The best of the best High school boys basketball:
Meet the all-Bay Area Preps HQ team.
Player of the year
Marsalis Roberson, Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland, 6-foot-5, junior
O’Dowd uses a metric called stat points to measure a player’s productivity, which was started decades ago by the program’s former coach, Mike Phelps, and continues to be employed by current coach Lou Richie. It takes into account made shots, missed shots, rebounds, charges, assists and turnovers. Roberson was the team’s stat-point leader this season at 29.14 per game. He also led the Dragons in conventional metrics — points (16.45) and rebounds (6.34) — while helping the powerhouse close the season with 18 consecutive wins and advance to the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal Open final, which was never played because of the coronavirus pandemic. He was named the player of the year in the West Alameda County Conference’s Foothill League.
First team
Robby Beasley, Dougherty Valley-San Ramon, 6-2, senior
Monty Bowser, Bishop O’Dowd, 6-5, senior
The WACC Foothill League first-team forward was a key contributor as O’Dowd reached the CIF NorCal Open Division final. The Cal-bound Bowser averaged 12.3points, 5.7rebounds and 2.3assists per game and played his best basketball down the stretch — he averaged 14.3points and 6.5rebounds per game in the postseason. His postseason rebounding average was tied for the team-high. Bowser was a three-star recruit as rated by 247sports. com.
Je’Lani Clark, Archbishop
Riordan, 6-3, senior
The West Catholic Athletic League co-player of the year, Clark helped lead Riordan to a share of the league championship. The Nevada signee averaged 15.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0assists and 1.7 steals per game. He had 36 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 92-69win over Sacred Heart Cathedral that clinched a piece of the league crown. Clark had plenty of big performances in WCAL play, including 20points in a 62-51 win over Mitty for Riordan’s first victory at the San Jose school since 2002.
Jalen Lewis, Bishop O’Dowd, 6-9, freshman The first-team all-WACC Foothill League selection was at his best in the biggest games. In the North Coast Section Open Division final against Dublin, a 75-72 O’Dowd triumph, the 14-year-old had 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. In a CIF NorCal Open semifinal victory at Archbishop Mitty, he finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. On Martin Luther King Jr. day against CampolindoMoraga, he had 15 points and eight rebounds and hit the winning jump shot from 16 feet out in the closing seconds. The budding superstar averaged 9.8points and 6.3 rebounds for the season but raised his scoring numbers to 15.5 points per game in the playoffs. Aidan Mahaney, Campolindo-Moraga, 6-3, sophomore
Michael Mitchell, Archbishop Mitty, 6-3, junior The Pepperdine commit and co-player of the year in the WCAL was the engine that powered the top team in the Central Coast Section. Mitchell averaged 13.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.8steals per game, helping the Monarchs earn a share of the WCAL title with Bellarmine and Archbishop Riordan. A tiebreaker came at Maples Pavilion on Feb. 28as Mitty claimed the CCS Open Division championship with a 44-41victory over Bellarmine. senior Anthony Roy, Dublin, 6-4,
Second team
Justin Anderson, Menlo-Atherton, 6-0, senior
Emmanuel Callas, Campolindo, 6-5, junior
Miles Daniels, De La Salle-Concord, 6-1, junior
Quinn Denker, Bellarmine, 6-3, senior
The first-team all-WCAL guard averaged 16.6points, 6.4 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6steals for a Bellarmine team that went 23-5 and reached the CIF NorCal Open Division playoffs. The Bells finished in a threeway tie for first in the tough
WCAL. Denker, whose favorite player was Kobe Bryant, scored 24points in a victory over Valley Christian two days after his hero’s death in a helicopter crash Jan. 26. He Is the son of former Santa Clara University women’s coach Chris Denker, now an assistant at Bellarmine. Bryce Monroe, Archbishop Riordan, 5-11, senior A first-team all-WCAL selection, Monroe averaged 20.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.2assists per game. The Sam Houston Statebound guard had a 32-point effort in a 76-62victory over Vanden-Fairfield in the CIF NorCal Division I quarterfinals, which turned out to be the Crusaders’ final game. The team’s season ended March 9 due to a Riordan student testing positive for coronavirus. Monroe had a number of high-scoring games, including 24 points in a 62-51victory at Mitty. Te’Jon Sawyer, SalesianRichmond, 6-8, senior Ciri Sawyers, San Leandro, 6-3, senior
Third team
Jaden Alexander, St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo, 6-4, junior
Luke Barrett, Piedmont, 6-5, senior
Ian Elam, Bellarmine, 6-6, senior
The co-captain could be considered the glue guy for the Bells, who for the fifth year in a row advanced to the CCS Open Division championship game. Whether he took a charge, blocked a shot, pushed the pace with an outlet pass, crashed the boards, sank a 3-pointer or stuffed the basket, Elam did it all while averaging 12 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6assists per game. He was recognized with the CCS sportsmanship award after leading the Bells with 15 points in the Open Division final.
Marcus Greene, Archbishop Mitty, 6-3, senior
The first-team all-WCAL selection averaged 11.6points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0steals per game. The guard was also a huge threat from beyond the 3-point arc, shooting 41 percent. Greene scored 16points in a 69-38 win over Menlo School in the first round of the CCS Open Division playoffs. He also scored 14points in a 75-54 victory at Valley Christian that clinched a share of the WCAL title.
Devon Jackson, Dublin, 6-1, senior
Brah’Jon Thompson, James Logan-Union City, 5-10, senior
Jaylen Thompson, St. Joseph-Notre Dame-Alameda, 6-6, sophomore
Local honorable mention selections
Rohan Bindu, Evergreen Valley, senior
Owen Browne, Archbishop Mitty, senior
Nigel Burris, Archbishop Mitty, junior
Radhir Chenna, Evergreen Valley, senior
Mahmoud Fofana, Santa Teresa, senior
Isaiah Kerr, St. Francis, sophomore
Ryan Kiachian, Bellarmine, junior
Justice Owens, Pioneer, junior
Jason Plasschaert, University Prep-San Jose, senior
Fabian Reichstadt, Del Mar, junior
Alijah Washington, Piedmont Hills, junior
How teams were chosen
The Bay Area News Group high school sports staff picked the players.