Column: Dream matchups between the Southland’s elite high school basketball teams could loom in the playoffs
With two weeks left in the regular season, excitement is building around the possibility that high school basketball fans will be rewarded with some dream matchups.
Imagine how many fans might make it to the Honda Center on March 4 if the Southern Section Open Division championship game matches unbeaten Chino Hills, led by the two remaining Ball brothers, against Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, led by future NBA lottery pick Marvin Bagley III.
Last season, more than 12,000 showed up for the Chino Hills-Sierra Canyon final that saw Lonzo Ball & Co. put on a show in a 105-83 Chino Hills victory.
What makes things interesting is that there’s no guarantee the Chino Hills-Sierra Canyon rematch will take place, because there are two other elite teams capable of joining the party. Santa Ana Mater Dei is 22-1 and has added 7-foot-2 Bol Bol, the son of former NBA giant Manute Bol. And Torrance Bishop Montgomery is 18-2, with the dynamic guard duo of Ethan Thompson and David Singleton.
Fans would love to see a semifinal doubleheader featuring all four teams at one site.
Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight endorses the idea.
“Let’s pack the place,” he said.
The Southern Section won’t say if it would be willing to play a doubleheader, but officials are at least looking into the possibility, depending on which teams are left.
Santa Ana Mater Dei junior center
There’s an ongoing debate about who’s No. 1 in Southern California and who’s No. 1 in the nation. Sierra Canyon has played a national schedule and has a 17-1 record. Chino Hills is 21-0 with a 56-game win streak.
The Southern Section Division 1AA coaches’ poll has Chino Hills No. 1 and Sierra Canyon No. 2. CalHiSports.com has Sierra Canyon No. 1 in the state and Chino Hills No. 2. Nationally, USA Today ranks Sierra Canyon No. 2 and Chino Hills No. 5.
The problem for Sierra Canyon is it doesn’t matter how impressive it might look going around the country winning games in Missouri, Massachusetts and Oregon. The Trailblazers still have to figure out how to deal with Chino Hills’ unique style of taking rapid-fire shots from anywhere and everywhere while putting on full-court defensive pressure.
“Without Lonzo, they’re a little different,” Sierra Canyon Coach Ty Nichols said. “How can you not be? Their commitment to their style of play and playing basketball the way they want to play it — nobody has been able to take them out of their game.”
It helps that returning players from Sierra Canyon probably learned from last season, and adding the 6-foot-11 Bagley to a lineup with 6-7 UCLA-bound Cody Riley offers a formidable one-two inside duo.
“The kids are starting to figure one another out, and it takes time,” Nichols said.
Fans will have the opportunity over the next two weeks to do their own scouting and come up with their own rankings, because all four schools will be in action and looking at one another from the bleachers.
On Saturday at Cerritos College, Bishop Montgomery is playing Fairfax at 7 p.m. as part of the seven-game Rolling Hills Prep State Preview Classic. Chino Hills plays Utah Wasatch Academy at 8:30 p.m.
Then next Saturday at Mater Dei, as part of the Nike Extravaganza, Sierra Canyon plays Las Vegas Bishop Gorman at 5:45 p.m., followed by Mater Dei vs. San Diego St. Augustine at 7:15 p.m. and Chino Hills vs. Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill at 8:45 p.m. As of Wednesday, there were only 150 tickets left for the games in Mater Dei’s 3,400-seat facility.
Of course, La Verne Damien, Mission Hills Alemany, Eastvale Roosevelt, Corona Centennial, Long Beach Poly and others can’t wait for the chance to try to ruin the fans’ dream matchups during the playoffs. There’s also the possibility of the teams meeting twice — first in the Southern Section tournament, then in the state regionals.
Nichols is well aware that it could be dangerous to look ahead.
“We’re taking it one game at a time,” he said.
Luckily, sportswriters and fans don’t have to follow that rule.
Twitter: latsondheimer
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