Nes Emeneke cites idol Joel Embiid in leading Riordan to Cali Live 24 title (video)
ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA — The Cali Live 24 experience is as wide spread as Nes Emeneke's 6-foot-10 frame and 7-foot plus wingspan.
With more than than 160 college coaches from power and mid-major conferences, along with the Ivy-League on hand to make contact during the live recruiting period, Riordan's vastly improved and active center heard from numerous schools including Stanford, Irvine, Harvard and Princeton to name a few.
Beyond the college exposure, as a scholastic event that the CIF and NFHS supports, Cali Live 24 allows high school teams to play together and hone in their chemistry, competitive edge and playbook.
Emeneke recognized the support in one and all while helping the Crusaders win the top division (pools 1-2) of the 3-day event, capped off with a resounding 72-48 victory over short-handed Damien Sunday.
Without the Spartans' top recruit, 7-foot center Nate Garcia (out with ankle injury suffered on Saturday), Emeneke completely controlled the paint scoring 11 of his 13 points in the first part of the opening 20-minute half, while adding a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with four blocks.
He had plenty of help from the guard trio of Andrew Hilman (16 points), DJ Armstrong (15) and Semetri Carr (13) as Riordan won its fourth straight game — previous wins were over Destiny Christian (80-50), Sunnyslope-Ariz. (55-48) and Roosevelt-Ore. (81-54).
When asked about his rapid recruiting attention, Emeneke immediate passed his praise to all around him, which partially explains why Riordan has looked so dominant and cohessive over the last two weeks. The Crusaders won three of four games at the Section 7 in Phoenix last week.
"It's a blessing to be recognized, but it's not just me, you know," he said. "If my teammates weren't playing with me I wouldn't be able to do all this. And I'm very grateful for the coaching staff and teammates."
The words aren't a company line, coach Joey Curtin said. He's been leading some of Northern California's most talented teams for the last seven years. This could be his most coveted.
With the addition of 4-star guard Carr and Armstrong, both from Branson, and Santa Cruz transfer, 6-5 junior Kirby Seals, these Crusaders are loaded, even after losing six talented seniors to graduation, including Central Coast Section Player of the Year Zion Sensley (now at UCSB).
Riordan dominated playing short-handed as the team's top-rated recruit, 6-5 senior Jasir Rencher (16 offers including Illinois, Minesota and Mississippi State) missed all three games, starter John Tofi Jr. missed two, as did Seals with an ankle injury.
"It was a great weekend," Curtin said. "Our defense was great (Sunday). Our activity was first rate. It feels like this group really gets it. We really learned what kind of teammates these guys are and who can compete. Mostly it was just great to hang out with these guys. It's a great group."
Emeneke was quite literally in the middle of it all.
He grabbed everything high, changed shots and converted at the offensive end, a major bonus. Garcia might have made a big difference, but Emeneke didn't care to speculate.
"It was definitely bad luck for them, but we still had to go out and take care of our business," Emeneke said. "We didn't take anything for granted even though he was injured. That's why we excel at just staying focused."
A native of the Republic of Cameroon in Central Africa, Emeneke said he was once neighbors of his "forever" basketball idol Joel Embiid. He tries to model his game after Embiid along with fellow home native Pascal Siakam.
"I try to copy his footwork," he said. "I'm not there quite yet with the shooting and all that (offense). I really want to progress to that part of the game."
Asked if he ever met Embiid, "Yes, we were neighbors back home," he said. "Fun fact."
MITCH STEPHENS