CHICO — What began as friends playing in CARD and AAU basketball leagues since third grade has turned into a high school basketball team chasing an Eastern Athletic League title.
The Pleasant Valley boys basketball team, which is currently 20-3 and 6-0 in the EAL, features seniors Chase Mitchell, Ned Joyce, Ike Ogbeide and Noah Thomas. Thomas and Mitchell are No. 1 and 2 on the Vikings in scoring, separated by less than a point. Thomas has 14.5 points per game, Mitchell has 13.9 points per game, and Joyce averages 11.2 points per game. Mitchell leads his team in rebounds with seven per game, Joyce leads in assists with 3.5, and Ogbeide is nearing a return from a leg injury that has left him sidelined all season.
Mitchell finished PV’s most recent game against Shasta with 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals and is this week’s Chico Enterprise-Record Prep Athlete of the Week.
Mitchell got his first taste of varsity basketball when he and several other players were called up from the JV team part way through the season. Playing under players like Jake Kremer and Aaron Gomez, Mitchell learned leadership and most importantly to have confidence in himself. Mitchell said to watch them from the sideline and looking up to the former Vikings and, “then being in their position now is a pretty cool thing.”
Mitchell said the biggest change he sees in his game since his sophomore call up is in the mental side of his game.
“I’m definitely more confident and I feel like I’m an overall better player and much more willing to take the shots that I know that I need to take,” Mitchell said. “I was much more hesitant as a sophomore just because I was a sophomore on varsity.”
PV coach Tim Keating said Mitchell’s sophomore year was very challenging for him and there were times he did great, but there were huge learning moments. The ability to be coached has always been something about Mitchell that has stood out to his head coach.
“Chase always was patient and tried to learn what we were teaching,” Keating said. “Over the next few years, things began to click. Chase committed in the weight room, on the court, film sessions and outside the season shooting workouts.”
For Mitchell basketball has been his life since third grade. He, Joyce and Ogbeide played on a team at Marsh Junior High School against their rival Bidwell Junior High School, a team that featured the trio’s current teammate Thomas.
Once the players all got to high school and were teammates instead of competitors, they knew the Vikings had potential to do something special.
The Vikings’ junior season was limited to just 12 games against teams in adjacent counties, but Mitchell admitted it wasn’t quite like the thrill of playing playoff basketball his sophomore season.
“We were pretty excited because we knew we were going to be pretty good. From there it’s been like a movie pretty much,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been playing and balling out, there’s been struggles and stuff, but it’s been fun.”
Keating said during the shortened season Mitchell and several other seniors would constantly have him open the gym for them to shoot outside of the season. Keating added that Mitchell as always been “all in” with PV basketball, but more importantly he has grown into a mature and genuine young adult.
PV has just five more regular season games, four of which are league games. As Mitchell’s senior season winds to a close, the Vikings sit atop the EAL standings with games against two of the top three teams remaining on their schedule.
For Mitchell, the games against the tougher opponents are games he gets the most excited for. Mitchell noted the final four games of 2021 at the Modesto Christian tournament as some of his favorite games he’s played this season. He also pointed to the Vikings’ 73-53 loss to Sheldon on Jan. 15 that stands out in his mind — although not in the best way. He said the loss to Sheldon gives him motivation.
“All those games were extremely competitive and really close. They were by far our best competition besides Sheldon who we lost to,” Mitchell said. “Those four games are definitely ones that stand out to me. The Sheldon game stands out as a rough one and it stings and continues to sting.”
Mitchell said he hopes to continue to play basketball following high school, whether that be at the collegiate or junior college level. He clarified that he plays because of his love of the game, not for an end goal. That if he doesn’t end up playing for a college he will be playing in a recreation league for his entire life.
“100 percent it fuels me. It’s been my life. It’s been my passion. Pretty much been school and basketball the entire time, and basketball usually comes first in my mind at least, maybe not my parents,” Mitchell said with a laugh. “I’ve always loved it, I love the challenge that it brings, I love the grind of it and everything about it.”
