A look at Bronny James’ game — and it looks good

Bronny James hasn’t yet signed to play at a college. He is expected to wait until the late signing date to declare

I’ve been out to Liberty High to cover portions of the Les Schwab Invitational several times over the years. Since 2000, Les Schwab Tire Centers — one of the great corporate supporters of sports and activities in our state — has been the title sponsor in the four-day, 16-team event. Nike has helped with funding and connections. If it has not become the best holiday boys basketball tournament in the country, it is on a very short list.

Co-tournament founder John McCallum and director Reggie Walker have created a Rembrandt.

The list of participants through the years is close to a who’s who of basketball, with such names as Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Mike Dunleavy Jr., Ben Simmons, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Markelle Fultz. Storied teams such as Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.), Montrose Christian (Bethesda, Md.), Crenshaw and Westchester (both L.A.), Dominguez Hills (Compton, Calif.), Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), Westbury Christian (Houston) and Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) have competed.

Not all of the heavyweights have won. This is also a tournament for the local quintets. They get some early-season competition against teams they might meet down the line in the state playoffs. They get a chance to knock off national powers. And occasionally, they win it all.

I watched in 2006 as Kyle Singler-led South Medford beat Kevin Love 71-63 in the championship game. I looked on in 2016 as Brandon Roy coached Nathan Hale High of Seattle past Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth, Calif., for the title.

I ventured out again this week to Liberty to take a gander at two teams of some notoriety — Duncanville, Texas, and Sierra Canyon. Duncanville, a suburb of Dallas, is ranked No. 1 in this week’s ESPN national poll. Sierra Canyon, in a suburb of Los Angeles, is ranked No. 20. The Blazers feature a number of blue bloods, most notably LeBron James’ two sons, LeBron Jr. (Bronny) and Bryce.

•

Duncanville played its first-round game against Portland’s Cleveland High. The Panthers aren’t lacking size or talent. The three players who jumped out at me were KJ Lewis, a 6-4 senior four-star who has signed with Arizona; Ron Holland, a 6-8 senior five-star who has signed with Texas, and Cameron Barnes, a 6-10 senior three-star who is unsigned.

Lewis is athletic and thrives in Duncanville’s frenetic, pressure-based defense (four steals, two blocked shots). I’m not sure of his shooting range, because he cast no 3-pointers, but he scored 19 points on 9-for-11 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and had four assists in 22 minutes. We’ll see him next season with the Wildcats.

Holland is skinny but athletic and active. He finished with 11 points, eight boards and five assists in 23 minutes. Barnes, thin but not quite as much as Holland, spent a good portion of the game dunking against Cleveland. His stat line: 22 points on 10-for-11 shooting with five rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes.

I was impressed with the way Cleveland, undersized but game, battled in its 85-54 loss. Guards Jamel Pichon and Sean Chris Tresvant had poor shooting nights (11 for 33 combined), in part due to Duncanville’s disruptive defense, which led to 18 turnovers.

Duncanville, incidentally, will not be playing in the Texas state playoffs this season. The Panthers were penalized for using an ineligible player on last year’s team, stripped of what would have been their third straight state championship and given a three-year playoff ban for the recruiting violation. Their head coach, David Peavy, was also suspended for the season.

•

Sierra Canyon, which began as a day camp in 1972, is a member of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section. Two weeks ago, Sierra Canyon beat Christ the King — featuring Kiyan Anthony, Carmelo’s son — in New York City. The Blazers’ travel budget flows. Past players at Sierra Canyon include Dwayne Wade’s son Zaire Wade, now in the G-League, and Scotty Pippen Jr., on a two-way contract with the L.A. Lakers and South Bay Lakers of the G-League.

This year’s team includes Justin Pippen, a 6-1 junior and Scottie’s son, and Ashton Hardaway, a 6-7 senior who is the son of Penny Hardaway.

Ashton Hardaway has signed a letter-of-intent to play at Memphis for his father, Penny Hardaway, next season

Those in the standing-room-only crowd — including a large number of teenage girls — erupt when Bronny James strides onto the floor for warmups for the nightcap between Sierra Canyon and Portland’s Jesuit High. The 6-3, 190-pound senior is already built like a man, but he doesn’t have has father’s length. He is a shooting guard as he heads to college.

Senior guard Bronny James, son of LeBron, displayed a deadly outside shot in Sierra Canyon’s first-round win over Jesuit

Where? Word is he could wind up at Ohio State (he was born in Cleveland and spent many formative years there) or Southern Cal (he’s a So-Cal resident now). I didn’t get the chance to query him after the game. A beefy security guard who works for Sierra Canyon blocked the door to the locker room; Bronny was not made available to the media.

Seems a shame, because LeBron’s oldest child looks like a nice kid. While on the bench, he is clapping for good plays, cheering on his teammates and even chanting “Defense!” with some of them. Never saw a hint of attitude for him. Seems like one of the guys, and that’s how he was treated on the court, too. Teammates didn’t particularly look for him a lot. Everybody gets their touches on this team, regardless of pedigree.

Bronny made the most of his 17 minutes on the court, scoring 22 points on 8 for 10 shooting — 6 for 7 from 3-point range, including one from near 30 feet. There were no lucky bounces; the shot looks pure. Most of the 3’s were of the catch-and-shoot variety. His most spectacular play, though, was a run-down block of an attempted layup by Cade Collins in the early going that brought down the house.

Other than that, James was ordinary — two rebounds, three assists, solid defense. There is plenty of talent around him, and it was on display in the Blazers’ 87-61 win.

Hardaway, who will play for his father at Memphis, had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists in 20 minutes. Jimmy Oladokun, a 6-8 forward who will play at San Diego, was 4 for 4 from the field and had eight points and four boards in eight minutes. Majok Chuol, a 7-foot junior from Sudan, will get plenty of college offers, and Isaiah Elohim, a 6-5 guard, is a five-star and the No. 2-ranked junior prospect in Southern California.

With seven minutes left, another roar from the crowd comes with the entry of Bryce James, Bronny’s younger brother. A minute later, the 6-3 bespectacled sophomore scores on a left-handed post-up move — he is right-handed — and later scores again, to the delight of the throng on hand.

The tournament runs through Friday night. It’s fun to watch kids who one day will be starring in the college ranks or, for a select few, making it to the NBA. One change needs to be made, though. Players are currently required to pay for tickets to attend other games in the tournament. They are providing the entertainment; it’s only right that every player be given a tournament pass to watch any game for free.

► ◄

Readers: what are your thoughts? I would love to hear them in the comments below. On the comments entry screen, only your name is required, your email address and website are optional, and may be left blank.

Follow me on Twitter.

Like me on Facebook.

Find me on Instagram.

Be sure to sign up for my emails.