Central Catholic falls to Manteca, still eyes a playoff bid led by transfer guard
In the fourth quarter of a close game against Manteca, Central Catholic High’s tight man-to-man defense forced a miss. Guard Malachi Miller came flying in for the rebound and immediately pushed the ball up the court, attacking the rim with his right hand, finishing through contact for a layup, drawing a foul and earning a three-point play opportunity.
It’s a simple play, but one that hasn’t happened too often in the 2021-22 season, or even previous years, at Central Catholic.
“He’s one of the few players I’ve ever had – and I’ve had a few in the past – but when he gets the rebound, go,” coach Mike Wilson said. “You go, run. It’s his style of game and the kids like that. They’re supposed to get out ahead of him and go (run the floor) with him.”
Central Catholic still struggled. It went 5 for 17 from the free throw line and lost 39-33.
“It was a tough night for us shooting free throws and that was all the difference in the game,” Wilson said. “It wasn’t like they shot more, we shot the same amount pretty much, but we missed. That’s something that we’ve done really well all year and today was a dark night for that.”
Miller hasn’t been playing in a Raiders jersey for long, his first game was Jan. 10, but he’s made an impact. He’s had three 27-point games and scored 36 points and grabbed 23 rebounds in a recent win over Kimball. The Raiders are 12-4 in the 16 games he’s played.
Just last year, he was playing as a sophomore on varsity for a Modesto High team that went 3-5 with two wins by forfeit in the spring.
He showed potential in his few appearances that season – up-and-under layups and smooth pull up jump shots with the occasional dunk sprinkled in – but ultimately made the decision to transfer to Central Catholic.
Because of transfer rules, he had to sit out the first month of the season, missing the Raiders’ first 11 games. They went 6-5 in December while playing a preseason schedule filled with playoff teams.
“It was a good and bad feeling,” Miller said of his experience sitting out. “There were some times where we lost some games that we could have won. And they had some times where we blew teams out and I was ecstatic and had adrenaline ready to come back.”
Miller says he came into the season with five games of varsity experience but has made an impact since donning the Raiders’ navy, white and gold.
He’s taken scoring pressure off sophomore Wesley Payne and has stepped in as a constant communicator to pair with senior Julian Kuper.
“He was the last piece of our puzzle.” Wilson said. “We started (the season) with six guys. Then we added some football guys … and then Malachi was the last piece in January.”
Miller played junior varsity basketball his freshman year and fans were limited during the spring, so he’s getting his first taste of “real” high school basketball this year.
“It’s crazy,” Miller said. “I’ve really never played in front of this many people … and I haven’t really played a full season. I just love the crowd.”
The team-high 19 points per game average has certainly helped as the season went on, but there has been an adjustment period.
“We still have times where, with his style and the things that he does well, we tend to stand and wait for him to do something which we don’t want,” Wilson said. “So we need to keep doing our stuff.”
Like most teams this season, they’ve battled COVID as well but now they’re all back and healthy.
“Win and get to the playoffs ,” Miller said on his goal for this season. “We want to get a high seed in the playoffs, and I’ve never played in a playoff game before. I can’t wait to get into that environment.”
His impact will be “huge” but as Miller and Wilson both emphasize, the team is way more than just its 6-foot-3 junior guard.
Payne and Kuper are the backbone of the team, providing consistency. Sophomore Tyler Wentworth offers an additional scoring threat, Jaelen Nichols brings defensive intensity and Armaan Grewal keeps everyone involved with a team-high 4.2 assists.
Wednesday night was senior night against Manteca. Both teams entered with 7-3 league records and the Raiders were looking to split the season series with the Buffaloes.
Manteca picked up Miller full court, making it difficult for him to get going offensively and the Buffaloes’ 6-foot-8 forward Mehtaj Mehrok manned the middle, making any layup the Raiders attempted difficult.
The atmosphere was loud and the defensive intensity mirrored that of a playoff game. The Raiders will pivot quickly as they face Oakdale on Friday night in their final Valley Oak League game before the Sac-Joaquin Section postseason.
“We saw tonight what teams may try to do,” Wilson said. “We’re gonna have to make some adjustments and we need to work on it as a team in practice. But, we’re gonna keep climbing, and we’re sure as heck not gonna quit.”
