CalHiSports' pre-season team prognostications

Ronnie Flores/CalHiSports offers up his pre-season California high school team rankings here and here.

5. (26) Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland) 26-4
Northern California’s top-ranked team is in a similar boat to No. 3 St. John Bosco. The Dragons have a tremendous ceiling, but they must show improvement in the consistency department. Coach Lou Richie (who played on O’Dowd’s 1988 NorCal Division I championship team) is optimistic with four returning starters and 10 lettermen back from a North Coast Section Division III title team, including State Sophomore of the Year Ivan Rabb (6-9, Jr.). Guard Paris Austin (5-11, Jr.) had a breakout sophomore campaign and is quickly developing into one of NorCal’s best players in his own right. The pieces around O’Dowd’s inside-outside combo are a bit undervalued as well and that’s what makes this team dangerous. Guard Juwan Anderson (5-11, Sr.) was an all-leaguer and had a standout summer while Isaiah Thomas (6-7, Jr.) flanks Rabb up front and gives the Dragons a frontline that few teams in the state can match. If O’Dowd’s consistency can match it talent, and if Rabb plays like one of the nation’s best players, this team should be a tough out in the NorCal Open Division regional.

9. (22) Modesto Christian 29-4
The Crusaders easily could have been rated higher than Compton and even Bishop O’Dowd. After all, Modesto Christian did beat O’Dowd 57-42 in the opening round of the CIF NorCal Open Division regional. The Crusaders, however, lose major firepower off last year’s club whereas O’Dowd and Compton basically return its units intact. Anthony Townes (6-6, Jr.) is rapidly developing into one of the NorCal’s top frontcourt layers and Mason Washington (6-0, Sr.) provides a steady presence in the backcourt. Both he and newcomer Jeff Wu (6-1, Jr.) will play D1 basketball. Another newcomer that will greatly contribute is Kevin Hamlet (6-6, Jr.) and national scouts already have Christian Ellis (6-2, Soph.) on their radars. After all the newcomers and transfers mesh, this could be a juggernaut come February.

16. (27) De La Salle (Concord) 26-5
The Spartans have been ranked a bit too high in the preseason the past few years, so we’ll use a bit more caution and let them work towards the top 10. Still, you have to like a team that won the East Bay Athletic League with three freshmen starters under the tutelage of veteran coach Frank Allocco (606-85). Starting point guard Eric Daul (6-0, Jr.) returns after missing last season with a knee injury. The post is manned by Patrick Marr (6-7, Sr.) and the super sophs include Devin Asiasi (6-3, Soph.), Nikhil Peters (6-3, Soph.) and Jordan Ratinho (6-3, Soph.). Peters was first team all-EBAL and Asiasi is already a starter on the school’s illustrious football team.

18. (39) Newark Memorial (Newark) 23-8
The Cougars competed in the first NorCal Open Division regional and should be a factor as long as veteran coach Craig Ashmore is around. In informal polls of the state’s top coaches, his name is always mentioned right near the top. This season, he welcomes back veteran guard Joey Frenchwood (5-11, Sr.) and forward Damien Banford (6-5, Sr.), the latter who is a rugged defender and the type of player Ashmore loves to go to battle with. The key to the season for the defending CIF North Coast Section Div. II champion is the development of Matthew Thomas (6-9, Sr.). If he steps up, Newark Memorial will be tough to beat.

19. (NR) St. Mary’s (Stockton) 20-8
The Rams want to erase the memory of last year’s heart-breaking, one-point loss to El Camino of Sacramento in the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. II playoffs and have the horses to do it. Coach Ken Green welcomes back 11 lettermen, including all-state underclass choice and UCSB-bound Gabe Vincent (6-2, Sr.), who averaged 20.9 ppg. Devin Williams (5-9, Jr.) gained valuable experience last season as a quarterback for the offense and Jacob Aruta (6-1, Jr.) is a dependable perimeter scorer and rebounder. Salesian of Richmond transfer Lance Coleman II (6-5, Jr.) gives Green some frontcourt muscle and big-game experience.

25. (NR) Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 18-10
With 90 percent of his team’s total offensive production returning, coach Frank Knight (a former all-state guard at Oakland Fremont) feels his young team has what it takes to wrestle the Mission Valley League crown away from Newark Memorial. Oscar Frayer (6-5, Soph.) is one of the NCS’ top overall players, fellow sophomores Brandon Lawrence (6-3, Soph.) and Armond Simmons (5-11, Soph.) are also highly-regarded and Damari Milstead (5-11, Fr.) is the top-ranked NorCal prospect in the 2017 class.

29. (NR) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 16-11
The Wildcats start out as the West Coast Athletic League’s No. 1 team in a year where the WCAL doesn’t have a Aaron Gordon-type player to dominate upfront. Among perimeter players in the league, and all of NorCal, you’ll be hard pressed to find one better than Trevor Dunbar (5-10, Sr.), who will get help from fellow returning all-leaguer Julian Marcu (6-1, Sr.) and Troy Rike (6-8, Sr.).

32. (NR) Sacramento 25-6
Coach Derek Swafford’s club may be a year away from statewide prominence because of its youth, but with nine returning lettermen they’ll be dangerous to deal with. Solomon “Devin” Young (6-6, Soph.) doesn’t look or play like a tenth-grader and Christian Terrell (6-4, Soph.) is an all-CIFSJS candidate.

34. (5) Sheldon (Sacramento) 27-6
Don’t cry for the Huskies despite the graduation of a stellar senior group because they have a nice blend of newcomers and holdovers to keep them in contention for a section crown. The four-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I champions welcome Trey Belton (6-5, Jr.) from Capital Christian and Ty Rattler (6-0, Sr.) from Modesto Christian and return highly-regarded point guard Devin Greene (5-10, Soph.).