Two of this week’s honorees are junior Zach Chappell from Capital Christian of Sacramento and freshman Aly Maxey of Rolling Hills Prep. Photos: Mark Tennis & @RHPandREN/Twitter.com.
In the last installment of these honors for basketball players this season, the picks are in for a foursome who all led their teams to CIF section titles last weekend with two of them not playing until Friday of this week in the Open Division. Next week, we’re switching to baseball and softball so get your nominations in.
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Note: For these honors, we consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. To find out how your business could benefit by sponsoring these honors each week or to nominate someone by 12 noon on most Mondays, email markjtennis@gmail.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Zach Chappell
(Capital Christian, Sacramento) Jr.
We got a chance to check out Zach last Saturday in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game and let’s just say the 6-foot-3 point guard who also can play a shooting guard role is a legit Division I major college prospect. He already is showing one offer on one profile page from the University of Pacific (where he was playing) but that list may grow in numbers and level of prestige of who’s offering.
Chappell led Capital Christian to a 74-62 victory over a Vista del Lago of Folsom team that was coming into the contest after upsetting top seed Vanden (Fairfield) in the semis. Chappell finished with 31 points, hitting 11 of 17 shots from the field and 3-of-4 on three-pointers. He also had six rebounds and two steals.
When Capital Christian plays the weaker teams in its schedule, Chappell doesn’t score much, which is why is scoring average is only at 14.3 ppg. When the Cougars play strong teams, he can be electric. In his first game this season, Chappell hit for 38 points when the Cougars beat CIF Southern Section Open Division team Alemany of Mission Hills at the NorCal Tip-Off Classic.
On Friday, Chappell and the Cougars (22-8) are playing as the No. 8 seed in the NorCal Open Division against No. 1 seed and state No. 5 Woodcreek of Roseville. They have won four section titles in the last five years under head coach Devon Jones, who earlier this week stepped down for health reasons (high blood pressure). Ernest Taubado, who recently coached the squad for nine games while Jones took some time off, will be coaching against Woodcreek. Jones also has a successful electrical contracting business and will be continuing that work.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Angel Jackson (Salesian, Richmond) Soph.
She showed last week that she can make an impact on both sides of the court — and without scoring — in helping Salesian win the CIF North Coast Section Division III title.
A talented 6-foot-5 sophomore center, who has the attention of top college programs across the country, also can score. She started last week with a season-high 25 points and finished with a triple-double as she grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 10 shots during a 67-48 win over Campolindo of Moraga in the NCS D3 semifinals.
Three days later with the championship on the line, Jackson scored a season-low three points but nearly matched her season-high with 16 rebounds and blocked a season-high 14 shots as the Pride defeated Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland 46-42. On the year, she is averaging 11.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per game.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Tyree Winborn (Van Nuys)
Making sure he did all he could for the Wolves to come away with the CIF L.A. City Section Division III championship, Winborn scored 41 points during a 73-56 win over Sotomayor of Los Angeles.
Winborn scored 17 of his points in the fourth quarter and helped turn a one-point lead into a comfortable double digit margin by the end of the night. The junior guard put on a shooting display many will remember for a long time, especially since Van Nuys (the alma mater of Cal-Hi Sports managing editor Ronnie Flores) captured its first-ever L.A. City title.
Last season, Winborn played at Arleta, but transferred to Van Nuys and had to sit out for the early portion of this season before gaining eligibility.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Aly Maxey (Rolling Hills Prep, San Pedro) Fr.
They might be building something special at Rolling Hills Prep and Maxey is right in the middle of it. She has had several big games during her freshman season but picked a great time for a season-high in points as she scored 34 points while grabbing 10 rebounds during a 67-28 win over Grace Brethren of Simi Valley in the CIF Southern Section Division VI championship game.
In the third quarter alone, Maxey made sure the Lancers’ hopes of a comeback would vanish as she was a perfect 7 of 7 from the floor and scored 15 points. Besides her big night on offense, she also helped play defense and slowed down another talented freshman. Rolling Hills Prep held Abria Laue of Grace Brethren to just 3 of 16 shooting after averaging 23 points per game this season.
The Huskies are a team to watch not just this year but in the future as they have no seniors and are freshman heavy. In addition to Maxey averaging 22.6 points per game, freshman Macy Pakele is scoring at 15.8 points per game.
Paul Muyskens is the assistant editor at the Stockton office of Cal-Hi Sports. Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
