Central Cali’s Top 20 Team Rankings: Teams 1-5

After two weeks of play, I have updated my team rankings from the initial preseason rankings. Most teams have played at least two games, with some playing as many as 4, but there are a few that will open up their season Monday, December 1st. The December tournament season will kick off this week and there will be a lot of games played over the next 30 days. Before that takes place, here is my updated list of team rankings. This article takes a look at the #1 through #5 teams in this updated list and includes the following information: team name, its key players, its current rankings, its ranking from last round of team rankings in parentheses, and its current record. I will update these team rankings after the busy month of December to start the New Year.   1. (1) St. Joseph Knights (Santa Maria) (1-0)   Holding steady at the top spot is the Knights of St. Joseph. The Knights are opening the season up playing overseas at the Australian School Championship Tournament and will be there from November 28th to December 5th. The Knights won their opening game but I am not sure of the quality of competition. Nevertheless, despite not playing any teams I have knowledge of, St. Joes stays at #1 given its roster and teams it has defeated throughout Fall ball play. The Knights will host their own Elite 8 Tournament the 11th through the 13th with some elite teams and talent set to take the court. The Knights will open up with Edgewater of Florida and if St. Joes can run the table in this event, it will set them on pace to keep its high seed in the CalHi Team Rankings. The Knights will also be back in the Mission Prep Christmas Classic, followed by the King Cotton Classic in Tennessee to wrap up the calendar year. The Panthers and the Knights will face off during the regular season, so, unless St Joes has some unanticipated losses, it will likely hold onto the #1 seed in these team rankings until that meeting. However, San Joaquin Memorial has a heavy schedule as well and depending on its results in the month of December, it could take the leap. But for now, it's the Knights that have the top spot, led by senior and Stanford commit [player_tooltip player_id='1956462' first='Julius' last='Price'], senior Gunner Morinini, juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2436278' first='Malcolm' last='Price'], [player_tooltip player_id='2436295' first='Godson' last='Eyita'], and Elijah Ormond, sophomore Williams Sacre, and freshman Bernardo Jeronimo. That is a tough squad to beat and that is not all its pieces.    2. (2) San Joaquin Memorial Panthers (Fresno) (2-0)   The Panthers stay at the #2 spot in this updated list of team rankings, as it has had a strong start to the season. San Joaquin has earned wins over Bakersfield High and the defending D3 Section Champs in North Bakersfield, both were 20+ point wins. The Panthers have been led by senior and UC Irvine commit [player_tooltip player_id='2830146' first='Parker' last='Spees'], senior [player_tooltip player_id='3072422' first='Sajjin' last='Sidhu'], juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2932601' first='Ty' last='Schalk'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2932197' first='Jaxson' last='Silverstrom'], sophomore Domo Olanrewaju, and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2956487' first='Jaedyn' last='Johnson'] but the role players have been getting minutes with big wins, and it will help with the depth concerns some have about Memorial. But from what I have seen, the Panthers are the second best team in the Section and it may be closer to St. Joes than most think. Memorial will have a chance to prove itself over the next 30 days, as it will play in the Clovis West Nike Invitational, The Tarkanian Classic in Vegas, and the Classic at Damien. Three heavy weight events that will provide players exposure and test the quality of this team. But first, it will take on Dinuba, then Hanford to start the Nike Invite at CW.      3. (5) Buchanan Bears (Clovis) (3-1)   Moving up a few spots is the Bears from Buchanan, after having a strong start to the season, and looking to pick up from where it left off last season. The Bears put together a great season last year, but it's a new season and new faces have to step up to fill the scoring void from Conner Sheets. Buchanan does not have an eye popping win, but it has handled the teams in front of them with wins and only loss is to Fairmont Prep, who has some impressive wins itself. Scoring is my concern this season with the Bears, but coaching, structure, physical defensive presence, and returning a lot of players that experienced last year's success will keep them in the mix of the top five throughout preseason play. Standout sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2915953' first='Rhead' last='Sweeney'] is a special player that can score the rock from 3-levels, along with fellow sophomore Luke DeManby who is a versatile basketball player, senior lead guard Des Patton to control the pace of play, and depth with size and athleticism. To me the x-factor is big Brayden Harris and his ability to score in the paint and play some pick and roll action with Sweeney. The Bears have a schedule that can produce a lot of wins but I am not sure the schedule on MaxPreps has all the tournaments uploaded yet. I am sure the Bears will be playing in a holiday tournament.    4. (3) Bakersfield Christian Eagles (1-3)   The Eagles fall one spot and it's because Bakersfield Christian is playing a ridiculous schedule out the gate. I am always a fan of teams that take on the best, especially early, because it shows the true character of a team. The Eagles have opened up playing 3 of the top 15 teams in the state of California per CalHi Sports (#6 Santa Margarita, #12 Corona Centennial, and #13 Crespi of Encino) and have yet to get a win but are going through the fire early and often. It is great exposure for the players and prepares for postseason basketball, especially state playoffs. The Eagles got an impressive win over San Luis Obispo in its opening weekend Tip-Off Classic and Bakersfield Christian looked really good. Ball movement was fluid, all five starters scored 13 or more points, and juniors [player_tooltip player_id='2194700' first='Jeremias' last='Killebrew'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2646533' first='Taiwo' last='Daramola'] are making their names known. Sophomore guard Braylen Smith and junior guards Caiden Jakcosn and Kai McCrary have been huge impact pieces, and when they all play team ball the Eagles can compete for a Section title. The separator for me at the moment is the top two teams on this list can and have beat teams of that caliber or one of those teams directly. BCHS is there but would need to get one of those wins and it has a great opportunity this week in their home gym, hosting a 6-team shootout. The Classic at Damien to end the month will be another measure for this squad.    5. (4) Clovis North Broncos (Fresno) (1-2)   The Broncos round out the Top 5 for these updated team rankings and move down one spot after a few tough losses to start the season. Clovis North opened up the season with a tough overtime loss to Sheldon of Sacramento, 86 to 82, at the Clovis Tip-Off Challenge. Despite the tough loss, standout senior and Idaho State commit McKae Amundsen surpassed the 1,000 career point mark going for 30 points in the loss. The Broncos traveled to NorCal for Bishop O'Dowd's Thanksgiving Classic to take on Clayton Valley Charter on Friday, but fell short by a score of 50 to 46. The following day Clovis North would get in the win column by beating Dougherty Valley by a score of 63 to 55. Per usual, the Broncos have one of the toughest schedules in the Section and will host its own Valley Children's Invitational Tournament this week from December 4th through December 6th with some quality teams in the event. Clovis North will then travel to the always tough Gridley Invitational. The Broncos have the Mission Prep Christmas Classic and are in the top division of The Classic at Damien to round out the calendar year. The Broncos could climb some of the teams ahead of them by the end of the holiday tournament season, as is the case for all the teams in the Top 5. The Broncos have been led by seniors McKae Amundsen and [player_tooltip player_id='2977779' first='Elias' last='Gish'], as well as juniors Jahlil Montgomery and Landon Woodsford, and senior Titan Lawrence. I will be heading to Clovis North this Saturday to catch the championship day of the Valley Children's Tournament.

After two weeks of play, I have updated my team rankings from the initial preseason rankings. Most teams have played at least two games, with some playing as many as 4, but there are a few that will open up their season Monday, December 1st. The December tournament season will kick off this week and there will be a lot of games played over the next 30 days. Before that takes place, here is my updated list of team rankings. This article takes a look at the #1 through #5 teams in this updated list and includes the following information: team name, its key players, its current rankings, its ranking from last round of team rankings in parentheses, and its current record. I will update these team rankings after the busy month of December to start the New Year.