On Saturday November 29, the Prep2Prep Tip-Off Classic will bring together 14 of the finest boys high school basketball programs in California and Nevada, culminated by a marquee matchup of two of the top teams in the country: Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) vs. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas).
The Dragons will welcome their visitors from Nevada with a loaded lineup featuring one of the top players in the country, 6-9 forward Ivan Rabb, along with Boise State commit Paris Austin, a 5-10 guard. Rabb remains uncommitted, but has narrowed his choices of schools to Arizona, California, Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA.
Gorman is led by a wealth of NCAA Division I-level talent, including 7-0 center Stephen Zimmerman, who is being courted by Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Arizona, Indiana, Louisville, North Carolina and UNLV and 6-10 post player Chase Jeter, who has committed to Duke.
We will be taking a closer look at each of the seven matchups at the Prep2Prep Tip-Off Classic over the next few days. Today we focus on the first three games on the docket:
11:00 am – Berkeley vs. St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda)
The defending Division V state champions from Alameda have big shoes to fill with the graduation of Temidayo Yussuf (Long Beach State), but there is still plenty of talent in the cupboard.
Senior Lamont Banks, a four-year starter, is a rugged post player who averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds per game. Point guard Jade Smith (8 ppg, 5 rpg, 5 apg) runs the show. Six-foot-one guard Cameron Ba is a freshman to watch.
“We should be fast at the guard and quick at the forward,” Pilots coach Don Lippi says. “We will play multiple defenses and be efficient on offense.”
Berkeley is coming off a season in which it went 22-5, losing in the first round of the NCS Division I playoffs to Pittsburg.
12:30 pm – San Ramon Valley (Danville) vs. Cordova (Rancho Cordova)
Cordova is coming off a season in which it won the Capital Athletic League with a 9-1 record and finished 19-9 overall, losing in the second round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs to Folsom.
The Lancers are led by 6-4 senior guard Jordan Roberson, who poured in 21 points per game last season. Fellow seniors JaQuan Lewis and Chris Johnson, each of whom averaged six points per game, are expected to take on an expanded role.
“We’ll have a fun and exciting season,” Cordova coach Fletcher Johnson said. “We’ll push tempo and get up shots and man up on defense.”
Cordova graduated a strong group of seniors that accounted for roughly 60 percent of its scoring last season.
“We’re a little inexperienced,” Johnson said, “so hopefully events like the Tip-Off will speed up our growing process.”
In San Ramon Valley, the Lancers will be taking on an opponent that is also coming off an excellent season, finishing 24-6 and tying for second in the competitive East Bay Athletic League with an 11-3 mark. The Wolves reached the NCS Division I semifinals and made it to the second round of the California State Division I tourney.
San Ramon Valley is led by 6-10 center Greg Polosky.
“They’re an experienced group that is well-coached and play hard,” Johnson said. “They have good size with good guard play. I expect them to be right in our face the whole game.”
2:15 pm – Moreau Catholic (Hayward) vs. Drake (San Anselmo)
Moreau Catholic’s sensational sophomore class from 2013-14 is now a year older and wiser following a sensational run through the NCS Division IV playoffs – which the Mariners won – and all the way to the state title game in Sacramento – which they lost to Bishop Montgomery.
The junior class is led by shot-blocker extraordinaire Oscar Frayer, a Cal-bound 6-10 leaper who tallied 14.1 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per game as a sophomore. Junior Brandon Lawrence is a 6-2 slasher with three-point range who averaged in double figures last year.
The leading scorer was Damari Milstead (15.5 ppg), who enters his sophomore season on the radar of several top colleges.
Drake makes the trip down from Marin County as another team coming off an excellent season; the Pirates went 26-8 overall and won the Marin County League with a 12-2 mark. Although Drake lost in the second round of the NCS playoffs, it went all the way to the state title game in Division III, losing to Chaminade-West Hills.
Senior Jesse Hunt led the team in scoring last year with 17.7 points per game. He is headed to Eastern Washington next year. The Pirates also feature senior Malik Huff, who chipped in 8.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as a junior.
PLEASE CLICK LOGO FOR MORE DETAILS
