Video: LaMelo Ball basketball highlights Former Chino Hills standout demands attention for multiple reasons.
What draws attention is a fascinating topic — even at the high school sports level.
The following 10 teams and 10 athletes were the most searched on MaxPreps in 2019.
With two obvious exceptions, most of the team searches were derived simply from fan interest in certain national football powers.
The searches for individual players is a little trickier and sometimes demands a little more conjecture as celebrity, trends and what's hot plays a big role.
Here are the teams and players who were sought out the most in 2019 and our best guesses what caused the demand.
TOP TEAM SEARCHES
1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif. ) football — A football powerhouse was the nation's No. 1 team most of the season and is smack dab in the middle of gridiron hotbed Southern California.
2. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) basketball — With sons of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, plus three 5-star players on the roster, it's pretty obvious why the Trailblazers draw the views. That and they are also two-time California state Open Division champs.
4. SPIRE Institute (Geneva, Ohio) basketball — An obscure philanthropic-inspired school, emphasizing academics and athletics, is located in the northeast corner of Ohio. It gained national attention largely due to two basketball players highlighted on our 10 most searched names list.
5. Duncanville (Texas) football — The No. 1 team in Texas most of the season, the Panthers lost in the state 6A-I championship for the second straight season.
7. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) football — An independent Florida squad that draws 4- and 5-star players from all over the nation and wins at an impressive rate against a national schedule for the past 10 years.
8. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) football — This program inspired the book and Hollywood movie, "When the Game Stands Tall," and still has a strong following.
10. Katy (Texas) football — No state demands more attention than Texas and Katy is a perennial state and national power.
TOP INDIVIDUAL SEARCHES
1. Bronny James — The freshman son of LeBron James plays for Sierra Canyon and is only going to gain searches as his career progresses.
2. LaMelo Ball — Youngest brother of NBA player Lonzo and son of infamous father LaVar is also projected to be a top NBA pick in June. He played for national champion Chino Hills and the above-mentioned SPIRE Institute, and once
scored 92 points in a high school game.
5. DJ Uiagalelei — At 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, the St. John Bosco quarterback already has NFL size and tools, and was the MaxPreps Co-National Player of the Year.
6. Zaire Wade — The son of Dwyane is also a player for Sierra Canyon.
7. Harold Yu — Another member of the Sierra Canyon basketball team isn't related to NBA royalty, but he stands 7-foot-3 and weighs 300 pounds.
9. Robert Bobroczki — At 7-foot-7 and a senior at SPIRE Institute, "Big Rob" was first featured on
MaxPreps as a sophomore.
10. Brandon Boston, Jr. — Yet a fourth member of the Sierra Canyon basketball team, Boston is the team's leading scorer and Kentucky-signee.
Robert Bobroczki, SPIRE Institute.
File photo by Jeff Harwell
