Top teams prepared to clash in Nike Extravangaza

The Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei High School this weekend is arguably one of the most-anticipated events of the prep basketball season, loaded with some of the nation’s top teams and brightest stars.

In 2012, then-Bishop Gorman’s Shabazz Muhammad scorched Chicago’s Whitney Young for 41 points in a game that served to further cement his legacy as one of the top players ever to hail from Nevada.

Last year, Mater Dei survived a test from a game LA Westchester team, and the Crusaders went on to win the CIF’s inaugural Open Division Championship, losing only once the rest of the year.

This year, the game that everyone has circled on their calendars is the national tilt between Mater Dei (21-0, Indihoops No. 1), which boasts newly minted McDonald’s All American and Arizona signee Stanley Johnson, and Chicago’s Whitney Young (14-4, Indihoops No. 18), which counters with a McDonald’s All American of its own, Duke signee Jahlil Okafor.

Stanley Johnson – Mater Dei (No. 1) – Oakland Soldiers

Jahlil Okafor – Whitney Young – Mac Irvin Fire AAU
Johnson and Okafor aren’t alone, as the game boasts no fewer than 6 Division 1 recruits, including 2014 Whitney Young F Paul White, who has signed to Georgetown, and 2015 Mater Dei swingman Rex Pflueger, who counts Notre Dame, USC and Florida among his suitors.

Paul White – Whitney Young – Meanstreets AAU

The action kicks off Friday at 3 p.m. at the Meruelo Athletic Center when Huntington Beach Ocean View squares off against Anaheim Servite.

The highlights of Friday’s games look to be an underrated 6 p.m. tilt between Santa Margarita (14-7, 2-4 Trinity League), which just gave Mater Dei all it could handle in a loss this week, against Fresno Bullard (10-9, 4-0 County/Metro League), one of Central California’s better squads; and a 7:30 game between the host Monarchs and Village Christian (16-3, 4-0 Olympic League), whose roster includes several standouts, including 2014 Fs Marsalis Johnson and Bear Henderson and 2015 swingman Bennie Boatwright.

Saturday’s action is even better.

The 1:15 p.m. game pits two of top teams in not only Southern California, but arguably the entire state, in Redondo Union (17-3, 5-0 Bay League) and Corona Centennial (17-2, 5-0 Big VIII League). Both teams have loaded rosters, highlighted by Redondo’s senior standouts Ian Fox and Terrell Carter, junior Cameron High and sophomore star Leland Green; and Centennial’s 2015 star guard Sedrick Barefield and 2014 Long Beach State signee Deontae North.

Sedrick Barefield – Corona Centennial – Compton Magic AAU

While the 2:45 p.m. game between Santa Ana Foothill and Orange Lutheran is no slouch, it plays as a prelude to four potentially great games – at least on paper, starting with JSerra Catholic vs. Bishop Gorman at 4:15, St John Bosco and Etiwanda at 5:45 and Westchester vs. Maryland powerhouse DeMatha Catholic at 7:15, all leading up to the culminating game against Whitney Young and Mater Dei.

JSerra (12-7, 3-3 Trinity League) usually boasts the biggest lineup, as it trots out a front line that stands 6-foot-8 (2015 Nick Pallas) 6-foot-9 (2014 Dylan Osetkowski) and 6-foot-11 (2016 Jayce Johnson); but that won’t be the case as it faces a Gorman team led by 7-foot 2015 C Stephen Zimmerman and 6-foot-10 2015 PF Chase Jeter, widely held as one of the top frontcourt duos in the country. The point guard matchup of Johnnie Vassar (JSerra) and Noah Robotham (Gorman) will likely determine the outcome.

Steven Zimmerman – Bishop Gorman – Dream Vision AAU

Bosco suffered a setback when 2017 phenom Billy Preston checked out of school and transferred to Mater Dei, but still have plenty of firepower with 2015 G and Arizona commit Tyler Dorsey and 2014 UConn signee Daniel Hamilton. Etiwanda counters with one of Southern California’s finest guards in 2014 USC signee Jordan McLaughlin and one of the best coached teams in California.

Westchester is again the top team in the City Section, and is led by LMU signee and newly minted ESPN 100 2014 G Elijah Stewart, while DeMatha has one of the East Coast’s top juniors in 6-foot-7 Jaelin Grant, son of former NBA standout Harvey Grant.

– @fulltimehoops1