LIVERMORE, CA – Batman and Robin, peanut butter and jelly, Koufax and Drysdale – they were all good combinations.
Last winter Remy Martin and Devearl Ramsey were a stellar tandem for state Division V champ Sierra Canyon, and they didn’t do badly on Sunday either. Martin earned the player of the game for Southern California in the Prep2Prep Classic 2017 game, and Ramsey nabbed it in the 2016 game to give the South a sweep.
Afterward, Martin, Ramsey and Sierra Canyon coach Ty Nichols -- who also coached the 2016 SoCal all-stars -- answered questions from a pack of reporters and then mugged for photos.
“It was a blast,” said Martin, who had 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals to lead SoCal to a 135-114 win in the 2017 game. “Playing against the best of the best from the West Coast was a blessing. It was also a blessing and humbling to get the player of the game – it shows all of the hard work I’ve put in and how bad I want this.”
Martin, a quicksilver 5-foot-11 guard, was not surprised by his effort.
“It feels great, but I also believe in my ability and believe in my skill. I think I deserved to win this because of all my hard work.”
The award was a close call. Morse-San Diego center Brandon McCoy was a tower of strength for the SoCal 2017’s, scoring 20 points and taking 17 rebounds, with five slam dunks.
While Folsom’s Jordan Ford (28 points) starred for NorCal in the 2016 game, Sierra Canyon’s Ramsey was voted the player of the game. He scored 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting, had five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The 5-9 point guard, with five minutes left in the first half, maneuvered 25 feet from the hoop and drained an incredible 3-pointer to increase his team’s lead to 61-54 en route to a 21-point win.
“Are you kidding me!” P.A. announcer and Prep2Prep scribe Harold Abend said into the mike. “Devearl the Pearl for 3!” Ramsey smiled broadly at the announcers exhortations.
Abend, of course, was referring to Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, a former NBA great. It’s not the first time Ramsey has heard the comparison.
“It was a great feeling, him calling me that,” Ramsey said. “He’s such a great legend. I was feeling myself in the first half and I just wanted to put it up – we were kind of low on the shot clock – and I knew I could make the shot and I just threw it up and it went in.”
Sierra Canyon likes to push the ball upcourt, as University-San Francisco found out last season in the Division V state title game as the Trailblazers dominated, 80-55. Not only will Sierra Canyon have Martin and Ramsey returning, but it will get back a key player who was injured for last season’s state title game and has recently had another star big transfer in. So the running, gunning and winning will no doubt continue in Chatsworth.
Asked if he ever has to pull back on the bit with his hard-charging team, coach Nichols said: “It’s never whoa, it’s always go with these guys. You don’t slow them down, you just let them go."
