Just like last year, the PAL South is Menlo-Atherton’s to lose. However, the rest of the pack seems to be closer to the Bears than last year, when M-A only had a single league game decided by single-digits. Hillsdale’s tandem of Junior Cotton and Calvin Mader-Clark is outstanding, Burlingame’s sophomore’s class is the best the program has seen in years, Sequoia has tremendous length and Woodside is returning to relevance behind an experienced roster.
Rankings are as of Prep2Prep’s latest CCS rankings, updated January 7.
Aragon (4-8)
An ankle injury to Matthew Mukai and a tough nonleague schedule have given the Dons eight losses already, but hardships were expected in their quest to replace Sam Manu’s production. Jace Jeremiah, Alex Haas, Jack Fitzgerald, Ryan Victor and Swiss exchange student Dennis Fasnacht have established themselves as a deep and interchangeable array of guards.
Players to watch: C Murphy Caffo (Jr.), F Alex Haas (Jr.), G Jace Jeremiah (Jr.), F Matthew Mukai (Sr.)
Nonleague highlight: When Matthew Mukai went down with an ankle injury, the Dons still managed to gut out a 61-52 win at Terra Nova.
No. 19 Burlingame (9-3)
After three straight sub-.500 seasons, it’s safe to say the Panthers are back. With a loaded sophomore class, a return to glory for Burlingame is a matter of when, rather than if. Young teams will hit their bumps, such as the Panthers did in a loss to Irvington where they couldn’t seem to buy a shot, but their ceiling is as high as it gets. Senior point guard Anthony Sylvestri’s meniscus injury and early-season foot injuries to Jacob Yamagishi have tested depth, but Ryan Ballout and Bret Harte transfer Owen Vickerman have been strong off the bench. Even without much size, the Panthers defend and rebound well, a hallmark of Jeff Dowd’s teams, and with their quickness, they’re able to handle teams that ramp up defensive pressure.
Players to watch: G Miles Klapper (So.), G Lou Martineau (So.), G Sean Richardson (So.), G Jacob Yamagishi (So.)
Nonleague highlight: A year removed from a 56-12 embarrassment, the Panthers hung with Serra the entire way, putting up a valiant fight in a 62-55 defeat.
Capuchino (2-8)
With a roster full of multi-sport athletes, it’s taken a while for the Mustangs to gel, but it’s likely they’ll improve significantly as the year goes on. Center Anthony Contreras was one of the few bright spots for Capuchino at Petaluma’s inaugural Trojan Classic, where the Mustangs went 0-3. Nico Caruso was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Players to watch: G Nick Solorzano (Sr.), G Patrick Volkman (Sr.)
Nonleague highlight: Patrick Volkman scored 12 as the Mustangs blew out Overfelt on Dec. 12, 58-38.
Carlmont (5-7)
Replacing all but two players who saw even occasional minutes has been a tough task for the Scots, and their offense has averaged just 46.1 points se game as a result, scoring under 50 in six consecutive games. With such a young group, finding rotations and combos that work can be an obstacle, but things will likely come into focus in the coming weeks for Ron Ozorio’s team.
Players to watch: G Daniel Awad (Jr.), G Abram Guldbech (Sr.), F Tim Netane (So.)
Nonleague highlight: A late Miles Ozorio steal helped the Scots edge Lowell in the opening round of the Bud Bresnahan Blue and Gold Classic.
No. 13 Hillsdale (8-3)
After three years of taking his lumps on the varsity squad, experience is paying off for senior point guard Junior Cotton, who’s averaging 20.3 points per game this year. Combine that with sophomore Calvin Mader-Clark’s talent and a coaching staff that’s revamped Hillsdale’s defense, and the Fighting Knights look like Menlo-Atherton’s biggest challenger in the PAL South. The days of teams picking apart Hillsdale’s 2-3 zone are over as the combined efforts of Brett Stevenson, Jon Ramirez and Arjuna Manning-Laisne have created a team that throws all sorts of different defensive looks at opponents instead of just sitting back in zone.
Players to watch: G Matthew Chan (Sr.), G Junior Cotton (Sr.), F Calvin Mader-Clark (So.), F Nick Robinson (Sr.)
Nonleague highlight: The Fighting Knights won the Bud Bresnahan Blue and Gold Classic, gutting out a 51-47 win over University in the first round with Calvin Mader-Clark out sick.
No. 5 Menlo-Atherton (8-3)
Coming off an undefeated run through league play, a PAL Tournament crown and a CCS Open Division win over Serra, it’s no surprise the Bears have sky-high expectations again. It’s been a struggle for Mike Molieri to get his team to defend at times, allowing 80 points to Bellarmine and 85 to Mitty, but the Bears have embraced the magnitude of their local rivalry games, holding Sacred Heart Prep to just 39 points and erasing a double-digit gap in the fourth quarter to top Menlo.
Players to watch: G Justin Anderson (Sr.), G JD Carson (Sr.), F Skyler Thomas (Jr.), G Nick Tripaldi (Sr.)
Nonleague highlight: The Bears opened their season with a bang, racing to a 78-60 win over Logan on Dec. 4.
Mills (3-9)
Aside from Michael Matsuno’s 3-point stroke, it’s been hard for the Vikings to find consistent scoring, and the three-year varsity player has dealt with nagging injuries. As has often been the case, Mills’ best hope to win has been with defense, and Rick Hanson’s teams play a 2-3 zone that even Jim Boeheim would approve of.
Players to watch: G Marcus Maravillas (Jr.), F Michael Matsuno (Sr.), G Jaden Tung (Jr.)
Nonleague highlight: The Vikings closed the Bambauer Classic with a 38-36 win over San Marin.
San Mateo (10-1)
First-year head coach Joshua Gould’s team has built confidence by rolling past most of its nonleague competition, though the competition will go up a few notches in league play. So far, the Bearcats have fed off Gould’s youthful energy, learning from a coach who was on staff at Gunn for the prior five years and graduated from Palo Alto in 2010.
Players to watch: F David Canabou (Sr.), G Jackson Chew (Sr.), F Aden Nolet (Jr.)
Nonleague highlight: A night after crosstown rival scratched out a nine-point win over Terra Nova, San Mateo one-upped the Dons with a 65-52 victory.
Sequoia (4-8)
A loaded schedule that started with Oakland Tech and has hardly gotten easier has left the Ravens (known as the Cherokees until the current school year) with an unsightly record, but their mix of length and depth should make them a threat in league play. Sequoia effectively has to play with no bench for significant stretches in December with Daniel Duran and Gus Kirkpatrick out injured, but they’ve gotten encouraging players from the likes of junior forward Kiahn Nice-Whiteside and senior guard Sam Schult.
Players to watch: F Davin Leathers (Sr.), F Kiahn Nice-Whiteside (Jr.), G Sam Schult (Sr.)
Nonleague highlight: The Ravens ultimately lost to Piedmont Hills on Dec. 23, but Sam Schult scored 34 in a 69-65 defeat, establishing his ability to take over games.
No. 22 Woodside (9-0)
A year after winning just five games, the Wildcats are the lone remaining undefeated team in San Mateo County entering league play. No, their schedule hasn’t been full of world-beaters, but they beat Terra Nova by 12 on the road and opened the season with a 78-73 win over Concord. In a league full of undersized teams, 6-foot-6 junior center Calvin Kapral should stand out, and sophomore forward Isaiah Minor has already wowed with his athleticism.
Players to watch: G Dylan Barnwell (Sr.), C Calvin Kapral (Jr.), F Isaiah Minor (So.), G Timmy Yee (Jr.)
Nonleague highlight: The Wildcats had a great weekend in Sacramento by winning the Mira Loma Tournament, beating a solid Oakmont team in the championship game.
