No. 5 Josh Childress vs. No. 1 Tyson Chandler: Vote for the best SoCal high school boys basketball player of the 21st Century (Sweet 16)
Who is the best high school boys basketball player in Southern California over the past 20 years? Over the next five days we’ll give you a chance to decide.
Our 32-player bracket tipped off last week with first-round matchups in all four regions: the Ed Azzam region, the Gary McKnight region, the Harvey Kitani region and the NBA region.
We now move into the Sweet 16.
Circling back to the Ed Azzam region, overall top seed Tyson Chandler from Dominguez takes on Josh Childress, a five seed out of Mayfair to start the second round.
Here’s a look at the matchup:
(5) Josh Childress, Mayfair HS
Childress was a McDonald’s High School All-American. During his senior season in 2001, he averaged 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks per game for Mayfair. In one three-overtime game against Long Beach Poly, he scored 39 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. During his junior season, Childress averaged 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game and helped lead his team to a 27-3 record and the semi-finals of the California State Tournament. In one memorable game against Cerritos, he scored 40 points (16-of-17 from the floor) and grabbed 20 rebounds in three quarters of play. During his sophomore season, he averaged 22.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and two assists as Mayfair won the CIF-SS Division IIA crown. Childress was named the CIF-SS Division IIA Player of the Year. His jersey is retired in Mayfair’s gym.
Childress played at Stanford before being picked sixth overall in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks.
(1) Tyson Chandler, Dominguez HS
In his junior year at Compton Dominguez, Chandler averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three blocks per game. In his senior year, Chandler led Dominguez to a state championship and a 31–4 record, averaging 26 points, 15 rebounds, and eight blocks a game. He was a two time state player of the year award winner in 2000 and 2001. Chandler entered the 2001 NBA Draft straight from high school and was picked second overall by the Chicago Bulls. He won an NBA title in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks. Chandler now plays for the Houston Rockets.
(Photos from Les Schwab Invitational)
