Team Sage-Truth 2014

Team Sage-Truth is back. Here are the current team members, with descriptions provided by Founder and Coach Wornel Simpson:

* Nathaniel Barrett 5’9 ½ Guard
A sophomore at River City HS, this is Nate’s second season on Team Sage-Truth. He works hard and carries a 4.3 GPA. Nate has a knack for putting the ball in the basket.

* Harrison Beckwith Jr. 6’0 Guard/Wing
Known as “Slim” to his teammates, Harrison is silky smooth and reminds old-timers of Walter Davis. This is Harrison’s first year with Team Sage-Truth after not playing high school basketball in his four years at Inderkum HS. He is a capable shooter and scorer with multiple moves to the basket.

* Mo Britten 6’3 Wing
Big body, average athlete, aggressive around the basket, ok rebounder, good passer, ok handler in open court. Led Del Campo HS to the playoffs. Heading to the College of Marin.

* Ramar Crump Jr. 6’0 Wing
A super-soph at Kennedy HS, Ramar is strong, a good shooter and rebounder. Not afraid to mix it up with anyone.

* William Ervin 5’9 PG
A sophomore at Laguna Creek HS, William works hard and is learning from some very good guards. Very calm demeanor.

* Dominic Fountain 5’10 Guard 
A super athlete with blinding speed, Dom picks up the pace and can score off the dribble or pass. Heading to Long Beach State University.

* Cameron Graham 6’4 Wing
Helped lead Natomas HS to a section championship. A good defensive player with a streaky shooting touch that is becoming more consistent day by day. An active point wing, Cameron is handling the ball and seeing the court very well. Undecided.

* Ricky Ratliff Jr. 6’0 Guard
Also a member of the Natomas HS section champions, this is Ricky’s first year with Team Sage-Truth and he fills a critical role as a backup guard replacing Lintz and Johnson. Brings hustle, toughness and a nice baseline jump shot. Undecided.

* Jamaryion Simmons 6’5 Wing
Big body, very skilled, good handle, rebounds well, goes hard to the basket, ok athlete, active without the ball, good post game with reverse pivots and spin moves. Jamaryion did not play high school basketball, but has been a member of Team Sage for the past five years and his court awareness and basketball IQ is very high. Heading to the College of Marin.

* Kellen Simpson 6’3 PG
Good quickness, pushes in transition, good passer off the dribble, good defender and rebounder. Heading to Long Beach State University.

* Terrence White 6’1 PG
Quick, capable ball handler and passer, pushes ball in transition, can get to rim and finish, nice pull up jumper. All-League, All-Metro Honorable Mention, selected to Optimist All-Star Game. Inderkum HS’s all-time leading scorer. Undecided.

Recent Departures

* Benson Osayande 6’8 Wing
Really long and active, good straight line driver from the perimeter, finishes at and above the rim, good touch, good rebounder, great shot blocker and changer, can defend any position. The recent NorCal Showcase was Benson’s last tourney with Team Sage-Truth. Heading to Division 1 National Junior College, Casper College in Wyoming.

* Brandon Thompson 6’4 Wing
Led Christian Brothers HS to playoffs.  All-League and Honorable Mention All-Metro. Heading to University of Nevada-Reno to play football.

* Leondre Lintz 5’10 PG
Led Monterey Trail HS to playoffs. All-League and Honorable Mention All-Metro. Selected to Optimist All-Star Game. Heading to Sacramento State University.

* Jalen Davis 6’7 Wing
Led River City HS to playoffs.  All-League and Honorable Mention All-Metro. Selected to Optimist All-Star Game.  Heading to Yuba College.

* Forrest Johnson 5’9 PG
Led Bradshaw Christian HS to playoffs. An original Team Sage member and ferocious defender, Forrest developed into a capable point guard. Heading to St. Katherine’s University.

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After going 26-8 last year, Team Sage-Truth is off to a 7-0 start, going 4-0 in the NorCal Spring Showcase.  Although having lost some key individuals, TS has not missed a beat, with the nucleus of Mo Britten, Cameron Graham, Jamaryion Simmons, Kellen Simpson and Terrence White playing like men. With the bulk of the roster heading to college, TS plans to participate in the upcoming City Championships and Bay Area Memorial Day Classic at CCSF in May. The preparation for this season has been mainly skill development training headed by Coach Jerist Roberts. Coach JT is one of the finest young coaches in the area and is honing his skills with a hard working, ball-sharing, gritty and defensive-minded group of young men who collectively have proven to be the equal of any team they have faced anywhere in the country in the recent past.

On the non-basketball side, I'm working on re-tooling the program. Eleven of the original 13 Team Sage members reached the goal of being UC-eligible upon graduation from high school. However, many were not admitted to the schools of their choice, notably Cal, UC Davis, UC Irvine and UCLA. For future teams, the bar will be raised to not only be UC-eligible, but to be more competitive by attaining higher GPA’s, SAT scores and having more practical experience as well as community service. 

Some current Team Sage players have passed up 4-year college opportunities to pursue their basketball dreams at community colleges. A question was asked to some of the players, “would you rather go to Sac State, walk on and possibly not play or go to Anywhere JC and play” and the answer was Anywhere JC and play. When asked “would you rather go to Cal (with or without basketball) or Anywhere JC”, the choice was Cal, hands down, because of the educational opportunity. So, we have to do a better job ensuring our kids have the opportunity to attend the top tier universities out of high school. Our next team, Team Sage-Spaulding (consisting of mostly juniors) has many 4.0 students and hopefully will have more admits into the UC system. We are more concerned with SAT prep going forward then basketball.