Two of this week’s honorees are Logan Robeson from Campolindo of Moraga & Morgan Mack from Hart of Newhall. Photos: Chace Bryson / SportStars & Chris Torres / The Signal.
Two of our goals in all of our Player of the Week features in all sports, girls and boys, are twofold. First, we use it to track potential entries in the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book, and the other is to find hidden talent that might not get any props other than outside their local area. We don’t have any records to track but we’ve got some real talent shining this week including some up and comers on the girls side. This week we visit Moraga and Orcutt in Northern California and in Southern California the stops are in Imperial and Newhall.
We hope you enjoy this free story on Cal-Hi Sports.com. For our state rankings packages in boys and girls basketball plus State Stat Stars of the Week, state record updates and special features, please check out our Gold Club membership today. If you’re not a member, CLICK HERE.
Notes: For these honors, we consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. To nominate anyone, email markjtennis@gmail.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Morgan Mack (Hart, Newhall) Soph.
The Santa Clarita Valley is our destination in search of the Southern California Girls Basketball Player of the Week and it’s in Newhall at Hart where we find the honoree. It was where we landed on the boys side last week with Bryce Bedgood of Valencia.
The Hart faithful have updated us on what Mack has been doing this season and when the nomination came in this week it was the right time for us to give Mack a crack at winning, and after reviewing other potential winners the nod went to her.
Last week, in a CIF Southern Section Division 2AA 68-65 semifinal victory over San Juan Hills of San Juan Capistrano, Mack was trucking after dropping in 31 points and snagging 11 rebounds for a double-double that the Indians’ girls needed every bit of.
Earlier in the week, Mack had a near triple-double after finishing with 30 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in a 62-44 quarterfinal victory over Santa Monica. So far this season for 28-3 Hart, and heading into the CIFSS Division 2AA title game on Saturday against La Salle of Pasadena, the 5-foot-11 sophomore guard is averaging 18 points, six rebounds and six assists per game.
A sophomore to watch indeed.
David Scariano of Imperial outscored the player reported as the second highest scorer in the state in his last game. Photo: @GamepointNation / Twitter.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
David Scariano (Imperial) Jr.
The journey in search of the Southern California Boys Basketball Player of the Week takes us a little over halfway between San Diego and the Arizona border around 15 miles north of the border with Mexico and 20 miles south of the Salton Sea. It’s in the Imperial County city of Imperial at Imperial High that we find our award winner.
When Scariano steps onto the court it can be a little scary for opponents and last week was a perfect example. In a 62-54 CIF San Diego Section Division 4 quarterfinal victory by the No. 3 seed over St. Joseph’s Academy of San Marcos, and in a game where Scariano was matched up with St. Joseph’s sophomore Angel Ochoa and his 33.7 points per game average, we can’t exactly say Scariano scared Ochoa, but he won the scoring and rebounding battle 34 and six to 28 and four. David also had an interesting double-double after blocking 10 shots.
Earlier in the week, and in an opening round 80-38 rout of San Diego Southwest, Scariano had a more conventional double-double after finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
So far this season for the 18-8 Tigers, and heading into a semifinal showdown with San Diego Kearney on Wednesday, Scariano has scorched the nets for a team-leading 21.7 points per game, plus 8.6 rebounds per game.
The 6-foot-7 Scariano may be from a small town far from a large metro area, but he’s caught the eye of Cal-Hi Sports Managing Editor Ronnie Flores who has him on the Hot 100 list of player rankings for top juniors in the state.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Boys Basketball Player of the Week
Logan Robeson (Campolindo, Moraga) Sr.
Central Contra Costa County is our destination and we land and a stone’s throw away from St. Mary’s College in Moraga at Campolindo to find our Northern California Boys Basketball Player of the Week.
There was some grousing among the Campolindo faithful about the defending CIF North Section Open Division champions not being chosen for the Open Division this year, and instead based on the NCS points system being dropped down to Division II as the top seed.
In an interview with the Bay Area News Group, Campolindo head coach Steven Dyer said he felt his team “deserved the Open” but accepted not being chosen by saying “all you can do is control the controllables.” Robeson has been listening intently because that’s exactly what he has been doing on the court so far in the playoffs and for that matter all season for the 21-7 Cougars.
Last Saturday, in a 66-49 quarterfinal victory over a decent Benicia, Robeson, a 6-foot-3 senior guard, had a solid double-double 25 points (three three-pointers) plus 11 rebounds with two assists. His minutes were limited in a first round rocking-chair 78-56 win over Napa Vintage, but Logan still had nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
So far this season, and heading into a semifinal match-up at home on Wednesday with fifth-seeded Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa, Robeson, who is one of the top returners from last season, is averaging a team-high 19.3 points per game with 53 made three-pointers, plus 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per contest.
Freshman Elizabeth Johnson is capable of getting 20-20 double-doubles in just about every game. Photo: Kenny Cress / Santa Maria Times.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Girls Basketball Player of the Week
Elizabeth Johnson (Orcutt Academy) Fr.
It’s been a bit since we visited the greater Santa Maria area, and in fact, the last time we were there it was part of the CIF Southern Section.
Now, just south of Santa Maria in Orcutt at Orcutt Academy, is where we find our Northern California Girls Basketball Player of the Week. Orcutt Academy is in the CIF Central Section, so that gives us the opportunity to remind readers that players chosen from the Central Section for any of our Player of the Week features, boys or girls, are considered for Northern California.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, we don’t honor a lot of freshmen, and not because we don’t want to, but because there aren’t that many that do what Johnson has done recently, and frankly all season for the 25-4 Spartans.
Last week was a perfect example. In a 75-48 victory by the Central Section Division II top seed over No. 16 Bakersfield, Johnson went for a big double-double 29 points and 19 rebounds. She followed that up with another solid double-double 18 points and 22 rebounds in a 57-44 victory over Sierra of Tollhouse.
So far this season, and heading into a Tuesday night semifinal showdown at home with 25-1 Tehachapi, the 6-foot-2 double-double machine Johnson is averaging a team-leading 21.8 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.
We know Elizabeth would like to give a shout out to her senior teammate and second-leading scorer Kaaelii Robertson-Mack. She had 32 points and 18 rebounds against Bakersfield and 10 points and 13 rebounds against Sierra.
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
