There is a buzz in the basketball community and people are wondering what the Arizona Preps Exposure Circuit is? Arizona Preps has been committed to creating opportunities for student-athletes to gain valuable exposure to future educational opportunities. The staff has put their minds together to create the Arizona Preps Exposure Circuit.
The Circuit is broken down by season (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer) and it is a combination of events that we or our partners are hosting. We will be providing extensive media coverage which includes photos, video, live-streaming, interviews, player evaluations, social media posts and articles. The 2021 Fall Circuit has been announced with the Winter, Spring and Summer announcements to follow. Here is a closer look at what is to come:
Jr. Grind Session - Round 1
August 26-28, 2021
The Jr. Grind Session is a tournament series aimed to create a platform for the best upcoming middle school prospects. The object is to provide middle school student-athletes exposure to the world’s best high school prep circuit. In the future, the Grind Session would like to see their prep schools add a middle school division of the top middle school basketball talent in the world.
The Jr. Grind Session will be open to teams with the classes 2026, 2027 and 2028. The tournaments will be invite-only with no more than (8) teams per division. Teams making it to the semi-final rounds will receive power points (4) for 1st Place, (3) for 2nd Place, (2) for a Semi-Final Finish. There will be a total of (5) tournament rounds (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer & Tournament of Champions (Late Summer). Teams with the most power points get invited to the 5th round Tournament of Champions, which will be in the late Summer.
Middle school teams, please be on the lookout as the Jr. Grind Session Nomination Committee will be sending out invitations for the Fall Round in the month of June. Arizona Preps is excited and looks forward to bringing this big time event to the state of Arizona.
Big KC Indigenous Classic
September 3-5, 2021
Tribe Athletics and Tribal Nations Recruiting has been an innovator and leader for the Indigenous Student-Athlete platform. Jon Yarrow Jr. and Cameron Smith have been gathering the best collection of Indigenous student athletes. Their events are well organized and provide an exceptional value.
Arizona Preps is pleased to be partnered with Tribe Athletics and Tribal Nations Recruiting, as we will be providing extensive media coverage for their events. The Big KC Indigenous Classic will take place in the HyVee Arena in Kansas City, Missouri where it houses (12) courts under one roof.
The tournament still has open availability in the age groups 5-6th grade, 7-8th grade, 9-10th grade and 11-12th grade divisions. Teams wanting to compete should register ASAP at www.tribeathleticsports.com. Spots are filling fast so if your Indigenous team would like to participate, I suggest you register now.
The Best in the West Fall League
September 11, 18, & 25, 2021
This is one of the West Valley’s best kept secrets until now. The league was founded in 2017 by Willow Canyon Head Coach Joseph Colletti. The goal was to raise pre-season competition for schools located in the West Valley. The result is teams from around the state wanting to get in. The league surged with participation, so Coach Colletti added Sandra Day O’Connor’s site (courtesy of Coach Dra Rogers)
Last season there were (26) teams who participated, featuring several region champions and a state champion. The goal this year is to take it to another level by adding (30) teams, and bringing in Arizona Preps to provide extensive media coverage to strengthen the platform for coaches and student-athletes. We look forward to covering this Fall League in September.
23rd Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase
October 9 & October 16, 2021
The Arizona Preps Fall Showcase is back for it’s 23rd year. Last year, there were over (100) high school teams committed. Senior Editor Anthony Ray was able to bring out some of the top scouts on the West Coast to evaluate players such as Dinos Trigonis, Justin Young, Jerry Mullen, Gregg Rosenberg, Tye Jacobs, Paul Suber, Sam Cullen, Travis Armstrong, Anthony Ray, myself and numerous college coaches.
This year’s Fall Showcase will be bigger and better where we plan to separate the girls and boys to provide even deeper coverage. This event will be free to teams wanting to participate and there will be a two-game guarantee. High School coaches please be on the lookout as invitations will be emailed out this July. We look forward to evaluating your players this October.
2021 Fall Ball Classic
October 23, 2021
The Fall Ball Classic is a triple-header exhibition game between Northland Pioneer Community College, Gallup High School, Window Rock High School and the Hillcrest Prep Program. In catching up with Hillcrest Prep Director Nick Weaver, he plans to have a National Team, Canyon Athletic Association Open Division Team and Post-Graduate Team for the 2021-2022 Season.
The Hillcrest Prep staff and myself sat down at dinner one evening to discuss new community service opportunities, the outcome was the Fall Ball Classic being born. All three teams and coaching staff will be providing a free youth basketball clinic to 3rd-8th graders located in the Window Rock and surrounding communities.
After the clinic, Arizona Preps has set up a media press conference to interview the Gallup, Window Rock, Hillcrest Open and Hillcrest National players and coaches before the triple-header. The first game will be between Hillcrest Post-Grad and Northland Pioneer Community College, the second between Hillcrest Prep-CAA Open and Gallup with the main event being between Hillcrest National and Window Rock High School.
Arizona Preps is thankful to Window Rock Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Shannon Goodsell, Principal Supervisor Tom Trigalet, Athletic Director Ryan Dodson, and Administrative Assistant Benita Jay for opening their doors to provide a great educational opportunity for all student-athletes involved. We look forward to this excellent event.
