MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school boys basketball rankings

Video: Conor Jeffery's highlights v Bishop O'Dowd 1/16/17 @St Mary's
See the Capital Christian senior guard in action.

There was little change in the MaxPreps Northern California basketball rankings that include large schools, medium and small. League races are tightening up, as reflective by some thriller games last week. More are in store this week and beyond with the playoffs looming at the end of February.


1. (last week 1) Sheldon (Sacramento), 19-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Division: I and/or Open
Coach: Joey Rollings
Upcoming: at Davis, vs. Jesuit (Carmichael)

2. (2) Woodcreek (Roseville), 20-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Division: I and/or Open
Coach: Paul Hayes
Upcoming: at Nevada Union (Grass Valley), at Del Oro (Loomis)

3. (3) Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose), 17-1
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Division: I and/or Open
Coach: Patrick Schneider
Upcoming: vs. vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco), at No. 15 Saint Francis

4. (4) Salesian College Preparatory (Richmond), 20-3
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Division: III and/or Open
Coach: Bill Mellis
Upcoming: vs. El Cerrito, at St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo)

5. (7) St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda), 21-1
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Counties East
Division: 4 and/or Open
Coach: Don Lippi
Upcoming: at Head Royce (Oakland)

6. (6) De La Salle (Concord), 17-4
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Division: I and/or Open
Coach: Justin Argenal
Upcoming: at Monte Vista (Danville), at San Ramon Valley (Danville)

7. (5) Dublin, 19-2
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Division: I
Coach: Tom Costello
Upcoming: at Foothill (Pleasanton), at Livermore (Granada)

8. (8) St. Ignatius (San Francisco), 16-2
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Division: III
Coach: Rob Marcaletti
Upcoming: at No. 15 Saint Francis (Mountain View), vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco)

9. (9) Vanden (Fairfield), 19-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Solano County Athletic
Division: III
Coach: Michael Holloway
Upcoming: at Vallejo, vs. Benicia, at Christian Brothers (Sacramento) 10. (10) Capital Christian (Sacramento), 12-7
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Golden Empire
Division: III
Coach: Devon Jones
Upcoming: at Mesa Verde (Citrus Heights), at Lindhurst (Olivehurst), vs. Modesto Christian

11. (11) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland), 12-8
Section: North Coast
League: West Alameda County
Division: II
Coach: Lou Richie
Upcoming: at Berkeley, at Piedmont

12. (12) Heritage (Brentwood), 18-2
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Division: I
Coach: Pat Cruickshank
Upcoming: vs. Pittsburg, at Antioch

13. (13) Burbank (Sacramento), 19-2
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Metropolitan
Division: II
Coach: Lindsey Ferrell
Upcoming: vs. Laguna Creek (Elk Grove), vs. Valley (Sacramento)

14. (14) St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo), 17-4
Section: North Coast
League: Tri-County Rock
Division: IV
Coach: Derek Walker
Upcoming: vs. Saint Mary's (Albany), vs. No. 4 Salesian

15. (15) Saint Francis (Mountain View), 15-3
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Division: II
Coach: Mike Motil
Upcoming: at No. 8 St. Ignatius, vs. No. 3 Bellarmine

16. (16) James Logan (Union City), 17-3
Section: North Coast
League: Mission Valley
Division: I
Coach: Melvin Easley
Upcoming: at Moreau Catholic (Hayward), at Washington (Fremont)

17. (17) Oakland Tech (Oakland), 18-3
Section: Oakland
League: Oakland
Division: I
Coach: Karega Hart
Upcoming: vs. McClymonds (Oakland), vs. Oakland

18. (19) Mission (San Francisco), 21-1
Section: San Francisco
League: Academic Lang
Division: III
Coach: Arnold Zelaya
Upcoming: vs. Wallenberg (San Francisco), at Lincoln (San Francisco)

19. (20) Palma (Salinas), 15-2
Section: Central Coast
League: Monterey Bay
Division: IV
Coach: Kelley Lopez
Upcoming: at Salinas, vs. Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville)

20. (NR) Grant (Sacramento), 18-5
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Division: II
Coach: Deonard Wilson
Upcoming: at Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove), vs. Monterey Trail (Elk Grove)

The Next 5
21. (NR) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), 9-9
22. (NR) Sequoia (Redwood City), 16-3
23. (NR) St. Mary's (Stockton), 11-9
24. (NR) West (Tracy), 20-2
25. Modesto Christian (Modesto), 16-5

NorCal highlights
- No. 1 Sheldon has become a road-warrior team, including beating Orange (Orange Lutheran) 64-63 on an Elishja Duplechan floater with 15 seconds left. One loss was 91-82 to national powerhouse Chino Hills in the finals of the Rancho Mirage Holiday Classic in Palm Springs.
- No. 3 Bellarmine nipped No. 8 St. Ignatius 54-53 in a West Catholic Athletic League thriller as Jake Wojcik made two late free throws in a meeting of 15-1 rivals. Kendall Stubblefield had 20 for Bellarmine. The rematch is Feb. 18 in the WCAL regular-season finale in San Francisco.
- No. 5 De La Salle beat No. 6 Dublin 51-45 in East Bay League play in Concord, a big win for the defending NorCal Open Division champions. Dublin was held to 12 first-half points and Connor O'Dea had 15 points. De La Salle has won 11 consecutive games. Dublin was realigned to this league after years in the Diablo Foothill Athletic League.

NorCal top rebounders
Marcus Kuechle, Mercy (Red Bluff) 16.9
Jordan Brown, Woodcreek (Roseville) 16.4
Christian Futch, Gunderson (San Jose) 15.7
Cody Call, Mendocino 15.4
Andre Kelly, Lincoln (Stockton) 14.8
JeVante Scally, Lutheran (Elk Grove) 13.6
Camron Reece, Oakland Tech (Oakland) 13.2
Jeremy Heitzman, North Monterey County (Castroville) 13.1
Ben High, Pierce (Arbuckle) 13.0
Tydus Verhoeven, Manteca 12.8
Sulivan Hurte, Las Plumas (Oroville) 12.6
Cole Johnson, Sacramento Country Day (Sacramento) 12.6
Amari Simmons, Cornerstone Christian (Antioch) 12.5
Corey Potthoff, Liberty Ranch (Galt) 12.2
Justin Vigil, Fall River (McArthur) 12.1

The Sacramento Bee on how a NorCal power forgot uniforms for a big game but still dressed the part of winner....click here

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and on Facebook: facebook.com/joe.davidson