“Georgetown transfer James Akinjo says he’s committed to Arizona” Bruce Pascoe
Sitting out until the end of 2020, Akinjo now has time to improve his shooting consistency (34% overall, 24% from long distance with Georgetown this season) plus a developing a greater emphasis on creating for teammates. Unlike with the Hoyas, Akinjo should now benefit from having some scoring bigs to feed.
With Wildcat freshman starting point Nico Mannion likely heading to the NBA after one season, Akinjo’s current competition next season appears to be 6-foot-4 Jemarl Baker Jr. who currently owns a 34/8 assist-to-turnover ratio while shooting 41%, 44% and 90% respectively.
Akinjo is joining Jordan Brown, formerly of Nevada and Prolific Prep.
Scores and Highlights
Thursday
Jake (Bellarmine Prep) Wojcik produced 14 points in 18 minutes as Richmond beat back St. Joseph’s 84-52. He shot 4-5, 3-4 and 3-3 respectively and added three assists plus two steals.
Justin (River City High) Briggs posted a 19 point, 13 rebound double-double as Chico State edged Cal State Los Angeles 69-66 in southern California.
Cal State San Marcos bopped Cal State East Bay 83-56 with Jayce (Folsom High) McCain providing 14 points, five boards, three assists and a pair of steals for the victors. Ant (San Lorenzo High/Cañada College) Navarette enjoyed a 20 point 11 rebound double-double for the Hayward-ites.
In Oceanside, Fresno City College lost 79-76 to Antelope Valley College despite received team bests of 20 points and seven boards from Keshawn (Burbank High/Cal State East Bay) Bruner. Teammate Mohammed (Monterey High) Adam shot 5-10 from three-point range on his way to 16 points.
Los Medanos College handled host Solano College 90-76 as Jason (Las Lomas High) Holman tallied 23 points and teammate Zack (Clayton Valley Charter) Martinez provided 20 points plus a team-high eight assists. Armon (Grant High) Economou paced Solano with 22 points.
Kameron Malbrough’s 23 point carried College of Alameda to an 81-72 success versus host Napa Valley College.
Tuesday
Pomona Pitzer’s Micah (Lick-Wilmerding) Elan produced 32 points and 11 assists in a 110-91 victory over Gustavus Adolphus College.
Despite Avri (Albany High) Finch’s 18 points and nine boards, UC Santa Cruz fell 74-67 to host Whittier College.
Monday
Camron (Oakland Tech/Sheridan College) Reece displayed optimum efficiency by posting nine points plus eight rebounds in 16 minutes as Akron defeated Massachusetts 85-79. He shot 4-6 from the floor, 1-1 at the foul line.
Sunday
Micah (Lick-Wilmerding) Elan’s 20 points helped lead Pomona-Pitzer to an 84-67 victory versus Lake Forest. Freshman Brendan (Gunn High) Mora tallied 10 points, eight boards and three assists in just 17 minutes.
Campolindo High defeated host Modesto Christian 60-52 to win the Holiday Hoop Classic championship game.
Modesto Christian Basketball: “Congratulations to Aidan Mahaney on being named Holiday Hoop Classic Most Valuable Player.”
“Campolindo outlasts Modesto Christian for Holiday Hoop Classic title” Joe Cortez
CCCAA Outlook
The Bay Valley Conference looks like a battle between perennial power Yuba College and Mendocino College. The 49ers are 4-2 with away games and 4-0 on neutral courts. Yuba and Mendocino battle on January 10 and then again February 12.
The Big Eight Conference is Santa Rosa Junior College’s until someone rises up to surpass the Bear Cubs. SRJC, which suffered major personnel losses (Skylar Chavez and Ryan Perez), is a strong 6-2 in neutral court matchups.
The same in the Coast-North Conference with City College San Francisco. The Rams are likely to remain undefeated approaching the state playoffs as nobody else in league has displayed a similar blend of firepower, athleticism and consistency. The closest CCSF win is a 17-point victory versus host Santa Rosa.
The Coast-South Conference looks wide open this season with Cabrillo College righting itself of late and West Valley College owning an 8-6 overall record, 7-3 in the last 10 games. Three victories over Solano College has helped.
The Central Valley Conference will finally be a battle this season between Columbia College, Fresno City College and College of the Sequoias. Columbia and Fresno meet in the San Joaquin on January 8 with Columbia playing at Sequoias on January 22.
The Golden Valley Conference appears to be a two-way tiff between College of the Redwoods and Butte College. Redwoods is impressive, going 2-0 at home, 5-2 away plus 6-1 neutral. The Corsairs also took down host Santa Rosa 84-80 in late December and four of the top five scorers are freshman. Butte hosts Redwoods on January 11.
Catching up with…
In 12 games so far at Casper (WY) College, Dathan (Modesto Christian) Satchell is shooting 47%, 42% and 82% in averaging 6.6 points per contest.
Brad (Pacific Grove High) Sendell is at Lawrence University in Wisconsin and averaging 21.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 43%, 37% and 85% respectively.
Jaden (Salesian Prep) McClanahan is at Independence Community College (Kansas) averaging 8.5 points, 3.5 boards and 4.9 assists while shooting 46%, 33% and 75% respectively.
Joe Davidson: “We’ve posted our all-decade team for boys basketball. Here’s another group among our roster that could get after it: Drew Cobb Elijah Duplechan Xavier Thames Noah Blackwell Levelle Bailey Tre Abraham Darius Nelson Alex Van Dyke Justin Nguyen Ramon Eaton”
Joe Davidson: “Our All-Decade Rabid & Relentless 5:
LaVelle Bailey, Burbank
Drew Cobb, Sheldon
Dale Currie, Sheldon
Jared Wall, Folsom
Solomon Young, Sacramento”
Siskiyous Basketball: “Best stat of our season so far: 11 of our 17 guys with a 3.0 gpa or higher, including 4 guys with a 4.0gpa. Team gpa of 3.15!”
“There’s No Right Way to Enter the NBA Draft Anymore” Jonathan Tjarks