Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) was rolling as the best team in California. Coming off a 34-2 championship season, the Wolverines leapt to a 20-1 record and No. 3 spot in the USA TODAY Super 25 national rankings.
All it took to take them down were the sons of two well-known people, one of whom with deep basketball roots and one with music (and a touch in basketball)
Harvard-Westlake lost its second game of the season on Wednesday to Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), a close battle that ended at 59-54. Houston commit Mercy Miller, the son of rapper and producer Master P, scored a game-high 29 points — essentially half of his team’s output — to upset the juggernaut. Miller has been crushing it this year, proving his four-star rating on 247Sports with his school-record 68-point performance on Dec. 11, according to Marca.
Miller may be able to one-up his dad. Master P rose to fame in the 90s through his rapping and producing, and is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, but he also ventured into hoops and came very close to breaking into the NBA — according to Marca, he was on the preseason team of the Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets.
Mercy Miller is working to accomplish what his dad couldn’t.
Harvard-Westlake couldn’t bounce back on Friday, falling to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) and guard Justin Pippen, the youngest son of Scottie and Larsa Pippen. A three-star guard, he’s taking the mantle from Scotty Jr., the eldest son of the pair who graduated from Sierra Canyon in 2019 and is now on a non-guaranteed contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Justin led the Trailblazers over Harvard-Westlake by scoring 21 points in the second half to finish with 24 overall, helping elevate the team to a 74-68 win. He and Bryce Cofield, who had 15 points, helped the Trailblazers go on an 18-0 run in the fourth quarter to get the lead and the win.
With those victories, there’s a new question about the king of California basketball. Do Notre Dame (22-0) or Sierra Canyon (21-1) take hold of that title for the time being? Is it Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), with a record of 20-1? If we’re including prep schools, perhaps it’s Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), whose record is 19-3.
Luckily for us, we’ll have a stronger answer next week: Notre Dame and Sierra Canyon face off on Jan. 26.