All-Bay Area News Group boys basketball 2023-24: Meet the team
Salesian, De La Salle's Alec Blair, San Ramon Valley's Seamus Deely and Luke Isaak, Archbishop Riordan's Zion Sensley lead all-Bay Area News Group team.
All-Bay Area News Group boys basketball team
Players of the Year
The Salesian Pride
Usually, the Bay Area News Group’s player of the year goes to the player who does the most work on one of the top teams in the area. This year was the exception. Salesian was the Bay Area’s best team and did not have a player who averaged more than 10 points per game. They were connected as one and are being celebrated as one. Full story here.
First team
Alec Blair, De La Salle, 6-6, junior
The co-player of the year in the East Bay Athletic League. Averaged 18 points, six rebounds and four assists per game while shooting 54% from the field. The De La Salle star did it on both ends of the floor, often guarding the opposing team’s best player.
Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, Salesian, 6-3, senior
Hunkin-Claytor was the glue guy in Salesian’s run to the NorCal Open Division title and Open state final. The University of Hawaii commit was the quintessential point guard for the Pride and was the Tri-County Athletic League Rock MVP.
Seamus Deely, San Ramon Valley, 6-5, senior
The heartbeat of SRV’s team, Deely averaged 10.5 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game as the Wolves made the NCS Open Division playoffs and won the NorCal Division I championship. He was the EBAL co-player of the year and helped SRV advance to the D-I state title game.
ArDarius Grayson, Oakland Tech, 6-0, junior
Grayson was the hero in Oakland Tech’s CIF Division II state title win over Centennial-Bakersfield, nabbing a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead his school to its first state title. The Oakland Athletic League MVP, Grayson averaged 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game in the regular season.
Luke Isaak, San Ramon Valley, 6-3, junior
A sniper from the three-point line, Isaak was the leading scorer for the Wolves at 16.5 points per game. An EBAL first-team selection, Isaak scored 25 points in one of his team’s games against Granada and 18 against Monterey Trail in a NorCal Division I quarterfinal.
NaVaughn Long, Granada, 6-6, senior
Long was the Matadors’ best player, helping lead Granada to a 26-5 record and a trip to its second consecutive CIF NorCal Division I final. Was a EBAL first-team selection and won MVP of the Edison Classic winter tournament.
Ryan Pettis, Serra, 6-3, senior
A true human highlight reel, Pettis averaged 14.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. The Fordham University commit led Serra to a 20-9 record and was a West Catholic Athletic League first-team selection.
Gavin Ripp, Archbishop Mitty, 6-8, senior
The West Catholic Athletic League player of the year averaged 12.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game this season. The University of San Diego-bound center anchored the Mitty defense, leading the Monarchs to the NorCal Division I semifinals.
Zion Sensley, Archbishop Riordan, 6-8, senior
The St. Mary’s commit averaged 17.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while leading Riordan to a CIF NorCal Open Division final. Sensley was an All-West Catholic Athletic League first-team selection this season after spending his sophomore and junior years at Prolific Prep.
Jalen Stokes, Dublin, 6-5, junior
Stokes averaged 19.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 49% from the field. He was the Gaels’ most clutch player all year, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer to lift Dublin over Liberty in the North Coast Section Division I semifinals. Was an All-EBAL first-team selection.
Second team
Gavin Cook-Whisenton, Liberty, 6-2, senior
Cook-Whistenton led Liberty to a 25-4 record and its third consecutive Bay Valley Athletic League title. The senior averaged 17.3 points per game during Liberty’s NCS run that saw the Lions defeat Pittsburg and Berkeley before falling to Dublin in the NCS semifinals.
Andrew Hilman, Archbishop Riordan, 6-4, sophomore
Received a WCAL first-team selection. Averaged 14.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game for a team that went 14-0 in league play and defeated Archbishop Mitty for the CCS Open Division championship. Reached NorCal Open Division final.
Antonio Kellogg Jr., Ygnacio Valley, 6-3, junior
A Diablo Athletic League first-team selection, Kellogg was Ygnacio Valley’s floor general and leading scorer. He averaged 18.2 points and 3.2 assists per game. He helped lead the Wolves to a Diablo Athletic League regular-season title.
Anthony Lacy, Oakland, 6-5, senior
Lacy was an OAL first-team selection, averaging 11.3 and 8.8 rebounds per game. In the Wildcats’ upset win over Modesto Christian, Lacy scored 20 points. Helped Oakland reach the Division II NorCal regional final.
Aadi Malali, Dougherty Valley, 6-4, senior
Malali seemingly hit every clutch shot for Dougherty Valley en route to the Wildcats’ second consecutive NCS championship, this one in Division I. Malali averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals per game and was an EBAL first-team selection.
TJ O’Brien, Sacred Heart Prep, 6-1, senior
The West Bay Athletic League player of the year, O’Brien averaged 14.1 points per game on 50% shooting from the field and 41% from three. Led SHP to a CCS Open and NorCal Division I berth.
Elijah Perryman, Clayton Valley, 6-3, junior
The DAL player of the year, Perryman helped Clayton Valley win the DAL championship tournament. Averaged 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 3.6 steals per game.
De’Undrae Perteete, Salesian, 6-4, senior
Perteete played the role of Salesian’s center, despite being undersized at 6-4. The senior did the dirty work for the Pride, often guarding the opposing team’s best scorer. Received TCAL Rock first-team honors.
Wyatt Sparling, Branham, 6-4, senior
Sparling was Branham’s do-it-all player this season, helping the Bruins win the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division title. Selected as the league’s co-player of the year. Sparling averaged 16 points, six assists and six rebounds per game.
Raymond Whitley, St. Ignatius, 6-2, sophomore
One of the top guards in the WCAL. Earned league first-team honors, averaging 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game.
Honorable mention
Cameron Anderson, Dublin, sophomore
Jack Anderson, Menlo-Atherton, senior
Caleb Asante, Leigh, senior
Evan Bautista, Dublin, senior
Xavier Barnett, King’s Academy, sophomore
Jaydon Bonds, Hayward, junior
Scotty Brennan, Los Gatos, junior
Kenny Brown, Benicia, senior
Brit Burden, Piedmont, senior
Jonathan Chapple, Oakland, senior
Samuel Chavarin, Bishop O’Dowd, senior
Jorrell Clark, Palo Alto, junior
Daniel Cojocaru, Monte Vista, senior
Will Corbett, Bellarmine, sophomore
Trevor Cosgrove, Leland, senior
Surya Devasenapathy, Athenian, senior
Nes Emeneke, Riordan, junior
Chris Fallgren, Dougherty Valley, senior
Jaden Feller, Mountain View, junior
Jacob Froman, Westmont, sophomore
Joshua Green, Bishop O’Dowd, senior
Ahmed Gulaid, Oakland Tech, senior
Hassan Howard, Jesse Bethel, senior
Caleb Hughey, King’s Academy, junior
Caeden Hutcherson, Mitty, sophomore
Zander Jimenez. Salesian, senior
Amani Johnson, Salesian, senior
JP Kerrigan, Sacred Heart Prep, senior
Ethan Kitch, Gunn, senior
Nolan Koch, Los Gatos, senior
Spencer Langowski, Granada, senior
Quincy Lavender, Hayward, senior
Ben Lim, Branham, senior
Alvin Loving, Salesian, junior
Cole Loud, Moreau Catholic, junior
Marcel Pierre-Louis, Head-Royce, senior
Evan Lucas, Athenian, senior
Devon Mack, McClymonds, senior
David Mann, Mt. Eden, senior
Gio Garduno Martin, Half Moon Bay, sophomore
Diego Martinez, Valley Christian, senior
Ollie Miller, Berkeley, senior
James Moore, Clayton Valley, senior
Loyal Morris Jr., Ygnacio Valley, senior
Adam Nakai, Santa Teresa, senior
Soham Nighojkar, Cupertino, senior
Nathan d’Abreu Noronha, Mitty, senior
Elias Obenyah, Salesian, sophomore
Dasan Poston, Branham, senior
Leo Ricketts, De La Salle, senior
Micah Riebel, Head-Royce, senior
Jasir Rencher, Riordan, junior
Jaxen Robinson, Christopher, junior
Arshawn Salkhi, De La Salle, senior
Kiratraj Sanghera, American, senior
Sam Stepan, Pioneer, sophomore
Cortevious Taylor, Granada, senior
Mason Thomas, San Ramon Valley, junior
Drew Wagner, SHP, senior
Jaylen Wheeler, Fremont-Oakland, senior
Dareuis Williams, Mt. Pleasant, senior
Jacob Wrencher, Milpitas, junior
Kenny Zuniga, Santa Teresa, senior
Coach of the year
Brian Botteen, San Ramon Valley
Botteen led San Ramon Valley to the Division I state championship in 2015, his first season as head coach. This season, Botteen’s Wolves made it back to the state championship game and fell just short to SoCal powerhouse St. John Bosco in the Division I final. He led San Ramon Valley to the EBAL tournament championship and CIF NorCal D-I title, doing it all without a transfer player and with a group that has been developed over the course of three and four years.
Coaches: Honorable mention
Jason Billie, Branham
Ryan Diew, Head-Royce
Mike Hansen, Dougherty Valley
Karega Hart, Oakland Tech
Bill Mellis, Salesian
WHO IS ELIGIBLE AND HOW SELECTIONS ARE MADE
Athletes eligible for all-Bay Area News Group recognition come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The selections this season were made by the Bay Area News Group’s Darren Sabedra, Joseph Dycus and Nathan Canilao.