The California High School basketball playoff landscape has shifted significantly as St. Joseph-Santa Maria, led by the all-time top scorer Tounde Yessoufou, will not compete in the NorCal playoffs, instead being placed in the SoCal division for the foreseeable future. This change has left Riordan, De La Salle, and Salesian to face off in a more open competitive field. Riordan stands out as a dominant force, having won their league convincingly. Meanwhile, De La Salle navigates an injury situation with key player Alec Blair, and Salesian seeks to overcome recent setbacks in their championship pursuit.
The Knights were placed in the NorCal Open Division playoffs two years ago where they ran through NorCal powerhouses Dougherty Valley and Modesto Christian to get to the state championship game.
This year, the CIF seeding meeting put the Knights back in SoCal, as it makes more sense based on the area they are coming from, according to CIF associate executive director Brian Seymour.
Riordan has been dominant all year, winning the CCS title by 26 points over St. Ignatius and asserting themselves as the top seed.
De La Salle is playing its best basketball but faces uncertainties due to a recent injury to star player Alec Blair.
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