Roadrunners look to take throne in GVC
Last season the Golden Valley Conference had three teams finish their season with an overall record above .500. Redwoods, Butte and Shasta finished with winning records but Redwoods was the only team from the conference that made the post season. The Corsairs finished conference action with a 9-1 record, picked up a first round victory over Diablo Valley in the post season before losing to College of the Sequoias in the 2nd round of the Northern California playoffs. Shasta which won their first six games in conference, struggled towards the end and lost three of their lost four to miss a chance at a post season berth. Butte won 15 games as well throughout the season but the Roadrunners did not put together enough quality wins outside the conference and missed the post season. Siskiyous, Lassen and Feather River missed the post season and will look for an improved 2022-2023 season.
2022-2023 Signal The Light Basketball Golden Valley Conference Projection
Butte (15-12): Last season Butte College had an up and down season but struggled to find consistency. The Roadrunners finished the season at 15-12 and missed the post season after finishing tied for 2nd place in the Golden Valley Conference. Butte ended the season winning four of their last five games but missed the post season as the team from Oroville did not fair well outside of conference against teams that had a .500 or above record. Coming into the new season, the Roadrunners will have a lot to replace from the 2021-2022 team as Butte lost some key pieces from last season. The Roadrunners lost five players that contributed and return two players that averaged in double figures last season. Leading scorer “6-4” Rolontae Knowles retruns for his sophomore season after averaging 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds last season. Knowles will add scoring and rebounding the squad and will be a key player for the Roadrunners. “6-4” Isaac Woods returns to the lineup after averaging 12.9 points per game a year ago and will be a player that four year schools will be recruiting. “6-6” Keaton Massey (6.2 points), and “6-2” Oswald Meadows (6.4 points and 5.8 rebounds) are two other pieces that will look to contribute for the upcoming season. “6-5 Marvin Lee and “6-4” Edward Mekia will add sophomore experience to the squad and “6-2” J’Ari Bess (Squalicum HS), “6-1” Jackson Arroyo (Sir Frances Drake), “6-5” Stephen Schaefer (Chico HS), and “6-6” Taylor Keating (Pleasant Valley) are freshman that could contribute this season.
Projection: The Roadrunners lost some key pieces but have a lot of size for the conference which will give them an advantage. Rolonate Knowles and Isaac Woods are a great one two punch that had sensational freshman seasons. We expect the Roadrunners to be in the upper half of the conference for the upcoming season. Butte has plenty of height and size and that is key especially within the Golden Valley Conference. We project Butte as the favorite in the conference and expect the Roadrunners to make a post season run going into the 2022-2023 season.
STLB best College Prospect: “6-4” Issac Woods
Feather River (4-18): In the 2021-2022 season, Feather River College had a disappointing campaign as the Golden Eagles won four games a year ago. The team from Quincy, California went 1-9 and conference and struggled to find the win column throughout the season. Coming into the new season, Feather River will look to have an improved upcoming year. Coach Randy Rick has retired and Keshawn Johnson takes over the program that returns four players from a year ago. Leading the list of returnees the talented “6-2” Terry Williams III. The guard from Chicago averaged 14.1 points and 3.3 assists and was a bright spot for the Golden Eagles. Williams will be a standout player as he has the ability to score the basketball and gets his teammates involved at the offensive end. “6-4” Rob Lee III (9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds), “6-9” Fabian Cox (7.3 points), and “5-8” Justous Harvey (6.2 points) will also return to the squad after having promising freshman seasons. “6-1” Collin Tarver (Atlanta, GA) showed the ability to be a standout player for the Golden Eagles at the guard position, “6-5” Marquis Wagner (Memphis, TN), “6-6” Wallace Belser (Yuba City, CA) , “6-6” Marcus Connolly (Las Vegas, NV) are other players that will look to have break out freshman seasons.
Projection: I think it is safe to say that the Golden Eagles will be an improved team for the upcoming season. Feather River returns some solid pieces and have the size to compete at the top of the conference. Terry Williams III is an impact guard that will be one of the better guards in Northern California and freshman Collin Tarver can put the ball in the basket as well. The Golden Eagles are one of the more athletic teams in the conference but will it be enough to win the conference? I think consistency will be the key as they have the talent to beat anyone in the conference but it will be a question of who will turn up on the long road trips within the conference. We project an upward trend for the program and a 2nd place finish and a chance to make the post season if they play well in the non conference part of their schedule.
STLB best college Prospect: “6-2” Terry Williams III
College of the Redwoods (21-6): Since 2019-2020 the Corsairs have been the team to beat in the Golden Valley Conference. After going 0-26 in 2018-2019, the program made the change by bringing in Ryan Bisio as the head coach. Since then, the Corsairs have been to two straight post seasons, won two conference championships and have went 43-12 with Bisio at the helm. This upcoming season, Bisio may have his biggest challenge keeping the Corsairs at the top of the conference as only two pieces return from a year ago. “6-7” Jon Nchekwube returns for his sophomore season after averaging 16.3 points and 13.8 rebounds as a freshman. Nchekwube will be a candidate for conference player of the year but the question is what will be around him with a lot of newcomers coming into the program. The Corsairs lost three players that averaged in double figures and another key piece to the puzzle that was key to the culture. Niko Zambas returns to the squad but saw limited action. Redwoods will welcome in “6-3” Trey Neff and his twin brother “5-11” Ty Neff as both players come in and will look to contribute, “6-5” Kai Purcell will also be a piece that will look to contribute for the upcoming season.
Projection: Redwoods has established a great culture and coach Bisio has done a great job with the program in his short stint up north. This season will be challenging and we may see a drop in the standings for the first time since Bisio took over the program. Redwoods lost a lot of production from last years team and with that being said, we have them dropping in the standings and finishing 3rd place this upcoming season. It will help having the conference player of the year back, but with so many questions at other positions we expect a drop but still see a competitive team in the Golden Valley Conference for the 2022-2023 season.
STLB best college prospect: Jon Nchekwube “6-8”
Lassen (3-21): It was a forgetful season last year for the Cougars as Lassen won 3 games last season and finished in 5th place in the Golden Valley Conference with a 2-8 record. Lassen lacked experience a season ago, as the Cougars fielded all freshmen on their roster and struggled in the 2021-2022 season. This upcoming season should be a different story as the Cougars return seven players and experience is a key in junior college basketball. Leading the list of the seven is “6-3” Darien Guyton as the athletic guard averaged 15.6 points and 5.0 rebounds a year ago. Guyton scored 20 or more points six times including a season high of 38 points against Mendocino. “6-0” Trey Wilmot (8.2 points), “6-4” Mason Saso (7.9 points), “5-11” Cole Rutherford (5.4 points), “6-0” Nathan Smothers (4.3 points), “6-3” Nicolas Wittig (2.9 points), and the athletic “6-6” Shelton Taylor (7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds) all return to Lassen for the sophomore seasons. “6-6” Evan Caldwell (Long Beach City Transfer), “5-11” sharpshooting Joey Summers transfer in, and “6-2” McKay Robert (Provo, UT) will look to crack the rotation as a freshman.
Projection: Experience is everything which is why we could Lassen make a big improvement from a year ago. Seven returnees is always a good thing especially early in the season, and could benefit them later in the season as well. Guyton will be a standout within the conference and guard depth will help the Cougars tremendously. Taylor and Caldwell give the Cougars front court depth and will give Lassen a great shot at being fairly competitive in the Golden Valley race. We project a major improvement and have Lassen finishing 4th in the conference for the upcoming season.
STLB best college prospect: “6-3” Darien Guyton
Shasta (14-13): Last season the Knights had an up and down season and finished at 14-13 in 2021-2022. Shasta was in complete control of the Golden Valley Conference winning their first six games in conference action, only to lose 3 out of their final 4 games and finishing in 2nd place and missing out on the post season. The Knights lost a lot of key pieces from a year ago but return five players from last seasons campaign. Leading the list of sophomores returning to the program is “6-0” Josiah Palumbo (9.0 points), as the guard shot 40% from downtown and will stretch the floor for the Knights. “6-7” Bekdoo Lewis (6.4 points), “5-9” Kevin Cox, “6-0” Adam Dejus, and “6-5” Jayden Curl all return for the upcoming season. “6-7” Kameron Morphew (Foothill HS), “6-4” Carson Kingston (Fernley, NV), “6-5” Josiah Hutt (Foothill HS) will be freshman that will look to contribute for the upcoming season.
Projection: The Knights lost a big portion of their scoring from a year ago which means a lot of players will have to step up this season. Palumbo and Lewis will be two key pieces for Shasta but will that be enough for the upcoming season. Coach Kele Fitzhugh is a very underrated coach and his teams have a pattern of getting better as the season moves along and it is very tough to beat the Knights on the road in conference action. Shasta will always be a solid defensive team but the big question is where will the scoring come from. With that being said, we project the Knights dropping a peg in the standings and finishing 5th place in the Golden Valley Conference for the upcoming 2022-2023 season.
STLB best college prospect: “6-7” Bekdoo Lewis
Siskiyous (10-16): Last season College of the Siskiyous struggled to find consistency winning basketball games. The Eagles were 0-5 in games decided by 5 points or less and won 10 wins and finished 4-6 in Golden Valley Conference action. Siskiyous will return six players from last years roster but will have to replace Kody Bauman who brought 19.8 points per game to the table. Looking ahead the Eagles return “6-2” Braeden Watts (8.8 points), “6-3” Zane Lueth (8.3 points), “6-3” Cade Ealy (6.5 points), “6-0” Will Dobson (6.0 points), “5-9” Jacob Condez and “6-4” Nick Dure back to the team. “6-6” Yago De Santiago a transfer from Iowa Wesleyan will add shooting to the lineup and “6-1” Landon Ellis (North Medford, OR), “6-4” Cole Bernius, Josh Allen and “5-10” Daniel Yancey will be freshman that have been listed on the roster.
Projection: College of the Siskiyous will come into the season returning six players from last seasons team. The Eagles will look to find ways to replace Kody Bauman and do it by committee. Braeden Watts and Zane Leuth will look to provide more scoring punch to the lineup but will that be enough for the upcoming season. The Eagles will be a competitive team but we project Siskiyous to finish at the bottom of the conference for the 2022-2023 season.
STLB best college prospect: “6-3” Zane Lueth
Signal The Light Basketball GVC All Conference preseason team
G: Terry Williams III (Feather River)
G: Darien Guyton (Lassen)
G: Isaac Woods (Butte)
G: Rolontae Knowles (Butte)
F: Jon Nchekwube (Redwoods)
Signal The Light Basketball Golden Valley Projection
1. Butte
2. Feather River
3. Redwoods
4. Lassen
5. Shasta
6. Siskiyous
