Public Schools Vs. Private Schools

In Northern California, there are a lot of schools who have maintained success over the years in basketball. High Schools like De La Salle, Salesian, Sheldon, Sacramento High School, and more, are among the top teams in Northern California, and there have even been years where they were one of the top teams in the state. Despite their similarities in being winning programs, there are major differences and rules that apply between some of these top schools.

Perhaps the biggest difference in some of the schools that are ranked in the top 10 in Northern California, is the fact that some schools are private schools, and others are public. This becomes a big difference not only because one school is public and the other isn't, but because as a private school, coaches are allowed to recruit players to their school, while public schools cannot. Public schools have to get whatever student-athlete that lives near the school. These rules makes it easier for private schools to maintain success, by a way of replenishing their talent due to recruiting.

Public school coaches and parents have complained about the freedom private schools have, and feel that it is an unfair advantage. However, despite the advantage the private schools have with recruiting, for schools like Sacramento High School, or McClymonds High School who are both public schools, have been able to maintain success as well. These two schools have implemented a culture that the young athletes buy into, which has allowed the programs to continue to get talent.

School size and location, also plays a huge role in maintaining success for public schools. For example, Sacramento and McClymonds which is in Oakland, are two big cities which means that there are a lot of athletes around their school zone to choose from. For schools like Richmond High School, or Vallejo High School, maintaining success can be very difficult because of how small those cities are compared to Oakland or Sacramento. Although they may get talent, most gifted athletes from those areas, end up going to private schools.

Orlando Magic power forward Aaron Gordon, and Portland Trailblazers point guard Damian Lillard, both come from the Bay Area, but took different routes to get there. Aaron Gordon who comes from San Jose, California, went to Archbishop High School which is a private school. Gordon played four years of varsity, and helped Mitty win two state championships, before attending the University of Arizona for a year.

Damien Lillard went a different route by going to Oakland High School, which is a public school, for his final two years of high school. Prior to attending Oakland High School, Lillard attended St. Joseph, but transferred due to lack of playing time. After high school, he would earn a scholarship to Weber State, where he would play all four years in college, before getting drafted in the top 10 by the Portland Trailblazers.

Public School or Private School, there isn't a wrong answer in terms of which option will give the athlete the best chance to be successful. In Northern California, private schools get a lot of heat from public school coaches and parents because of the recruiting. However, the private schools are doing exactly what the rules allow them to do. Public schools must focus on building a culture that kids in the area, want to be a part of. The public schools that have the most success are the ones that have a sense of tradition, and the community behind them that understands that tradition.

5 Team Rampage Players Moving On To College

For the Team Rampage varsity basketball club, the spring and summer of 2016 has been a season to remember. They have won three tournaments, went 4-1 in two separate tournaments, and have surged to a 22-5 record. Juniors Trey Pugh and Gamon Howard, have been great during this run, but it's the seniors that have been able to provide leadership, and excellent play to lead to the team's success.

This year's group features five seniors that will be playing college basketball this fall. Jesse Bethel's Malcolm Bracy, and St. Mary's of Berkeley's Johnathon Rice, will be both be attending Diablo Valley College. Jesse Bethel's Dakarria Peterson will be attending Solano Community College, while another Jesse Bethel Alum Deangelo Gomez, will be attending Napa Valley College. Rounding up the Team Rampage senior group is Riverbank's Nik Keydeniers, who will be playing point guard for Las Positas College in Livermore.

Of the five seniors, Keydeniers and Rice will be the only two that will be active this fall for their teams, as Bracy, Peterson, and Gomez, will all be grey shirting and red shirting. Team Rampage Director Antonio Hodges stated that, "These young men have worked hard all spring and summer, Coach Brandon Bracy has pushed these guys to become better student athletes as they prepare for college". Hodges also gives Coach Bracy credit for the way he pushes his team in practice, which helps them get ready for college.

With Keydeniers and Rice looking to start for their programs, Coach Bracy could be losing these two players. However, for a program in only its second year in existence, he is proud to see his players moving on to the next level.

Former NBA Player Attends Team Rampage's Practice

Former NBA player Charles Boozer, and brother of former NBA all-star Carlos Boozer, attended Team Rampage's practice at Vallejo High School. Boozer who is now a trainer, talked to the Team Rampage varsity players about his journey of becoming a professional basketball player, despite not having any Division 1 scholarship offers his senior year. Boozer explained, "I had to go the prep school route fresh out of high school, and the coaches didn't care that I was the brother of a NBA all-star, I had to work my butt off".

Team Rampage Head Coach and Trainer Brandon Bracy, was able to get Charles Boozer to come to Vallejo to talk to his kids, after meeting him at Diablo Valley College's open gym back in April. "I knew it would be great for our kids as well as our program, if we could get him to share his journey with us" Bracy said. "Kids in the Vallejo area, need to know how difficult it is to make it in this sport, while also knowing that through handwork anything is possible".

For Charles Boozer there is still hopes of him making an NBA roster next season, as he looks to compete in the NBA D-League. Boozer has a close relationship with NBA Superstar Kyrie Irving, and has also trained with former NBA coach John Lucas. Whatever happens for Boozer, the Team Rampage basketball club will be supporting him and all his efforts.

Team Rampage Head Coach and Trainer Graduates from CSU East Bay

Team Rampage head coach and trainer Brandon Bracy, graduated from Cal State East Bay Saturday morning, earning his Bachelor's degree in Communications. Coach Bracy started school at Cal State East Bay in the fall of 2014, after attending Solano Community College, New Mexico State, and earning a partial scholarship to Pacifica College. Bracy's basketball career at Pacifica College would be cut short due to financial reasons, which enabled him to apply for Cal State East Bay and focus on coaching.

While attending Cal State East Bay, coach Bracy helped build the Team Rampage AAU basketball program, by coaching boys varsity, and 8th grade. He would also become the Assistant Coach for boys varsity, at American Canyon High School. In the spring of 2016 he would lead the Team Rampage varsity team to a 22-5 record, including winning three tournaments, and going 4-1 in the Compton Magic Adidas Qualifier.

While working hard to build up the Team Rampage program through coaching and training, Coach Bracy was able to keep his focus on the books and graduate with a 3.2 GPA. "It was definitely a challenge" coach Bracy said, "I would drive from Vallejo to Hayward four times a week for school, and travel to tournaments on weekends. My varsity team also practiced twice a week, and I hosted private skills training clinics, once a week." As challenging as coach Bracy described the tasks, he still managed to perform at a high level in the classroom, and as a coach.

With Coach Bracy now having a Bachelor's Degree, he now plans to enter Graduate School to earn his Master's degree, as he has high hopes of one day coaching at the collegiate level. Team Rampage Director Antonio Hodges, has been mentoring Coach Bracy on making good decisions, and making the necessary moves to become a college coach.  Coach Bracy explains that, "I feel that I am ready to coach at the college level, but I also understand that I must continue to get better, and continue to work hard".