James Harden was a high school star long before 'The Beard'

Before he was part of the Oklahoma City Thunder's "Big Three" along with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, James Harden headlined another talented trio in high school.

As a senior at Artesia (Lakewood, Calif.) during the 2006-07 season, Harden was joined by then-sophomore Renardo Sidney and Malik Story to make the Pioneers one of the hottest tickets in Southern California.

Artesia, coming off a Harden-led state championship the year before, started the season 15-0 and was ranked in the top five nationally before suffering a loss to La Mirada – a team that featured future Arizona and Minnesota Timberwolves star Derrick Williams.

The only other loss for Harden and the Pioneers en route to a 33-2 record came against O.J. Mayo and Huntington (W.Va.) at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium.



Harden tallied 22 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals in his final high school game to help Artesia crush Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) for its second-straight Division III state title.

It was the exclamation point on a remarkable three-year run at the Southern California school. The Pioneers went 94-8 from his sophomore season on. Harden averaged 18.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per outing as a senior.

Sidney would transfer to Fairfax (Los Angeles) the following season before signing with Mississippi State. Once considered the top prospect nationally in his class, the 6-foot-10, 300-pound center entered his name in this year's NBA Draft but is a longshot to be picked.

Story also left Artesia following the 2007 state championship to play at Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) as a senior. A 6-5 wing, he spent a year with the Indiana Hoosiers and still has a year of eligibility remaining at Nevada.

Harden's post-Artesia career has been well-documented. He was the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore at Arizona State and parlayed that success into being picked No. 3 overall in the 2009 NBA Draft.

"The Beard" has become his trademark, but shouldn't overshadow his role in Oklahoma City's rise to the upper echelons of the NBA. He's averaging 16.8 points per game this season for the Thunder and was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year earlier this month.



Harden and the Thunder will battle the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, which begin Sunday.