By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
Basketball fans who packed the Napa Valley College gymnasium on Saturday night saw two of the greatest games of the year.
They saw Solano County rally from a 30-point deficit to win the high school all-star game, 97-92 over Napa County.
They saw Te'Jon Sawyer of City College of San Francisco win the dunk contest, which was scored by a panel of judges.
They saw JC Premier hold on for a 122-121 win over JC Elite in the Northern California community college all-star game. Yes, "All-Star Saturday Spectacular" lived up to its billing – an afternoon and evening featuring two high-scoring games, outstanding all-around play and shooting, and some of the top talent from the high school and community college ranks.
Fans also saw Cameron Joseph and Albert Dennis, both sophomores, play for Napa Valley College one last time.
"It was a great feeling to come out and play my last JUCO game out here and especially to come out with a win," said Dennis, who was on the JC Premier team. "Ending my JUCO career in an All-Star game was great."
Joseph, who has committed to play for University of Redlands, said: "It was exciting and good to just be a part of. I'm honored that John Bynum selected me. A shout out to him on what he's got going on and what he has done here."
Joseph was on the JC Elite team.
The event was organized, directed and sponsored by 707 Premier Sports, Signal The Light Basketball and Simply Basketball. It was hosted by Napa Valley College.
"We wanted to make this a unique event," said George Nessman, who is with 707 Premier Sports. "I think it turned out to be the case. It was a really nice crowd with some good energy. It was nice to see the community out in force to support this event."
The event featured top high school basketball players from Napa County and Solano County in the first game, followed by top community college basketball players in the second game.
"Everybody who was selected to be an all-star wants to win," said Joseph.
707 Premier Sports, led by Nessman and David Granucci, is an organization that provides club teams, camps, clinics, leagues, athletic development, training and AAU Basketball for youth basketball players in Napa, Sonoma, American Canyon, Vallejo, Fairfield, St. Helena and Calistoga.
John Bynum Jr. is a writer and scout for Signal The Light Basketball, which according to its website, stlball.com, is the "#1 News Source for California Men's Junior College Basketball."
Simply Basketball, according to its website, simplybasketballhq.com, provides individual/team highlight videos, individual/team photos, graphic design, commitment videos, event coverage, and film breakdown for recruitment.
"I think 707 Premier and Simply Basketball and John Bynum with Signal The Light Basketball are great ambassadors for high school and college basketball in Northern California. Hopefully, they've made some inroads and continue to use us as a resource to help young men," said Steve Ball, the Napa Valley College head men's basketball coach.
It was a first for the two all-star games at NVC. Players from each team were introduced before each game.
"I think that hopefully it's something to build on," said Ball. Carson Carattini of Napa High was the coach for the Napa County team.
Steven Carter of Benicia High was the coach for the Solano County team.
Erv Anderson from Diablo Valley College-Pleasant Hill was the coach for JC Elite.
Keenan McMiller from Chabot College-Hayward was the coach for JC Premier.
"707 Premier does a great job with things around here. It's an honor to be part of this," said Bynum, who played in college as a point guard at College of the Sequoias-Visalia and Metro State in Denver. "Bringing an event like this with high school and the community college level is amazing. It's very special.
"It was great to see a big, big audience."
A flyer that fans received near the lobby of the gym listed the players and coaches for each team and a brief description of the three organizations putting on the all-star games.
The flyer read: "The players have all earned this special opportunity and recognition through their play during this past season. We appreciate your enthusiastic support for all of the All-Stars!"
Jerel Victor of Rodriguez High School-Cordelia was named as MVP of the Napa County-Solano County high school all-star game.
Solano County roared back from a 61-35 halftime deficit to win. It was all Solano County in the second half. The play of the defense keyed Solano's comeback.
"They just they ramped up their defense and they pressured the basketball. That's a group of young men that are not going to stop fighting. And they did a great job of keeping their resilience and then playing hard," said Ball.
Ball announced that EJ Rogers of Vanden, who played for Solano County, has committed to NVC.
"He's a great defender, is athletic and shoots the ball," said Ball.
The Napa County team was led by Travis Hightower of Justin-Siena with 35 points. Vincent Jackson of Justin-Siena scored 26 points, Ma'el Blunt of Justin-Siena scored 16 points, and Ben Jackson of Vintage had seven points. "I think it's really great, first of all, to showcase the talent around here," said Carattini. "We have plenty of great players that come from this area. Basketball exists up here and there's quality players and quality coaches. It's a place where we love the game, just like anywhere else." Carattini, a former NVC assistant coach, enjoyed being able to coach and be a part of the event.
"Anytime you have got a roster full of guys who can play the game and understand the game, you just let them go, you let them do their thing. You let them make plays and read the game and you just try to guide them and let them know what opportunities are available and things that they can execute and do. I always say I have the best seat in the house," he said.
Solano County went on some big runs in the second half – 6-0, 6-0, 8-0, 6-0, 6-0. "Solano came out with way different energy," said Vincent Jackson. "Compared to the first half, we didn't really respond well to it until like later in the half. They were just hustling more. They got a lot more rebounds, offensive rebounds. We weren't rebounding good at all. Solano played hard. We just got outworked."
Hightower will play in college, as he has signed a national letter-of-intent with Chico State, said Nessman, Justin-Siena's head coach and Athletic Director.
"I think Travis is just scratching the surface of his ability. And if he handles himself the way he should, he's going to have a very successful college career," said Nessman.
Miles Lewis of Contra Costa College-San Pablo was named as MVP of the NorCal JC All-Star Game.
Dennis said his focus in the game was on defense.
"I just came out here and do what I really do. I play defense. That's what I do," he said.
JC Elite was in front at halftime, 63-59.
JC Elite took a 121-120 lead with 14.7 seconds to go.
Two free throws by Lewis gave JC Premier a one-point lead, 122-121, with 9.4 seconds to play.
"It's all about having a good time and putting on a performance," said Bynum. "The main thing for these guys, they're all chasing moving on to the next level and moving on to the university to pursue degrees in that manner."
Bynum played on Metro State's 2000 NCAA Division II national championship team. He went on to play professional basketball in Europe for 13 years. He was an assistant coach at Metro State.
He started Signal The Light Basketball seven years ago.
Signal The Light Basketball named NVC's Joseph and Dennis as Honorable Mention for Northern California, it was announced in a report on March 23 at stlball.com.
Joseph and Dennis each started all 28 games for Napa Valley.
Joseph was named first-team All-Bay Valley Conference after averaging 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Dennis was named to the Bay Valley's All-Defensive Team. Dennis averaged 12.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.