California basketball freshman gets UCLA offer after one game against Sierra Canyon

All it took was one game against the right opponent.

Long Beach Millikan freshman guard Quali Giran had a breakout game in his high school varsity basketball debut Wednesday night at No. 1-ranked Sierra Canyon.

The 6-foot-1 guard led the Rams to the brink of a monster upset in Chatsworth with 31 points including four 3-pointers, but Sierra Canyon did prevail 67-65. However, Giran's scoring output — and near-upset performance — caught wind on social media very quickly.

Less than 48 hours later, Giran announced Friday morning on social media he'd been offered by UCLA.

"Honored to be the youngest athlete offered this D1 scholarship. Thank you Coach Mick Cronin & Coach Nate Georgeton for the great conversation and the opportunity," Giran wrote.

Sierra Canyon finished the game on a 10-0 run. Senior point guard Jordan Askew converted on a game-winning layup with no time left. Millikan was up 65-57 with three minutes to play before Sierra Canyon's game-winning sprint.

Giran had Millikan leading after the first quarter 16-14 and at halftime 33-26. He had 21 points in the opening half. All four of his makes from downtown came in the first half.

Equally as impressive, Giran had just one turnover in the game, according to stats input on MaxPreps. He also tallied three rebounds and two assists. He shot 12 of 14 from the field, including 4 for 4 from distance. He converted on all three of his free throw attempts.

HIGHLIGHTS

MORE ON GIRAN

The UCLA offer, though the biggest he's gotten, isn't his first NCAA Division I offer. Sacramento State, coached by former NBA point guard Mike Bibby, has officially offered the standout freshman.

He also holds offers to Cal State Northridge and San Jose State.

National high school basketball pundit Dinos Trigonis, known for his Pangos All-American camp, posted about Giran after his breakout game against Sierra Canyon.

"Love the talent, IQ and production of all 3. There will be others that emerge in upcoming years (as usual) but those 3 guards are the top shelf in 2029 at the moment," Trigonis said when reposting a tweet referring to three standout freshmen in the Southland: Phillip Reed of Palisades, Will Conroy of Village Christian and Giran.

NEXT UP

Millikan and Giran will play Inglewood, Harvard-Westlake and Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks in the upcoming weeks.

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