Article 425: Tip Off Classic Preview

11/14/2015

All the teams will have identical records and identical goals when the high school basketball season starts in Northern California with the 9th Annual Prep2Prep Tip Off Classic.

The event features seven games starting at 11:00am on Saturday, November 28 at Newark Memorial High. The previous eight events have included state championship caliber high school programs and have featured over 50 eventual Division I prospects.

This year's field includes four 2015 Northern California regional finalist teams: Bishop O' Dowd, Modesto Christian, Woodcreek, and St. Mary's. In addition, four 2015 Northern California teams participated in the Open Division state playoffs: Bishop O' Dowd, Modesto Christian, Folsom, and Moreau Catholic. Bishop O'Dowd was the 2015 state championship team in the Open Division while Southern California based Sierra Canyon, the Division V winner, will play in the nightcap against Moreau Catholic.

Below is the schedule of games with records from previous season:

Game 1: 11:00 am - St. Mary's (Albany) 20-12 vs. Manteca 22-8

St. Mary's has had three different coaches the past three seasons but still had more than 19 wins in each of those three years. The Panthers compete in the ultra-competitive Tri County Rock League and will not be intimidated by Manteca. Senior Kevin Warren is a versatile scoring guard, who can easily put up 20 plus points per game. Sophomore point guard Kyree Brown is a likely Division I prospect.

Manteca will go into the season with advantages in size and athleticism in the post as the Buffaloes feature 6-foot-8 junior Tydus Verhoeven, 6-foot-8 senior Kenneth Wooten (Nevada signee) and 6-foot-10 senior Anand Hundal. Wooten is a long and athletic postman who impacts the game at the defensive end significantly. He had to sit out last year due to transfer rules. Verhoeven is an athletic point forward while Hundal is a five man who can score inside and outside.

Game 2: 12:30 pm - Bishop O'Dowd 28-4 vs. Dublin 18-12

Bishop O'Dowd will find out if they are either rebuilding or reloading in this upcoming season as the state champions need to replace Paris Austin and Ivan Rabb. Senior Mike Hauser has size at 7-foot-0 while sophomore guards Elijah Hardy and Naseem Gaskins are playmakers. Freshmen Raymond Hawkins (6-foot-7 post) and William Chavaron (6-foot-1 guard) are bright prospects with high-level potential.

Dublin graduated seven seniors from last year's team. The Gaels return one of the more versatile guards in NorCal in junior Timmy Falls. Senior guard Kobe Toney will also be a key contributor. A victory against Bishop O'Dowd would be a signature win to start the season for the Gaels.

Game 3: 2:15 pm - Immanuel (Reedley) 30-3 vs. Weston Ranch 20-13

These two teams are quite familiar with each other as they met twice last season with the Eagles from Reedley winning both games. 30 win seasons are not easy to come by but the Fresno County program is a force in the Central Section. Immanuel will be led by Tulane commit Colin Slater. Slater is a New Orleans native who averaged 20.8 points, 4.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game last season. Junior post Darrin Person and sophomore guard Nate Kendricks are also Division I prospects.

Weston Ranch is senior laden with nine seniors but no one on the roster is taller than 6-foot-5 with Anthony Booker becoming eligible in January. Senior Jaelen Ragsdale is a scoring point guard who was the team's leading scorer a year ago. Senior guard Fred Lavendar can also put up points in a hurry. Both players have signed with Cal State Stanislaus. Weston Ranch will look to dethrone Sierra in Valley Oak League play this season.

Game 4: 3:45 pm - Sheldon 21-8 vs. Army-Navy (Carlsbad) 26-7

Sheldon returned to a 20 win season last year but had an early exit in the State Division I playoffs. The Huskies had only two seniors from last year's program and return their top four offensive threats in Isaiah Brooks, Elishja Duplechan, Devin Greene, and Matt Manning. Senior big man Justin Allen has low major potential.

The Warriors from Carlsbad are located in the northern San Diego County and feature 2017 forward Richard Polanco who is a high-major prospect. Senior big man Aziz Seck also has Division I potential. Army-Navy made a deep run in the Division V brackets and will be looking to build on that success.

Game 5: 5:30 pm - Modesto Christian 30-4 vs. Folsom 28-5

Modesto Christian started last season in the same event with an easy win against Bullard. The Crusaders graduated three seniors, but two went on to Division I college programs (Anthony Townes and Jeff Wu). Guard Christian Ellis and forward Robinson Idehen provide a good inside-outside combination and both are solid Division I prospects.

Folsom has won 60 games in the past two seasons. This year's Bulldogs will feature versatile scoring point guard Jordan Ford (St. Mary's signee). Folsom lost all their post size but return sophomore Mason Forbes who is their tallest player at 6-foot-5 and has the athleticism to be a small forward or wing but will be called on to be their primary post player. Senior guard Tre Finch can also provide scoring punch.

Game 6: 7:00 pm - Newark Memorial 14-14 vs. Woodcreek 27-6

Newark Memorial will be trying to bounce back from a sub-20 win season as hosts of the event. 6-foot-10 Kevin Kahriman has the size to help the Cougars to achieve that goal. Junior point guard Decaurey Brown has low major potential. The Cougars hope this season starts off better as they lost to Folsom last season in this event and started the season 3-8.

Woodcreek had a potent freshman-senior combination of Jordan Brown and Noah Blackwell last season. Blackwell is now at Long Beach State but Brown (who is 6-foot-9) returns and is ranked in the top five nationally in the class of 2018. Woodcreek and Folsom tied in the Sierra Foothill League standings last year and look to be the favorites again this season.

Game 7: 8:30 pm - Moreau Catholic 23-7 vs. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) 26-4

Moreau Catholic lost in the opening round of the Open Division last year but lost only one senior from that team. Oscar Frayer is a Cal commit while Terrell Brown is a San Jose State commit. Junior point guard Damari Milstead has several offers as he runs the Mariners. Senior guard Brandon Lawrence is also a Division I level player.

Sierra Canyon is expected to be one of the top teams in the country this upcoming season. The Trailblazers won the Division V state title last year and return their core players in juniors Ira Lee, Remy Martin, and Cody Riley and senior Devearl Ramsey (Nevada signee). All are high major prospects. In addition, the Trailblazers have five other players who are likely Division I prospects on the roster. The winner of this nightcap can make a statement win for either the north or the south for geographical dominance in the state of California for the upcoming season.