In the Bay Area, mens high school basketball is arguably one of the most watched sports out of them all. One of the most important aspects of basketball is rankings. When teams are ranked, fans are able to take note of what the standings look like, and what can be predicted for the rest of the season. Take two teams for example, Team A and Team B. Team A has a season record of 14-2, a pretty notable record overall. Team B has a season record of 10-6, not as impressive as the first. When a person sees these records, they don’t realize what really could be happening behind the scenes, they just automatically assume Team A will be able to defeat Team B in a matchup. Beyond this, there is the idea of soft and hard schedules which come into play for league rankings.
If the terms “soft” and “hard” don’t ring a bell for you, think about it in terms of difficulty. “Soft” is the equivalent of an easy schedule, and “hard” is the equivalent of a difficult schedule. In the sports world, a soft schedule refers to a season-long schedule where a team faces opponents with low-winning percentages. What this ultimately means is that Team A has matchups that are weaker than Team B, who has a harder schedule. A hard schedule is exactly the opposite of a soft one, it refers to a team facing opponents with high winning percentages.
When looking at rankings for both Clayton Valley Charter High School and Dougherty Valley High School, Clayton is continuously placed higher than Dougherty, despite their losses in previous matchups. In 2025, Dougherty had defeated Clayton in the North Coast Section Division I bracket, and in 2026, they matched up again in the NCS Open Division. Despite their previous match up, Clayton was seeded second overall out of the six teams in Open, with Dougherty placed sixth. This sparks a question of if the teams are fairly ranked, and why they are ranked how they are.
The reason is ultimately because of their differences in schedule. Clayton has a fairly soft schedule during their league season, playing teams like Northgate High School and Alhambra High School, blowing out both teams by well over 30 points. Their overall record in the 2025-2026 season was a 27-5 record, and their league record was 12-0. All signs here lead to the assumption that Clayton has an easier schedule than most. This is not to say that they aren’t talented, as they did defeat Dougherty in the NCS semi-finals in 2026, but in the event of their rematch for the CIF D1 quarter finals, seventh seed Dougherty Valley was able to defeat second seed Clayton Valley 59-55.
Dougherty on the other hand has a fairly hard schedule, playing teams like Granada High School and Amador Valley High School, losing to Granada by a few points, and winning against Amador by only nine points. The only two teams they had fairly easy wins against their whole season were Latitude High School and Livermore High School, both non-league games, beating both teams by over 20 points. Overall their record was 23-11, and their league record was 6-3.
Head Coach Mike Hansen acknowledged that the only way for his players to improve is by scheduling harder games.
“Everything to me is about league. I only like playing good programs,” he said.
Hansen, however, still recognized the advantages of having a soft schedule.
“Obviously strength of schedule in the rankings helps, if you can win those games it helps a lot,” he acknowledged. “NCS used MaxPreps rankings, and it seems like they value wins the most.”
The differences between both high school teams represents the Team A and Team B that were discussed earlier, a perfect blueprint to follow. Since Clayton is ranked second in Open, they were granted a bye, and hadn’t played a game for almost two whole weeks. Clayton junior Zion Grissom recognized the advantages and disadvantages of having a softer schedule, for instance, not playing for a while going into the tournament.
“Having a soft schedule is just kind of boring,” he acknowledged. “It doesn’t really benefit you playing-wise, but you do get a high seeding in playoffs.”
As a result of this, teams like Clayton with soft schedules don’t lose many, or any games at all, hence the unbeaten record they held in season. Despite this seeming like an advantage, having easy games doesn’t necessarily keep a team prepared for harder tournaments, such as NCS.
“I feel like the main disadvantage is that you don’t really get prepared for playoffs,” Grissom said. “So when you get to playoffs, everything’s gonna be all new, like having close scoring games.”
On the flip side, Hansen explained how Dougherty will feel more prepared going into NCS because of their tough games this season.
“It’s just about being exposed to those moments when you’re like ‘well I’ve been here,’ and now you’re in league you’re like ‘yeah I’ve done this, so it’s not a shock,’” he said.
Grissom acknowledged this as well, showing a mutual understanding of why having a hard schedule might be more beneficial when going into playoffs.
“For the people that played those tough games, they’re going to be more prepared for playoffs because they know that close game environment,” Grissom said. “The people that have a soft schedule just beat everybody easily.”
Despite these differences in schedule, anything can happen in the game, as no outcome is set in stone. However, acknowledging that some teams can have the same talent despite initial rankings is important.
“I’d rather have a hard schedule. If you win, you’re top dog, you get more out there,” Grissom reflected. “You get noticed and ranked by ESPN, and it’s more fun and entertaining.”
