ELK GROVE, CA (MPG) - Elk Grove High School hosted the 53rd annual Bill Cartwright Classic, where they came in second place behind C.K. McClatchy High School.                 

This three-day tournament started in 1972 as “Elk Grove Invitational” before being renamed to the “Bill Cartwright Classic” in 1979 when Elk Grove alumnus Bill Cartwright was drafted with the third pick in the 1979 draft to the New York Knicks.                       

The tournament symbolizes the start of high school basketball by having eight teams from the greater Sacramento area compete in non-league games. The high schools that competed in this tournament were: C.K. McClatchy, St. Mary’s of Stockton, Kennedy, Bradshaw Christian, Elk Grove, Golden Valley, Atwater and Wood Creek.           

 

Senior Aidan Robinson, No. 5, drives to the basket for a layup attempt.   

                

The Thundering Herd started the tournament by playing Golden Valley on Dec. 4, winning a hard-fought battle 59-50. The Herd followed with a dominant win over St. Mary’s 68-53 on Dec. 5. However, in the championship game Elk Grove met a strong undefeated McClatchy team and lost 66-48 on Dec. 6. Now the Herd falls to a 4-2 record in a very early basketball season.

Elk Grove head coach Dustin Monday stated, “We knew McClatchy was going to be a tough opponent for us; they gave us a look we haven’t seen yet and put us through some adversity.”      

This Monday believes is beneficial for his players so when they do play league games they will be able to play at their best, especially with a young team that only has four seniors.            

The coaches are just scratching the surface of how good they can really be with a relatively young group. The now-juniors that were on the junior varsity team last year had a perfect league record of 12-0 and an overall record of 23-4.            

Monday was excited for those players to show their athletic ability in their first test of what it is like on varsity. Although the outcome of the tournament was not what they had wanted, Monday believed that his team had made great strides in continuing to grow over the weekend.        

 

Head Coach Dustin Monday pauses after the championship game.

        

“We’re excited about their ability and their athleticism. We got some things to improve on just to let them use their ability to go out there and shine,” Monday said.

Monday and his coaching staff are going to continue to demand a lot out of their players in their effort and intensity throughout the season.                

Knowing that the season is only going to get tougher as they head into more tournaments and eventually into league play, Monday himself is going to continue to give effort and intensity while coaching. He looks for his players to reciprocate those attributes while either practicing or playing in a game.                              

“We’re going to build on and continue to have upward growth so that by January, we’re playing our best,” Monday said.