Ben Kone, a promising rising sophomore, has transferred to Archbishop Mitty from Salesian High in Richmond, Mitty basketball coach Tim Kennedy said early Friday evening.
Kone is a 6-foot-7, 225-pound player who competed for the 30-4 Salesian varsity last season. He is playing this summer for the Oakland Soldiers AAU team.
Asked what type of player Kone is, Kennedy said: “I can only say he is registered at Mitty.”
Said St. Joseph-Notre Dame of Alameda coach Don Lippi who saw Kone play last season for Salesian: "He played last year a little bit off the bench. He was their eighth or ninth guy. He's scary, a big boy. At his age he was extremely developed and strong. He has a big future ahead of him and seemed like he'd be a mainstay (for Salesian) for a few years."
Here is what NorCalPreps.com wrote about Kone prior to last season: “As an eighth grader, Kone played for the Oakland Soldiers 15 club. He has good bulk and moves well for his age and size. Kone elevates well and positions himself well on the court. He will be on the varsity team at Salesian. He should be in the rotation and could see more playing time as the season progresses.”
No statistics were available for Salesian on MaxPreps.
The Kone transfer should take some of the sting for Mitty out of losing 6-foot-8 McDonald’s All-American Aaron Gordon to graduation. Gordon, who has signed with Arizona, was a two-time Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball for the state of California, leading the Monarchs to three state titles.
This latest development adds to movement in the West Catholic Athletic League this summer that should either hinder or strengthen teams.
As previously reported, promising Serra freshman Eddie Stansberry is no longer attending the school. Stansberry played last season on the Padre varsity. Also, as reported earlier, rising senior guard Frankie Ferrari, who averaged 10.8 points per game, has transferred from Riordan to Burlingame where he previously attended, along with his sophomore-to-be brother, Vinny Ferrari, who starred for the Riordan freshman team.
Burlingame won its first-ever section title last season and was already returning 6-7 rising senior center Nick Loew.
*****
Reach John Murphy at Prep2Prep.com. Follow him on Twitter @PrepCat.
