Nike Extravaganza: First Five

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SANTA ANA - The annual Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei high school is one of the premier venues to get a look at top teams and talent both locally and from out of state. Saturday's slate of 11 games featured teams from Southern California, Northern California, Nevada, Virginia and Arizona with multiple Division 1 commits and prospects taking the floor. In this piece we take a closer look at the First Five performers from Saturday's games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>[player_tooltip player_id='1502768' first='Mercy' last='Miller'], Sherman Oaks Notre Dame</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Miller is one of the most talented scorers in the junior class and he put that on full display in a win over St. Augustine. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard poured in an event-high 39 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. While that 39 points is a big and impressive number, Miller didn't need a lot of shots to get there as his efficiency was off the charts. The junior was 13-for-19 from the field, 5-for-8 from 3-point range and hit 8 of 9 from the free throw line. Miller really is the definition of a three-level scorer as he showed his shot-making abilities from deep, mid-range and at the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>[player_tooltip player_id='1502773' first='Eric' last='Freeny'], Corona Centennial</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When most people hear the school name Corona Centennial a handful of players might come to mind before [player_tooltip player_id='1502773' first='Eric' last='Freeny']. [player_tooltip player_id='992480' first='Jared' last='McCain'], [player_tooltip player_id='994973' first='Devin' last='Williams'], [player_tooltip player_id='992476' first='Mike' last='Price'] and [player_tooltip player_id='994950' first='Aaron' last='McBride'] normally get most of the publicity but the 6-foot-4 junior thrust himself into the spotlight in the final game of the night. Freeny scored a game-high 34 points as Centennial took down Liberty of Nevada with a convincing 90-64 decision. Freeny is usually the gritty, glue-type guy whose impact spans multiple aspects of the game from defense to rebounding to 50/50 balls and finding open teammates but he caught fire early and kept it going for 32 minutes. What really stood out about his performance was how comfortable he looked shooting the ball from 3-point range - a part of his game that wasn't always a strength.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>Luke Barnett, Mater Dei</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No one Saturday was as hot as Barnett was from three-point range. The freshman sharpshooter knocked down eight of his 10 attempts from behind-the-arc en route to 24 points while leading the Monarchs to a dominant 96-69 win over St. Mary's of Arizona. It was a good day all around for the Barnett family as Luke's father, Keith, led his Aliso Niguel squad to a 54-50 win over Calvary Chapel earlier in the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>[player_tooltip player_id='1188984' first='Robert' last='Hinton'], Harvard-Westlake</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a battle of two very well-coached programs it was [player_tooltip player_id='1188984' first='Robert' last='Hinton'] who set the tone for the game. The 6-foot-4 junior guard/wing known for his aggressive downhill attacking mentality put pressure on the rim early and often as he exposed defensive mismatches and got to the rim with ease. Hinton scored a game-high 22 points on 9-for-10 from the field. The Harvard-commit used his quickness and athleticism to get by the first line of defense and scored through contact and around it with creative up and under finishes complete with touch off the glass.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --> <h4>[player_tooltip player_id='1502779' first='Sebastian' last='Rancik'], JSerra</h4> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lions had gone through a bit of a mid-season slump with Rancik out with a concussion but are now right back on track with the 6-foot-9 forward back in the lineup. The junior scored 29 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in JSerra's 61-56 overtime win over Crean Lutheran and after the game coach Keith Wilkinson praised Rancik for his willingness to get on the offensive glass to create second-chance points. Rancik grabbed seven offensive boards which helped lead to 18 second-chance points and make-up for an overall down shooting night from the Lions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->