Prep spotlight: St. Ignatius staking its claim among Bay Area basketball’s elite

ST. IGNATIUS: WILDCATS PROVING TO BE AMONG BAY AREA’S ELITE

Over the last two seasons, Archbishop Riordan and Salesian have separated themselves as the Bay Area’s basketball elite. 

Both programs have represented Northern California in the State Open Division championship game – Salesian in 2024 and Riordan last season. 

But this year, St. Ignatius has inserted itself into the conversation. 

The Wildcats are off to a 5-0 start that includes dominant wins over Amador Valley, San Ramon Valley and Acalanes. The San Francisco school also boasts a victory over Clayton Valley, the fourth-ranked team in the latest  Bay Area News Group rankings. 

The Wildcats brought back most of its team from last season, a group that includes four of their five starters. Big men Alex Moore and Ty Landers anchor St. Ignatius along with a plethora of skillful guards like Raymond Whitley, Shawn Boquiren and Anthony D’Acquisto. 

St. Ignatius is looking to win its first league title since 1999. Coach Jason Greenfield knows the ceiling for his team is high. 

“Our expectations are super high,” Greenfield said. “A lot of preseason polls had us pretty high, some in the Top 5, which means nothing by the way. But I do think it’s where we should be based on our talent level and our experience, but we gotta play the games.” 

YGNACIO VALLEY: WOLVES FINDING WAYS TO GROW

Through its first eight games of the season, Ygnacio Valley is still trying to find its footing.

The Wolves are 3-5 and have losses to some of the area’s best programs, including Salesian, Serra, Granada and Bishop O’Dowd. But the Wolves have also beaten Liberty and McClymonds, showing that YV still has potential to be a very competitive team this season. 

“We lost seven players. We only have three returners from last season, a couple of JV guys and a few transfers,” YV coach Michael Wooldridge said. 

Among the many departures, YV graduated two-time all-Bay Area News Group point guard Antonio Kellogg Jr. Returning players Jalen Cody, Machai Alston and Jaelyn Cox have anchored the team’s scoring in Kellogg’s absence.

Wooldridge said he’s happy to see his young team grow. 

“It’s a new team,” he said. “We got guys in new roles. Cody and Alston didn’t have to play that role last year because we had a guy that we can depend on that can put the ball in the basket. Now, we don’t have that, so we have to learn how to play as a team. But I like where we are.” 

HEAD-ROYCE: COACH LEARNS FROM SCHEDULING LESSONS

Head-Royce is a small private school in Oakland, boasting a student population of roughly 900. 

So it came as a shock to many last season when the Jayhawks, despite boasting an impressive record, were placed in the North Coast Section Division II playoffs with schools much bigger populations and with more storied basketball traditions. The outcome was predictable when Head-Royce suffered a crushing blowout defeat to Moreau Catholic – the bracket’s top seed – in the first round of the section playoffs. 

In hopes of being dropped down to a lower division, Head-Royce coach Ryan Diew created a very tough non-league schedule. 

Diew said the last two seasons have given him clarity on the system. 

“What I learned about scheduling is that it’s not the caliber of opponents, but more about these infliction points and momentum games,” Diew said. “Last year, we would go on a three-game winning streak, but then play three really good teams and lose those. So this year, being able to strategically put winnable games in the middle of those three elite teams is important. But you know, we kind of know we’re going to be a Division II team, so right now it’s just about trying to get enough wins.” 

OAKLAND TECH: BULLDOGS SEARCHING FOR IDENTITY

It hasn’t been the start Oakland Tech has envisioned.

The Oakland powerhouse has opened the season 4-5 with close losses to Amador Valley and Branson, as well as blowout defeats to Salesian and Bakersfield Christian. 

Coach Karega Hart said his team is still searching for its identity, but playing in tough games will only help Tech. 

“This time of year is good to win games and to challenge ourselves, which we’re doing, but with losing a lot of players from last season, we got to learn who we are and our identity,” Hart said. “We got all the pieces to be really good. We just got to have everybody buy in and understand that the mission is to win our last game of the year.” 

PINOLE VALLEY: SPARTANS OFF TO HOT START

After nine games, Pinole Valley is still undefeated. 

The Spartans have been a pleasant surprise, powered by an offense that averages just over 75 points per game. 

PV has two quality wins over St. Francis and Santa Cruz, and showed out at the Double Goal Coaches Classic by beating McClymonds and Vallejo by a combined margin of 50 points. 

Their nine-game winning streak is the Spartans’ best start to a season since 2004.