PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JORDAN BROWN JR WOODCREEK
The 6-foot-11 Brown was a dominant force for Woodcreek in helping the Timberwolves capture their first Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title and first NorCal Open Division championship. Brown shined on the two biggest stages with 31 points and 17 rebounds against Sheldon in the regional finals. He followed it up with 35 points and 17 rebounds in the state title game loss to Bishop Montgomery.
Brown, ranked No. 4 in the 2018 class by Rivals.com, has a growing offer list including Arizona, Cal, Nevada, Oregon, St. John’s and UCLA.
COACH OF THE YEAR: JUSTIN ARGENAL DE LA SALLE
Argenal was the third coach in as many years for the Spartans and was tasked with replacing eight seniors, including 2016 NCP Player of the Year Jordan Ratinho. This season, the Spartans won the North Coast Section Division I title and reached the Open Division semi-finals before losing to Woodcreek 51-46. De La Salle’s in-state losses were to St. Joseph, Dublin (beat them twice) and Woodcreek.
SJS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JORDAN BROWN
SJS COACH OF THE YEAR: NICK FRENCH WHITNEY
In his fourth year at the helm, French guided Whitney to its first section title and a 27-5 record. Whitney has improved its win total from 16 in 2015 to 25 last year and a school record 27 this year. The Wildcats ran off a 14 game winning streak before a first round loss in the NorCal playoffs to Cardinal Newman.
NCS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Damari Milstead SR Moreau Catholic
The senior leader on a young team, Milstead helped the Mariners navigate a rough start to win 21 straight games with a section and NorCal title before falling in the Division II state finals. The Grand Canyon signee averaged 25 points (upped his scoring average every year at Moreau) with four rebounds, five assists and two steals per game. He had 43 points in the regional finals at St. Francis-Mountain View.
NCS COACH OF THE YEAR: JUSTIN ARGENAL
CCS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JAKE WOJCIK JR BELLARMINE
Wojcik shared player of the year honors in the West Catholic Athletic League with St. Francis’ Logan Johnson with Wojcik being a key player in Bellarmine’s perfect run through the WCAL regular season. The Bells were CCS Open Division runners-up and lost in the first round of the Open Division to Sheldon. Wojcik’s game was on full display in the regional playoffs with 22 points in the loss to the Huskies.
CCS COACH OF THE YEAR: PETER DIEPENBROCK PALO ALTO
In his second year back at Palo Alto, Diepenbrock guided the Vikings to a Division I title and then three road wins in the NorCal playoffs as the No. 9 seed before losing to Logan in the regional finals. They beat top seed Dublin in the quarterfinals. The Vikings’ five losses came by a combined 27 points.
NORTHERN SECTION PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JUSTIN VIGIL SR FALL RIVER
Fall River won the NorCal Division VI title with a 30-1 record and featured one of the top seniors in the region in Vigil. The 6-foot-7 power forward averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks per game. He had 25 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and five blocks in the regional final against Liberty Christian.
NORTHERN SECTION COACH OF THE YEAR: KURT WILKINS CORNING
Corning lost in the first round of NorCal play, but completing a perfect run through the regular season and Division IV playoffs is quite an accomplishment. The Cardinals average margin of victory was 14 points including overtime wins over Orland and Paradise.
SF/OAKLAND SECTION PLAYER OF THE YEAR: SOULEY BOUM SR OAKLAND TECH
San Francisco bound Souley Boum averaged 20 points per game as part of a strong all-around game. Oakland Tech fell in the first round of the NorCal playoffs to Menlo-Atherton, but it won the OAL title and the St. Hope Elite Classic in December. He scored at least 30 points three times with a season high 38 against El Cerrito.
SF/OAKLAND SECTION PLAYER OF THE YEAR: ARNOLD ZELAYA MISSION
Mission ended the year on a 24 game winning streak with road wins at St. Ignatius and Vanden before capturing a historic state title over Villa Park in Division III. Mission’s only loss was to Monte Vista in ending the year at 35-1.
