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SAN RAMON VALLEY: NEW FACES, SAME STANDARD
San Ramon Valley has been one of the surprise girls basketball teams of the season, a somewhat puzzling mantle to bequeath a program that reached the NorCal Open Division playoffs in 2024 and has been a contender for years.
But the Wolves entered this season having graduated all five starters from last year’s East Bay Athletic League championship squad.
If there was ever a year for SRV to fall off, this was it.
Nobody told the Wolves that.
“There was someone who has been writing about sports for, since probably Moses was around, who said that Danville has no talent pool, and that San Ramon Valley would go through a dry spell,” said 2024 Bay Area News Group coach of the year John Cristiano. “I’ve always reminded the girls of that. They said we don’t have any talent here, so let’s go show what we’ve got.”
Cristiano said that even with all of the new faces, he wanted to go for a “shock and awe” non-league schedule that included the likes of Pinewood, Oakland Tech, St. Mary’s-Stockton and Acalanes to test his young team that has no seniors.
San Ramon Valley survived the gauntlet and is 22-3, a perfect 9-0 in league play and is expected to be a lock to play in the North Coast Section’s elite Open Division bracket.
So how’d they do it?
Cristiano’s program only has only one transfer … but she just so happened to be the best hooper in town.
San Ramon Valley’s Alyssa Rudd (21) has been a top player since transferring from Monte Vista (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Junior wing Alyssa Rudd transferred from crosstown rival Monte Vista after averaging over 20 points per game for the Mustangs. While she enjoyed her time at Monte Vista, Rudd was willing to move schools and sit out most of December for a chance to play for a proven winner.
“It was a pretty difficult decision,” Rudd said. “But it’s definitely a step up, and it’s what I needed. To be in practice with these girls, we’re all growing together and I’m learning every day.”
That still leaves four other starting spots, though, plus reserves. Those spots were filled by a mixture of last year’s backups, incoming freshmen and JV players being promoted.
Sophomores Ella Gunderson and Hania Bowes were backups last season, contributing in spot minutes for San Ramon Valley and learning lessons on one of the best girls basketball teams in the East Bay.
This year, they have stood out in larger roles for a team that has championship aspirations.
“That experience was eye-opening,” said Bowes, the younger sister of current Cal freshman Sofia Bowes. “It was great for our development overall, because it was a level we had never played at before. Having minutes with the seniors, it was an amazing experience.”
– Joseph Dycus
OAKLAND: MONEY WILLIAMS BACK AFTER TRAGEDY
Money Williams, shown here in a file photo at Oakland High, is now playing a big role at Montana. /Bay Area News Group)
Oakland alum Money Williams has been a key player for Montana after briefly leaving school in October following the death of his mother, Latoya Bailey, to take care of his younger siblings. Williams’ father died during his freshman year, leaving the children with no guardian.
At a recent game against Fremont-Oakland, Wildcats coach Orlando Watkins had high praise for Williams.
“I’m so proud to have coached him and for him to still be doing what he’s doing,” Watkins said. “For him to be doing that after all he’s lost over the last year, it’s a testament to who he is as a person and what his parents instilled in him.”
Williams is averaging 12.3 points per game as a sophomore and has started 20 of 23 games for one of the top teams in the Big Sky Conference.
Williams set up a GoFundMe for his family and has raised over $144,000 thus far. You can donate here.
– Joseph Dycus
SANTA TERESA: CASEY CARR SHARES HELMET TRADITION WITH WEDEMEYER TEAMMATES
Santa Teresa’s Casey Carr (14) swapped stickers with other players (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
At the Charlie Wedemeyer All-Star Football Game, every player wears a different helmet.
Seems self-evident. But these helmets are unlike any others you’ll see under the Friday Night Lights.
In a tradition dating back generations, players from both teams swap helmet stickers for their teams before the game, resulting in some truly unusual looks on the field. Though players wear traditional team helmets from their home school, it’s not uncommon to see those lids plastered with double-digit decals.
“Everyone brings stickers out, and you just kind of trade stickers,” Santa Teresa kicker Casey Carr, a member of the South team, said. “Really just trade stickers for whatever you want. Some people don’t want stickers. Some people want every sticker. Some people only want some stickers.”
Players in the 50th annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game pose for a group photograph after the game at Los Gatos High School, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Carr picked up logos from Live Oak, Piedmont Hills, Milpitas, Pioneer, Christopher, Leland and Bellarmine. He added one from Colorado State, where he is committed to play college football.
It’s an extension of the camaraderie Wedemeyer game players develop over the two weeks of practices they share together. Rivals become friends, and those friendships can extend off the field and past the end of their high school careers.
“These other guys, they feel like family to me,” Carr said. “We’ve only been practicing for two weeks, but one time after practice last week, on Friday, I hung out with some of the Willow Glen kids because they were just so funny in practice. So I thought I should hang out with them. But all these guys, they’re my family too. I feel like I’ve known them for four years.”
– Christian Babcock
DUBLIN: JUNIOR CENTER HAS UNLIMITED POTENTIAL
Dublin’s Cameron Anderson (15) has been one of the best players in the EBAL (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Cameron Anderson has quietly been one of the best players in the East Bay Athletic League.
The 6-foot-7 Dublin center has tormented teams with his high rebounding motor and soft touch around the rim. His ability to take over a game as an inside presence has caught the eye of EBAL coaches.
“Cam Anderson is MVP-caliber next season,” San Ramon Valley coach Brian Botteen said after beating Dublin on Tuesday night. “I don’t think he knows how good he is, and when he figures it out, we’re in trouble.”
Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen added, “I think Cam’s a really good player. He’s a legit center, which you don’t often see at the high school level.”
In Dublin’s first game of the season, Anderson totaled 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Gaels over Sacramento powerhouse Destiny Christian.
“He’s getting better and better,” Dublin coach Tom Costello said. “He has no idea how good he can be. His ceiling is really high.”
– Nathan Canilao
BISHOP O’DOWD: JIMMY BUTLER TRADE SHOCKS DRAGONS
Bishop O’Dowd players reacted to the Jimmy Butler trade (Danny Emerman / Bay Area News Group)
As O’Dowd players waited patiently for their game to start, their phones started to buzz with frequency.
Just before the Dragons’ 7 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday, word of the Golden State Warriors’ blockbuster trade for Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was making its way through social media. The Warriors acquired the disgruntled six-time All-Star in a package that sent Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson to Miami, Dennis Schröder to Utah and Lindy Waters III to Detroit.
And like many Golden State fans, O’Dowd players were relieved that the Warriors found their second star to pair with future Hall of Famer Stephen Curry.
“That was just crazy,” O’Dowd sharpshooter Josh Green said. “I wasn’t really feeling Dennis Schröder. We had to get him out of here. But that trade was crazy.”
– Nathan Canilao
CHRISTOPHER: JAXEN ROBINSON NOT GIVING UP ON QB DREAM
Christopher quarterback Jaxen Robinson (20) passes for the South during the 50th annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game at Los Gatos High School, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Jaxen Robinson has been a standout quarterback at Christopher for three seasons and was arguably the best one on the field during the 2025 edition of the Wedemeyer All-Star Game.
So would it surprise you that he’s not planning to play the position in college?
Robinson, a three-star prospect according to 247Sports, has signed with Northern Arizona, but the Lumberjacks are initially looking at him as a tight end. So how does he feel about the potential of a position switch?
If Robinson can help it, he’s still going to be a QB at the next level.
Christopher quarterback Jaxen Robinson (20) passes for the South during the 50th annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game at Los Gatos High School, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
“In my mind, yeah, definitely,” Robinson said. “If they ever have some depth issues or run into something, I’m always going to be there. I’m always going to be a quarterback.”
Robinson got at least one more chance to be the signal-caller last Saturday, and he made it count. On a fourth-quarter pass play to Christopher teammate Matthew Boles, Robinson completed a 56-yard deep shot to salt away the South team’s 22-6 win.
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“This is my last high school football game, so I’ve got to make the most of it,” Robinson said. “Me and my boy Matthew Boles, my outside receiver, I knew I was going to try to get him one more shot. And I did, and it connected.”
If Robinson never attempts a pass in a college game, that was certainly a good one to go out on.
– Christian Babcock
Christopher’s Matthew Boles (7) catches a pass defended by Santa Clara’s Gabe Chavez (17) during the 50th annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game at Los Gatos High School, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
