|
|
|
Seems like basketball doesn't get quite its due during the regular season, between football running into December and the state wrestling finals being the same week as section basketball, but there's no doubt hoops is one of the more popular games around. With that in mind, here's an extended...
|
Comments [0] - Views [327]
|
|
|
|
I've been so caught up in wrestling this weekend that I haven't had much of a chance to mention basketball. That's not acceptable, so let's get right down to business:
— Congratulations are in order to three Central Section champion hoops teams. Stockdale's girls won the Division I...
|
Comments [5] - Views [188]
|
|
|
|
We've just completed boys semifinal day in Central Section basketball, and it sounds like there was a batch of great games around the Valley tonight.
One of them I saw firsthand. Liberty started sloppy, played flawlessly in the middle and then got sloppy again in holding off...
|
Comments [1] - Views [141]
|
|
|
|
We've taken to calling this upcoming Friday and Saturday the Hell Weekend around the sports desk at The Californian. To wit: The Central Section boys and girls basketball championships will be contested those days in Fresno, the March Meet drag-racing extravaganza at Famoso Speedway...
|
Comments [0] - Views [191]
|
|
|
|
It's a crazy one in the office tonight with boys and girls soccer Central Section championships and boys basketball quarterfinals roaring along all over the Valley. I went to Frontier to watch the school unveil the new lights on its stadium and then the Titans girls soccer team, which won...
|
Comments [0] - Views [140]
|
|
|
|
The Chinese are calling this the Year of the Ox, and that's fine and dandy. Oxen are strong, formidable animals with a good reputation, I guess, though I don't know the first two things about them.
But strong, formidable teams in Kern County aren't the story of the year so far in high...
|
Comments [0] - Views [86]
|
|
|
|
Instead of doing a paragraph on each team in the basketball rankings this week, I'm going to do a quick 'n' dirty version, then do some playoff predictions for each division in boys and girls hoops. Girls start tonight with first-round games in all divisions except the big one, which starts...
|
Comments [2] - Views [161]
|
|
|
|
Well, that was a lost weekend. Sorry I wasn't able to post more updates from Lemoore and the wrestling, but at first I had computer problems, and then I just got too busy. But I'll make up for it with an exquisite post tonight. Or at least an average one, right?
All three winter sports are...
|
Comments [0] - Views [98]
|
|
|
|
UPDATE, 10:15 p.m.: So, make it dejå vu all over again. Liberty falls behind Garces in the third quarter, stays with it and nips the Rams at the end. This one was a good bit more exciting, given the way Westin Hill banked home a 3 in the final seconds ("lucky shot," he...
|
Comments [0] - Views [205]
|
|
|
|
Girls rankings below or at this link.
One more week of rankings next week, then we'll let the playoff results speak for themselves.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (23-4, 8-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — For all the talk about how wide-open boys hoops was in the section this year, and...
|
Comments [2] - Views [139]
|
|
|
|
Girls rankings below or at this link.
These rankings and records do not reflect Tuesday night's games.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (20-4, 5-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — Remember when we thought the race for No. 1 in the section was wide-open? Maybe it still is, but the...
|
Comments [0] - Views [116]
|
|
|
|
Girls rankings below, or click here.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (17-4, 2-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — Friday's game with Central became much more important after the Grizzlies knocked off Clovis West in the first round of TRAC play. Clovis East knew how to respond.
LAST...
|
Comments [3] - Views [157]
|
|
|
|
Girls rankings below or at this link.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (14-4, 0-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — Of all the impressive things on the Timberwolves' resumé — some tough out-of-section wins and some routs of Valley teams — the best so far might have been its...
|
Comments [0] - Views [113]
|
|
|
|
See girls rankings below or at this link.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (13-4, 0-0 TRAC, Division I, last week: 1) — The Timberwolves solidified their spot at the top with a rout of Fresno-Edison last week. They have enough tests sprinkled into the rest of the schedule to keep things...
|
Comments [7] - Views [111]
|
|
|
|
See girls rankings below or at this link.
BOYS
1. Clovis East (11-4, Division I, last year: D-I champion) — All of the Timberwolves' losses have been out of the section, and they've beaten Liberty, Porterville-Monache and East in winning the Kern Schools Federal Credit Union Lloyd...
|
Comments [0] - Views [148]
|
|
|
|
It might not seem appropriate to talk basketball in the summer, what with it 110 degrees outside and all, but that's not entirely the case. Shoot, the NBA plays till the summer solstice, why can't we take things into July? And the Summer Breeze tournament will give you an early glimpse of next...
|
Comments [0] - Views [124]
|
|
|
|
Before we get to the main post, let's play a quick word-association game. I'll let Garces junior Stephon Carter handle the first answer for me:
Campbell Hall and star guard Jrue Holiday? "As good as advertised," Carter said.
Garces' boys team? Poised for an even deeper run next year....
|
Comments [0] - Views [63]
|
|
|
|
Here's a quick update on some boys basketball semifinal scores from Tuesday:
Div. I
No. 1 Clovis West 58, No. 4 Fresno-Central 45
No. 2 Clovis East 87, No. 6 Clovis-Buchanan 70
Div. II
No. 1 Fresno-Edison 67, No. 4 Porterville 54
No. 2 Centennial 60, No. 3 East 52
Div. III
No. 1 Hanford...
|
Comments [0] - Views [66]
|
|
|
|
I realize there hasn't been a new post here for some four or five days (I don't even remember anymore). It's certainly not my intention to ignore this blog, though, so let me provide an excuse-laden story that, in its humor and stupidity, might make up for the neglected days.
I went up to Fresno...
|
Comments [3] - Views [97]
|
|
|
|
I guess I'm carrying some kind of jinx (or is it a blessing?) with me to the pitch this week. Last week, I saw East extend itself before beating Hanford minutes shy of double overtime in the Division II boys soccer playoffs.
Then, Tuesday night, West scored in the final minute of...
|
Comments [0] - Views [53]
|
|
|
|
I'm thinking...
... that Stockdale vs. Bakersfield High in the girls soccer semifinals Wednesday night will be one of Kern County's games of the year. In any sport.
... that Stockdale's boys basketball team is wishing it had a chance at top-seeded Clovis West in the Central Section Div. I...
|
Comments [5] - Views [95]
|
|
|
|
I could probably use the same story line for all three winter sports this week, basketball, soccer and wrestling: Coaches (and the wiser players) have been saying all season that what happens in the regular season doesn't matter — it's just about getting a good seed in the Valley, or in the...
|
Comments [0] - Views [43]
|
|
|
|
Lots to talk about, boys and girls. We're still getting some calls and finding out some scores, but here's some of the highlights so far:
— It's a two (or is it three) way tie: Garces pulled away from Golden Valley in the fourth quarter tonight, meaning the Rams (9-3) will share the...
|
Comments [0] - Views [91]
|
|
|
|
Well, there was no Preps Planner last weekend, a product of my business and forgetfulness. But if there had been, tonight's barn-burner between Ridgeview and Centennial definitely would have been on there. And with good reason.
What a well-played game by both teams, and one that had more twists...
|
Comments [8] - Views [142]
|
|
|
|
Tonight turned into SHZ's Guys Night quite literally for me. I walked into Tehachapi's gym at about 6:45, expecting to see a battle between twin towers Jana Smith of Tehachapi and Carey Tuuamalemalo of Taft.
Instead, I saw boys players. Turns out we had the schedule flip-flopped here at the...
|
Comments [2] - Views [85]
|
|
|
|
I hate to steal the thunder of my own blog post, but here's some breaking news: East High's boys basketball team just upset Garces 54-53, throwing the Southeast Yosemite League standings into further jumble. East was down by 12 points entering the fourth quarter and trailed by as many as 13 in...
|
Comments [1] - Views [50]
|
|
|
|
Happy Groundhog Day everybody. Here's what to watch for in the coming week:
Tuesday, Feb. 5 — Centennial at Stockdale girls basketball
The last chance for the Mustangs to lose before the Central Section playoffs. I wouldn't count on it, but Centennial can be tough if the game's close....
|
Comments [6] - Views [167]
|
|
|
|
Pretty stunning scene out there on Liberty's soccer field tonight. The Patriots had a game taken away from them in the final 8 minutes by two highly questionable calls that resulted in penalty-kick goals for Golden Valley in the Bulldogs' 3-2 victory.
Why should you care? Well, Golden Valley's...
|
Comments [3] - Views [107]
|
|
|
|
The calendar is yet to turn to the second month of the year, and I'm already pumped about basketball in Bakersfield. I watched an entertaining game end with Ridgeview holding on to a 70-68 victory at Stockdale tonight, throwing both city leagues into three-way races.
A Stockdale win tonight...
|
Comments [0] - Views [32]
|
|
|
|
Ah well. In this business we usually root for the great stories: The athlete who overcame adversity to triumph, the buzzer-beating shot to cap a great performance, the coach who's mad at the officials. But you know what? Sometimes it just doesn't happen.
Wednesday is Ladies Night here at SHZ,...
|
Comments [0] - Views [93]
|
|
|
|
As promised, Friday will be Guys Day here at School House Zach. Today, that actually turned out to be the case anyway. A couple of wild fights at BHS this afternoon forced the BHS-Garces girls basketball and soccer games to be postponed. Garces AD Vince Fanucchi told me tonight he thinks they...
|
Comments [0] - Views [59]
|
|
|
|
Don't look now, but here come the Stockdale boys. A school long known for its girls basketball success now has two teams to hang its hat on after the boys team took the SWYL lead with a 67-66 victory at home against Centennial on Thursday night.
Taylor Kelly hit a loooong 3-pointer for CHS in...
|
Comments [0] - Views [47]
|
|
|
1
