By JIM McCUE | Contributor   Derek Swafford arrived at the Sacramento High boys basketball program when the school was at a crossroads.  It was 2003 and Sacramento High School had just become a St. HOPE charter school. Swafford’s tenure began at the start of the 2003-04 season and has... Read more

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By CLAY KALLAM | Contributor   It’s too bad this game is likely to get lost in the shuffle. Sure, a few girls’ basketball faithful will make their way to Haas Pavilion on Jan. 16 to see St. Mary’s-Stockton and Carondelet-Concord “” two of Northern California’s most consistent and... Read more

So the shuffling at the top deserves a little explanation “¦ First, there are four teams that have separated themselves from the NorCal pack: St. Mary’s of Stockton, Berkeley, Bishop O’Dowd and Carondelet. In that group, only two teams have played each other, and St. Mary’s just beat Carondelet.... Read more

By JIM McCUE | Contributor   Lincoln High’s girls basketball team is working hard to rebound.  The Trojans recently lost senior star Nyre Harris to a knee injury and are trying to fill the void left by the Arizona-bound guard, presenting the team with a challenge to rebound both... Read more

  All records through Jan. 28   1. (1) St. Mary’s-Stockton 16-3 2. (3) Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland 17-2 3. (4) Carondelet-Concord 16-3 4. (2) Berkeley 16-2 5. (5) Sacramento 11-6 6. (14) St. Mary’s-Berkeley 15-6 7. (6) Lincoln-Stockton 15-3 8. (7) Miramonte-Orinda 20-0 9. (9) St. Ignatius-S.F. 16-3 10. (8)... Read more

By CHACE BRYSON | Editor   A year ago at this time, attending practice was essentially optional for members of the De Anza High basketball team. “People didn’t show up to practice and they’d still get to play in the games because we just didn’t have any players,” said... Read more

All records through Jan. 28   Rank (Last Wk.) School Record 1 (1) Salesian-Richmond 15-2 2 (2) De La Salle-Concord 18-2 3 (3) Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 16-3 4 (5) Newark Memorial-Newark 17-4 5 (6) Jesuit-Sacramento 18-4 6 (4) Sheldon-Sacramento 16-4 7 (7) Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland 15-5 8 (8) Pleasant Grove-Elk... Read more

NorCal Girls Top 20 All records were through the end of the regular season (Feb. 18). No rankings will be posted during the playoffs.    1. (1) St. Mary’s-Stockton 23-3   2. (2) Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland 23-3   3. (3) Carondelet-Concord 22-3   4. (4) Berkeley 20-2   5. (5)... Read more

NCS/OAKLAND: By Clay Kallam | SJS: By Jim McCue   This is not a year for parity, at least in the North Coast Section. In fact, all five of the top teams ““ Berkeley, Carondelet, Bishop O’Dowd, St. Mary’s and St. Joseph Notre Dame ““ could easily be placed... Read more

By ERIK STORDAHL | SportStars   After a magical run in the North Coast Section and CIF Northern Regional playoffs, the Salesian-Richmond girls basketball team succumbed to La Jolla Country Day 72-41 in the CIF Div. IV state championship on March 23. Still, Pride head coach Stephen Pezzola was... Read more

NorCal Boys Top 20 All records through end of regular season. Rankings are not updated during the playoffs.    Rank (Last Wk.) School Record 1 (1) Salesian-Richmond 26-2 2 (2) De La Salle-Concord 24-2 3 (3) Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 24-3 4 (4) Newark Memorial-Newark 22-4 5 (6) Sheldon-Sacramento 22-5... Read more