ESPN RISE

NORTH BETHESDA, Md. -- "Let's go out and kill the giant."

That was the message Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) coach Michael Peck had for his team in the locker room before the championship game of the inaugural National High School Invitational on Sunday.

Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) was the giant.

The Warriors have the rep (biggest name in prep hoops), the alumni (Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse, Rajon Rondo, Josh Smith, Ty Lawson and many more) and the hardware (multiple perfect seasons and mythical national titles).

Findlay, on the other hand, is in only its third year of existence. This is the first year the school has eschewed fifth-year players and competed as a high school instead of a prep school. The team has a ton of talent -- all eight of its players will be Division I college ballers -- but was considered the underdog coming in. Oak Hill had the No. 1 ranking in the ESPN RISE FAB 50 (Findlay was No. 2) and most of the headlines revolved around the Warriors.

Not any more.

With a 74-66 win in a game Findlay led by as many as 17, the Pilots indeed took out the giant.

As usual, Findlay was led by the magnificent Avery Bradley, a Texas-bound senior who copped MVP honors after scoring 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the triumph. Oak Hill coach Steve Smith, who has coached against the nation's best high school teams for more than 20 years, said Bradley might be "the best guard I've ever coached against."

Junior guard Cory Joseph had 18 points and three steals for the Pilots, while junior big man Tristan Thompson had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Seldom-used backup Issiah Grayson made the most of his six minutes (including the crucial final 2:32 after Bradley fouled out), scoring seven points.

As the Pilots cut down the nets and celebrated a perfect season and No. 1 ranking in the ESPN RISE FAB 50, it was hard not to think of how far the program had come in only three years.

Findlay Prep was founded by Cliff Findlay, a successful car dealer in Nevada who wanted to honor his deceased parents in a meaningful way. As a former UNLV basketball player whose parents were huge hoops fans, Findlay thought the best way would be to establish a school in his home state that could prepare high school ballers for the next level.

The players on the basketball team are the only members of Findlay Prep. During the day, they are a part of the Henderson International School (Henderson, Nev.), where they take classes. All of their $15,000-plus tuition as Henderson students, as well as the salaries of Peck and his assistant, Todd Simon, are paid by Findlay.

This weekend marked the program's ascent to the big time. It shared a stage with national powers like Oak Hill, Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) and St. Benedict's (Newark, N.J.) and played three games in three days on ESPN networks. The school has come incredibly far in three short years.

UNLV-bound senior big man Carlos Lopez has been with the team since its inception and he remembers somewhat humble beginnings.

"That first year was hard for us," Lopez says. "Not all people respected the program. It took a lot of hard work from us and the coaches. We believed in ourselves."

Peck wanted to eventually get to where Steve Smith has built Oak Hill in his 24 years.

"That was the ultimate goal and the vision," Peck says. "That's what we want to get to. That's what we want to become."

And that's what they have become. With their victory Sunday, the Pilots can take their place among the giants of high school basketball.

Ryan Canner-O'Mealy covers high school sports for ESPN RISE.