Liberty (Nevada) recognized for finishing No. 25 in SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings

Power 25 sponsor Discount Tire presented the Patriots with a commemorative framed Sports Illustrated cover ad banner at the team's banquet Wednesday evening.

HENDERSON, Nev. — At the end of February, the Liberty boys basketball toppled Goliath. 

The Patriots (22-4) won the Nevada Class 5A state championship in overtime by beating Bishop Gorman, winners of the last nine, and finished as the No. 25 team in the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national high school boys basketball rankings sponsored by Discount Tire.

On Wednesday evening, the team celebrated the run with a banquet at The M Resort Casino and was presented a banner and commemorative framed Sports Illustrated magazine cover by Discount Tire's Billy Gliesmann.

"It's an honor," Liberty coach Kevin Soares said. "It's a credit to the kids for going out, busting their butts and going out and accomplishing what we set out to accomplish."

(READ: How Liberty dethroned Bishop Gorman for its first Nevada 5A state championship: 'We had to go out with a bang')

Three of Liberty's four losses were to Bishop Gorman — twice during the regular season and a third time in the Class 5A regional tournament. 

The title — a 63-62 win — not only brought the program its first state championship, but it also marked the first time every Liberty player and coach beat Bishop Gorman in its decade-long run atop the state. 

SBLive Sports Vice President of Basketball Strategy Dan Dickau, a former college All-American and six-year NBA player, outlined the criteria for the national rankings, which are released weekly throughout the high school basketball season. 

They include all schools that are allowed to compete against schools in their state association. That includes national prep school powerhouses like No. 1 Montverde, No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy and No. 6 IMG Academy.

When the framed magazine cover was presented to team leaders during the banquet, the room filled with buzz and senior forward Aaron Miles, who is photographed on the cover, was in awe.

And, admittedly, a he was in a bit of disbelief.

"If you told me two years ago when I was ineligible and I didn't even have a shred of hope being able to play that season that I was going to be able to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, I would not have believed you," Miles said. "It's been such a long road, long year and I'm more than honored to be given this Power 25 ranking and I'm so glad I got to spend this moment with not just my teammates, but those guys are my brothers." 

Soares, the longtime head coach at Foothills (Nev.), is a Nevada native. He was a standout point guard at the University of Nevada (he still holds the steals and assists records) and led Bishop Gorman to a state title in 1988.

After players and their families watched commemorative slideshow, Soares spoke about the. gratitude he has for the program, which he joined in spring of 2021 after spending a season at Bonanza. 

Players took pictures with the Sports Illustrated cover and their state championship rings after the banquet.

—

All photos by Jann Hendry