Prep basketball: Central boys on fire, climbing rankings
Greg Streets, Central High’s first-year boys basketball coach, entered this week 17-3 overall, 5-0 and with a two-game lead after the first round of the Tri-River Athletic Conference, and ranked fourth overall by The Fresno Bee in the Central Section.
And not in the least bit satisfied.
“No,” says the former eight-year Grizzlies freshman and junior varsity coach. “Central has always started out well. Several times, we’ve been 4-1 and 5-0 in the TRAC, and then it gets a little harder, we make the playoffs and lose.
So being 5-0 means nothing to me; we haven’t accomplished anything other than a number. I’m trying to keep the players humble. We’ve been down this road before, but what are we going to different this year? We’ve got a lot to prove. This is about getting over the hump.
Central first-year coach Greg Streets
“So being 5-0 means nothing to me; we haven’t accomplished anything other than a number. I’m trying to keep the players humble. We’ve been down this road before, but what are we going to do different this year? We’ve got a lot to prove. This is about getting over the hump.”
Section historian Bob Barnett presents the hump: Central has never won a top division title in boys basketball. The Grizzlies’ two section championships were in D-III – 1993 under coach Fred Langley and 1996 under Kent Albertson.
“The goal is in sight; the players see it,” says Street, a 1991 Edison graduate who got pulled up for the playoffs as a sophomore for a section-winning team under coach Bill Engel. “But they might not quite understand the difficult road it takes to get there.”
Central, playing a rotation as deep as 12, has been lead by 6-foot-8 senior forward Chris Seeley (15.2-point average), sophomore point guard Cash Williams (12.0), junior guard Jaylon Johnson (9.4) and sophomore wing Cam’ron Wilson (8.6).
Seeley transferred from Roosevelt-Eastvale of the Southern Section, where he played on a 22-5 team under former Washington coach and Fresno State assistant Vonn Webb.
Wilson played last season for a Central 22-3 JV team under Streets.
The Grizzlies play Tuesday night at Buchanan, which narrowly missed an upset in a 51-47 first-round TRAC loss at Central. The Grizzlies will return home Friday night to play No. 8 Clovis West, which edged them by a game for the TRAC title last year.
Seedings for the section playoffs will be determined Feb. 20 in the Porterville office of commissioner Jim Crichlow. Boys and girls playoffs will begin Feb. 23-24, with the 12th year of finals at Selland Arena set for March 4-5.
Andy Boogaard: 559-441-6400, @beepreps
Central Section basketball rankings
Records through Feb. 1
BOYS TOP 20
1. Ridgeview (SYL, 20-1)
2. Immanuel (CSL, 16-5)
3. Lemoore (WYL, 19-2)
4. Central (TRAC, 17-3)
5. Clovis North (TRAC, 14-7)
6. Clovis East (TRAC, 16-7)
7. Centennial (SWYL, 13-11)
8. Clovis West (TRAC, 15-5)
9. Hanford (WYL, 15-6)
10. Memorial (CMAC, 19-4)
11. Mission Oak (EYL, 15-6)
12. Independence (SYL, 14-5)
13. Selma (CSL, 18-5)
14. Roosevelt (NYL, 17-7)
15. Fresno (NYL, 20-4)
16. Edison (CMAC, 12-11)
17. Bakersfield (SWYL, 12-9)
18. Buchanan (TRAC, 10-13)
19. Granite Hills (E. Sequoia, 19-2)
20. Liberty-Bakersfield (SWYL, 13-9)
DIVISIONAL RANKINGS
Division I: 1. Central; 2. Clovis North; 3. Clovis East
Division II: 1. Ridgeview; 2. Lemoore; 3. Hanford
Division III: 1. Selma; 2. Roosevelt; 3. Porterville (EYL, 17-5)
Division IV: 1. Immanuel; 2. Granite Hills; 3. Rosamond (HDL, 15-3)
Division V: 1. Kern Valley (HDL, 13-2); 2. Caruthers (W. Sequoia, 13-7); 3. Tranquillity (W. Sierra, 15-7)
GIRLS TOP 20
1. Clovis West (TRAC, 21-3)
2. Edison (CMAC, 20-3)
3. Garces (SWYL, 11-8)
4. Central (TRAC, 17-5)
5. Redwood (WYL, 18-4)
6. Hanford (WYL, 16-6)
7. Mission Oak (EYL, 17-5)
8. Centennial (SWYL, 11-10)
9. Orosi (E. Sierra, 17-4)
10. Clovis (TRAC, 15-9)
11. Independence (SYL, 14-6)
12. Clovis North (TRAC, 10-9)
13. Ridgeview (SYL, 18-5)
14. Buchanan (TRAC, 15-8)
15. Lemoore (WYL, 14-7)
16. Kingsburg (CSL, 18-5)
17. Selma (CSL, 14-10)
18. Golden West (WYL, 14-6)
19. Memorial (CMAC, 14-4)
20. Immanuel (CSL, 12-7)
DIVISIONAL RANKINGS
Division I: 1. Clovis West; 2. Edison; 3. Garces
Division II: 1. Redwood; 2. Independence; 3. Lemoore
Division III: 1. Mission Oak; 2. Golden West; 3. Exeter (CSL, 17-6)
Division IV: 1. Orosi; 2. Kingsburg; 3. Immanuel
Division V: 1. Memorial; 2. Caruthers (W. Sequoia, 14-6); 3. Minarets (W. Sequoia, 13-4)
This story was originally published February 2, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Prep basketball: Central boys on fire, climbing rankings."