Two of this week’s first NorCal/SoCal Players of the Week for basketball covering the 2019-20 season are Cole Anderson of Clovis West (Fresno) and Mia Fleming-Mullins from St. Francis of Sacramento. Photos: An Eye For It All Photography & courtesy school.
Football isn’t quite over but traditionally this is the week we shift gears from the gridiron to the hard-court of the gymnasium and begin our weekly boys and girls basketball honors. For our first week, we also always remind basketball fans that for the Players of the Week features in all sports the CIF Central Section is considered Northern California. This week we visit Fresno, Sacramento, Rancho Mirage and Woodland Hills and among the honorees are a girl and boy that each made eight three-pointers.
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Note: For these honors, we consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. This is the first week for basketball honorees. To nominate someone by 12 noon on most Mondays, email markjtennis@gmail.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Cole Anderson (Clovis West, Fresno) Jr.
Our NorCal boys winner is from the CIF Central Section and was nominated by Central Section historian and Cal-Hi Sports contributor and friend Bob Barnett. We had an additional e-mailer nominate Cole as well.
To say Anderson has been as hot as a “fire in the hole” is pretty accurate. The only difference is the confined space where Anderson has been exploding for points is not in a coal mine but in the gym and on the basketball court.
Last week, in three games at the NorCal Tip-Off Tournament in Rocklin, Anderson stole the show and earned the tourney’s MVP honor after leading the Golden Eagles to the tournament title.
The 6-foot-4 junior point guard started with 31 points in a 91-31 win over Laguna Creek, 36 points against Liberty of Brentwood and a 95-70 victory, 30 points against host Rocklin in a 79-71 win, and in the championship game 65-60 victory over St. Francis of Sacramento Anderson had 21 points.
Those performances were exceptional but his best outing of the season for the 5-1 Golden Eagles came in the team’s only loss two weeks ago at the NorCal Tip-Off Classic at James Logan. Not only did we get to see him in action but we as the PA for the event announced every one of his baskets and 12-for-12 from the free-throw line when he went for 38 points in a 67-62 loss to Cal-Hi Sports No. 4 Windward of Los Angeles.
Cole is the little brother of Megan Anderson. She was one of the standouts as a senior on the 2016-17 Clovis West girls team that went 34-2 and won the state CIF Open division championship in a 44-40 victory over Archbishop Mitty of San Jose. He also was a member of last year’s all-state sophomore team.
Demetrius Calip and team at Taft of Woodland Hills hope to go far this season in the CIF L.A. City Section. Photo: Twitter.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Demetrius Calip (Taft, Woodland Hills) Jr.
The San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles City Section is the destination for our Southern California boys honoree, and it’s a player who follows us on Twitter and comes from a Toreadors’ team that is off to a 6-1 start in part due to the efforts of Calip.
Calip is scoring at a clip of 18.8 points per game but last week he went off for 32 points (eight three-pointers) and five rebounds, three assists and two steals in an 86-49 victory over South Gate in the championship game of the Santa Monica Tournament.
In the first two games of that event, Calip had 14 points and seven rebounds in a 75-52 win over Camarillo, and 18 points and five rebounds in an 88-45 thrashing of Santa Clara of Oxnard.
On Monday of last week the 6-foot-4 Calip also clipped Thousand Oaks with 27 points in a 92-44 blowout win.
Demetrius would likely have a higher per game scoring average, but with a few of the games being lopsided his minutes have been shortened, plus we know he would want us to give a shout-out to two teammates on his heels for lead in scoring for Taft, 6-6 sophomore Ramel Lloyd (18.2 ppg), and 6-4 senior Khalil Haywood, who is at an 18.0 points per game average.
Demetrius also comes from a basketball family. His father, Demetrius Sr., played on Michigan’s 1989 NCAA title team and played in the NBA.
Madison Tremblay set a single-game record for the Palm Springs area with the 57 points she had last week against a team from Canada. Photo: rmrattlerhoop.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Madison Tremblay (Rancho Mirage) Sr.
For our Southern California Girls Player of the Week we head to Riverside County and the Coachella Valley where we land about 10 miles south of Palm Springs on Highway 111, and it’s there we find a girl who really blew up the scoreboard.
We’re not sure teams tremble when they see the 5-foot-6 Tremblay, but they certainly have a hard time stopping her from scoring.
With all due respect to her Rattlers’ teammates we won’t say she’s a one girl team, but it’s hard to argue the fact. Last week she missed the first two games of the Brawley Tournament and Rancho Mirage lost the both. In the tourney’s third game, Tremblay had 27 of her team’s 37 points with six three-pointers in a loss to Calexico, and then 14 of the team’s 15 points in a defeat at the hands of Arizona No. 19 Cibola of Yuma, but on Saturday she went for 57 points (eight three-pointers) in the team’s 78-36 victory over Canada’s LaZerte of Edmonton, Alberta.
So far this season and heading into a Tuesday night showdown at home for the 5-4 Rattlers with Perris, Tremblay is averaging 27.6 points per game. Last season Madison averaged 20.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.3 steals and 3.3 assists per game.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Mia Fleming-Mullins (St. Francis, Sacramento) Sr.
The state capital is where we land in looking for our Northern California Girls Player of the Week, and what we find just across the street from Sacramento State University is the Troubadours’ 5-foot-11 senior wing who is having a solid start this season and is an integral part of the team.
Last week at the Central Valley Showdown at Clovis West-Fresno, Fleming-Mullins missed the first game of the tournament, and second of two games she’s missed for personal reasons, and unfortunately for Troubadours fans they were both losses, but in the games she’s played Mia has been rock solid and St. Francis has won all four.
In three games, including the consolation championship, Fleming-Mullins was named All Tournament after going for 20 points (two three-pointers) and seven rebounds in a 64-43 win over Bakersfield Ridgeview, 24 points (two threes) and nine rebounds with four blocks in a 68-39 blowout of Tracy Kimball, and in the consolation title game Mia had 28 points and five rebounds in limited action of a 60-29 victory over El Capitan of Merced.
In a season-opening 72-62 win over a solid cross-town West Campus, Fleming-Mullins went for a double-double 21 points (two threes) and 12 rebounds with three assists.
Mia’s four game averages are 23.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. Last year, Fleming-Mullins averaged 11.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game so it looks like she’s picked up her game quite a bit this season.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
