Cassius Stanley is well aware that most will write him off as being biased and a homer, but he doesn’t care; come November when the USA Today Super 25 basketball rankings drop he’s adamant that his alma mater Sierra Canyon School (Chatsworth, California) should be in the No. 1 spot.
“We have the best team in the nation,” said Stanley, now a freshman at Duke. “NBA free agency had a lot of movement, but so did high school basketball. We’re loaded.”
Stanley makes a strong point, the Trailblazers have added two players ranked in USA Today Sports’ Chosen 25 in shooting guard Brandon Boston, a Kentucky commit who is ranked No. 11, and wing Ziaire Williams, ranked No. 18.
Earlier this summer, Bronny James, son of LeBron James, and Zaire Wade, son of Dwyane Wade, announced that they would be attending Sierra Canyon, which won its second-consecutive state title last season.
Add those pieces in with Terren Frank, Amari Bailey and Harold Yu and the Trailblazers certainly have the talent to be in the conversation for the top spot.
“Sierra Canyon has always had super teams, so it’s nothing new to us,” Stanley said. “Brandon and Ziaire are so versatile and Terren is underrated. I don’t think there’s a team in the country whose third best player is better than Terren and fourth best player is better than Amari. It’s gonna be a crazy year.”
Stanley said his prediction “isn’t just based on the talent.”
“The school is small and the culture there is really close,” Stanley said. “When you’re not at school you end up hanging out with eight or nine of your teammates. Their unit is gonna be tight, and that makes all the difference.”
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Stanley also pointed out that head coach Andre Chevalier “is really good at managing talent.”
“He knows how to handle all of that and he commands respect,” Stanley said. “He’s great at getting guys to buy-in so that’s only gonna make us stronger. I expect us to be No. 1 to start the season for sure, but more importantly I expect us to be No. 1 in the Super 25 at the end.”
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