Show-stopping Sophs
Some of the nation’s best talent from the 2014 class will be on display at the West Coast Jamboree. Here’s 10 worth seeing. Lynee’ Belton Bullis School-Potomac Md. 6-2 forward/center Platinum Division @ Miramonte HS Maia Barnett Archer School-L.A. 5-6 point guard, Diamond Division @ Liberty HS Jordin Canada Windward-Los Angeles, 5-6 point guard Platinum Division Mikayla Cowling St. Mary’s-Berkeley 6-0 forward Platinum Division Bianca Cuevas Nazareth RegionalBrooklyn NY 5-5 point guard Platinum Division Ayanna Edwards Sacramento 6-4 center Platinum Division Alyna Kanae Sheldon-Sacramento 5-7 guard Gold Division @ Deer Valley HS Mariya Moore Salesian-Richmond 5-10 guard/forward Topaz Division @ Las Positas College Courtney Seams Amador Valley-Pleasanton 5-11 forward Coral Division @ Ygnacio Valley HS Aleseana Whitney Vanden-Fairfield 6-0 forward Gold Division
considering the Salesian boys program has reached the California Interscholastic Federation Division IV state championship twice in the past three seasons, winning it during the 2008-09 season. But adding a player like Moore really made the turnaround stark. The 5-foot-10 guard/ forward has a feel for the game rare in high school basketball, and even as a freshman she was almost always the best player on the floor in every game the Pride played. “Sometimes we rely on her to score and she is really good at that,” Pezzola said. “But she’s even better at making her teammates better.” Moore had been playing high-level AAU basketball for the Bay Area Warriors when she arrived at Salesian, but she had some uncertainty when she made the varsity team as a freshman. “I was kind of scared,” Moore said. “I hoped they didn’t feel weird about it. But they were right with me the whole way. They helped me a lot. Even though I was one of the bigger players, it was still a tough experience coming to school as an underclassman.” Any potential awkwardness that may have existed from a freshman garnering so much attention was alleviated when Salesian’s veteran players not only saw what Moore could do, but how she could make them better. “Yeah, she was a freshman but at the same time we knew she was going to help the team for the next four years,” Salesian forward Sumiko Erves said. Said Pezzola: “You always are concerned when a freshman comes in and has more notoriety or it’s pretty evident she’s clearly the best player. But she’s so totally team-oriented that she looks for her teammates and she makes them better. The team realizes that she’s not just about Mariya. She’s about making the team better. They welcomed her with open arms.” Moore was born in Raleigh, N.C. and moved to Sacramento at age 2. She spent the first part of her childhood playing soccer and didn’t take up basketball until she moved into the area before the fourth grade and a friend asked her to play. That friend turned out to be current Carondelet sophomore star Natalie Romeo, whose father was coaching at St. Catherine in Martinez. Moore was already tall for her age and decided to take Romeo up on her offer. After the first day, she almost quit. “They had more skill than I did. I was just the fastest one,” Moore said. “I was really down. It took me a couple years to really like it.” Pezzola had others tell him about Moore when she got to Salesian but had never seen her play. When he opened the doors for her first open gym session, it didn’t take long to make him a believer. “Her team was running the fast break and someone was out on the wing cutting to the hoop and a 40-foot laser beam came right to her,” Pezzola said. “It took about five minutes to see she was really good. I had a pretty big smile.” When it came time for tryouts, it took about five more minutes to see that Moore was not only going to make the varsity squad as a freshman, but become the focal point of the team. “Her athletic ability and her court sense are so evident that whenever you have any situation that is competitive, you find out that she’s the real deal,” Pezzola said. “I’ve coached some pretty high-level players and I have not coached anybody that sees the floor as well as Mariya.” Moore should be able to write her own ticket to college — Pezzola says she is a good student and it’s just a matter of “finding a good fit for her education.” Moore said she’s been “thinking about college a lot” and after at first feeling strongly about going to Tennessee, she’s more open now that Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt has been diagnosed with earlyonset dementia. Moore said she “would consider a lot of schools,” even North Carolina, where she still has family in the area. It seems remarkable that Moore still has close to three full high school seasons to play before heading off to college. The next step is reaching the NCS finals, which would put the Pride in the CIF Northern Regional playoffs. Ultimately, Moore and her teammates want to match the recent success of Salesian’s boys program, which in addition to its state success, has won three NCS championships during the past six years. “I just think it’s important that if you have the word ‘Salesian’ across your chest, that you go all out and be a winner,” Pezzola said. “I see the boys program go to the state championship and think, ‘Why not the girls?’ Why can’t the girls be that good?’ We want Salesian to stand for good basketball for both boys and girls.” And the Pride feels like they are ready to take the next step. Salesian lost three seniors from last year’s team, including second-leading scorer Leticia Oceguera, but still returns the bulk of its production. Pezzola says increased attention to conditioning during the offseason has made the team more athletic and deep. He has used a 10-player rotation consistently so far this season. “I think we’re going to gel better and better as the season goes along,” Erves said. “Once we get each other’s tendencies down, we’re going to be unstoppable.” ✪
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All records through Dec. 17 Rank (Last Wk.) School...........................Record 1 (1)
St. Mary’s-Stockton.......................... 2-0
2 (2)
Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland.................. 2-0
3 (3)
Carondelet-Concord......................... 5-0
4 (4)
Berkeley............................................ 4-0
5 (5)
St. Ignatius-S.F.................................. 5-0
6 (9)
Sacramento...................................... 4-0
7 (8)
Terra Nova-Pacifica.......................... 5-1
8 (10)
Miramonte-Orinda............................ 7-0
9 (13)
Salesian-Richmond.......................... 5-0
10 (14) Modesto Christian............................. 6-0 11 (12)
Lincoln-Stockton............................... 5-1
12 (11)
Dougherty Valley-San Ramon......... 3-2
13 (7)
Archbishop Mitty-San Jose.............. 5-3
14 (15) Deer Valley-Antioch.......................... 6-2 15 (nr)
Kennedy-Sacramento...................... 6-0
16 (nr)
Santa Cruz........................................ 8-0
17 (nr)
Mission San Jose-Fremont.............. 5-1
18 (nr)
Amador Valley-Pleasanton............... 9-1
19 (nr)
Pleasant Valley-Chico...................... 8-0
20 (20) Heritage-Brentwood......................... 8-1 DROPPED OUT: No. 6 St. Mary’s-Berkeley, No. 16 Marin Catholic-Kentfield, No. 17 Del Oro-Loomis, No. 18 Palo Alto, No. 19 James Logan-Union City, No. 20 Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove. BIGGEST MOVER: Kennedy-Sacramento beat previously-ranked Del Oro and up-and-comer Christian Brothers to debut at No. 15. TEAMS REMAINING FROM PRESEASON TOP 20: 14 KNOCKING AT THE DOOR: Pleasant Grove (52), Dublin (6-0), Brookside Christian-Sacramento (6-2), St. Mary’s-Berkeley (3-1), El Camino-Sacramento (7-1), Monte Vista-Danville (6-2).
UPDATED RANKINGS GET THE LATEST RANKINGS wednesday at www.SportStarsOnline.com
December 22, 2011
SportStars™
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