High School Basketball

Sophomore forward Shy Odom posted 20 points and 11 rebounds as Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) moved to 3-0 on the year with a 59-46 victory over Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) on Saturday in the San Diego Tip-Off Challenge.

BJ Boston added 12 points for the Trailblazers, who are ranked eighth in the USA Today Super 25 poll. Obinna Anyanwu paced Cathedral Catholic with 13 points.

Zaire Wade, the son of retired 13-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade, scored six points. He hit a Eurostep to give Sierra Canyon a 40-27 third-quarter edge and followed that up with a step-back for a 44-30 Trailblazers lead. Wade also excelled on the defensive end, coming up with a few steals and blocks.

Bronny James, the son of the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, scored three points. His bucket from downtown came at a good time, as James opened the fourth-quarter scoring to give Sierra Canyon a 49-37 edge.

Cathedral Catholic started the game on a 12-0 run and ended the first quarter up 16-9. Full-Time Hoops credited its defense:

End 1: Cathedral Catholic 16, Sierra Canyon 9. Dons zone defense has stymied the Trailblazers offense thus far. Obinna Anyanwu leads all scorers with 7, Alex Wade with 5 for the Dons.

— Aaron Burgin (@FullTimeHoops1) November 24, 2019

But the Trailblazers offense came to life courtesy of an 11-0 run, giving Sierra Canyon a 25-19 halftime edge. Boston led Sierra Canyon with 10 points at the half, and Anyanwu pitched in 10 points and five boards for the Dons, who scored just three second-quarter points.

Sierra Canyon kept it going in the second half despite a few Cathedral runs, but the fast pace and press were too much for their opponents, as Jason Jordan of USA Today noted:

When No. 8 Sierra Canyon started scoring and were able to setup their press, it started getting out of hand. The Trailblazers are SUPER athletic. #Super25

— Jason Jordan (@JasonNCJordan) November 24, 2019

Cathedral scored 18 points in the third and cut the lead to 44-37. However, an Odom bucket to close the third and James' three to open the fourth helped the Trailblazers keep their distance.

Cathedral cut the lead to 51-44 with five minutes left, but a Sierra Canyon 8-2 run ended the night.

The Trailblazers beat event hosts Montgomery High School 91-44 and Saint Augustine 75-54 earlier in the challenge.

Sierra Canyon finished the San Diego Tip-Off Challenge undefeated and will head to the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Duncanville, Texas, on Saturday, Nov. 30. They'll face the hosts in Duncanville High School at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) coasted to a 75-54 win over Saint Augustine (San Diego) at the San Diego Tip-Off Challenge on Friday.

BJ Boston, a Kentucky signee who scored 22 points the day before, led the way with 23 more plus six rebounds Friday. Terren Frank, who's headed to TCU, pitched in 22 points.

Per Full-Time Hoops, Chibuzo Agbo led Saint Augustine with 24 points and 11 boards.

Bronny James, the son of four-time NBA MVP LeBron James, contributed the play of the night with this ferocious slam to continue Sierra Canyon's excellent second half:

BRONNY GOT 🆙 #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/fvJHLc2lHA

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 23, 2019

Sierra Canyon earned a 17-9 lead after the first quarter, but Saint Augustine cut the deficit to three by halftime. However, the Trailblazers dominated the second half, outscoring their opponents 24-12 in the third before rolling to the 21-point win.

Sierra Canyon's Zaire Wade, a 3-star recruit who's also the son of NBA legend Dwyane Wade, did not play due to a "minor injury," per the ESPN3 broadcast.

Sierra Canyon took down Montgomery High School 91-44 in their season opener Thursday. James scored 10 points, and Wade added six.

The Trailblazers will finish the San Diego Tip-Off Challenge with a matchup against Cathedral Catholic on Saturday at 11 p.m. ET. The game will mark the third of 15 Sierra Canyon matchups that ESPN will air, per CalHiSports.com. This one will be on ESPN3.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

While the basketball world may not get to watch LeBron James and Dwyane Wade play together anymore after the pair won two championships with the Miami Heat, their sons suited up for the same team Thursday.

LeBron James Jr., nicknamed Bronny, and Zaire Wade helped lead the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers to a 91-44 victory over San Diego's Montgomery High School. It was James' high school debut, although he has already made national waves at the AAU level.

While James came off the bench, his squad wasted little time turning heads.

Wade threw down an alley-oop in the first quarter for two of his six points, and the Trailblazers jumped out to an insurmountable lead before halftime. That gave the freshman an early opportunity to make an impact, and his first high school points came on a three-pointer from the wing.

Zaire Wade's first dunk of the season is an alley-oop 💥 pic.twitter.com/xP82v9mZ5e

— ESPN (@espn) November 22, 2019

Sierra Canyon 45, Montgomery 8. Basketball not football.

— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) November 22, 2019

James finished with 10 points, but it was BJ Boston who spearheaded the scoring effort with 22. Boston is a 5-star prospect and the No. 13 overall player in the 2020 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings, and is on his way to the mighty Kentucky Wildcats next season.

Sierra Canyon won't have the luxury of watching Boston or the Wade-James pairing beyond this season. 

Wade is also a member of the 2020 class as a 3-star recruit, per 247Sports' composite rankings. James is in the class of 2023 and already has a scholarship offer from Kentucky and interest from Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and UCLA, per 247Sports.

If Thursday was any indication, they are going to make the best of their one year together facing high school competition.

Basketball fans who miss the LeBron James-Dwyane Wade pairing will get many looks at what the next generation of that collaboration looks like. 

Per Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times, Sierra Canyon High School, featuring Bronny James and Zaire Wade, will have 15 basketball games air on the ESPN family of networks this season. 

pic.twitter.com/o0CgnMOCOS

— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) November 15, 2019

Sierra Canyon is regarded as one of the nation's best men's high school basketball teams in the country, and expectations are high heading into the 2019-20 season. 

Last year's squad finished with a 32-3 overall record and will open this year ranked No. 12 in the nation by USA Today. 

The school's profile was raised exponentially in May when Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times reported James' sons, Bronny and Bryce, would be enrolling for the 2019-20 academic year.

Bronny will be eligible to attend college in 2023-24, with 247Sports' crystal ball predictions currently listing Duke as his most-likely landing spot. This assumes, of course, he will go to college.

Wade is in his senior year and could secure a scholarship from a major college program. The 17-year-old currently has offers from DePaul, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Toledo, per 247Sports. 

The NBA has officially proposed lowering the draft age to 18 as part of the next collective bargaining agreement. This would allow high-school graduates to turn pro without having to attend college or play overseas for one year before going to the NBA. 

ESPN3 will stream its first Sierra Canyon's game on Nov. 21 against Montgomery High School. The first nationally-televised game will air Dec. 5 on ESPN 2. 

Memphis East High School is in danger of forfeiting its 2017-18 state championship because James Wiseman and Ryan Boyce were ineligible.   

Mark Schlabach of ESPN reported that Shelby County Chancery Court Judge Jim Kyle upheld the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's ruling that Wiseman and Boyce were ineligible because of their previous relationship with then-head coach Penny Hardaway. 

The players were ruled ineligible in November 2017 but continued to play while the case was under appeal, winning a state championship.

Kyle said his court did not have jurisdiction to overturn the case because the TSSAA is a voluntary organization. Memphis East would be forced to forfeit all games in which Wiseman and Boyce played, surrendering their state title.

"There's still pending litigation, but if the decision comes out that our rules will be enforced as they initially were, games won while using an ineligible player would be forfeited," TSSAA assistant executive director Matthew Gillespie said. "Therefore, with a championship game being one of them, a state title game would be forfeited and they'd no longer be crowned state champions."

The case is currently in an appeals process.

Wiseman is now in an eerily similar situation at Memphis, where he has been deemed likely to be ruled ineligible by the NCAA but has continued to play. Memphis filed an appeal for a temporary stay of the suspension, which is not technically enforceable. NCAA eligibility rules are suggestions that schools, by and large, comply with, and the final determination is made by school presidents.

While Memphis could have to forfeit games in which Wiseman plays once a final determination is made, he is free to continue playing for now—potentially for the remainder of the season. The NCAA ruled Wiseman ineligible because of a $11,500 loan his family took from Hardaway, who is now the Memphis coach. 

Recording artist Lil TJay stopped by Bleacher Report to play "That's My Guy," a game where he guessed top high school basketball players based on fun facts about them.

Watch the video above to see how he did.

   

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Sierra Canyon School used a 26-point second quarter to cruise to a 70-48 win over Rolling Hills Prep on Saturday at California State University, Los Angeles.

Sierra Canyon's Brandon Boston Jr. led all scorers with 18 points, and teammates Terren Frank and Ziaire Williams added 15 and 12, respectively.

The winners led 38-19 at halftime and 54-28 going into the fourth quarter. They won by 22 despite missing 13 of their 24 free-throw attempts.

Bronny James, the son of the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, did not score and committed four fouls for Sierra Canyon. Teammate Zaire Wade, the son of retired NBA legend Dwyane Wade, scored seven points.

James, a freshman, came off the bench in his debut. Although the 6'2", 165-pound combo guard didn't score, numerous analysts credited his positive contributions.

Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times and Connor Morrissette of Scorebook Live complimented James' defense on a night where Rolling Hills Prep made just 16 field goals and scored only 28 points through three quarters.

Morrissette and David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders also complimented James' playmaking abilities, with the latter analyst offering further insight:

I think where Bronny James real value is going to be on this team is as the primary ball handler on the 2nd unit. He has good court awareness and a feel for playmaking.

For anyone expecting huge things from him this year, I’d temper your expectations a bit lol.

— David Mendez-Yapkowitz (@Dave_Yapkowitz) October 6, 2019

He’ll definitely be good, as he continues to develop.

— David Mendez-Yapkowitz (@Dave_Yapkowitz) October 6, 2019

James also showed off his hops in the pregame layup line:

Bronny pic.twitter.com/6F2UTFBp7v

— Connor Morrissette (@C_Morrissette) October 6, 2019

Up next, an absolutely loaded Sierra Canyon team featuring Ziaire Williams, BJ Boston, Bronny James, and Zaire Wade. Here’s Bronny with the windmill. pic.twitter.com/RPHMOjtkKg

— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) October 6, 2019

Wade, a senior, capped off a 7-0 run in the third quarter to give Sierra Canyon a 46-24 lead.

He added another two-pointer in that quarter and scored three points in a 9-2 second-quarter run that provided Sierra Canyon with a 33-14 edge.

Wade is listed as a 3-star recruit on 247Sports. The 6'3", 170-pound point guard has received offers from DePaul, Nebraska, Toledo and Rhode Island.

The game was part of the Rolling Hills Prep Fall Classic, which features some of the state's best boys high school basketball teams.     

Sierra Canyon boys basketball will be making headlines this year with LeBron James Jr. (Bronny), Zaire Wade and five-star forward Ziaire Williams suiting up for the 2019-20 season.

In fact, the team is already producing highlights during layup lines at preseason practices:

Sierra Canyon is going to be a show this year 🍿

(via bronny/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/lVMYnuWDn8

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 9, 2019

The 6'7", 175-pound Williams is ranked as 247Sports' No. 7 overall recruit in the class of 2020. The 6'2", 175-pound Wade is a 3-star point guard who transferred from American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida. Bronny James, a 5'10", 185-pound point guard, will be entering his freshman year.

Wade is the son of recently retired NBA legend Dwyane Wade, while Bronny James is the son of four-time NBA MVP and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.

Per Andrew Joseph of For The Win, James received positive marks from reporters after an AAU performance in Indianapolis in May.

That trio is talented enough to continue the legacy left by the class of 2019 at Sierra Canyon, which won its second consecutive California Interscholastic Federation Open Division state championship last season but is experiencing much turnover.

Among others, that team featured Scottie Pippen Jr., Cassius Stanley and Kenyon Martin Jr., who all graduated. Pippen will be playing at Vanderbilt, while Stanley will head to Duke. Martin was initially going to Vanderbilt but decided to play professionally.

Per MaxPreps, Sierra Canyon will open this season at the San Diego Tip-Off Classic in November.

Sierra Canyon just added another high-profile prep star to go with Bronny James and Zaire Wade, as 5-star guard Brandon Boston Jr. will transfer to the school for next season.

Prep basketball writer Samad Hines reported the news, which will make Sierra Canyon arguably the best high school basketball team in the country.

Boston, a 6'6" shooting guard, has offers from nearly every major college program. 247Sports lists Kentucky and Duke as favorites to land Boston, who previously attended Norcross High School in Atlanta. 

Sierra Canyon's roster includes Ziaire Williams, Terren Frank, Amari Bailey and Harold Yu to go along with James and Wade. Williams is a 5-star recruit drawing interest from North Carolina and Stanford; Frank is a 4-star forward with offers from a number of Pac-12 schools. Bailey, Yu and James are still in the infancy of their recruiting process, while Wade is a 3-star with more name recognition than national interest.

The addition of Boston gives the Trailblazers a versatile lineup full of future college basketball stars, and he might wind up being their leading scorer. He's a strong finisher with range despite a slender frame, and it appears his body still has room to fill out.

Williams previously announced his intention to transfer to Sierra Canyon on Thursday, following the announcements of James and Wade earlier this year. 

LaMelo Ball may be taking his talents Down Under. 

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, Australia's NBL is "in pursuit" of the 17-year-old phenom with the hopes he will sign a "Next Stars" contract. The program is essentially an alternative to college for those who are looking to play for a year before they are eligible for the NBA draft.

Stein noted the NBL's Illawarra Hawks are a possible destination but explained the "contracts are negotiated with the league rather than individual teams and players are then placed by the league with various franchises."

Ball would not be the only notable name to play in the league.

Jacob Rude of USA Today's Lonzo Wire noted teams have signed Brian Bowen, Terrance Ferguson and RJ Hampton to deals. Hampton, in particular, stands out as a 5-star prospect and the No. 5 overall player in the class of 2019, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Ball's route to college is already over, as his father, LaVar, acknowledged during a halftime interview at the Big Baller Brand All-American Game. Andrew Joseph of USA Today's For the Win noted as much in April, pointing out the elder Ball said LaMelo would either play in Australia or China.

His collegiate eligibility figured to be a significant issue after he played professionally in Lithuania, had an agent and was involved with Big Baller Brand.

That prevented schools from seriously recruiting him even though he is a 5-star prospect and the No. 3 point guard in the class of 2019, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Like Hampton, Ball would have the opportunity to get paid and improve his game against professionals before a potential jump to the NBA, where his brother was recently included as part of the trade package going from the Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Anthony Davis.