November 20, 2013
The month of November marks the transition from the end of the high
school football regular season to the start of the basketball preseason.
In Northern California, the 7th Annual Nor Cal Tip Off Classic features
seven games starting at 11:00am on November 30 at Newark Memorial High.
The previous six events have included competitive high school programs
and have featured over 50 eventual Division I prospects.
The event will have a number of NCP Boys Basketball Top 40 players from both the 2014 and 2015 classes. Ivan Rabb
of Bishop O'Dowd, who is ranked No. 3 nationally by Rivals.com, will be
in the evening finale. Host Newark Memorial, Bishop O'Dowd, and Modesto
Christian are favorites from Northern California to watch from day one
in the regular season to the spring postseason.
Game 1: 11:00 am - Fairfield vs. Castro Valley
Castro Valley is coming off a mediocre 13-13 season but the Trojans will look to Chico State commit point guard Jalen McFerren
to pace them. Fairfield will counter with its own point guard in
Demoriaye Hart-Spikes. The Falcons are coming off a 16-13 season.
Game 2: 12:30 pm - College Park (Pleasant Hill) vs. St. Mary's (Stockton)
St. Mary's (Stockton) features UC Santa Barbara commit, Gabe Vincent, who can light up the scoreboard and junior wing Lance Coleman.
The Rams have eclipsed 20 wins in the last four seasons and will look
to start the season off with a win. College Park had an impressive
27-win season last year that culminated in the state championship game
as the Falcons will lean on 6-foot-6 junior forward, Kevin Crosno.
Game 3: 2:15 pm - Heritage (Brentwood) vs. Oakland
Heritage will be a team to reckon with in the Bay Valley Athletic League as the Patriots will have bruising senior forward Shon Briggs
to man the post. Oakland nearly reached the 20-win mark with eighteen
victories last season. The Wildcats look to make that next jump as they
are led by senior sharp shooting guard, Jamaliah Brown.
Game 4: 3:45 pm - Freedom (Oakley) vs. Granite Bay
Freedom will have one of the more imposing frontcourts as the Falcons have senior Elliott Smith
and junior Kendall McIntosh both standing at 6-foot-6. Granite Bay won
the Sierra Foothill Athletic League last season with 19 total wins.
Junior Kendrick Jackson led the Grizzlies last season but he has transferred out of state as the team will be looking for new leadership.
Game 5: 5:30 pm - Moreau (Hayward) vs. Monte Vista (Danville)
Moreau
Catholic will have one of the younger teams in the field and the state.
But the Mariners have nationally rated talent in 6-foot-6 sophomore
wing Oscar Frayer and 6-foot-2 freshman sensation Damari Milstead in addition to promising sophomores 5-foot-11 Armond Simmons and 6-foot-2 Brandon Lawrence. Monte Vista counters with seniors Trevor John, who is headed for Cal Poly SLO, and big man Spencer Rust to help the Mustangs in their quest to dethrone De La Salle for top spot in the East Bay Athletic League.
Game 6: 7:00 pm - Newark Memorial (Newark) vs. Modesto Christian
Both
Newark Memorial and Modesto Christian who are perennial favorites in
their leagues, are tough matchups in the section playoffs, and have over
20 wins a season consistently. The host Cougars are a senior heavy
team with Joey Frenchwood, Matthew Thomas and Damien Banford. The Crusaders are complete and deep with a junior trio frontcourt of 6-foot-6 Anthony Townes, 6-foot-7 Leandro Amador, and 6-foot-6 Kevin Hamlet and highly regarded 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Christian Ellis.
Game 7: 8:30 pm - Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) vs. Bullard (Fresno)
Bishop
O'Dowd will present matchup problems both inside and outside as the
Dragons are headlined by nationally acclaimed junior prospect, Ivan Rabb, and lightning-fast junior point guard Paris Austin.
In the last two seasons, Bullard has a record of 59-7, including
back-to-back Central Section championships. The Knights have a solid
duo in senior Calvin Young and junior Austin Armstead.
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