Brayden Burries is a Problem...
To say he is "Special" would be an understatment
Published March 18th, 2025 By Seth Greenberg
It was a weekend of famous names
I spent Friday and Saturday watching the CIF Finals at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Friday was D1, D3 and D5 (six games counting Boys and Girls games); Last night was the Open, D2 and D4.
I am not a paid professional writer, I am recently retired and travel the country to satisfy my insatiable hoops fix. In the past year I have witnessed over 100 top-level high school games across the country. Basketball runs deep in our family as my son Griffin Greenberg works for an elite basketball program and is the one in the family who gets paid for his hoops expertise. My other son Jonas refs high school basketball.
One of my favorite events is the CIF Finals in Sacramento. Friday there was a buzz in the arena when King James appeared just before tipoff of the D1 Boys Final to see his son Bryce compete for the championship against Lincoln High School of Stockton. It was a back and forth game (and not the prettiest) but Sierra Canyon edged out Lincoln to take the chip. Bryce is moving on to University of Arizona.
Arenas was in the Arena
Former NBA and current social media star Gilbert Arenas was courtside to see his 5-star son Alijah try and capture the D2 Championship. Despite his unquestionable talent and 22 points Arenas didn’t have the supporting cast to overcome Jesuit. For the second consecutive year his Chatsworth Chancellors lost in a CIF State Final. His next game will be in a USC Trojan uniform in the fall. Gilbert was very accommodating with the many selfie requests, both before and after the game.
Burries is the least famous but with the most impact
Most everyone I spoke with (and many of these people are rabid high school fans) have never seen Burries play, let alone heard of him until recently. This 5-star player is, in a word, smooth. Rather than hunting social media cred he hunts buckets. Burries lets his game speak for itself. When the lights were the brightest he delivered 44 points on 15-22 shots, 12 boards and 3 blocked shots, setting a new record for points scored from a winning player in the open championship game. Burries lets the game come to him. He has been balling with 2 of his teammates, 5’9” sparkplug point guard Myles Walker (whose father Tony went to my Alma Mater LMU and played on the Hank Gathers/Bo Kimble historic team), and Issac Williamson (headed to New Mexico). It’s evident this trio has unspoken chemistry and 100% trust in each other, as they have taken down teams who were (on paper) much more talented and definitely more heralded.
Roosevelt Mustangs before Tip-Off Photo credit: Seth Greenberg
Under the biggest lights, Burries shined Brightest
I saw Burries play twice in 5 days. The previous Tuesday his Roosevelt Mustangs hosted Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks where I made the 90 mile drive from San Diego to witness the biggest game of these player’s lives. Notre Dame had the star power including top rated class of 2026 Tyran Stokes and Rutger bound Senior Lino Mark. It was power vs culture. Burries led his to to victory with 37 points on 11-17 shooting including 6-8 from 3. Culture won out over talent as Walker, Williamson and the Mustangs’ trust ran deep. This team overcame the height and hype difference to defeat their lauded opponents 79-76 to put themselves in position for the aforementioned championship game. Over the final two games Burries was extremely efficient even as a tough-shot maker, shooting 22-32 (68%) and totalled 81 points. He is not a player who always needs the ball. Burries is in constant movement with or without the rock and a nightmare for even multiple defenders. He is a problem for opponents and The Answer for whichever college team is fortunate to land him!
Additional Photos/Videos below by Seth Greenberg
Draymond Green
