Sunnyslope Star Dazzles in Win Over De La Salle

Darius Wabbington has over half a dozen offers as only a sophomore, and continues to prove why is one of the highest touted recruits

Jan. 12, 2024; Phoenix, Ariz; USA; Sunnyslope guards Rider Portela (15) and Delton Prescott (3) high-five and celebrate with teammate Darius Wabbington (21) during a game at Pinnacle High School. / Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

The star that keeps on shining. It was a loaded day of high school basketball action on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at De La Salle High School in Concord, California. Teams for all over received an invite to compete at the MLK Classic, hoping to put their teams on display for a wider audience.

One of the players involved in the event was Sunnyslope star Darius Wabbington, who impressed mightily in a 53-46 win over the De La Salle Spartans. Wabbington, who finished the game with 12 points, also on the defensive side of things as well, using his 6-foot-11, 245 pounds frame to his advantage to grab six rebounds. Going up against a tough team like the Spartans, Wabbington knew that he would have to really bring it if he and his team had any chance of winning.

"They were a really good team," Wabbington said. "Well coached. I feel like we came out, we came to play, we were sharing the ball and I feel like we came out and we were on our A game. And we played really good defense as a team. Everybody moved the rock, the wealth was spread out. So I thought we played real well."

Coming into the game, gameplanning for De La Salle star Alec Blair was the main focus for Sunnyslope, with the Oklahoma commit cementing himself as one of the Bay Area's best players. But with Blair missing the game due to an injury, Wabbington and his team were able to change up the gameplan and attack the Spartans where they knew they would be most vulnerable.

"That was their guy," Wabbington said. "We spent all week in practice matching up for him so, we just moved down the line. 11 on their team is really good, their bigs were real good and I felt like our bigs and their bigs were battling. So it was a good game, well rounded."

But while the Spartans were down a player and were forced to use the next man up mentality, that did not stop them from making it a battle, especially at the end. Getting outscored 17-10 by the Spartans in the fourth quarter, crunch time for Wabbington and Sunnyslope was all about staying locked in and adjusting in order to not let the game get away from them and stop the Spartans from completing the comeback.

"Coach, he got on us," Wabbington said. "He knows we can play better and he knows that we have that extra level. And I feel like he talks to us a lot and we just bought in. We bought in, we practiced all week for it and we just let our work show."

In holding on for the win, the Vikings now improve to 12-7 on the season and have increased their winning streak to four straight. For Wabbington, games like this are good practice for his future, as he has already started to generate a good amount of interest from some top Division I schools in the best college basketball conferences. Offered by Arizona State, California, LSU, Maryland and Cal State Northridge, Wabbington is on track to play high level basketball in college and will play in many close and competitive games like the one he played against De La Salle.

But for him, he is not letting the early interest he is getting distract him from the task at hand, and that is to ensure that he is the best player he can be for his high school team while making sure to keep his hard work ethic going, recognizing that any offers he gets can be taken away just as fast.

"All that stuff that comes in, it's good, it comes in real fast but you know, you just have to stay focused," Wabbington said. "You can get it taken away just as fast, so I just keep staying in the books, staying on the court, staying in the lab and just keep working."