Central Valley High School's varsity boys basketball team capped off its AAU season last month with a third-place finish at the Jam On It Academy West Coast Nationals in Las Vegas.

The Hawks posted a 3-2 record while competing against teams from California, Texas, Wyoming, Arkansas and Hawaii.

Central Valley used 10 different players during the course of the July 18-21 year-end tournament, including Jaron Dickson, Ryan Donnelly, Parker Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Juan Manriquez, Nimrat Chahal, Andres Calderon, Edward Calderon, Robert Preciado and Modesto Christian transfer Daevon Brown.

Jaron, Ryan, Parker, Diego and Daevon were major contributors.

"There were really tough teams there," head coach Darryl Dickson said. "We stayed together as a team and played exceptionally well the first three games. The past two years we've gone to Vegas we were lucky to win one game."

Central Valley started preparing for the 2013-14 high-school season in March.

The Hawks placed in eight of 10 tournaments. Central Valley's schedule featured more than 50 games.

"We had a really good summer," said Darryl Dickson, whose team had three firsts and seconds, and two thirds. "We put in a lot of time and effort. We tried to work on our consistency."

Hawk players bonded while camping prior to finishing first overall at the Santa Cruz tournament.

"It really brought the team together," coach Dickson said.

Central Valley will high hopes for the 2013-14 season.

The top three teams in the Western Athletic Conference advance to the playoffs.

Central Valley has never qualified for the postseason.

"There's no guarantees," Darryl Dickson said. "If we play like we did in Vegas, we can be one of those top teams. We have some potential. It could be our best team. I'd be disappointed if we didn't make it because they put in so much effort."