The 2015-16 Northern California basketball season will get started on Saturday at the ninth annual Prep2Prep Tip-off Classic at Newark Memorial High.
This year’s event will feature seven games starting at 11 a.m. with St. Mary’s-Albany taking on Manteca and will be headlined by the nightcap of a NorCal vs. SoCal matchup as Moreau Catholic meets Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth.
In between St. Mary’s/Manteca and Moreau Catholic/Sierra Canyon there will be three other 2015 NorCal teams that reached the regional finals as well as four teams that participated in the NorCal Open Division playoffs last season.
Defending CIF-State Open Division champion Bishop O’Dowd which co-headlined last year’s Prep2Prep Classic will again participate in this year’s event when the Dragons take on Dublin in the second game.
CIF State Division V champion Sierra Canyon, which is considered one of the top teams in the country this season, will have Devearl Ramsey, a University of Nevada signee, and Remy Martin on full display.
Ramsey and Martin each won the Most Valuable Player award in their respective games in the first annual Prep2Prep California All-Star classic this past summer which pitted 24 of the best juniors and seniors of NorCal against the 24 of the best juniors and seniors of SoCal.
Here is a look at each game:
St. Mary’s-Albany (20-12) vs. Manteca (22-8)
St. Mary’s made it all the way to the NorCal D-IV semifinals last year before falling to Capital Christian.
The Panthers will have guard Kevin Warren back for his senior year after averaging nearly 20 points per game last season.
Manteca comes into the season loaded with talent and size led by the trio of 6-foot-8 junior Tydus Verhoeven, 6-8 senior Kenneth Wooten and 6-10 senor power forward Anand Hundal, a Nevada signee.
Bishop O’Dowd (28-4) vs. Dublin (18-12)
The Dragons went unbeaten against California teams all of last season but are a very different team than the one which ended Mater Dei’s reign of four-straight CIF-State titles.
O’Dowd graduated both Ivan Rabb, a five-star top-10 recruit who is now playing at Cal, and Paris Austin, a four-star recruit who is now playing at Boise State. But the Dragons have plenty of size and speed to again be a really good team under the tutelage of coach Lou Richie.
Mike Hauser, a 7-foot senior, will be the anchor down low for the Dragons.
Dublin graduated seven seniors from last year but return guard Timmy Falls who will be a handful for O’Dowd which hopes to extend its streak to 25-straight victories over California opponents.
Immanuel-Reedley (30-3) vs. Weston Ranch-Stockton (20-13)
Immanuel and Weston Ranch are definitely not strangers to one another after facing each other twice with the Eagles winning both contests.
Immanuel-Reedley is led by Tulane University commit Colin Slater who averaged over 20 points, five assists and three rebounds last year.
Alongside Slater, Darrin Person and Nate Kendricks are D-I prospects as well for the Central Valley school.
Weston Ranch is led by senior Jaelen Ragsadale who led the team in scoring last season. Both Ragsdale and Fred Lavendar have committed to Cal State-Stanislaus.
Sheldon-Sacramento (21-8) vs. Army-Navy-Carlsbad (26-7}
Sheldon returns a strong senior core this year led by Isaiah Brooks, Devin Green and Matt Manning. Junior Elishja Dupclechan will also be a key player for the Huskies whose previously mentioned foursome all scored in double figures last season.
Army-Navy is led by 6-foot-7 forward Aziz Seck who averaged over 14 points a game last year and 6-8 forward Richard Polanco. Both Seck and Polanco are much ballyhooed D-I players. With Sierra Canyon likely competing in the Southern Section Open Division this year, D-V could be open for Army-Navy.
Modesto Christian (30-4) vs. Folsom (28-5)
Modesto Christian made it all the way to the NorCal Open Division title game before eventually falling to state champion Bishop O’Dowd.
This year the Crusaders will rely on the inside-outside 1-2 combo of guard Christian Ellis and forward Robinson Idehen, both of whom are highly sought D-I prospects.
Folsom returns one of the best point guards on the West Coast in 6-foot senior Jordan Fordan who has signed with St. Mary's.
While the Bulldogs will not have much size, they’ll have a talented and quick backcourt of Jared Wall, Tre Finch and Ford.
Newark Memorial (14-14) vs. Woodcreek-Roseville (27-6)
The Prep2Prep Tip-off Classic hasn’t always been the friendliest to the hosts who most recently fell to Folsom 72-46 last year.
This year 6-foot-10 center Kevin Kahriman will look to impose his will down low for the Cougars.
Woodcreek is the defending co-champions of the Sierra Foothill League with Folsom and return impressive sophomore power forward Jordan Brown, ranked No. 4 in the country by ESPN.
Moreau Catholic (23-7) vs. Sierra Canyon (26-4)
Moreau Catholic is again considered one of the top teams in NorCal returning Oscar Frayer, a Cal commit and Terrell Brown a San Jose State commit.
It isn’t just a two-man show for the Mariners as point guard Damari Milstead leads the offense and Brandon Lawrence is a standout on both ends of the court.
Sierra Canyon, the CIF State D-V champions, aren’t looking to repeat as D-V champions this year as their goal is get in the Open Division and compete for that state title.
