Thanksgiving weekend is when the high school basketball seson starts to count in Northern California as the 8th Annual Nor Cal Tip Off Classic features seven games starting at 11:00am on Saturday, November 29th at Newark Memorial High. The previous seven events have included competitive high school programs and have featured over 50 eventual Division I prospects.
The event will culminate with a battle between California power Bishop O'Dowd and Nevada stalwart Bishop Gorman. Three of the nation's top ten players from the 2015 class in this game will include Ivan Rabb of Bishop O'Dowd, Chase Jeter (Duke commit) and Stephen Zimmerman of Bishop Gorman. Five Northern California 2014 state finalist teams are participating in the event: Bishop O'Dowd (Open Division), Folsom (Division II), Drake (Division III), Moreau Catholic (Division IV), and St. Joseph's-Notre Dame (Division V).
Game 1: 11:00 am - College Park (Pleasant Hill) vs. St. Mary's (Stockton)
College Park won the Diablo Valley League as the Falcons went 18-7. 6-foot-6 senior forward Kevin Crosno will be the focal point for the team. The Rams won this same game last year 65-56 as Gabe Vincent (UC Santa Barbara) spearheaded a 27-2 season. Replacing Vincent's productivity will fall on seniors Lance Coleman and Jacob Aruta.
Game 2: 12:30 pm - San Ramon Valley (Danville) vs. Cordova (Rancho Cordova)
The Wolves went 24-6 last season and will have the size advantage with two seniors in 6-foot-7 Kyle Spackman and 6-foot-10 Gregg Polosky. San Ramon Valley tied with De La Salle to finish behind Monte Vista in the East Bay League. Senior guard Jordan Roberson will lead Cordova as the Lancers look to repeat in the Capital Athletic League.
Game 3: 2:15 pm - Moreau Catholic (Hayward) vs. Drake (San Anselmo)
Both Moreau Catholic and Drake reached the state finals but their Southern California opponent also dominated both in their final game. Pirate forward Jesse Hunt (Eastern Washington commit) will do battle with Moreau Catholic's forward Oscar Frayer (Cal commit). But the tone of the game may be determined by the guard play of senior Malik Huff of Drake against sophomore guard Damari Milstead.
Game 4: 3:45 pm - Berkeley vs. St. Joseph's-Notre Dame (Alameda)
Game 4 will be big public school against small private school but the advantage may go to the Pilots. The Pilots won 30 games last year in route to the state title while Berkeley made an early playoff exit despite 22 wins. Sophomore Jade' Smith of St. Joseph's-Notre Dame will be a prospect to watch as the season progresses.
Game 5: 5:30 pm - Modesto Christian vs. Bullard (Fresno)
The 5:30pm game is a battle between Central California opponents separated by 90 minutes on Highway CA-99. Both Modesto Christian and Bullard went undefeated in their respective leagues and are the league favorites going into this new season. The Knights will be a guard-oriented team headlined by senior Austin Armstead while the Crusaders will be led by senior leaders Anthony Townes (Pacific commit) and Jeff Wu (Sacramento State commit).
Game 6: 7:00 pm - Newark Memorial (Newark) vs. Folsom
Host Newark Memorial always plays tough on their home court but the Cougars graduated nine seniors from last year's 25-win team. Conversely, Folsom only lost one senior from last year's team that won 32 games in route to a state final loss. The Bulldogs' season will be led by junior guard Jordan Ford, junior guard Tre Finch (Sacramento High transfer), and senior forward Colin Russell (Portland commit).
Game 7: 8:30 pm - Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) vs. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
Last season, Bishop O'Dowd defeated Bishop Gorman 68-54 in the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas before Christmas as Rabb easily outplayed the Bishop Gorman frontcourt. Jeter and Zimmerman have shown great improvement during the summer as they look to avenge last year's lost. Coming off the bench for Bishop Gorman is 6-foot-10 Zach Collins who easily would be a starter at any other high school program. The Dragons also feature point guard Paris Austin as they look to maintain their Northern California dominance in the upcoming season.
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