Bryce James, AJ Dybantsa, Cayden Boozer and other high school hoopers mention how they term hard-to-break defenses

While many hoops fans have been noting that most high school games lack defense, there have been plenty of solid defensive games that have been played so far, including one more recent game featuring Bryce James and Sierra Canyon. The Trailblazers put on a defensive clinic against Tyran Stokes and Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) on Saturday for a 63-54 win.

In a new video on Tuesday, the NBA Future Starts Now Instagram page asked several high school stars what they call hard-to-break defenses. Some of them had quite interesting answers.

Many of them had similar answers, with Duke signee Cayden Boozer calling those kinds of defenses "Clamps," while No. 1 BYU signee AJ Dybantsa called them "Lock up." Bryce James, the son of LeBron James, just crossed his arms, while No. 1 junior Tyran Stokes had a simple answer:

"Great defense."

Several teams have been stepping up their defensive plays late into the 2024-2025 high school basketball season with great defensive performances. This included that 60-49 win by four-star Kiyan Anthony and Long Island Lutheran against five-star junior Jordan Smith and Paul VI last Saturday.

Long Island Lutheran clamped up the defense in the fourth quarter, limiting the often high-scoring Paul VI to just eight points in the final quarter of the game. Overall in the second half, the Crusaders held Paul VI to just 21 points.

Bryce James and Sierra Canyon held a defense clinic vs. Tyran Stokes and Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks)

As for Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 junior was at the receiving end of a defensive effort from Sierra Canyon, which prides itself on its defense. The game was part of the Trinity-Mission League Showcase at Intuit Dome last Saturday, with Sierra Canyon challenging shots and limiting the Knights to just 54 points all game.

Unranked Gavin Hightower led the Trailblazers with 21 points, while Bryce Cofield added 15. Cofield, who is a solid defensive player for Sierra Canyon, spoke with the LA Times after the game.

“We hang our hat on defense," he said via LA Times. “We’re used to playing on big stages in front of lots of fans. You get the nerves out of your system in the first few minutes, then it’s all about basketball.”

Despite the solid defensive effort put forth by Sierra Canyon, Tyran Stokes still had 23 points, though the rest of the team did not perform as well as he did.