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Column: Ball brothers, Josh Shipp, Jeremy Lin and JuJu Watkins highlight Sacramento basketball moments

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Column: Ball brothers, Josh Shipp, Jeremy Lin and JuJu Watkins highlight Sacramento basketball moments

A trip to Sacramento to play for a state championship in an NBA arena is one of the coolest things that can happen to a high school basketball player living in California.

Yeah, sportswriters coming to the event every year might occasionally get bored or even annoyed (8 p.m. starts for TV test our patience), but the reality is that it’s for the players and fans, and having the Golden 1 Center as the site with just a $16 general admission fee can’t be beat.

There will be 12 championship games on Friday and Saturday, and unless you find me at the Yard House restaurant, it’s watching nonstop basketball from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. each day. Spectrum has the TV rights, so look for games on the Lakers channel or Spectrum 1 News.

For those who like history, let me offer my favorite moments from championships of the past in Sacramento:

Chino Hills goes 35-0

The Chino Hills circus bus arrived in Sacramento in 2016 unbeaten and left unbeaten. The Ball brothers provided the greatest entertainment next to Taylor Swift. It was a team for the ages.

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Seared in my memory is the opening jump ball at Sleep Train Arena. Chino Hills is facing De La Salle, and 14-year-old freshman LaMelo Ball is yawning on the court. Chino Hills fell behind by 10 points, then won 70-50 with all kinds of vintage plays, dunks and fast breaks.

“For us it was unique,” former Chino Hills coach Steve Baik said this week. “The year before, we lost. We were in a different frame of mind. Every single game throughout that year, there was so much pressure to win. We knew one loss would have been considered a failing year. Our guys really weren’t celebrating after regional wins. We finally got to celebrate after beating De La Salle.”

Most of the players stayed in their hotel rooms the night before, but Baik remembers freshman Onyeka Okongwu hanging out in the pool, which might have explained him struggling in the first half when Chino Hills trailed for the first time at halftime 30-28. In the second half, he started blocking shots and helped ignite fast breaks. Then came the celebrating, and you all know how much the father of the Ball brothers, LaVar, likes to talk.

Jeremy Lin bank shot

Palo Alto played Santa Ana Mater Dei in the 2006 Division II champinship game at Arco Arena. Mater Dei had a front line at that stood 7 feet 1, 6-8 and 6-8. Taylor King was the star player. But Palo Alto had a Harvard-bound guard named Jeremy Lin.

Palo Alto won 51-47.

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Those were the days when Mater Dei never lost in state finals. Lin banked in a 25-foot shot with 2:07 left to send Palo Alto fans into a frenzy.

“The bank shot broke our back,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said in 2006.

Palo Alto finished 33-1. Lin went on to Harvard and the NBA.

Josh Shipp sets record

One issue for high school athletes playing in an NBA arena is that sometimes it’s a lot harder to shoot from long range. That wasn’t a problem for Josh Shipp of Fairfax in 2004. He scored 33 points in the Division I regional overtime final at the Sports Arena against Etiwanda.

Then, playing in the state final at Arco Arena, where shooting threes often turns out badly, he tied a Division I state record with five threes in a 51-35 victory over De La Salle. He finished with 22 points.

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All I remember is giving Harvey Kitani, the always superstitious Fairfax coach, a lemonade before the game because he demanded it after I gave him one before the regional final.

Shipp would go on to have a terrific career at UCLA. “Josh could always score. It didn’t matter where he was playing,” Kitani said.

JuJu Watkins power

JuJu Watkins of Sierra Canyon poses for a portrait.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

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As a freshman in 2020, Juju Watkins was already the best player in Southern California. By 2022, she was leading Sierra Canyon to the Open Division state championship with an 85-61 dismantling of San Jose Archbishop Mitty.

Watkins had 23 points, 19 rebounds, six assists, six blocked shots and three steals in the final game of her junior season. There was no need to make predictions of her future greatness.

As a freshman at USC this season, Watkins is averaging 27.8 points.

Trevor Ariza show

There was no stopping Trevor Ariza of Westchester in the 2003 Division I state championship game against Oakland Tech. He led the Comets to their second straight title with a 30-point performance against a team that featured McDonald’s All-American Leon Powe.

Coach Ed Azzam said, “He’s one of the best players we’ve ever had because he’s so versatile.”

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Nothing could be truer. Ariza went on to UCLA and the NBA while becoming a dependable three-point shooter and defender.

“It was a fun group,” Azzam said this week.

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Olympic medalist suffers serious injuries after ‘death-defying’ skateboarding stunt

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Olympic medalist suffers serious injuries after ‘death-defying’ skateboarding stunt

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An Olympic medalist and 13-time X Games winner suffered serious head injuries after a stunt went wrong.

Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in Paris in 2024, said he suffered a fractured skull and eye socket.

“A harsh reminder how death-defying skating massive rails can be…” Huston wrote in an Instagram post which included a photo of himself in a hospital bed. “Taking it one day at a time. I hope yall had a better new years then me. We live to fight another day.”

 

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Nyjah Huston of the United States competes in the men’s street prelims during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at La Concorde 3.  (Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports)

The post also featured Huston being treated by first responders and friends, along with another photo showing a large black-and-blue mark on Huston’s eye.

Numerous skating legends showed their support for Huston, who is considered one of the best skateboarders in the United States today.

Nyjah Huston of Team USA reacts at the Skateboarding Men’s Street Prelims on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 25, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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“Been watching @nyjah grow up into one of the best skaters to ever do it and it amazes me the amount of grit this kid has,” Shaun White shared on his Instagram story, via Pro Football Network. “You got this brother. Heal quick!”

Even Tony Hawk shared well-wishes on Huston’s Instagram post.

“Heavy. Stay strong; we know you’ll be back,” the skateboarding legend wrote.

“Man.. prayers for healing brother!” added Ryan Sheckler.

It is unknown whether Huston was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident.

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Nyjah Huston, of the United States, celebrates during the men’s skateboard street final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France.  (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Huston has seven gold medals and five silvers in world championships. He has not competed since the 2024 Olympics, but the California native has his eyes set on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.

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Prep talk: JuJu Watkins returns to Sierra Canyon on Friday

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Prep talk: JuJu Watkins returns to Sierra Canyon on Friday

JuJu Watkins is returning to Sierra Canyon High on Friday, the place where she was a high school basketball All-American.

The school will hold a ceremony retiring her jersey at halftime of the boys’ basketball game between Sierra Canyon and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

She will be presented with a framed jersey.

Watkins is sitting out this season at USC while recovering from a knee injury.

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Sierra Canyon girls’ basketball coach Alicia Komaki said, “She raised our standards, which was hard to do because we had won four state championships. She was an incredibly talented player.”

Watkins was also making a huge impact in the college game until her injury last season during the NCAA playoffs.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

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Miami beats Ole Miss behind Carson Beck’s game-winning touchdown to reach CFP National Championship Game

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Miami beats Ole Miss behind Carson Beck’s game-winning touchdown to reach CFP National Championship Game

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The Miami Hurricanes are heading to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, coming away with a narrow victory over Ole Miss, 31-27, in an all-time postseason contest. 

The Hurricanes will now await the winner of the other semifinal between the Indiana Hoosiers and Oregon Ducks to see who they will play on Jan. 19. But Miami will do so on their home turf, with the National Championship Game being played at Hard Rock Stadium – the site of their home games. 

The game began slowly for both teams, with only Miami getting on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a field goal on their 13-play opening drive. But the fireworks came out from there for the Rebels thanks to the speed of running back Kewan Lacy.

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Charmar Brown of the Miami (FL) Hurricanes celebrates a run in the first quarter of the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Steve Limentani/ISI Photos)

On just the second play of the second quarter, Lacy was off to the race, finding a seam and busting out a 73-yard touchdown run to go up 7-3 after the extra point.

But this game was back and forth for quite some time, including the ensuing Hurricanes drive as quarterback Carson Beck led the way on a 15-play touchdown series with a CharMar Brown rushing score from four yards out.

The game was deadlocked at 10 apiece when Beck decided to air it out to Keelan Marion, and it was worth the risk. Marion made the grab for a 52-yard touchdown to help Miami go up 17-13 at halftime.

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The third quarter was an odd one for both squads, as their opening drives resulted in a missed field goal apiece. Then, after Beck threw an interception, the Rebels were able to cut the lead to 17-16 in favor of the Hurricanes heading into the fourth quarter for the ages.

There was no absence of electric plays when it mattered most in the final 15 minutes, as Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss got his team downfield enough to take a 19-17 lead with a field goal.

But the speed of Malachi Toney changed the scoreboard for Miami in the best way possible, as he took a screen 36 yards to the house, capping a four-play, 75-yard answer drive for the Hurricanes right after Ole Miss took the lead.

Trinidad Chambliss of the Ole Miss Rebels celebrates a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes in the second quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

With a 24-19 lead and five minutes left to play in the game, Chambliss and the Rebels’ offense had quite enough time to retake the lead. He did just that, finding trusty tight end Dae’Quan Wright for 24 yards to send the Rebels faithful ballistic.

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Ole Miss wanted to go for two in hopes of making it a three-point lead, and Chambliss came through again, finding a wide open Caleb Odom for the key score.

It was up to Beck and the Miami offense to keep the game alive with at least tying the game at 27 apiece. On a crucial third-and-10 just inside field goal range, Beck was confident with his pass to Marion to get well within range. Another pass to Marion made it first-and-goal, and it was clear Miami wasn’t trying to force overtime. They wanted to win it all.

How fitting was it that Beck, scanning the field, found a seam to his left and just sprinted for the colored paint to score the game-winner with 18 seconds left.

But things got fascinating at the end, with Ole Miss going 40 yards in just a few seconds to set up a Hail Mary for the win. Chambliss had the space to loft a pass to the end zone, and though it hit off the hand of a teammate, it landed incomplete for the Miami victory. 

Carson Beck of the Miami Hurricanes passes the ball against the Ole Miss Rebels in the first quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona.   (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

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In the box score, Beck was 23-of-37 for 268 yards with his two passing touchdowns and an interception. Marion was a key player in the victory with seven catches for 114 yards, while Mark Fletcher Jr. set the tone in the ground game with 133 yards rushing on 22 carries. Toney also tallied 81 receiving yards for Miami.

For Ole Miss, Chambliss also went 23-of-37 for 277 yards with his touchdown to Wright, who finished with 64 yards on three grabs. De’Zhaun Stribling was five for 77 through the air, while Lacy rushed for 103 yards on 11 carries.

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