Prep b BB: Sierra Canyon 91, Montgomery 44 - Aztec Tipoff

Terren Frank, 6'7" star for Sierra Canyon, headed
for Division 1 college play next year, shoots
a free throw in the second quarter
against Montgomery.
(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

Sierra Canyon, the number-three ranked high school team in America, downed host Montgomery, 91-44, on the opening night of the Aztec Tip-off in San Ysidro Thurs., Nov. 21.

I have a few observations of the Trailblazers' traveling road show, which was broadcast on ESPN3:

--Bronny James, LeBron James' son, a 6'2" freshman guard, already is a well-developed basketball player in all phases of the game. He showed the 2,000-person crowd packing the two-story Montgomery gym that he can shoot, pass, dribble, and move well.

He came into the game at the 2:50 mark of the opening quarter. He promptly dropped the ball out of bounds for a turnover, then refused to give the ball up to a Montgomery defender next to him, walking away grasping the ball before giving it up to the referee. A little street attitude.

Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier kept Bronny in the game to start the second period. He soon canned a three from the left elbow, the Blazers now up by 26.

--Dwayne Wade, the just-retired NBA great who came to watch his son, Zaire, a 6'2" senior guard, needs a helper to fend off the crowd. Wade was mobbed by cellphone-wielding fans at various times throughout the night, and no one kept them at bay.

Bronny James, the 6'2" son
of LeBron James, during
warm-ups.

When Scottie Pippen, the NBA Hall-of-Famer, attended the Aztec Tip-off last year and viewed his own son, Scotty Jr., he brought a helper who quickly commanded the besieging fans to form a half-circle, take their photos, then go back to their seats. Order reigned.

But you could see from the beginning, after Wade, donning a bright-yellow knit cap--who knows why? It just made him stand out even more--entered the gym with 5:25 on the clock in the first quarter, Sierra Canyon already leading the tiny Aztecs 10-2, that there was no plan to deal with the adoring public. Poor guy.

--The game was one of three this week, all at 8 p.m. (St. Augustine Fri., Cathedral Catholic Sat.), that are a San Diego basketball fan's treat this season. We won't be seeing another team of this caliber again. You'd have to drive to Temecula (Rancho Christian, to see Evan Mobley), or better, to L.A., to see players at this level.

--Chevalier's team brought waves of reserves, just as good as front-liners Terren Frank, Wade, and B.J. Boston, to swarm the frantic Montgomery players and take leads of 28-5 at the end of the first period, and 56-21 at halftime. Too bad Aztec coach Edward Martin didn't have graduated mini-guard Kyle Paranada, who was in attendance but unable to play. In last year's fest, the 5'8" shooter played the game of his life and provided some production on the hosts' side. This time, no one could.