Photos by Andrew Veis

The Long Beach Poly boys basketball team showed why experts are saying they could be the best team in the state of California next season, with a 55-48 victory over Taft High and their star 6-foot-9 center Kevin Johnson in the Nike Summer Classic at Fairfax High over the weekend.

Sure, it’s just summer ball and there’s a long way to go before the season even begins, but the Jackrabbits and their roster stacked with D-1 talent controlled the game from start to finish. Senior-to-be point guard Alexis Moore and sophomore forward Roschon Prince formed a powerful duo, but it was 6-foot-7 forward Ryan Anderson (pictured right) who controlled Taft’s highly-coveted Johnson and won the game for Poly.

“A lot of talent on the floor today,” said Poly head coach Sharrief Metoyer. “It’s nice to be champions in July but we want to be champions in March.”

I wrote in more detail about the Anderson/Johnson matchup for SLAM magazine in this article. Even though Anderson is a more versatile forward with better shooting range, he and the truly massive Johnson matched up against each other often. The two are friends who play on the same AAU team but each wanted the tournament win on Saturday.

Poly has now secured the state’s top spot in the minds of many, and will be the odds-on favorites to bring a few more banners back to their home gym this season.