Tag: Sierra Canyon Basketball

Sierra Canyon comes back from 17-point deficit to beat Notre Dame

Sierra Canyon’s full-court press and fourth-quarter offense from Bryce Cofield and Isaiah Elohim sparked a massive comeback over Notre Dame.

A battle of a pair of 2023-24 California high school basketball titans in front of an audience with celebrities lived up to its billing with a 17-point comeback by No. 20 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) to hand No. 19 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) its first loss of the season 81-75.

The Notre Dame Knights, who entered the game with a 24-0 record, took a commanding 66-49 lead into the fourth quarter. Sierra Canyon launched a full-court press that turned defensive into offense, primarily from three-star forwards Bryce Cofield and Isaiah Elohim.

The Trailblazers forced 10 turnovers over the final six minutes of the game, according to the Los Angeles Daily News, as they chipped away at the lead. Cofield and Elohim combined for 21 points in the quarter, and Cofield gave Sierra Canyon the lead with a little over a minute left in the game.

Cofield finished with 14 points and Elohim with 18, per the Los Angeles Times. Justin Pippen, a three-star guard on the 247Sports Composite, led the team with 19 points.

For Notre Dame, four-star guard Mercy Miller led with 28 points. Lino Mark, ranked four-stars on the 247Sports Composite, scored 21.

Notre Dame and Sierra Canyon were battling for supremacy of the Mission League after both took down Harvard-Westlake, previously a top-5 team in the nation, a week earlier. In the stands included former Sierra Canyon player Bronny James, Justin’s dad Scottie Pippen, and Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts.

With the win, Sierra Canyon improved its record to 24-1 and pushed Notre Dame to an identical record. With 19 wins in a row, the Trailblazers enter the Mission League Tournament as the top seed, one spot ahead of Notre Dame. Both play their next respective games on Wednesday.

The sons of Scottie Pippen and Master P took down the No. 3 team in back-to-back games

Justin Pippen, the son of Scottie, and Mercy Miller, son of Master P, lead their respective teams to wins over No. 3 Harvard-Westlake.

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.

(Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

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.

Bronny James in images

The best of Bronny’s high school basketball career

In the blink of an eye, Bronny James’ high school basketball career has neared an end, with the 2023 McDonald’s All-Star game marking one of his final acts on an impressive run.

His senior season with Sierra Canyon (Calif.) had bright spots against a background of massive expectations, with Bronny averaging just over 14 points per game while continuing to progress under the watchful eye of the college world as well as the professional ranks.

The team finished 3rd in a tough Mission League with a 23-11 record.

As for where the 4-star recruit will land? That remains the popular topic of speculation, which should only escalate when he takes the court for the iconic all-star game —where he’ll be wearing No. 23 instead of his regular No. 0, a nod to his dad, LeBron, who played in the game 20 years ago.

Ahead of the curtain call, we’re looking back at some of the highlights captured in images of Bronny’s high school career…

WATCH: Top 2023 recruit DJ Wagner drops Bronny James with crossover

Top 2023 recruit DJ Wagner sent Bronny James to the floor with a crossover as Camden beat Sierra Canyon on Saturday.

Two of the top high school basketball programs in the country squared off in front of a national audience Saturday, as Camden (N.J.) knocked off Sierra Canyon (Calif.) by a final score of 66-62.

Camden’s matchup with Sierra Canyon featured a ton of star power, headlined by top class of 2023 recruit DJ Wagner. Wagner, the son of former NBA player DaJuan Wagner, has been the consensus top prospect in his class for a while now and is widely regarded as a player with the makings of a future NBA star.

He showed why in one play that has gone viral.

Wagner went to work on Bronny James with Camden leading 52-48 with 6:10 remaining in the fourth quarter. Wagner received a dribble handoff at the top of the key and isolated James before dropping him to the floor with a nasty crossover.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CZVmq1fAXb4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Camden led Sierra Canyon wire-to-wire, jumping out to a 15-2 lead at the end of the first quarter and never looking back. Camden’s defense smothered Sierra Canyon in the first, limiting the Blazers to 1-12 shooting from the field and eight turnovers.

Sierra Canyon eventually got back into the game thanks to the efforts of five-star UCLA commit and McDonald’s All-American Amari Bailey, but it was not enough to overtake Wagner and his Camden team. Wagner finished with a team-high 21 points on 8-15 shooting, while Bailey finished with a game-high 23 points.

Wagner doesn’t garner as much attention as some other players in his class who are very active on social media, but he has dominated throughout most of his junior season against a difficult national schedule. Wagner can do it all, though, and his handle sent James to the floor and shockwaves through a capacity crowd in Pennsylvania.

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Sierra Canyon basketball star Chance Westry leaves program

Top 50 guard Chance Westry has left Sierra Canyon’s basketball programs for personal reasons.

Sierra Canyon basketball star Chance Westry has left the program, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

Westry, a Pennsylvania native and the No. 34 overall recruit in the class of 2022, is no longer with the program due to personal reasons, according to head coach Andre Chevalier. Westry averaged 14.2 points in five games for Sierra Canyon this season, but had not played in the team’s last two games.

Sierra Canyon has played short-handed throughout most of the 2021 season. Aside from Westry’s recent and now long-term absence, Max Allen, a 6-foot-8 forward, left the program before the regular season began on April 22. 7-foot-3 center Harold Yu is also not joining the team and Bronny James is unlikely to suit up for his sophomore season after tearing his meniscus in February.

RELATED: Amari Bailey explodes for 35 points in Sierra Canyon’s 58th straight league win

Nonetheless, Sierra Canyon has remained one of the top dogs on the California high school basketball season thanks to five-star guard Amari Bailey, who recently posted a triple-double in a win over Crossroads High School last week. Despite its shortened rotation, Sierra Canyon has now won 59 straight league games and remain title contenders entering the postseason, which begins on May 28.

LeBron James cheers NCAA proposal to allow athlete endorsements

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has long been an activist for making sure that college athletes get more compensated.

LeBron James has long been an advocate for making sure that college athletes are able to take advantage of the profits that they bring in for their respective universities. While that cry, which included a documentary that LeBron James produced called “Student-Athlete” had led to some law changes, the NCAA had threatened not to change. That was until the NBA decided to put their money out in the open, directly challenging the NBA for the country’s best high school basketball players.

This week, UCLA commit Daishen Nix decided to join Fresno’s Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd of Virginia in the NBA’s G League Select program, which will pay players to train and play select games against actual G League squads.

On Wednesday, the NCAA announced a proposal allowing athletes to profit off of their image and likeness, which is similar to a law signed by California governor Gavin Newsom alongside LeBron James. However, James hopes this is only the start for college athletes.

Not being able to profit off of his name and likeness was a driving force behind LeBron going to the NBA straight out of high school, seeing how even in high school, there was an economy created around his incredible basketball skill, that he hardly saw any of.

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LeBron James hits Lakers practice facility with sons Bronny and Bryce

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James finally got back in the gym and got some shots up with his sons on Saturday afternoon.

As the world adjusts to flatten the curve of the spread of coronavirus by engaging in social distancing practices, the Los Angeles Lakers already told their players earlier in the week that working out together would not be an option for their players. They would have to schedule 1-on-1 sessions in which they would not interact with other players as the NBA and basically every other team sports league in North America attempts to slow the spread of coronavirus.

On Saturday, LeBron James shared scenes from one of those individual workouts but he brought his two sons Bryce Maximus and Bronny to get out of the house with him as Bronny’s CIF State Championship game scheduled for Saturday was canceled.

Over the past few days, James has shared scenes from his home as he spends more time with his family while the NBA and basically every other North American sport has suspended or canceled operations. From helping his sons do TikTok videos to bringing them to the gym, James is clearly maximizing his time at home.

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Report: LeBron to be at Bronny Jr.’s game against St. Vincent-St. Mary

LeBron James having the opportunity to watch his son Bronny James Jr. on Saturday will be a special family moment.

LeBron James has had an MVP-caliber season in year 17, but for now he will take a break to enjoy a joyous family moment Saturday.

Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James will be in attendance at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, to watch his son Bronny James Jr. play against his alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. A freshman for Sierra Canyon, Bronny has flashed his athleticism with some dunks throughout the year.  Sierra Canyon and St. Vincent-St. Mary will tip off at 8:30 p.m. EST., and the game can be viewed on ESPN3.

The Los Angeles Lakers have an off day Saturday as they come off a win against the Miami Heat. Per McMenamin, James chartered a flight to Columbus so he could watch Bronny play. The Lakers will play the third game of a five-game road trip against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

With the NBA schedule being hectic, here’s what James said about not being able to see his children perform in their athletic events.

“If you ask me what’s been the only sucky thing about this season so far is that my son has played like six games into his freshman year and I haven’t seen one,” James said after the Lakers’ win in Miami on Friday night. “I love what I do. I don’t take this for granted. This is a dream come true. But missing my son, you know Bron Jr., missing [my other son] Bryce’s first game the other day when we left for Orlando, his first game of the season. Missing my daughter at gymnastics and things of that nature, and I understand the business, but it sucks.”

James called being able to watch his son play against his alma mater “a pretty surreal, come-full-circle, unbelievable thing.”

The opportunity James has to watch Bronny is special. LeBron came onto the national scene during high school, and with Bronny gaining more national attention, it has to be cool for LeBron to see his son play in the state where everything began.

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How many points per game is Bronny James expected at Sierra Canyon?

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had the Miami Heat from 2010 until 2014. Now, their sons LeBron James Jr. and Zaire Wade have Sierra Canyon.

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LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had the Miami Heat from 2010 until 2014. Now, their sons LeBron James Jr. and Zaire Wade have Sierra Canyon.

The younger generation of the NBA champions will team up to create a powerhouse high school in Southern California. They will have 15 games broadcasted on ESPN during their first season together as high school stars.

As the spotlight shines on these basketball stars with a constant buzz on television and social media, the high school team is given a pro-feel to its coverage. That means there is already an over-under set for how many points per game James will score as a freshman.

Somehow, via BetOnline, that means you can actually put your hard-earned money on the scoring averages of a 15-year-old basketball player.

Considering this is his first year playing at the high school level and he will join a team contending for the state title, the odds are currently at a modest 10.5 points per game.

The over-under for Wade, who is an incoming senior for Sierra Canyon, is 14.5 points per game. Wade averaged 7.7 points per game for his AAU team on the D1 circuit in the Nike EYBL competition.

James and Wade will also be joined by five-star senior shooting guard BJ Boston (Kentucky), four-star senior power forward Terren Frank (TCU), five-star senior small forward Ziaire Williams and five-star sophomore shooting guard Amari Bailey.

Their odds to win the state championship are -300, giving them an implied probability of 75 percent to take home the open division title. They have also won the state title in 2015, 2018 and 2019.

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