HENDERSON, NV – Players representing the four boys’ basketball teams that could sit atop the pre-season CIF Southern Section ratings split their openers on Friday’s first day of The Border League at Coronado High.
Since the California State Federation office is playing hard (basketball)ball this fall, state section programs aren’t allowed to participate in “fall” competition under the names of their high schools.
But the players are not in “club” situations but are playing with all of their respective high school teammates and being led by their respective coaches.
Hence, Harvard-Westlake (which has won consecutive State Open championships) is playing here as “LABC” (Los Angeles Basketball Club); St. John Bosco (the state D-I winner) is “The Tribe”; Roosevelt (the CIF SS and Regional runner-up) is “The Vale” (short for Eastvale, where the school resides); and Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks is “Blue Knights” (Blue is one of the school colors and the Knights is its nickname).
OK, with that out of the way:
*LABC, behind the stunning overall play of 6-foot-8 senior Nikolas Khamenia (pictured/courtesy Greg Stein) and the jump-shooting of junior and Crespi transfer Joey Sterling, rolled past Shahbaz Prep (from Riviera Beach, FL), 83-62.
Khamenia has narrowed his college choices to Gonzaga, UCLA and Duke.
*The Tribe edged Overtime Elite (an Atlanta-based prep school program that recruits gifted players from just about everywhere), 72-69, as junior Brandon McCoy, Jr., and Harvard-bound senior Elzie Harrington combined for 50 points.
McCoy’s final bucket among his 28 points, a pull-up jumper with about 10 seconds to go, was the clincher.
*The Vale, with two of its key players (University of New Mexico-bound Issac Williamson and another senior, Dominic Copenhagen, recovering from back and ankle injuries respectively), were out of contention deep into the first half of its eventual 68-33 loss to Dynamic Prep of Dallas.
Founded and coached by former NBA standout Jermaine O’Neal, put four Division I-bound seniors and one of the country’s’ best sophomores (Marcus Spears, Jr.) on the floor most of the game.
*And The Blue Knights led a decent chunk of the way before losing to Dream City Christian (Glendale, AZ), 68-60.
The games, featuring many of the most gifted high school and prep school rosters in the country, continue Saturday and Sunday at Coronado and other sites in the Las Vegas area.
The games are live-streamed and archived by BallerTV.
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