The Chosen-1's Invitational at Galen Center featured 4 games:
The first two games featured Mater Dei boys and girls teams against teams from Lebron's HS St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, OH. In the girls game, no standouts were noted on either side that would warrant SC offers, at least at this time, as MDs team was very young (only one senior starter). The Lady Monarchs beat the Fighting Irish (62-30). The only Monarch going to a D-1 school is Caia Elisaldez, who signed with Tennessee-Chatanooga. There were no Stanford or UConn level recruits, but the roster is very young. Past greats from the program include: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (UConn, #3 overall pick by Seattle Storm), Nirra Fields (UCLA, Phoenix Mercury), Katie Lou Samuelson (UConn, #4 overall pick by Chicago Sky), Karlie Samuelson (Stanford, LA Sparks). WOT players from MD include - Jordan Adams, Alexyz Vaioletama, Kiki Alofaituli. SC coaches Wendale Farrow and Beth Burns were on hand, bookending ucla coach Cori Close. Lindsay Gottlieb (and kids) would make her appearance for the Sierra Canyon game. In the stands to witness her freshman daughter Kaeli play for MD was former SC player and assistant coach Jodie (Anton) Wynn (later head coach at LBSU and UW). Her older daughter Jada was a 2022 McDonald's AA and is a freshman guard at Colorado. I walked over and chit-chatted briefly.
The MD boys are also young, with three frosh starters and no seniors. They are coached by Gary McKnight (41st season) and a bevvy of assistant coaches (like a lot of them). In 40 years McKnight has won 1 national championship, 11 state titles and 39 league titles. Great alums include NBA players LeRon Ellis (drafted by Clippers), Reggie Geary (Cavaliers), Miles Simon (Magic), Jamal Sampson (Bucks), Cedric Bozeman (Hawks), DJ Strawberry (Suns), David Wear (Kings), Travis Wear (Knicks), Stanley Johnson (Pistons). MD players at SC included Tom Lewis (transfer to Pepperdine), Kevin Augustine, Katin Reinhardt Mike Gerrity and current player Harrison Hornery, whose parents and sisters were at this game. Kenny "The Jet" Smith, former NBA star and current TNT commentator was here to watch his son Malloy, an MD freshman. Unfortunately for Kenny, Malloy did not play, nor did frosh with famous dad, Cole Leinart. The game was pretty close throughout with the Monarchs holding off the Irish to win (63-61). MD had some players who could really shoot it. I would keep an eye on FR G Luke Barnett, who hit 5 threes and was high scorer with 21 pts. FR F Martinsen had 15 pts. I had met the Hornery family at the Colangelo Classic in Phoenix and when they entered I waved and they recognized me. I struck up a conversation with the Dad. They are finishing up their 6-wks in the U.S., before going back down under, but will be here for the Colorado and Utah games. Harry had his best game of the season against the bruins and the family hopes that leads to more playing time.
The half-time entertainment was provided at this game and the two later games by the Florida A&M Rattlers 'Marching 100' band from Tallahassee. The Marching 100 were fresh off their second Rose Parade appearance and rocked the house -loved 'em. They are a Nike sponsored HBCU and were invited to the event, of course, sporting their Nike Lebron shoes.
The crowd got noticeably larger for the Sierra Canyon games. The atmosphere was lit, especially for the boys game. In the crowd, enjoying the games as fans, were Andy Enfield and 2 kids, Jay Morris, Eric and Nicole Mobley, Chris Capko and wife Miranda. Looking around courtside we see singer Chris Brown, rappers The Game, 2 Chainz and Lil Dicky and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams (with side kick JJ3), Malachi Nelson in shades and Scottie Pippen to see his son Justin a junior. Older son Scotty attended Vanderbilt and is playing for the Lakers. Caleb's new short hair allowed him to apparently be incognito, as there were no lines for him to get for autographs or take selfies. That was reserved for the rappers next to him, who were hit up by members of the Marching 100 and random fans. The only autograph I saw Caleb give was to Juju, who invited him to the game.
The Trailblazers defeated the Torreys (64-53) in a tough contest. La Jolla Country Day was a good competition (16-1 coming in) and were led by their big 6-4 Sr. Breya Cunningham, who leads in scoring (19.5 ppg), FGs (69%), rebounds (9.9 rpg), steals (2.1 pg), and blocks (2.8 pg). She is bound for Arizona, along with teammate PG Jada Williams (4.4 assists/game) to play for Adia Barnes, so we haven't seen the last of them. Cunningham had 14 pts and Williams had 19.
Juju Watkins is the best player for Sierra by far and you could see why she is considered the nation's top player. She is long, athletic and quick, with the ability to score at all three levels. She has great handles and a variety of moves to get to score inside or outside. She is going to be fun to watch and I hope our fans come out and support her and the WOT. After scoring 30 points, with 18 rebounds, Juju was quoted as saying: "Playing my first game at the Galen Center, I wanted to start off strong. . . . This gave me a preview of what it's going to be like next year. This made me more confident in my decision." Come on SC fans, don't make her rue her choice and go into the transfer portal. The future is now and we have to embrace it. Other Sierra players to note were Jr Izela Arenas (8 pts), who has a famous father Gilbert and Jr MacKenly Randolph (daughter of Zach) with 11 pts.
The men's game topped off the night with Sierra Canyon pulling away late to win (66-55) behind Bronny James' 17 4th quarter points, game high 22 pts. Penny Hardaway's son Ashton hit 4 threes and scored 18 pts. For Wheeler, Isaiah Collier flashed why he is the top PG in the nation, he has the best court vision I have seen, he throws beautiful passes, is incredibly quick and decisive in his actions, goes full speed up and down the court and gets to the rim at will. He needs to work on his outside shooting, he had 17 pts, but on 5-16 shooting (hopefully an anomaly). Arrinten Page (8 pts, 7 rebs) has skills that we are lacking in a big right now. He has a well-rounded offensive game, is very athletic and fluid, rebounds and defends well. He should compete for time with the other bigs we have next season (Morgan, Hornery, Niagu and hopefully Vince Iwuchukwu). Of Collier, Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier said “He’s probably the most skilled player that we played all year long, his ability to push the ball, I think, is going to be huge for USC."
Let's go SC fans, start your support of SC basketball (both men's and women's) now. Get to Galen Center as often as you can!
Next home game for the men - Colorado, Thursday 1/12 at 6 pm. Next home game for the women - Cal, Friday 1/13 at 7 pm.
Fight on!
- Mater Dei girls vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio - Lebron's HS)
- Mater Dei boys vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary
- Sierra Canyon girls (with signee Juju Watkins) vs. La Jolla Country Day
- Sierra Canyon boys vs. Wheeler, GA (signees Isaiah Collier and Arrinten Page)
The first two games featured Mater Dei boys and girls teams against teams from Lebron's HS St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, OH. In the girls game, no standouts were noted on either side that would warrant SC offers, at least at this time, as MDs team was very young (only one senior starter). The Lady Monarchs beat the Fighting Irish (62-30). The only Monarch going to a D-1 school is Caia Elisaldez, who signed with Tennessee-Chatanooga. There were no Stanford or UConn level recruits, but the roster is very young. Past greats from the program include: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (UConn, #3 overall pick by Seattle Storm), Nirra Fields (UCLA, Phoenix Mercury), Katie Lou Samuelson (UConn, #4 overall pick by Chicago Sky), Karlie Samuelson (Stanford, LA Sparks). WOT players from MD include - Jordan Adams, Alexyz Vaioletama, Kiki Alofaituli. SC coaches Wendale Farrow and Beth Burns were on hand, bookending ucla coach Cori Close. Lindsay Gottlieb (and kids) would make her appearance for the Sierra Canyon game. In the stands to witness her freshman daughter Kaeli play for MD was former SC player and assistant coach Jodie (Anton) Wynn (later head coach at LBSU and UW). Her older daughter Jada was a 2022 McDonald's AA and is a freshman guard at Colorado. I walked over and chit-chatted briefly.
The MD boys are also young, with three frosh starters and no seniors. They are coached by Gary McKnight (41st season) and a bevvy of assistant coaches (like a lot of them). In 40 years McKnight has won 1 national championship, 11 state titles and 39 league titles. Great alums include NBA players LeRon Ellis (drafted by Clippers), Reggie Geary (Cavaliers), Miles Simon (Magic), Jamal Sampson (Bucks), Cedric Bozeman (Hawks), DJ Strawberry (Suns), David Wear (Kings), Travis Wear (Knicks), Stanley Johnson (Pistons). MD players at SC included Tom Lewis (transfer to Pepperdine), Kevin Augustine, Katin Reinhardt Mike Gerrity and current player Harrison Hornery, whose parents and sisters were at this game. Kenny "The Jet" Smith, former NBA star and current TNT commentator was here to watch his son Malloy, an MD freshman. Unfortunately for Kenny, Malloy did not play, nor did frosh with famous dad, Cole Leinart. The game was pretty close throughout with the Monarchs holding off the Irish to win (63-61). MD had some players who could really shoot it. I would keep an eye on FR G Luke Barnett, who hit 5 threes and was high scorer with 21 pts. FR F Martinsen had 15 pts. I had met the Hornery family at the Colangelo Classic in Phoenix and when they entered I waved and they recognized me. I struck up a conversation with the Dad. They are finishing up their 6-wks in the U.S., before going back down under, but will be here for the Colorado and Utah games. Harry had his best game of the season against the bruins and the family hopes that leads to more playing time.
The half-time entertainment was provided at this game and the two later games by the Florida A&M Rattlers 'Marching 100' band from Tallahassee. The Marching 100 were fresh off their second Rose Parade appearance and rocked the house -loved 'em. They are a Nike sponsored HBCU and were invited to the event, of course, sporting their Nike Lebron shoes.
The crowd got noticeably larger for the Sierra Canyon games. The atmosphere was lit, especially for the boys game. In the crowd, enjoying the games as fans, were Andy Enfield and 2 kids, Jay Morris, Eric and Nicole Mobley, Chris Capko and wife Miranda. Looking around courtside we see singer Chris Brown, rappers The Game, 2 Chainz and Lil Dicky and Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams (with side kick JJ3), Malachi Nelson in shades and Scottie Pippen to see his son Justin a junior. Older son Scotty attended Vanderbilt and is playing for the Lakers. Caleb's new short hair allowed him to apparently be incognito, as there were no lines for him to get for autographs or take selfies. That was reserved for the rappers next to him, who were hit up by members of the Marching 100 and random fans. The only autograph I saw Caleb give was to Juju, who invited him to the game.
The Trailblazers defeated the Torreys (64-53) in a tough contest. La Jolla Country Day was a good competition (16-1 coming in) and were led by their big 6-4 Sr. Breya Cunningham, who leads in scoring (19.5 ppg), FGs (69%), rebounds (9.9 rpg), steals (2.1 pg), and blocks (2.8 pg). She is bound for Arizona, along with teammate PG Jada Williams (4.4 assists/game) to play for Adia Barnes, so we haven't seen the last of them. Cunningham had 14 pts and Williams had 19.
Juju Watkins is the best player for Sierra by far and you could see why she is considered the nation's top player. She is long, athletic and quick, with the ability to score at all three levels. She has great handles and a variety of moves to get to score inside or outside. She is going to be fun to watch and I hope our fans come out and support her and the WOT. After scoring 30 points, with 18 rebounds, Juju was quoted as saying: "Playing my first game at the Galen Center, I wanted to start off strong. . . . This gave me a preview of what it's going to be like next year. This made me more confident in my decision." Come on SC fans, don't make her rue her choice and go into the transfer portal. The future is now and we have to embrace it. Other Sierra players to note were Jr Izela Arenas (8 pts), who has a famous father Gilbert and Jr MacKenly Randolph (daughter of Zach) with 11 pts.
The men's game topped off the night with Sierra Canyon pulling away late to win (66-55) behind Bronny James' 17 4th quarter points, game high 22 pts. Penny Hardaway's son Ashton hit 4 threes and scored 18 pts. For Wheeler, Isaiah Collier flashed why he is the top PG in the nation, he has the best court vision I have seen, he throws beautiful passes, is incredibly quick and decisive in his actions, goes full speed up and down the court and gets to the rim at will. He needs to work on his outside shooting, he had 17 pts, but on 5-16 shooting (hopefully an anomaly). Arrinten Page (8 pts, 7 rebs) has skills that we are lacking in a big right now. He has a well-rounded offensive game, is very athletic and fluid, rebounds and defends well. He should compete for time with the other bigs we have next season (Morgan, Hornery, Niagu and hopefully Vince Iwuchukwu). Of Collier, Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier said “He’s probably the most skilled player that we played all year long, his ability to push the ball, I think, is going to be huge for USC."
Let's go SC fans, start your support of SC basketball (both men's and women's) now. Get to Galen Center as often as you can!
Next home game for the men - Colorado, Thursday 1/12 at 6 pm. Next home game for the women - Cal, Friday 1/13 at 7 pm.
Fight on!
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