Top 9 HS Teams in Cali 09-10

[StanfordCardinalFan]

9. Oak Ridge High School (El Dorado, California)

The trio of 2010 Stanford commit 5'11 do it all Sara James, 2011 5'7 G Carly Bettencourt, and 2010 6'0 post Caitlin Welsch power Oak Ridge HS out of the Sacramento area in Northern California. The Oak Ridge Trojans went 30-4 last year and made it to the DII state semifinals (Nor Cal finals) before falling to Carondelet by 10. Sara James lead the Trojans as a Junior last year with 20.9 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 4.4 spg, and 2.4 apg. Bettencourt will take over the reigns at the guard spot for Kristina Williams, whose 12.1 ppg will be missed. Bettencourt averaged over 4.7 apg last season. Caitlin Welsch will be the go to post for the Trojans. Despite the overall lack of notable talent, this team led by the example of Sara James has all the heart and hustle in the world which makes them a threat to challenge Carondelet and Mitty again for the DII NorCal Championship.

8. Archbishop Mitty High School (San Jose, California)

Sue Phillips, a very well respected coach in the Bay Area, has yet again a very deep and talented Mitty team. The duo of 2011 PG Ashley Watson (10.0 ppg) and 2010 6'3 C Elisabeth Gordon (10.1 ppg) lead Mitty. Those 2 arent the only weapons Phillips has, she also has one of the top 2011 bigs, potential wise, in 6'4 Vanessa Leo. Another threat is 2010 Oregon State commit, 5'8 Clyasee James. Another name to keep an eye on is 6'0 Santa Clara commit, Iman Scott. Mitty has several weapons which will keep them near the top of the NorCal DII race. Last year Mitty lost to Carondelet in 3OTs in the NorCal State Semi's.

7. Berkeley High School (Berkeley, California)

The dynamic duo of 2011's Brittany Boyd and Chairese Culberson lead the very athletic and aggressive attack for the Berkeley Yellowjackets. Boyd, a 5'9 combo guard, is as explosive as you will see at this age, already considered one of the to 2011's not only in California but in the country, Not only is she excellent at attacking the rim and using her athleticism on defense but she also is a solid shooter from deep range and a great ball handler. Chairese Culberson, a 5'11/6'0 F is explosive aswell. She is strong yet lean and powerful. While her height says SF she is on the low block 90% of the time for the Yellowjackets. Both may end up being one of the top 70 recruits in 2011. The next questions may be who will coach in 2009-10? Legendary Gene Nakamura came out retirment at the end of the season to coach while Cheryl Draper was ill. Some rumors are that he will coach this year.

6. Carondelet High School (Concord, California)

Carondelet, like Berkeley, has one of the top young duo's in the state. 2011 6'1 Erica Payne and 2012 5'8 Hannah Huffman will lead Margarat Gardner's squad this year. Payne is a high energy player who is a coach's dream. She's so versatile that she can score in the paint, mid range, on the perimeter and everywhere in between. On defense she can lead your press or guard the team's go to big. Hannah Huffman has a chance to be a very good player. While she aint all that athletic, it is seen that she has put time and work into her game. She has a knack for shooting the ball. A great 3 point and midrange shooter she also is descent at getting to the hoop and score. Carondelet lost in last year's DII state championship game to Brea 68-45.

5. Sacramento High School (Sacramento, California)

This might be Sacramento's best team since the Vicki Baugh days. The trio of 5'9 PG Brittany Shine, 6'2 PF Erics Barnes and 6'3 C of Kyra Dunn, all Seniors make this team special. Barnes may well become one of the sleepers or steals of the 2010 class. She's gone under the radar for quite awhile but several college coaches have seen her and been in touch with head coach Michelle Masari, including Georgia's Andy Landers, Oregon State's LaVonda Wagner, Arizona State's Charli Turner Thorne, Florida and Georgia Tech coaches aswell. Earlier in the year, UConn showed interest aswell. She is a very long and athletic, high energy post. Brittany Shine is an athletic 1,2,3 player who loves to score in the open court but thrives in the half court setting aswell. Kyra Dunn is a defensive beast who has gain interest from several Pac-10 and Big 12 schools.

4. Brea-Olinda High School (Brea, California)

Brea lost its go to PG in Jonae Ervin and Kendall Rodriguez but the duo of 2011 6'2 Justine Hartman and 2010 6'0 Kelsey Harris, keep the Wildcats as one of the top teams in state. Hartman is a very efficiant and skilled post who has the potential to become a very good college player. She's already gained interest from Duke, North Carolina, Stanford, California, Notre Dame, Boston College, among others. Hartman is also a solid defensive player. Harris is a solidly built 6'0 guard/forward who is one of the best shooters in California. She went off on Carondelet last year in the state championship game with her consistent perimeter scoring, going for 25 points. Keep and eye on 5'8 2011 guard Alexis Perry and 2012 Jeanier Olukemi who both have a load of potential and given opportunities this year, could become a force to be regoned with.

3. Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, California)

Long Beach, always one of the most talented teams in state and in the country, has yet another loaded and deep team. 6'4 Thadessia Southall, a top 100 2010 recruit, aswell as twin guards Ashley Brittany Wilson, both elite recruits aswell and committed to Colorado. Ariya Crook-Williams is a 5'8 2011 guard, top 50 recruit nationally. Sheila Boykin is a 6'3 post, 2011, top 50 recruit nationally. Poly is loaded again and should go all the way in D1.

2. St. Mary's High School (Stockton, California)

I'd say the top senior duo, if not the top in the country, 5'11 PG Chelsea Gray and 6'0 Guard/Forward Afure Jemerigbe along with the role players Ali Gibson and Ali Moreno make St. Mary's of Stockton one of the top teams yet again not only in the state but in the country. Last year many had them as the to team in preseason with the explosive duo of Chelsea Gray and Afure Jemerigbe, two future McDonald's All-Americans and BCS recruits. This team has the best guard duo in the country but where they will struggle is against teams with dominant post players and descent guards. Some high schools that come to mind are Princess Anne, out of Virginia with 6'4 Elizabeth Williams and 5'9 Samisha Powell. Another team is Cy-Fair in Houston with 6'3 Ogwumike and 5'9 Peoples.

1. Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California)

By far the top HS trio in the country, 2011's 6'0 SF Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and 6'1 PF Alexyz Vaioletama alongside 2012 PG 6'0 Jordan Adams make Mater Dei a scary good team not only this year but next year aswell. Mosqueda-Lewis, widely considered the to shooter in the country, leads the attack at the wing position. She's such a great shooter that she will play at the 2 and 3 spots and she's physically strong and solid enough to post you up on the block at 6'0. Alexyz V is a lefty undersized big who will most likely be on the perimeter in college. Jordan Adams is one of the top 2012's in the country and is a 6'0 PG. All 3 are members of the U-16 USA Team. Mater Dei, if focused, could end up undefeated and #1 in the nation.

[trojanbball21]

There is a possibility that Oak Ridge will be playing D-1 this year which gives them a much easier road to the State Championship.

[StanfordCardinalFan]

That would be great for them.

So everybody is on the same page, here are the current top teams in each division:

(S)=Southern California Region
(N)=Northern California Region

Division I: Long Beach Poly (S), Berkeley (N)
Division II: Mater Dei (S), Brea (S), Carondelet (N), Archbishop Mitty (N), Oak Ridge (N)
Divison III: St. Mary's (N), Sacramento (N), Sacred Heart (N)

There's also Divison 4 and 5

[nmolly]

After watching the state finals last year I have to say that I think the norcal teams are overrateted other than St Marys, there are probably quite a number of teams from the south that could have beaten Carondelet for example but couldn't get thro' MD or Brea.

[rdv]

Have to agree on this one, the talent seems to lie in socal right now, Brea had tougher games in the south. St Marys is the exception, luv to watch them play.

[StanfordCardinalFan]

Of course I'll be bias for NorCal and I am alot more familiar with the teams out here than the SoCal teams (there are exceptions though).

Feel free to add the SoCal teams that you think are top 10 worthy though

[OCHoopFan]

I will add Troy HS from Fullerton (in OC). They were 32-3 last year, bring back their core players plus get some injured players returning an some new players on their roster. They play in 1AA in Southern Section. Their 3 losses last year, were in Florida( to I think Parkway Acadamy) and two to Long Beach Poly in the SS CIF semi finals playoffs and in the State playoffs for the southern half of California.
Their best player is Alex Sanchez, who was on Swish Black this past summer.

Another team to watch is La Jolla Country Day out of San Diego. They played on the club circuit this summer as La Jolla LAX. I thought they held their own against some good AAU teams. They bring back their entire team.

[StanfordCardinalFan]

OC, I heard San Clemente has a nice incoming guard (can't remember the name) but that she was going to be great alongside Harberts and Pluimer.

[OCHoopFan]

OC, I heard San Clemente has a nice incoming guard (can't remember the name) but that she was going to be great alongside Harberts and Pluimer.

Her name is Brogan Griffin. She played on the Cal Swish White team. I have seen her a few times and she will be a help. However, I have a feeling Harberts will be doing a lot of ball control on the team.
Griffin, Harberts and Pluimer are the only girls on the team that played club ball this past summer.

Note: On my post above I mentioned Troy was 32-3, they actually were 30-3.

[Mike Flynn]

I appreciate the commentary on the top high school teams in California. I know this is being read by people who have to put together and also those who recommend the top high school team list for 2009-2010. This will help with the discussion on who the top teams are as last year there was a lot of controversy (maybe done on purpose) about the rankings of top high school teams, especially who was the best in Cali. Keep the information coming...

[rdv]

Jimmy Anderson - whoever that is put together a nice list on socal

Troy definitely will be there except if they got to 1A as someone said as they won't get by Brea and got trounced by MD by 30 points, in San Diego and the coach pulled them the following day as they were getting beat, which looked really bad- expect this to be their last year after seniors graduate as these players were all under kiernan - Summit will also be a force and also Santiago who was beating Troy when the coach quit. San Clemente will not be a force which is a shame for Harberts, her back will be hurting carrying this team, the guard is soft and struggled on Swishes white team by all accounts. D2 of course will be Mater Dei but to be #1 in the nation they will have to play better team ball as their is a lot of disgruntlement over how they ended last year and the feeling was that the ball was not shared. Edison and Centennial after MD but it its a shame they have to meet MD as these teams would play anyone up north for a good game, just as all of the teams in the south would. D3 will be Woodbridge, however I did hear they lost to Edison this summer so not sure whats going on as I thought they would be completely favorites in OC this year. O lu should be there, altho they struggled a little this summer. LA has some good teams in Santa Monica, Inglewood plus Bell Jeff will be back again, the new big time recruiting school in LA. Expect St Anthonys to make some noise as Narbonnes ex coach has been drawing his players over to that school, but may take him a couple of years to get his recruits in. I also expect Santa Maria to do some damage.

[ECULB]

I will add Troy HS from Fullerton (in OC). They were 32-3 last year, bring back their core players plus get some injured players returning an some new players on their roster. They play in 1AA in Southern Section. Their 3 losses last year, were in Florida( to I think Parkway Acadamy) and two to Long Beach Poly in the SS CIF semi finals playoffs and in the State playoffs for the southern half of California.
Their best player is Alex Sanchez, who was on Swish Black this past summer.

Another team to watch is La Jolla Country Day out of San Diego. They played on the club circuit this summer as La Jolla LAX. I thought they held their own against some good AAU teams. They bring back their entire team.

Some of those so called top Socal teams have already been knocked off early this season by the so-called overrated NorCal squads Brea being one and La Jolla being another.

[OCHoopFan]

I will add Troy HS from Fullerton (in OC). They were 32-3 last year, bring back their core players plus get some injured players returning an some new players on their roster. They play in 1AA in Southern Section. Their 3 losses last year, were in Florida( to I think Parkway Acadamy) and two to Long Beach Poly in the SS CIF semi finals playoffs and in the State playoffs for the southern half of California.
Their best player is Alex Sanchez, who was on Swish Black this past summer.

Another team to watch is La Jolla Country Day out of San Diego. They played on the club circuit this summer as La Jolla LAX. I thought they held their own against some good AAU teams. They bring back their entire team.

Some of those so called top Socal teams have already been knocked off early this season by the so-called overrated NorCal squads Brea being one and La Jolla being another.

Brea was playing without Justine Hartman and Jeanier Olekumi and lost by a point to OR.
La Jolla Country Day played without three players, including their 6'4" center, who were playing for their school in the State volleyball tournament. In fact when LJCD played Modesto Christian they played with 6 girls in the line up. They were in the game until mid 4th quarter and I dont think they had a girl over 5'9" in their lineup.

Too be fair, shouldnt you have mentioned how Santiago beat Carondelet?

[nmolly]

OC is correct but if you follow the blogs you will see he keeps popping up with the same complaints but has n't backed them up yet.

If norcal wants to be taken serious and included they need to all go to TOC with St marys.

[OCHoopFan]

One thing to take into account is the costs that teams incur to travel to a tournament out of state.
I know some teams that wanted to go to various out of state or out of section tournaments but didnt have the funds too and fundraisers werent going well due to the economy. Also, someone told me that teams need approval to travel, especially to Arizona, and some school districts wont approve it. I think Cajon, a team that won a SS CIF Div 1title last year, wanted to go to TOC but the school district didnt approve it. I think in Cajons case it was the fact that they would have missed 3 days while the school was still in session. Sometimes we dont know these details.
For California it would a pleasure to watch an Elite 8 team tournament of 4 teams from No Cal v So Cal. I am sure there are big enough venues to host such a tournament. Alternate hosting each year.