MaxPreps 2014-15 Preseason Top 25 Basketball preview: No. 5 Sierra Canyon

Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) head coach Tyrone Nichols used a rotation that featured four freshmen, two juniors and a sophomore in 2013-14.

It was no secret that Nichols' young Trailblazers were talented, but not many expected a 29-4 record with wins over state powers Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) and Chino Hills along the way.

This year, Sierra Canyon won't be sneaking up on anybody. Led by the fearsome foursome of Ira Lee, Remy Martin, Devearl Ramsey and Cody Riley, the Trailblazers could become a prominent storyline in high school basketball over the next few years.



See the entire preseason national Top 25

After playing all 33 games in the Golden State a year ago, the prestigious private school will spread its wings with appearances at the City of Palms Classic in Florida and Hoophall Classic West in Arizona.

"We knew that this would be the year we turned the national light on, so to speak," Nichols said. "We set it up this way on purpose so that by the time they get to their junior and senior years, nothing would take them by surprise. We are jumping into the deep end and we plan on swimming."

Though underclassmen will still dominate the roster, there's a wealth of high-level basketball experience to draw on. The aforementioned quartet all held their own on Nike's cutthroat EYBL circuit over the summer.

Riley, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, was the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year in 2013-14 while Lee joined him on the Freshman All-American team.

View gallery of Sierra Canyon preseason photo shoot



Ramsey, a lightning quick 5-10 point guard, took his game abroad each of the past two summers. He helped USA Basketball capture gold at the 2013 FIBA Americas U-16 Championship in Uruguay and the 2014 FIBA U-17 World Championship in Dubai.

Martin, another speedy guard, will be a major addition to the program after sitting out last season.

Sierra Canyon's last five years:
2013-14 – 29-4, Southern Section Division IV regional semifinalist
2012-13 – 17-11
2011-12 – 14-15
2010-11 – 27-6
2009-10 – 23-9{PAGEBREAK}

State Association/Section:
California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)/Southern Section


Enrollment:
915 (K-12)


Head coach:
Tyrone Nichols


Career record:
46-15 in two seasons at Sierra Canyon, also coached at Vista (Calif.) and collegiately



Notable alumni:

- Kendall Jenner, Keeping Up with the Kardashians

- Kylie Jenner, Keeping Up with the Kardashians

- Willow Smith, Singer ("Whip My Hair"), daughter of Will and Jada Smith{PAGEBREAK}

Robbie Feinberg (6-4, Sr., F)

Ira Lee (6-8, So., F)
MaxPreps Freshman All-American a year ago has offers from defending national champion Connecticut and several Pac-12 Conference schools.

Terrence McBride (6-2, So., G)
Major contributor as a freshman, averaging nearly five points per game.



Devearl Ramsey (5-10, Jr., G)
Two-time USA Basketball gold medalist has early offers from North Carolina State and USC.

Cody Riley (6-8, So., F)
2013-14 MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year posted 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

Adam Seiko (6-3, So., F)
Posted 7.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game as a freshman.

Juwan Trotter (6-0, Sr., G)

Impact newcomers:

Michael Feinberg (6-3, Fr., G/F)



Remy Martin (5-10, So., G)
Highly touted transfer with offers from Connecticut and USC.
{PAGEBREAK}

Circle the date: Upstart Sierra Canyon will get a crack at two of the nation's storied high school basketball programs in DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) and Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.).

The DeMatha matchup will take place Jan. 2 at Hoophall West. The Trailblazers will play a second game at that event against defending Arizona state champ Corona del Sol (Tempe).

Oak Hill Academy will make the trek to Southern California for the Nike Extravaganza in early February, potentially setting up a late-season matchup with national implications for both teams.

Tournament time: Sandwiched around Christmas, the Trailblazers will participate in both the City of Palms Classic and the MaxPreps Holiday Classic.

Sierra Canyon will open at City of Palms against Kentucky state title favorite Trinity (Louisville). The winner of that matchup will face either Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.) or Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) in the quarterfinals.

Returning to Southern California for the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in Palm Springs, Nichols' squad will join Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.), Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.) and Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) among others in a loaded bracket.