We continue our new Summer Player Rankings with our next release – the 2014 class summer player rankings for point guards. This position is loaded with some talented prospects, and has as many division-I prospects at the position as any other positions in the 2014 class.
Leading the way for this summer’s rankings at the position is 2012 Arizona Preps Player of the Year, Corona Del Sol HS 6-foot-2 junior point guard prospect Casey Benson. Benson is coming off an excellent sophomore season where he led his Aztecs to a terrific 32-1 season, and a Division-I State Championship.
Benson is among the best prospects in the state, regardless of class, and, as a result, has generated almost double-digit division-I offers already for himself, including high-major offers from such schools as Arizona State, Colorado and Boston College. Benson's pure ability to run a team and make players around him better makes him the best point guard prospect in the class - a position that he will look to hold for the remainder of his high school career.
Westwind Prep 6-foot-2 transfer junior guard Tate de Laveaga checks in at our #2 spot after having a big spring performance for himself. While he saw some struggles during the high school season at Horizon HS, de Laveaga has now transferred schools and will attend Westwind Prep next season where he will play for his father, Jeff de Laveaga, for the school's national high school team. De Laveaga's spring was big for him, as he helped lead his club team to a tournament championship at the Double Pump Hoop Fest, and also had his best performance of the spring in a big win over the ultra-talented and nationally ranked Oakland Soldiers (CA).
Desert Mountain HS 6-foot junior guard Rolando Rhymes is a very nice talent that transferred schools last season, leaving St. Mary's HS. As a result, Rhymes missed playing his sophomore season due to AIA transfer rules, so his summer performance will be big for him as will his resurgence next season for Desert Mountain. This talented prospect is as talented a guard prospect as there is in the class, so look for him to have a big junior season. Rhymes is already hearing from numerous division-I programs already, so look for his college recruitment to begin to soar.
One player that has climbed the rankings in a short period of time is Perry High School's 5-foot-10 junior pure-point guard prospect Jordan Howard. Howard burst onto the basketball scene this past season, while leading his Perry HS team to a strong state playoff run. Howard also turned in a very strong spring performance for himself, as he helped lead his club team to a tournament championship at the Double Pump Hoop Fest. Howard is a prospect that could even see his player ranking improve with a very strong performance this summer, as he definitely has the talent and ability to do so. Howard also received his first scholarship offer this weekend from Grand Canyon University.
The most intriguing prospect in the class and at the position is Veritas Prep 5-foot-11 junior point guard Ben King. King averaged 23 points per/game this season as a sophomore, and while his team struggled with a 9-16 overall record, he was flat out terrific. King put up tremendous numbers this high school season, scoring better than 30 points on 5 different times this season. King also put up a season and career-high of 39 points in a 63-70 loss to Mingus HS. Since we have not seen him play against better competition this spring or summer as of yet, he checks in at our #5 spot in the class. He also plays the shooting guard position for his high school, so we need to see if this young man can actively play the point guard position for his ranking to improve.
Other really talented prospects in the class include Peoria HS 5-foot-11 junior Broderick Sharkey, Arizona Lutheran HS 6-foot-1 junior Kris Lamberson, Tucson Amphitheater HS 5-foot-10 junior Yusuf Shehata and St. Mary's HS 5-foot-9 junior Alasan Turay. Each of these prospects could also rise in the rankings with strong summer performances, and/or strong junior seasons next year - which each of them are very capable of.
Here are our Summer Player Rankings for the point guard position in Arizona’s 2014 class. While we have not seen everyone at the position in the state, these individuals have proven to be the best at the position at this point in time.
Arizona Preps 2014 Class Summer Player Rankings – Point Guards (In Ranking Order)
1. Casey Benson 6-2 JR PG Corona Del Sol HS (Tempe, AZ)
2. Tate De Laveaga 6-2 JR PG Westwind Prep HS (Phoenix, AZ)
3. Rolando Rhymes 6-0 JR PG St. Mary’s HS (Phoenix, AZ)
4. Jordan Howard 5-10 JR PG Perry HS (Chandler, AZ)
5. Ben King 5-11 JR PG/SG Veritas Prep (Phoenix, AZ)
6. Broderick Sharkey 5-11 JR PG Peoria HS (Glendale, AZ)
7. Kris Lamberson 6-1 JR PG Arizona Lutheran HS (Phoenix, AZ)
8. Yusuf Shehata 5-10 JR PG Amphitheater HS (Tucson, AZ)
9. Alasan Turay 5-9 JR PG St. Mary’s HS (Phoenix, AZ)
10. Brandon Williams 6-0 JR PG Paradise Valley HS (Paradise Valley, AZ)
11. Jake Feingold 5-10 JR PG Prescott HS (Prescott, AZ)
12. Kevin Yazzie 6-0 JR PG Chinle HS (Chinle, AZ)
13. Ad Hart 6-0 JR PG St. Mary's HS (Phoenix, AZ)
14. Madut Reyak 6-1 JR PG/SG Peoria HS (Peoria, AZ)
15. Sam Diggs 6-1 JR PG/SG Sunrise Mountain HS (Glendale, AZ)
16. Will Goff 6-1 JR PG/SG Desert Mountain HS (Scottsdale, AZ)
Summer Player Ranking Notes: Our player rankings have been determined by a body of work from each student-athlete. Each player’s body of work consisted of performances throughout the high school season, and also performances throughout the spring and summer. A top performance throughout the high school season impacts a player’s ranking a great deal. A student-athlete’s performance throughout the spring and summer will have an even bigger impact, since our staff is able to observe Arizona players in competition against much better local, regional and national competition. The complete body of work has been taken into consideration for each of our player rankings. Player rankings are based on a particular student-athlete’s ability to play the game of basketball – not academic performance, although a player can help him or herself if he/she is an excellent student. Rankings are done to help aid college coaches in their ability to identify the top student-athletes by position and class in the state. These rankings are forwarded to college coaches at every level throughout the country. Rankings will be updated throughout the year.
