The Sports Informant

High school basketball playoffs this week

The Sac-Joaquin Section high school basketball playoffs start this week. It’s an exciting time for local area teams, when a whole season – and offseason – of work is put to the test in a single-elimination tournament.

Some schools had tougher preseason schedules than others, whether to climb the national rankings or just prepare players for the league season. But once league hits each year, the real season begins.

Teams branch off into their local leagues and join in heated rivalries, some schools only miles apart from one another, in hopes of securing a league title and a shot at the postseason. When the final tally is counted, league champs are in, but even teams who finish second or even third may get to continue, if their record and strength of schedule stand up to the test in the eyes of section bracket crafters.

High school teams will visit various gyms in the area to battle in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. (Photo courtesy Tom Paniagua)

Ultimately, it’s all a culmination to this week. Even teams assuming or hoping they are bound for the state tournament must first survive the section bracket, where each team typically brings its “A-game” to compete. Top seeds may fall, and underdogs may advance, making the playoffs the most exciting time of the year.

It’s the March Madness of February. While the whole nation may not be watching like they do the NCAA tournament, to players, parents and students follow their schools to each postseason game they play, leaving their heart and soul on the court and in the stands. For high school seniors not heading off to play college basketball, this is their last shot. Their basketball careers may end here, and their final heroics may be coming alive in the next few days.

Pay attention, Sacramento. Local gyms and eventually ARCO Arena will be rocking.

Landry proving his worth

Most expected Carl Landry to make an impact with the Sacramento Kings eventually. No one thought it would be this fast, though.

The biggest piece of a recent trade for the Kings – that sent star Kevin Martin, Sergio Rodriguez and Hilton Armstrong away and brought in Larry Hughes, Joey Dorsey and Landry – scored 18 points in only his second game with the Kings on Sunday. The good news is it looks like Landry will be a contributor just like the Kings hoped he’d be, scoring double digits in both his performances so far (10, 18, respectively). The bad news is the Kings still lost both games.

While continuity takes time, the rest of the Kings have had over half a season to mesh together and have only put forth 18 wins. Landry is supposed to be the spark to push the Kings back to their winning ways. Let’s hope it happens sooner than later.

The most expensive chair

The Kings, unable to trade the lingering Kenny Thomas, finally waived him last week.

According to Yahoo! Sports, “After the Sacramento Kings were unable to make a deadline trade for Kenny Thomas and his $8.5 million expiring contract, the team cut him on Thursday. He’ll be a free agent after clearing waivers on Monday afternoon.”

Thomas earned over $8 million a year to sit in a chair on the bench the last three years, a victim (or mastermind) of a complicated contract that made it nearly impossible to trade him.

We will see how free agency treats him, but now that he’s gone, can I have his job? I’ll take a 50 percent pay cut from his contract, no questions asked.

Kings’ tough guy hurt

Sacramento Kings’ forward Jon Brockman will miss two to four weeks of action with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Brockman, currently in his rookie season, is averaging 3.0 points (.511 FGs, .600 FTs) and 4.6 rebounds per game through 44 outings of which he has started in four.

It’s always weird to see the tough guy on the team get injured. It makes the most sense, being he puts himself in harm’s way every time he’s in the game; it’s what makes him the tough guy. But aren’t the tough guys supposed to be indestructible? I guess Brockman is human after all.