Photo courtesy of City College of San Francisco Athletics

By Ray Hamill — College of the Redwoods basketball and North Coast fans are getting some respect from some of the top programs in the state.

This weekend, the CR men will host two of the best teams in California, including No. 1 City College of San Francisco on Friday night at 6, giving local fans a rare opportunity to check out some of the best JC ball in the nation here in their own back yard.

And the Rams are coming here in large part because of the local fans and their reputation for showing up in big numbers to support the Corsairs.

San Francisco has been the most dominating program in California in recent years, appearing in five of the last seven state championship games and winning three of them.

Over the past decade, under the guidance of head coach Justin Labagh, they have posted a remarkable record of 272-26 and sent three players on to the NBA.

Now they’re coming to Eureka to play the Corsairs for just the second time ever, and even more impressively for a team that is always in high demand, it was Labagh’s idea to play here.

Labagh first noticed the CR crowd while he was preparing his team for a NorCal Elite Eight playoff game against the Corsairs in 2020 and watching some game film of the team.

The Rams likely would have won another state title that year, but the COVID shutdown forced a cancelation of the rest of the playoffs just days later.

Regardless, their record is as good as any team in the state in recent years, and perhaps even the nation, making them an in-demand team.

“It’s even hard to play San Francisco in their own gym, because they’re so selective about who they play,” CR head coach Ryan Bisio said. “It was coach Labagh’s idea (to play here). I think he wants to challenge his guys in a hostile atmosphere.”

Few JC teams in the state enjoy a louder home-court advantage than the Corsairs, who have been embraced by the local community in recent years with Bisio establishing the program as one of the most competitive in NorCal since taking over the team in the spring of 2019.

During his time with the team, Labagh is tied with the legendary Jerry Tarkanian for most ever California JC state championships (four), a mark he could very well hold on his own by the end of this season.

So this will be a huge challenge for the Corsairs, and a great opportunity for local fans to check out some of the best community college players in the state up close.

San Francisco is 10-0 on the season. 

A second game against Cabrillo College (7-4), another high quality program that reached the state Elite Eight a year ago, is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m.

Bisio is hoping for big turnout for both games and CR is inviting local high school teams — varsity, JV or freshmen — to come out to check out the action free of charge, if the coaches contact the CR athletic department beforehand at 707-476-4239 or by emailing sports@redwoods.edu.

It’s also an opportunity for the CR players to put a disappointing weekend at the Coach Tregs Classic behind them.

The Corsairs dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season in tournament play against Mendocino and Southwestern Oregon on Friday and Saturday of last week, before closing out the three-day tournament with a victory over Simpson JV on Sunday.

They are now 8-3.

“I didn’t think we were very graceful coming out of the Thanksgiving break,” Bisio said. “I didn’t feel like our competitive disposition was where it needed to be and we paid the price.”

“But I feel much better about where our team is this week.”

With conference play fast approaching, the CR men need to get back to their best form if they are to challenge for a fourth conference title in five years.

“I think now is the time that we really want to challenge our guys,” the coach added. “The Golden Valley Conference is historically strong, and with that said we really do need to get geared up for conference play.”