Every year, the Liberty High School boys basketball team migrates south for the winter to play against different competition and find their playoff form before the back half of the season takes shape. This year the Patriots took their talents to Palm Springs, California, to defrost from Dec. 26-30.

On the court, Liberty went 4-0 in the Rancho Mirage Invitational and defeated Sierra Vista, the reigning 4A state champion in Nevada, in the championship game of the tournament. Off the court, head coach Omar Parker described the tournament as one of the most successful trips he’s ever taken.

“We have won this tournament before and won a tournament in Phoenix. It is certainly a lot better and makes things lighter when we win. We have traveled before and not have this type of success,” Parker said. “‘Best’ is a hard word for me to say, without throwing a bunch of other teams under the bus. But I’ll tell you this, this trip was as good as any that I have ever taken with a team.”

Another benefit of the tournament style play is that these tournaments resemble district and state tournaments. The regular season is always a unique challenge, but the playoffs are a whole other equation.

“I feel like our staff and team learned how to turn around and prepare for very, very good competition in a short amount of time. The fact we had success and ended up winning that championship, only validated exactly what we were trying to do,” Parker said.

Liberty now sits at 12-1 following the dominance down south and with just one loss coming to Bellevue, the Patriots are peaking just at the right time.

The Patriots got off to a roaring start and a historic one at that. In their first game in Palm Springs, Liberty took on Tennyson High School out of Hayward, California, and saw a historical performance from Jackson Whitaker.

Whitaker finished with 52 points, breaking a Liberty record set by Jake Elfstrom (42) back on Dec. 11, 2018 in a win against Interlake. Against Tennyson, Whitaker nearly broke that record in the first half as he finished with 40 points in the opening half alone.

Heading into this season, it was clear Whitaker was going to be a focal point on the floor. But his leadership and willingness to work is one of the big reasons that Liberty is off to the start they are this season, according to Parker.

“He’s playing both sides of the ball and really committed to those aspects. He’s a natural scorer and it can be challenging for someone like that, to also maintain concentration and be committed to guarding and rebounding,” Parker said. “But he’s done that. His scoring numbers are really high, but more often than not he makes the right, unselfish decision for our team.”

Whitaker was named MVP, but he wasn’t alone in his accolades. Mason Chin and Tyson Burley were named first team all-tournament, creating a trio that Parker is willing to put up against any other in the state.

Photo provided by Matthew Stuart.

Liberty continued to roll after Whitaker’s record breaking start. Aliso Niguel High School (California) was the next target and Liberty handled their business in a 59-53 win.

After another four point win, this time against Birmingham Charter, 61-57, the Patriots were headed to the championship against Sierra Vista.

When playing against unfamiliar opponents, it’s important to get production from everyone on the roster. Parker got production from up and down the roster — Mason Miller, Royce Rowe, Connor Mayer and Eli Nordland are sometimes asked to guard taller players on defense and handle their own on offense. So far this season, they have gone far and above the line of duty.

“There is no question that we have one of the best guard trios in the state. But as much as teams focus on that, our success is equally important with the other guys,” Parker said.

Liberty now embarks on the back half of their season, seven games before the start of the KingCo Tournament. The Patriots are second currently in the KingCo Crown-Crest division and are the only team in the entire KingCo league that has double digit wins of the 25 teams across both divisions.

Parker was quick to point out there are no easy games for the rest of the season for Liberty. It will be playoff basketball from now until the Patriots play their final game of the season, wherever and whenever that may be.

“With all of these renowned 4A schools in front of us, it’s going to be a bear. There is a ton of challenges that are ahead of us,” Parker said. “I think we are so much better as a team now after five days in California. We took steps forward in each and every game.”