shooting. But the Aggies pressured the border squad to 41.2% accuracy, hence the lowish scores.

Weber State 83, Sacramento State 70 box. Still missing its top backcourt scorer, Sacramento State received 18 points from guard EJ Neal (5-9, 3-5, 5-6 shooting respectfully) and were down by just four at the half before falling away. The game opened the Big Sky Conference tournament held in Boise.

Sun, Mar 9, NCAA D1 scores

Northern Colorado 76, Weber State 52 box. Isaiah (Tracy High) Hawthorne concluded the matchup with a bountiful 29 points on 10-15, 4-6 and 5-5 respective shooting. He added seven boards. The game was part of the Big Sky Conference tournament being held in Boise.

Incarnate Word 71, SE Louisiana 67 box. Dylan (Healdsburg High) Hayman had a curious shooting night with 16 points for IW. He shot 6-16 overall, 0-5 on trey attempts and 4-4 at the foul line, as well as credit for six rebounds.

Pepperdine 78, Santa Clara 76 box. Losing a four point advantage at the half, the Broncos ended up shooting 40.6% overall and made just 12 of 34 three-point attempts. Entering the pairing with a 4-14 conference record and a 16.5 point underdog, the Waves shot a sterling 50.8% overall. SC won the battle of the boards 40-31. Coach Hern Sendek's squad isn't going to the Big Dance despite a 20-12 overall record.

Montana 74, Northern Arizona 65 box. Money (Oakland High) Williams finished with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Griz. Montana moves on in the Big Sky Conference tournament.

San Francisco 86, Washington State 75 box. Marcus Williams who? Ryan Beasley (Dougherty Valley High) busted out for a career best 29 points, shooting 10-15, 4-8 and 5-5. He added four boards, three assists and a pair of steals. The Dons held a two point halftime lead.

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Sat, Mar 8, CCCMBCA scores

Las Positas College 78 Modesto Junior College 67

Matt Schwab: "Congratulations to Las Positas for earning first trip to State’s Elite 8 since 2021-22 season. Top scorers: Elijah Mobley 26 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast - Sterling McClanahan 18 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast - Jorren Edmonds 12 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl - Coby Christensen 12 pts."

City College San Francisco 80, San Jose City College 70

John Bynum Jr.: "Rickey Mitchell had 13 points and King Njhsanni-Wilhite added 12 points as San Francisco advanced to the Elite Eight with a 80-70 victory over San Jose. Savion Daniels and AB Gilchrist each had 20 points in the loss for the Jags."

West Valley College 72, Skyline College 66

John Bynum Jr.: "Jake Davis had 31 points and Robel Zemmo added 17 points as West Valley advanced to the Elite Eight with a 72-66 victory over Skyline."

Cosumnes River College 81, Santa Rosa Junior College 69 CRC is 'en fuego' at the right time!

"College basketball: Cold-shooting 2nd half spells end of season for SRJC men in CCCAA regional finals. The Bear Cubs went ice cold in the second half and watched the visitors build a double-digit lead en route to an 81-69 loss."

Next games are Thursday, March 13:

• City College San Francisco versus Cerritos College 1:00 p.m.
• Las Positas College versus Citrus College 3:00 p.m.
• West Valley College versus San Bernardino Valley College 5:00 p.m.
• Cosumnes River College versus Fullerton College 7:00 p.m.

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Other Scores

On Thursday in the CCAA tourney quarterfinals, Cal State Los Angeles fell 98-83 to Cal State U San Bernardino despite the Los Angelenos receiving 22 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots in 38 minutes from senior Shane (Salesian Prep) Bell.

In another quarterfinal pairing between the Polys, Rob Diaz scored 24 points in 40 minutes as Cal Poly Humboldt handled Cal Poly Pomona 70-52.

Chico State and CSU San Bernardino then paired up on Friday in a semifinal setting and the teams were tied 33-33 after 20 minutes before the Wildcats won the second 20 minutes by five points, 75-70. Big Trae Taylor provided 24 points, 16 boards plus four blocked shots in 37 minutes. Teammate Caden Harris contributed 19 points and six rebounds.

Winning both 20 minute sessions, Cal State Dominguez Hills then bested Cal Poly Humboldt 93-82 in the other semifinal as Adam (West Valley College/Chico State) Afifi posted a 21 point, 10 carom double-double, shooting 8-9, 2-2 and 3-3 respectively, in aiding the success. He'll now face off with his former team, Chico State.

On Saturday down in San Marcos, Cal State Dominguez Hills topped Chico State 73-68 in the CCAA tournament championship game. For the Wildcats, JoJo (PIedmont High) Murphy did his job with team bests of 26 points and five assists and teammate Isaiah (St. Francis High/Montana) Kerr contributed 18 points. On the flip side, Adam (West Valley College/Chico State) Affifi posted a 16 point, 11 board double-double for the victors and earned All Tournament honors. DH led 38-31 at the half. Chico State reduced the lead to two points near the end but Dominguez Hills finished at 24-27 free throw shooting and that iced the game. The Wildcats are now 24-6 overall, 19-3 in conference.

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Saturday Prep Game Scores

"California CIF State NorCal playoff boys basketball semifinals scores, brackets, postings roundup"

and

Mitch Stephens: "Here’s another look at Grayson’s off balance 3-pointer that went bank, in-And-out-in-and-out that would have tied it for Oakland Tech. It finished out, buckling several to knees. San Ramon Valley wins D1 semifinal OT Classic 77-74."

Click here for the shot attempt that left Ardarius Grayson's hand with two seconds remaining.

and

Archbishop Riordan 64, Salesian Prep 57

and

De La Salle 47, Folsom High 38 For DLS, Alec Blair scored 14 points, David Balogun 12 points and Braddock Kjellesvig 10 points. Joven Dulay finished with 12 points for FH.

and

Tarek Fattal: "HOOPS: Notre Dame 66, St. Joseph 64. FINAL. Tounde Yessoufou suffers his first-ever home loss in four years at St. Joseph. Had 48 points in the loss, according to the NFHS broadcast. He goes out as CA all-time leading scorer. On to Baylor."

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News Bits

"Menlo Men's Basketball Head Coach Brendan Rooney Announces Resignation"

Would love to see a list of who applies here -- the choices should make it a difficult decision. Wonder what Coach Rooney will dive into next and where?

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Rocco Miller: "NEWS: San Francisco has released an update on star G Marcus Williams.

"San Francisco has received information concerning men's basketball student-athlete Marcus Williams that indicates he has been involved in an NCAA rule violation impacting his eligibility."

Williams is being withheld from playing at the moment, yes, just as the WCC tourney is happening.

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Mario Williams Jr.: "With the exit of my coaching staff I will be entering my name in the transfer portal with 3 years of eligibility remaining!

• 6’5 185
• Western Oregon University (D2)
• True Freshman Season
• 8.25 PPG, 2.6 Reb, 48% FG, 37% 3FG, 28 GP, 20 GS
• williamsjrmario1@gmail.com, (209)-453-6638"

Williams Jr. played at Venture Academy in Stockton.

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The Wisconsin Herd of the G League recently played the host Santa Cruz Warriors (the Herd won 116-98) and two familiar names popped up. James (Salesian College Prep) Akinjo is listed on the Herd roster as a 6-foot-1 guard out of Baylor and Vinnie (McClymonds High/Sacramento State/Cal State Northridge) McGhee is named as an assistant coach in his first season. He has previously assisted with the South Bay Lakers, USF and Northern Colorado. By the way, Akinjo started and played 35 minutes, scored 28 points on 11-21, 5-9 and 1-2 shooting respectively, with six assists, five turnovers, five steals and a pair of blocked shots.

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From this article:

"Westmont's De`Undrae (Salesian College Prep) Perteete made an immediate impact in his first collegiate season and is the PacWest Freshman of the Year. Perteete started all 26 games of his rookie campaign, averaging 10.8 points per game and 4,8 rebounds. The 6-foot-5 forward from Antioch, Calif. improved his average over the back half of the season nearly every game, helped by a 34-point effort against Azusa Pacific. He shot .783 from the free throw line and had a season best 11 rebounds and seven assists in the same game against Chaminade."

There are some teams regretting not pursuing Perteete with greater interest a year ago. Here's our January 2024 feature on Perteete.

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From this article:

"Casey (Las Lomas High/Diablo Valley College) Cappo, a 6-7 senior, earns his first All-PacWest award after averaging 15.9 points per game and 5.9 rebounds a contest. He earned PacWest Player of the Week honors after posting 30 points and 14 rebounds during a win over Chaminade."

and

"Landon (Will C. Wood High) Seaman of new PacWest member Menlo rounds out the First Team. Seaman was second in PacWest scoring (19.8) behind the nation's leader McIntyre and was also third in rebounding at 7.2 per contest. He shot 53 percent from the field and had a season best point total versus Vanguard of 30 points."

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6-foot-4 College of the Sequoias guard Davis White is now a Cal State Fullerton commit. He's from the So Cal area so that makes sense as does the D1 'level' he selected but the Titans finished 6-25 overall, 1-18 in the Big West Conference so is Coach Dedrick Taylor, who just finished his 12th season, in trouble? Not that anyone in Orange County seems to care as CSF is last in the Big West Conference in attendance at 637 per game.

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Abram Potts: "Staying home."

The 6-foot-3 guard attending San Joaquin Memorial High has chosen the Fresno Pacific University Sunbirds as his college. He'll be joining Brandon Gibson Jr. out of Monterey Trail High who is currently there. FPU plays at the DII level and is a member of the Pacific West Conference. Potts originally committed to San Francisco State but re-opened his recruitment in December 2024.

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Loukas Jones: "I am proud to announce my commitment to continue my basketball career and education at Fresno Pacific University. Thank you to Coach Haydock for believing in me and my high school Coach, Coach Amundsen for preparing me for this moment. Go Sunbirds!"

He and Abram Potts have certainly faced off in their prep days (Clovis North High versus San Joaquin Memorial High) and now they'll be teammates. Jones is known for his long distance shooting accuracy.

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6-foot-4 Citrus Community College (Glendora )sophomore Tyler (San Ramon Valley High) Isaak is averaging 18.6 points per game on 57%, 42% and 77% shooting as well as 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Isaak sports a 62/40 assist-to-turnover ratio alongside 47 steals in 27 games.

Citrus 'record stands at 27-2 and the Owls are averaging over 100 points per game. He redshirted the 2022-23 season at Cal Baptist and then played seven games the following season there before transferring to Citrus.

His 6-foot-4 brother Luke signed with UC Irvine back in November.

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