february 17–march 1, 2020| newyork 29
While manyofSierra Canyon’sparentsand
alumni wereexcitedaboutalltheattention,the
current student population seemed largely
unmoved. Before a recentgameat theFeinberg
Family Pavilion,withIreland Baldwinsitting
courtside andCedrictheEntertainera fewrows
back, I chattedwithGowriVadmal,a seniorwho
has been atSierra Canyonsincesecondgradeand
is the captainoftheschool’s equallystackedmath
team. (“It’s notbychancethat ourmathteamis the
best in SouthernCalifornia—halftheteamis Chi-
nese,” Skrumbistoldme,whilediscussingthefact
that 50 of Sierra Canyon’s 63 internationalstu-
dents come from Chinese families wealthy enough
to pay $70,000 a year to cover Sierra Canyon’s
$36,250 annual tuition plus room and board.)
Vadmal, who also performs at basketball games as
a member of the school’s drumline, said the school had changed
recently. When I asked what she meant, she paused for a long time
and answered only after another drumliner walked up and encour-
aged her to share their grievance. “From drumline’s perspective, I
think we’re appreciated a little less,” Vadmal said. They no longer
had a reserved section in the stands now that the school was selling
more tickets than it had seats. (The school says the situation has
been remedied and the drumline has its reserved seats again.) Later,
during a time-out, I watched as the drumline was shushed by a
Sierra Canyon staff member so the public-
address announcer could finish reading an
advertisement for a nearby luxury subdivision.
HIS IS OUR SAFE SPOT,” Ziaire Williams said
one afternoon, entering the basketball team’s
private locker room in the Feinberg Family
Pavilion. “It’s a little man cave.” An Xbox had
recently gone missing, and the team’s seniors
were blaming one of the freshmen for the
empty McDonald’s bag on the floor.
The locker room was lined with jerseys representing Sierra Can-
yon graduates who had gone on to play Division I college basketball,
including Bagley at Duke and Robbie Feinberg at Harvard, although
the current players were already looking beyond that. “They should
have put up league jerseys instead,” Boston said.
I pointed out that Bagley was in fact the only Sierra Canyon
alum to beat the long odds of making it to the NBA. “But there’s
gonna be a lot more, for sure,” Williams said.
Betweentheintensetravelschedule,therobust coachingstaff,
and the media training the team received atthebeginningofthe
year, Sierra Canyon was doing its best to approximatethepres-
sures the players would experience after graduating.“Wewant
to prepare them not only for college but alsofortheNBA,” Andre
Chevalier, who has been the team’s head coachsince 20 17,said.
“They want to be 15 when they’re away fromthegame,butwhen
it’ s connected to the game, they want it to beasclosetotheNBA
as possible.”
During one Sierra Canyon game, I sat courtsidewithRichard
Shapiro, the school’s chief financial officer.“My wifesaysI seem
to have more fun doing this stuff than allmy otherjobscom-
bined!,” he said. While most schools must paytheirownway to
the tournaments Sierra Canyon was playingaroundthecountry,
the organizers of these events were so desperatetohaveSierra
Canyon on the marquee that Shapiro hadbeenabletocharge
anywhere from $15,000 to $40,000 (whenthegirls’teamcomes
too); for the games played in NBA-size arenastoaccommodate
the demand for tickets to see Sierra Canyonlive,Shapirohas
worked out a revenue-sharing model that hesaidcouldgenerate
fees that approach six figures per game. Nikehadbeenaneager
partner—the team got Sierra Canyon–brandedLeBronNike
sneakers—and tickets to home games wereinsuchdemandthat
the school sacrificed its home-court advantageandmovedmany
of its games to a larger gym at California StateUniversity–North-
ridge. “The whole point of playing games atcsunwastobringin
more money,” Shapiro said. While we spoke, severalSierra Canyon
students were in the lobby of the Feinberg FamilyPavilionselling
hot cocoa—the temperature had dipped below 60 degreesinLos
Angeles—as a fund-raiser for the girls’ soccerteam.
“This school is definitely all about business,”Williamssaid.He
and several of his teammates were complainingthat they rarely
experience the feeling of playing in frontofa homecrowd
LeBronJames
withsonBryce.
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Back center, Wade;
front right, Rifkind.
