Final MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school basketball rankings

The season is over, concluding with the fortunate few programs that made it to the California Interscholastic Federation State Basketball Championships at Sleep Train Arena. Bishop O'Dowd finished No. 1 here even though it finished second to national No. 1 Mater Dei in the Open Division finals. No. 2 Monte Vista finished with a Division I state title while No. 4 Folsom fell just short in D-II. No. 8 St. Joseph Notre Dame won it all in D-V and now leads all NorCal teams with five total state championships.


1. (Last week 1) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) (28-5)
The Dragons beat previous No. 2 Capital Christian 70-60 in the Open Division NorCal final before falling to national No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 71-61 in the Open Division final at Sleep Train Arena. O'Dowd was unbeaten against NorCal competition, beating Capital Christian twice, and suffered an earlier overtime loss to Mater Dei. Leaders Paris Austin and Ivan Rabb will return for coach Lou Richie, an O'Dowd alum.

2. (3) Monte Vista (Danville) (32-1)
Top-seeded in the Division I field, the Mustangs backed it up by winning the program's first state championship, beating Centennial (Corona) 66-56. Trevor John had 23 points and had six of his team's 11 3-pointers. Grant Jackson, Spencer Rust and Brendan Pedley also had good games as the Mustangs were an all-senior lineup for coach Nick Jones. The NorCal D-I title win was over Freedom (Oakley).

3. (2) Capital Christian (Sacramento) (28-4)
The Cougars, top-ranked by The Sacramento Bee all season, fell to No. 1 O'Dowd in the NorCal Open final 70-60, closing out a great career for D.J. Wilson, who had his best game, scoring 29 points. Others who bow out include Nifae Lealao, Uchenna Iroegbu, Marcelas Perry and Tyler Jennings. Capital lost only to O'Dowd in NorCal play.

4. (4) Folsom (32-3)
From 12 wins a year ago to NorCal D-II champions, it was a remarkable surge for the Bulldogs. They beat then-No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks in the NorCal final after beating the same team in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II final. Folsom fell to St. John Bosco (Bellflower) in the state final, 63-54, struggling from the line and on rebounding, but not for any lack of effort. Jordan Ford, as he did all season, led the way, scoring 20. Josiah Deguara, Lukas Hendricks, Alec Andrews, Gavin Smith, Jared Wall and Colin Russell all return.

5. (6) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (27-5)
The defending NorCal Open champion Monarchs beat El Cerrito 67-58 in an Open opener before falling at No. 2 Capital Christian 70-57 in a semifinal. The future is bright for the longtime Central Coast Section and West Catholic Athletic League power with 6-8 sophomore Ben Kone returning.

6. (7) Modesto Christian (23-9)
The three-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section champion beat No. 8 Newark Memorial 56-55 in an Open Division opener before bowing to top-ranked Bishop O'Dowd, 74-51 in a semifinal. This closes out the remarkable career for coach Gary Porter, who took over a winless program in 1997 and promptly won 16 SJS titles in various divisions and had a 37-0 state title team. Co-coach Richard Midley, one of the program's all-time great players, takes over next season with a lot of returning talent.

7. (8) Newark Memorial (23-8)
The Cougars won the North Coast Section D-II title and then lost an Open Division opener to No. 7 Modesto Christian 56-55, snapping a 21-game winning streak. Newark won three successive section titles with Joey Frenchwood as anchor.

8. (9) St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) (30-5)
The Pilots won state titles in the early 1990's with Jason Kidd running the floor and now have a record fifth after beating Renaissance Academy (La Canada) 57-32 for D-V honors under guru coach Don Lippi. He has won four successive NorCal titles and two state titles in four years. Temidayo Yussuf, Marcus Harris, Lamont Banks and Jade' Smith led the team this season.

9. (5) Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) (16-18, 15 losses by forfeit)
The Wolfpack finished 31-3 on the floor but have 16 official wins because they played an ineligible player. The final two losses on the floor were to Folsom, in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II and NorCal D-II finals. Alex Van Dyke and Matt Muldavin graduate but  L.J. Reed, Eric Toles Jr. and Jaaron Stallworth return for coach Patrick Roth.

10. (10) El Cerrito (28-5)
The North Coast Section D-III runners-up to No. 1 Bishop O'Dowd, the Gauchos lost to No. 7 Mitty in the Open Division 67-58. Sayeed Pridgett and Tyrell Alcorn will return.

11. (11) Moreau Catholic (Hayward) (27-7)
The Mariners won their first NorCal D-IV title after winning their first North Coast Section D-IV title, before losing to Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) 85-44 in the state final. Every starter returns for Moreau Catholic, including Oscar Frayer, Damari Milstead, Armond Simmons and Brandon Lawrence.

12. (18) Freedom (Oakley) (26-6)
Newcomers to all of this, the Falcons showed that they belong, beating previous No. 6 Jesuit on the road 78-65 in a D-I semifinal. Elliot Smith, Rodney Pope and national football recruit Joe Mixon led a gritty charge against No. 2 Monte Vista in the NorCal final before falling.

13. (13) Jesuit (Carmichael) (29-4)
The Marauders started the season 18-0, lost to No. 7 Newark Memorial, and didn't lose again except two close Delta River League losses to No. 4 Folsom. Jesuit won the program's ninth Sac-Joaquin Section title, then rolled Lincoln (San Francisco) in a D-I NorCal game 76-47 before falling to No. 12 Freedom 78-65, closing out the careers of Lake Lutes, Nick Hilton, Josh Soriano and Brady Anderson. Leading scorer Isaiah Bailey returns.

14. (16) Serra (San Mateo) (22-9)
The Padres beat No. 18 Montgomery of Santa Rosa 53-51 in a D-II opener before falling to Folsom in a semifinal 58-57. Danny Mahoney, Sean Watkins and Trevor Brown had strong seasons for Serra, a longtime power under coach Chuck Rapp.

15. (16) Drake (San Anselmo) (26-8)
The Pirates beat No. 16 Riordan for NorCal D-III honors as a dark horse 9-seed before falling to Chaminade (West Hills) 71-51 in the state final. Jesse Hunt and Malik Huff led Drake, which won NorCal titles in 1981 and '82 in D-II, won it in D-IV in 1994 and played for it in '95. Hunt's father played on the '81 and '82 teams.

16. (15) Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) (21-10)
The Crusaders fell to No. 15 Drake in the NorCal D-III final after beating Campolindo (Moraga) in the NorCal semifinals. Jiday Ugbaja and Chiefy Ugbaja had big seasons.

17. (18) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) (23-7)
The Wildcats lost at No. 4 Folsom in a D-II quarterfinal, closing the career of standout guard Trevor Dunbar, an all-time program great. A member of the West Catholic Athletic League, SI had two wins against Open entry Mitty and won the Central Coast Section D-II title.

18. (19) Montgomery (Santa Rosa) (24-7)
After beating previous No. 13 Del Oro in a D-II opener, the Vikings fell to No. 14 Serra in a second-round game. Montgomery was the No. 1 seed in the North Coast Section D-II playoffs.

19. (20) Del Oro (Loomis) 28-2)
The Golden Eagles had their 24-game winning streak snapped to No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-II semifinal, a game that went to the wire. Del Oro lost in a D-II NorCal opener to No. 13 Serra, 53-51. Danny Becker and Connor Drake had big seasons.

20. (21) St. Mary's (Stockton) (27-2)
The season ended in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II quarterfinals to then-No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks, 76-74. Gabriel Vincent had 40 in his final outing.

21. (22) Campolindo (Moraga) (23-7)
The Cougars lost leading scorer Matt O'Reilly with a broken arm but still rolled Vanden 96-64 in a D-III quarterfinal before falling to No. 14 Riordan 72-68 in overtime. Andrew Zolintakis and Justin Dunn had big playoff runs.

22. (23) McClymonds (Oakland) (21-9)
Mack was back, recovering from the sudden departure of its coach for unspecified reasons to charge into the playoffs, highlighted by a 57-48 win over No. 24 San Ramon Valley in the D-I quarterfinals behind Deion Ellis. The season ended to No. 2 Monte Vista 72-47 in the semifinals.

23. (24) San Ramon Valley (Danville) (24-6)
The Wolves are the only team to beat No. 3 Monte Vista, and they beat Kennedy (Sacramento) 56-55 in a D-I opener before falling to No. 23 McClymonds 57-48. This ends the remarkable career of longtime coach John Raynor, who won titles with class and spirit.

24. (25) Grant (Sacramento) (27-8)
The Pacers beat Chico 65-46 and Concord 66-58 on the road in D-II play before falling to No. 5 Cosumnes Oaks in the semifinals, 87-67, after it was 66-62 at one point. Cameron Oliver and Jeremee Churchill bow out, but guard Donovan Brown returns.

25. (NR) Concord (22-9)
The Minutemen battled No. 7 Newark Memorial to a 74-70 loss in the North Coast Section D-II final before falling to No. 24 Grant 66-58 in a NorCal D-II game. Siaan Rojas led Concord in scoring this season.

See some of Joe Davidson's content from the Sacramento Bee:

The Sacramento Bee on strong words from CIF Director Roger Blake on coaches who avoid challenges and parents who push too much... http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/29/6279884/director-says-cif-will-continue.html

The Sacramento Bee on how one very large player with scoring records and an NBA following before it was fashionable helped initiate the CIF State Basketball Championships...
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/28/6277494/hometown-report-cartwright-plowed.html

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports at The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter @SacBee_JoeD and on www.sacbee.com/preps.