Editor's note: Prep2Prep is previewing some of the top boys basketball teams in the Bay Area. Today we take a look at Archbishop Riordan of San Francisco.
Even with their two highest scorers from last season now at different schools for the 2013-2014 campaign, the Riordan Crusaders have high expectations for this coming season.
After going 20-12 overall (7-7 in league), finishing fourth in the WCAL, and making it to the semi-finals of the CCS Open Division, ultimately losing to the eventual champion, Archbishop Mitty, this team hopes to make an even deeper run into the postseason. Contrary to most teams, which have unrealistically high expectations this early in the year, this group may just have the talent to meet those goals.
Coach Rich Buckner will field an extremely competitive team, that will in all likelihood be very competitive come league play this year. Led by two reputable senior starters in cousin tandem Jiday and Chiefy Ugbaja, there will be no beginners running this high-flying offense. Jiday, who has been playing point guard for the varsity since being pulled up late in his freshman year, was only the fifth-highest scorer on this team in the 2012-2013 season (7.2 ppg), but expect much greater production out of him this year, with all three of the highest scorers having either graduated or transferred. Chiefy, a forward, scored about the same as his cousin, averaging 7.6 points per contest last year, and additionally stood out as a defining presence along the boards, totaling almost six rebounds per game. He also led Riordan in blocked shots last year (29).
When asked about Chiefy Ugbaja, Tim Reardon, the coach at St. Ignatius, called him a “physical specimen.” He went on to say that Ugbaja could “jump through the roof. He really started to develop a feel for the game as the season progressed last year, and will definitely be capable of handling the offensive load this season.”
Jiday has gained a reputation as being a lockdown defender, showing up big in key WCAL games. Last year, in an impressive Riordan win, he shut down S.I. star point guard Trevor Dunbar for over three quarters, holding him to just three points. Coach Reardon also mentioned that Jiday has established himself as a “very quick guard that finds the gaps in a defense very well.”
Not to be overlooked is senior guard Zach Masoli who is coming off his senior season as quarterback of the Riordan football team. He's tall and can score.
A big boon for the Crusaders will be 6-foot-8 junior center Karim Ndiaye who missed all of last season with an injury.
Two star players transferring away hurt Riordan’s level of talent, but also give what would have been a tremendously deep bench more of a spotlight role, many of them now finding themselves in a starting position.
No longer at Riordan are last season's leading scorer Bobby Arenas (11 ppg., 5.2 rebounds per game) nor Frankie Ferrari (10.8 ppg.). Arenas is now at El Camino but not listed on the Colts' roster and Ferrari is playing at Burlingame where he began his prep career.
Matchups against WCAL powers Serra (Jan. 7), Archbishop Mitty (Jan. 10), and St. Ignatius (Jan. 16) represent three out of Riordan’s first four league games, and will test this team’s endurance. If they can come out of these contests with a few victories, they will have shown their mettle.
