Posted on Wednesday, 11/12/2008 - 12:09 p.m. PST — by Jake111
With basketball workouts beginning this week, any thoughts on who will win in the new DVAL? Who will be the top players?
Here are my picks.
1) Northgate
2) Concord
3) Clayton Valley
4) Mt. Diablo
5) College Park
6) Ygnacio Valley
7) Berean Christian
Joined: May 2008
Current Posts: 15
I don't think there is any clear favorite. You probably have the top three right. Concord came on strong at the end of last year, but lost their big guy. Northgate lost their top scorer. CV played some great games, but was streaky. CP was awful last year, but is supposed to have improved a lot. MD likely will have some great athletes, but can they gel as a team is always the question.
It's gonna be a toss-up, looks like.
Joined: Jun 2006
Current Posts: 252
Clayton Valley I could follow everybody else and choose NG but what fun would that be?
Northgate They could and should win league but they won't.
Berean Christian They will be a tough out in this league - D5 status doesn't mean crap here.
Ygnacio Valley My darkhorse. For some reason I think they may be better than people know.
College Park Good coach, some scrappy kids but may be a couple of years away from taking over this league. D1 status means nothing right now.
Concord They had their chance but it was in the wrong league at the wrong time. At least if they get a good group in, they can recover quickly here.
Mount Diablo They always get an athlete or two there but right now the cupboards bare.
Joined: Nov 2008
Current Posts: 4
I agree with Northgate coming out on top but i think you have the rest of the order VERY mixed up. Concord lost all their seniors; the big one being Tyler Phillips. They also lost Tre Demps, who was a freshman on varsity last year. So concord will be no where near the top of the league. Clayton Valley is about rihgt, they will battle for 2nd or 3rd place with College Park. I believe Clayton valley is 4-0 currently and CP is 2-0 and playing for the championship game in the Jim Stepehnson tournament. Mount Diablo, Ygnacio Valley and Berean Christian are my preidctions for the bottom 3. As far as players go, look for a league dominated by Northgate. Aguilar, Spalding, Cartwright, and Bataska are going to eat up this league night in and night out. Brown, Bruder, Dea will pace College Park. Their JV won league last year so expect the young guys to be good. Concord really has no weapons but there JV was pretty good too. Mount has Lefiti, YV has Williams, and Berean? Well for starters, a D5 school will have no chance playing against a bunch of D2 teams. Clayton Valley returns 4 starters. Wahid, Kingsley, Kalley, and Nick. All 4 can shoot. I expect NG, CP, and CV to make playoffs, but if one doesnt make it, it will be CP because they are the only D1 school in their league
1. Northgate
2. Clayton Valley
3. College Park
4. YV
5. Mount
6. Concord
7. Berean
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
What happened to Tre Demps?
OK, I just answered my own question. I googled him and he is now at Reagan HS in San Antonio. His dad Dell is now the Director of Player Personnel for the Spurs.
Joined: Dec 2008
Current Posts: 3
Clayton Valley looks very strong this year Returning 7 seniors this is their year to win league yes they were very streaky last year but with Kalle and Kinglsy Pascal both who have the skill to play college ball. cv also has added a new sophmore point gaurd who averaged 12 ppg last year on jv.
also consider that cv is one of the toughest places to play road games.
i have been to many practices and this is the most focused cv team i have seen since Menez and both DeBennes left.
i pick northgate to finish 2 cp to finish 3 concord 4 bearen 5 yv 6 mount 7
Joined: Nov 2008
Current Posts: 4
looks like it will be a fun year but northgate looks too tough. But hey, look at what happened to Duke today. Good luck to all teams.
Joined: May 2008
Current Posts: 15
OK, I have seen CV, CP and NG play now, and all three are pretty good. NG about where they were last year. CV a bit more consistent, very athletic. But CP is REALLY much better than last year. I know that isn't saying much, but this group could surprise some people. I also have seen Concord, and they definitely are missing their grads. This will be a rebuilding year for them.
Joined: Nov 2008
Current Posts: 4
bellboy, wat impressed you about CP? I see they are 7-1, as listed on maxpreps.com but what has made them so vastly improved? I am one of maybe many that are surprised so far.
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 11
BC is doing OK but does have two losses in league so far. The NG game was close after 3Q, BC down by only 7 at the start of the 4th. Then BC had another 4Q melt down (several this year), got outscored 22-9 and lost by 20. NG 6th man was very good, loud and rattled a few BC players. BC not used to routy fans and will have to get thicker skins. Against C last night, BC lost 73-70 in a close game. BC started out ahead 12-4 in the 1st but was down by 1 at half. Second half was back and fourth with BC missing a 3 with 5 seconds left that could have tied the game and sent it to OT. BC turns the ball over way to much, has been their down fall this year. They cut the TO's in half in each loss and they could easily be 11-3 instead of 6-8. When they play 4Q of solid ball, they usually win. Looking forward to the rest of the year.
Joined: May 2008
Current Posts: 15
sorry for the late response, but that has given me a chance to see CP a couple more times. the improvement from last year is really just overall -- they have better players, and Battle has them playing a much scrappier style. their defense has been their strength. on offense, tho, they don't have enough firepower. Cazeras (sp?) is their top scorer, but if the defense focuses on him, they have no other go-to guy. They also need a big man inside. but they do play very hard and while they wont win the league this year, they will contend in 2010 when their best players are seniors.
I've also seen NG a couple more times and they seem to be settling down after those ugly losses to Dublin and Las Lomas. Their juniors and sophomores are starting to contribute more and Aliyar is much improved.
Concord also is improved -- Nick Rush is back from an injury and is really playing well -- scoring and assisting.
CV will remain dangerous with their speed and athleticism and the Terrific Twins. Looks like it will come down to NG vs. CV for the league title.
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 11
Well BC is now 0-4 in league with their last two losses. In the CV game, they had their chances. CV was up by 8 at half but only up by 2 with 30 seconds left. BC misses a 3 and then had to start fouling to stop the clock and ended up losing by 8. The game was pretty close all the way through. Not sure what happened against MD though, really the worst game they've played so far all year, their defense took the night off. MD is small but quick which gave BC trouble, they never really adjusted and were out quicked the whole game. Turnovers and the fundamental play of not boxing out are KILLING BC. In every game this year, if BC cuts the turnovers in half and simply boxed out better, I feel they could be 12-4 or even 14-2 instead of 6-10. In all of their games, only two teams that I would really consider better, Marin Academy and NG. In all their losses except the NG game, they been in the games right until the end and in some case had 4Q leads only to lose. Their just doing enough wrong to lose these games instead of winning them. So far it's been a season of missed opportunities and poor play.
Joined: Nov 2008
Current Posts: 4
DSL, thanks for the input on BC as i havent had a chance to watch them play this year yet. If you say they have trouble with turnovers and crowd noise..it seems as if the top 3 teams in this league are going to give them a lot of trouble. CP plays the most pressure defense out of any other team in this league, and there crowd is not far behind NG's. OK, as far as CP's offense, does anybody know anything about Dea? Im guessing he's some sort of a guard..His name has been up in the boxscores ever since league started, but he had 0 points against CV the other night. He had 8 points 4 assists against NG and then followed up with 9 points and 6 assists against YV. Maybe he could be the other go to guy for CP along with Halliday???? Ive been keeping my eye on NG the whole season they are going to run the table. I dont believe CV will be able to contend with NG. Concord looks strong...and thats surprising...could upset CV and CP. BC seems to be in every game too. Good luck to them.
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
With two games left in the season Northgate clinched the DVAL championship. The season has played out just about what I origianlly predicted. Concord High has surprised some people, Clayton Valley has played strong,and Berean finnally got over the hump and beat Mt. Diablo.(although they play many team tough all season)
Jack Cartwright (Northgate) has got be the DVAL MVP. Alyuar and Bergesen should make a strong push for all-league as well. Any ther thoughts on All-league players?
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 11
Congrats to Northgate, very good team!! I'm a BC fan and they did have their chances this year but came up short. They're EXTREMELY dissapointed with their season in general, expected better in league and overall. Their lack of coaching has really showed this year. They had a much more athletic team last year and won purely on that, same coach. Last years team would have done better in this new league, not won it but better than one win. They only returned two players from last years team, rest of the team came up from JV and one new kid. No excuses though. Last years JV won league and had something like a 22-6 record with wins over quality teams in non-league games. Even this years JV team has done alot better than the Varsity. The difference? Coaching! To compete in this new league, Berean is going to have to get better coaching. This years staff isn't close to being good enough.
Joined: Dec 2008
Current Posts: 3
the northgate broncos travel to clayton valley tonight to face a good eagle team on senior night expect northgate to be rattled by the crowd and cartwright to have a horrible game
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Current Posts: 3041
Whatchu talkin bout Willis? The Eagles will have their hands full tonight.
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
Although CV won on a buzzer beater, Cartwright dominated the game down the strecth. The unanimous MVP of the DVAL!
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
Although CV won on a buzzer beater, Cartwright dominated the game down the strecth. The unanimous MVP of the DVAL!
Joined: May 2008
Current Posts: 15
I've seen all the teams at least twice. I would add Tyler Williams of YV, Nick Rush of Concord, Brown and Cazares of CP to the all-league list, along with the Pascals and Lassen from CV and Bergesen, DeGarmo and Aliyar from NG. Cartwright & Cole probably are a toss-up for MVP, though Cartwright does more play-making and assisting than Cole. Lefiti racks up a lot of points for Mount, but then he takes most of the shots. Scoring is only part of the equation in my book. It's who makes the team better -- that's your MVP.
Joined: Mar 2006
Current Posts: 72
I have been able to see everyone in league play at least once, some a couple times
the real league MVP probably wont get a single vote because his team is bad. #11 on Mt. Diablo, the kid with the poofy hair in a ponytail. Read the paper it seems like he scores about 25 a night. I think his name is lefitti (spelling?) anyways, if his team wasnt in last place he would get the award. He is great at driving to the hole. Cole is also very good for CV
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
I agree that the Lefiti kid on Diablo is a good player. He may not get any MVP votes, but he should make all league. Great hustle.
Joined: May 2008
Current Posts: 70
dval bball games on line
http://www.ygnaciovalleytv.com/index.html
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
From the Times this weekend:
All-DVAL
Most valuable player
Jack Cartwright (Northgate)
First team
Patrick Lefiti (Mt. Diablo), Nick Cole (Clayton Valley), Kingsley Pascal (CV), Tyler Williams (Ygnacio Valley), Ashkon Aliyar (Nor).
Second team
Kalle Pascal (CV), Bryce Halliday (College Park), Nick Rush (Concord), Zach Corby (Con), Blake Bergesen (Nor), Joe Cannon (MD)
Honorable mention
Kyle Fretwell (Berean Christian), Nate Ferro (BC), Randy Pickard (BC), Steve Cazares (CP), Keith Bruder (CP), Kyle Brown (CP), Nick Bradshaw (COn), Shane Spalding (Nor), Mike DeGarmo (Nor), Jim Ebadi (YV).
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
Maybe now someone (including seeding commitee) will give the DVAL some respect!!!!!!
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
That was a great game, going right down to the blocked final shot by LL with 1.1 seconds left. A packed house for the Battle of the Creek. Both teams played hard, but only one moves on. Bataska hit some key 3 pointers giving NG a lead, but LL battled back right to the end.
As for seeding, this was #2 playing at #3, and the game was as close as it could possibly get without going OT. Had LL been at home, it may have been a different story. I think the seeding committee hit it right making these teams #2 & #3. NG gets the home game no matter what since they won their league so it really didn't matter. Now they'll get a chance to play for the NCS title vs. Hayward. Good luck Broncos!
Joined: May 2008
Current Posts: 15
I agree, 001. A lot of people said it was an "ugly" game, which it was if what you want is lots of offense and little defense. But playoff basketball is often like this -- the defenses dominating and the offenses just trying to grind it out. Not to mention a lot of shots are not falling because the players are so over-amped from banging into each other and every shot is contested. I kind of like it! I have good friends at both schools, so I am glad it was a close, toughly fought contest.
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
I still think it was a joke seeding Northgste 3rd! They were the lone League Champion in the entire D2 field. Northgate beat Hayward as well earlier in the season. Regardless of the outcome of the NCS Final, Nothgate earned the #1 seed by winning the DVAL and beating Hayward.
Joined: Mar 2006
Current Posts: 72
i understand your, "they won league" argument. But the DVAL is a very bad boys basketball league. I saw a lot of games and it just is not good basketball. All of the schools in the league are either football or baseball schools really
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 2
We used this site - www.recruitu2.com - for my kid and got offers from 12 college coaches. You should do this Junior year.
Joined: Nov 2006
Current Posts: 400
Do NOT use any recruiting site that requires payment for their services. While some may be well intentioned, most are quite simply, rip-offs and scams.
If you are serious about being recruited, go to your coach and ask for his help. If he is not willing to help, seek out a TRUSTED adult to help you.
Remember that if you have not SPOKEN with a college coach, you are NOT being recruited. Letters from schools mean virtually nothing other than you happen to be in their database. There are several sources out there that discuss the recruiting process. Again, your coach should help you, but if they don't, then ask for help from a TRUSTED adult. Do NOT spend money to do this, these sites claim that college coaches utilize their services, but the fact is that only a very small percentage do so. Don't get caught up in a scam.
Good Luck to you all!!!