Boys Top 20: Sizing up Sacramento-area’s best small-ball big timers as CIF playoffs loom
Kevin Haupt is no bigger than a minute, but he can put a big hurt on a defense with myriad skills and a heart heavy on motivation.
The Jesuit High School guard is all of 5-foot-10, though the senior can cast a shadow on a box score. He can shoot. He can handle the ball. He can dribble, drive and dish. He can make steals. He can get to the basket in a split second, and he competes with a chip on his shoulder the size of his pristine Carmichael campus.
“I always have something to prove, and I love to play the game,” Haupt said.
Haupt averaged 18 points as a freshman on varsity three years ago at Oakmont High School in Roseville and upped it to 29.1 as a sophomore. He transferred to Jesuit before his junior season for bigger challenges, and Haupt showed that he belonged from the start, a basketball junkie surrounded by them.
He averaged 16.2 points last season for a Marauders team that went 26-6 and won the Delta League with a 12-0 showing. This season, Haupt is averaging 17 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals for a team that seeks a Delta repeat. A victory over Sheldon on Wednesday at home would ensure a tie for the championship. Haupt owes Sheldon one, too. The defensive-minded Huskies put the clamps on him in their first meeting, a 67-61 Sheldon victory on Jan. 3 when he had six points.
Haupt fielded interest from Division I Long Beach State but said he may have found a home at D-II Westmont College in Santa Barbara. His aim is to keep on playing, to show that size in this sport is irrelevant.
Haupt is one of a number of Sacramento-area players who are 6-foot or under, who have made plays throughout the season and will have to keep pushing the pace to ensure their teams have a shot in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs starting next week.
Small in stature only
A peek at other Sacramento-area players making a big impact at 6-1 or under:
Josiah Andrews, Rocklin
Bio: Guard | 6-1 | Sophomore
Game: He won’t be this tall for long as JA is expected to keep growing; ball handling, burst, inside buckets have helped Thunder to 25-2 start.
Chase Clary, Valley Christian
Bio: Guard | 5-11 | Senior
Game: A three-sport achiever for the Roseville school, Clary is averaging 20.0 points and 5.8 rebounds for the defending section D-VI champions, who are warming up for a repeat.
John Harb, Western Sierra Academy
Bio: | 5-8 | Freshman
Game: Averaging nearly 15 points per game, Harb competes as if he belongs as the focal point for the upstart Rocklin school that is 21-2 and a threat in the Division 5 playoffs.
Ian Engh, Rio Americano
Bio: Guard | 6-0 | Sophomore
Game: He played on varsity last season and has become the floor leader for the storied Raiders, able to shoot it or handle it against defenses determined to throw him off his game.
Jalen Flenory, Laguna Creek
Bio: | 5-9 | Senior
Game: Flenory competes like the football player that he is, and his deft ball handling and his 5.3 assists per game lead the D-I darkhorse Cardinals.
Ethan Gines, Union Mine
Bio: Guard | 5-7 | Senior
Game: Reads the floor, reads the tempo, and is firing a state-leading best 9.9 assists per game for the 25-2 Diamondbacks of El Dorado County, who seek their first section crown.
Manno Jenkins, Natomas
Bio: | 6-0 | Sophomore
Game: Smooth with the ball and a prolific scorer, Manno was the man on Monday with a 38-point effort to beat West Campus to secure a league championship. He averages 18.2 a game.
Shaine Johnson, Inderkum
Bio: Guard | 6-0 | Senior
Game: On a team loaded with bigs, Johnson helps lead the charge at point guard, averaging 6.8 points for the runaway Capital Valley Conference champion Tigers.
Ben Manley, Placer
Bio: Guard | 6-0 | Senior
Game: A four-year varsity guard and three-year starter, Manley has been the man in Auburn for the storied Hillmen, a balanced team that is 23-3 overall and a threat in the D-III playoffs.
Ren Marsh, Roseville
Bio: Guard | 5-11 | Junior
Game: Marsh is on a team full of guys who qualify for this list, playmakers who find a way. Marsh had a game-winning assist to beat River Valley and is flanked by Tyler Ritter, Brandon Newton and Preston Bick.
Caden Pinnick, Del Oro
Bio: | 6-0 | Senior
Game: A star quarterback who never seemed to get rattled, Pinnick is all clinic in basketball, a superb ball handler, floor leader (6.0 assists) and scorer at 21.9 points per game for the section title contenders.
Tyler Rattler, Sheldon
Bio: Guard | 5-11 | Senior
Game: Cat quick, loves to compete, can attack the basket, make passes and defend for the Division I-title hopeful Huskies.
Zach Villanueva, West Campus
Bio: Guard | 5-10 | Sophomore
Game: Averaging 19.1 points, 5.0 assists and 4.2 steals, Zach is in constant attack mode for Warriors of Sacramento City Unified.
Derron White, Monterey Trail
Bio: Guard | 5-10 | Junior
Game: Quick and explosive with the ball, White is a pass-first floor leader who averages 9.0 points for The Bee’s top-ranked team, which clinched its first outright league championship in the 20-year history of the school.
▪ Who’d we miss? Know of a playmaker, a scorer or defensive pest starting on varsity at 6-foot or under? Email jdavidson@sacbee.com.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Boys
Records entering Tuesday
1. Monterey Trail (24-2)
2. Rocklin (24-2)
3. Capital Christian (19-7)
4. Sheldon (18-8)
5. Inderkum (19-6)
6. Jesuit (20-7)
7. Sacramento (20-7)
8. Del Oro (19-7)
9. Franklin (20-6)
10. Folsom (15-11)
11. Whitney (16-10)
12. Laguna Creek (16-10)
13. West Park (19-6)
14. Grant (16-10)
15. Placer (23-3)
16. Woodcreek (20-6)
17. Oak Ridge (16-10)
18. Union Mine (25-2)
19. Burbank (18-8)
20. Christian Brothers (15-11)
Bubble: Bradshaw Christian (15-12), Casa Roble (21-6), Cordova (12-10), Kennedy (15-11), Natomas (18-8), Rio Americano (15-10), Twelve Bridges (22-4), Vacaville (14-10), West Campus (17-7), Western Sierra (21-2).
