Fairfax Summer Classic: Stanley, Williams crackin’ on folks
LOS ANGELES – The program that won the 2018 California State Open Division championship was on display Monday night during the opening day of the 32nd Fairfax High Summer Classic.
And the Sierra Canyon High Trailblazers showed whey they will be the clear choice to repeat in 2019.
Even minus superb 2019 point-guard Scottie Pippen Jr. (in Florida visiting family, according to Coach Andre Chevalier), the Trailblazers overwhelmed St. Francis, 85-55.
Returning starters from the Class of 2019 in forward Kenyon Martin Jr. and mega-athlete Cassius Stanley, along with 2020 forward Terren Frank and 2019 L Simpson (a key reserve from last season) were front and center Monday night.
But so were two big newcomers – literally and figuratively – in 6-11 Christian Koloko (Class of 2019) from Cameron by way of Birmingham High) and 7-2, sophomore-to-be, by-way-of-China, Harold Yu Jia-Hao.
The lineup options for Coach Chevalier in the coming season border on staggering.
And Stanley (PICTURED) was up to his usual high-flying-self on Monday night, with several spectacular dunks.
The Trailblazers’ smashing set the stage for a Wednesday night (6 o’clock) quarterfinal against Notre Dame, another San Fernando Valley-based program, which pulled away to beat Santa Monica, 82-74, Monday.
That squad is led by 6-foot-7 Ziaire Williams – one of the best juniors-to-be in the country – and 6-5 jump shooting specialist Julian Rishwain from the Class of 2019.
Williams went for 36 points Monday night in just about every fashion imaginable.
The other championship quarterfinal (7:30) on Wednesday was set by way of the Taft (78-64) and Fairfax (85-55) Monday night wins.
That could prove to be a preview of the 2019 L.A. City Open Division championship game in March.
In the other four first-round games to be played Tuesday at Fairfax, Beverly Hills faces Rolling Hills Prep (3 o’clock), Rancho Christian takes on La Canada (4:30), with Valencia-Mater Dei and Loyola-Pasadena following at 6 and 7:30, respectively.