Though the focus of the fans and college coaches is usually on the 16-team brackets, there’s a lot more to the West Coast Jamboree than just the big games at Deer Valley in the Platinum Division and the other three 16-team divisions.

The other nine divisions will feature a broad gamut of teams, from the very small to the very good, and plenty of outstanding players. For those players, outstanding or otherwise, winning an eight-team bracket is just as exciting as winning a 16-team one.

As a result, rather than focusing solely on the 16-team divisions, we’ll present overviews on all brackets with an expanded overview of the Platinum Division.

Platinum Division: This year’s field in the marquee division has some real uncertainty and seems wide open, since at press time for the overviews, the top two seeds, defending champion Brea-Olinda (Brea) and Potter’s House Christian (Jacksonville, Florida) had been dropped from the ESPN RISE FAB 50 rankings.

Brea-Olinda was dealt a big blow when 6-2 junior post Justine Hartman was lost for the season with a knee injury. The Ladycats lost a close game to Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills in their own tournament.

The defending Division II state champion Jeff Sink coached squad still has Iowa State-bound Kelsey Harris and 5-11 sophomore power forward Keitra Wallace playing very well right now. Prior to the Jamboree they open up the Nike Tournament against St. Mary’s of Phoenix.

Potter’s House returns for the second year as a virtual equal top seed with Brea-Olinda since the seeding committee had to jockey many matchups to try to secure the right mix of first-round contests based on a combination of pre-season rankings and current action.

Coach Tony Bannister’s girls led by his daughter Antoinette, lost in the Memphis Turkey Jam and to Archbishop Mitty of San Jose in the Southridge Tournament.

That scenario plays into why Sacramento may be the favorite to win the Platinum this year, and why they are currently No. 4 in California (behind Stockton St. Mary’s, Santa Ana Mater Dei and Long Beach Poly) and No. 24 nationally in the Dec. 15 ESPN RISE FAB 50 rankings . Although the Dragons lost Erica Barnes to transfer, they still have Florida-bound Brittany Shine and Pittsburg-bound post Kyra Dunn, plus guard Katrina Salinas, who looked much improved over the summer.

With those three at the core, Coach Michele Massari’s squad opened 5-0 as the overviews went to press, including victories over Bishop O’Dowd, who owns a big win over the Mitty team that beat Potter’s House. Then on Dec. 15 the Dragons went down to San Jose and took a 47-45 road decision from Mitty.

Bishop O’Dowd brings in Cal-bound Mikayla Lyles and Pepperdine-bound Robie Mayberry and although they lost to Sacramento, the game was on the road in the championship game of the Sacramento State Hope Classic. First-year Coach Malik McCord also has one of the top incoming freshman big girls in the state, 6-2 Kendall “K.C” Waters. Do not count the Dragons from Oakland out.

Modesto Christian, with Long Beach State-bound Brandi Henton, was 7-0 at press time including a win over Corona Santiago in the La Jolla Country Day tournament championship game. Santiago had earlier defeated Carondelet, with Santa Clara-bound Ricki Radanovich and New Mexico-committed Erin Boettcher. Prior to opening the Jamboree with St. Joseph, Carondelet will play Bishop O’Dowd.

St. Joseph brings in Aly Beebe, one of the nation’s top big girls in the class of 2012 according to ESPNU Hoopgurlz.

Clovis West, with Long Beach State-bound 6-3 center Janae Coffee, Columbia-bound Briana Orlich, UC Irvine recruit Natalie Butler and Sacramento State-bound Senyce Parrish took its lumps at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii, but Coach Craig Campbell’s teams are always tough and could make some noise at the Jamboree.


The final Platinum team with college a-bound player is St. Mary’s with St. Mary’s (Moraga) commit Danielle Mauldin.

Rounding out the Platinum field is Berkeley, a team that has played in 9-of-10 Jamborees and features a strong underclass squad led by Brittany Boyd and Chairese Culberson, both highly regarded by ESPNU Hoopgurlz; host Deer Valley; three-point happy Hanford with recently named ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Girls State Athlete of the Week, Taylor Spikes; Washington Prep from Los Angeles; Washington of Fremont, Fairfield, and View Park Prep from Los Angeles, who requested to be moved up to the top division to fill a vacancy, even though they knew it meant opening against Potter’s House Christian.

Diamond Division:  It would seem the Vanden Vikings are in a position to repeat as champions of this division. They return two solid players in junior 6-1 forward Erimma Amarikwa and senior point guard Jazmine Miller. At press time they were 6-1 heading into the Nike Tournament with solid wins over two Diamond Division teams, host Deer Valley and Fairfield. A potential semifinal opponent for Vanden is Eastside College Prep, 6-2 at press time, after playing top-notch and mostly larger schools, with losses to Bishop O’Dowd and a 1-point loss to D5 state runner-up Pinewood. They own a win over San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral and Sacramento Sheldon. On the bottom half of the bracket is host Liberty who look like they could see Del Oro, 4-0 at press time and led by 5-11 swing player Madeline Campbell. Liberty counters with 6-4 post Corrine Costa who looked much improved over the summer.

Ruby Division: Six-one sophomore Rebecca Waller leads Clovis North into the Ruby Division, and the Broncos appear primed to go deep into the tournament. On the other side of the bracket, though, is Armijo, with senior post Renique Fitzpatrick, and Will C. Wood has also started well. Coronado could also be in the mix, thanks to the scoring of 5-10 sophomore Peri Curtis. And even though San Francisco’s Convent of the Sacred Heart is the only Division V entry in the bracket, the bigger schools would be wise not to overlook the Cubs, who won a state title back in 2003. This year’s edition might not go that far, but senior Scarlett Kirk is a fine player on a veteran team.

Sapphire Division: Even though Vallejo has been moved up to the Platinum Division, there’s still plenty of talent in the Sapphire. One player to watch out for is 5-10 Bella Vista junior Kelly Logue, who has helped the Broncos get out of the gate quickly. Clovis East can call on Erikka Banks, another 5-10 junior, who was averaging more than 22 points a game in the early going, Cyndi Matsuoka and Shanice Butler are the top scorers for always competitive Kennedy of Sacramento, and Erykah Washington leads the way for Redwood of Visalia. Sophomore Kelsey Brockway scores and rebounds for Palos Verdes, while 6-0 junior Khristina Hunter lights up the scoreboard for Rodriguez. It’s no surprise that Buchanan has three double-figure scorers – Heidi Johnson, Connie Denhartog and Elise Kreighoff – as coach Jenny Thigpin was one of the finest players ever to come out of the Fresno area. Trina Torres is the big scorer for Corcoran, which will make the first-round game for host Pittsburg a tough one.

Eight-team brackets

Amber Division: Valley Christian out of San Jose plays in one of the toughest leagues in the state, if not the country, and last year finished 8-4 in the brutal West Catholic Athletic League. Led by diminutive guard A.J. Newton (who will play for San Jose State next year) and backcourt running mate, sophomore Jazmine Davis, the Warriors earned the top seed. Campolindo, with Southern Utah-bound Meghan Ringer, is the second seed, but drew a tough first-round matchup with West Campus of Sacramento. The rest of the bracket is also loaded with successful programs, including St. Patrick St. Vincent of Vallejo, Division V power Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo and View Park Prep of Los Angeles.

Coral Division: Dublin, the defending champion in the powerful Diablo Foothill Athletic League, goes the twin towers’ route, with Alexous Robinson and the aptly named Catherine Krushke dominating the paint. The Gaels, though, will be challenged by James Logan, which features 5-10 senior forward Erinn Jones. Also in the mix is Clayton Valley, which gets its offense from 5-7 sophomore guard Karley Menez and 6-4 junior Sarah Nelson.

Emerald Division: One of the rising powers in Northern California basketball highlights the Emerald Division. Dougherty Valley had no juniors or seniors last year, and still won 18 games and advanced to the second round of NCS. Obviously, everyone is back, but the Wildcats also added Raven Brooks, who was one of nationally ranked Sacred Heart Cathedral’s top players last year. Moreau Catholic, Northgate and Presentation won’t be pushovers, however, and Lake Washington of Washington arrives with a great mascot: A kangaroo.

Garnet Division: Two league rivals, Fremont Christian and Contra Costa Christian, are the favorites in this division, which matches some of the smaller schools in the West Coast Jamboree. That doesn’t mean the competition isn’t just as fierce as in the other brackets, just that the players aren’t quite as tall.

Jade Division: One of the better games might be played in the first round, when resurgent El Cerrito faces off against Rio Linda, which is off to a hot start. Saratoga is also in the mix in a division that really doesn’t have a clear-cut favorite – which means the road to a trophy is wide open.

Opal Division: Anderson is making the long drive down to the East Bay, but with 5-7 senior Nicki Triton on hand, could make the trip very worthwhile. St. Vincent is also off to a good start, but the pre-tourney favorite just might Argonaut, which can look to 6-1 Lauren Godde in the paint.

Pearl Division: Capital Christian is a perennial Division V power in the Sac-Joaquin Section, and so far, there’s no reason to expect any drop-off. Juniors Brea Faulk and Coryn Galloway take care of business in the paint, but the first-round matchup against Cloverdale is not going to be a picnic. Hillcrest Christian from Granada Hills is also a threat, and Lassen wouldn’t have made the long trip from Susanville without expectations of a couple wins.

Tanzanite Division: Though 2008-09 star Niveen Rasheed is starting at Princeton, and three other starters graduated, Monte Vista is still a force to be reckoned with in East Bay girls’ basketball -- but the Mustangs must face Valley of Sacramento and high-scoring wing Joslyn Moore in the first round. And waiting at the other end of the bracket is host Antioch, and the Panthers are looking to repeat as WCJ divisional champions.

Topaz Division:American, coached by former University of Washington and James Logan star Cheri Craddock, has built on a 21-win season and is off to another hot start – though the first-round matchup against Montgomery and high-scoring Anandi Jiminez won’t be an easy one. But if you’re looking for a scorer, check out Encinal’s Raeshel Contreras, who put up 35 against Campolindo thanks to her deep three-point range and ability to penetrate. Host Heritage is also a threat, thanks to the presence of seniors Khyia Slone and Kiana Caban.