Copper Canyon High School's talented 6-foot-1 junior guard prospect Terry Gates proved his worth this club season - making a case for himself among the top overall prospects in Arizona's 2016 class. Another almost unknown prospect before the start to the spring club season, Gates came up big this off-season in preparation for his junior season of high school basketball.
In a class that does not include many top-rated guard prospects, Gates showed that he is worthy of acclaim among the top guard prospects in the class. Gates is a combo-guard prospect that is capable of playing either backcourt position on the floor, but is at his best defensively, where he possesses very quick hands and lateral quickness - making it very difficult for opposing guards to be effective against him. While Gates is good offensively, his value to any team on the defensive end outweighs his ability to score the basketball.
Gates is a good scorer that has his best impact as a slasher and open court player. He has a good shooting stroke that allows him to keep defenses honest, but he still needs to gain concistency from longer ranges on the floor. He is a good finisher inside the painted area and amidst bigger defenders. With the basketball in his hands, Gates does a good job of creating scoring opportunities for his teammates, but still needs time to develop as a true point man. A serious tweener as a combo-guard prospect, Gates will need to embrace the point guard position to reach his maximum potential as a college prospect over the next year.
Defensively, Gates seems to always be around the basketball and gets his hands on a lot of balls. The 50/50 ball that is always talked about, is consistently his as he is very tenacious and gets on the floor when needed. Gates forces ballhandlers to turn up the floor and then often gets his hands on the basketball - turning into turnovers for his team.
Gates is coming off a club season where he teamed up with club teammates Devin Kirby (Basha HS), Chris Bowling (Gilbert HS) and Malik Ondigo (Dysart HS), among others, with the Arizona Magic Elite - competing at a high level in several summer events. While it is still unclear as to which level of college basketball Gates will end up at in the future, he proved that he is in the discussion and is worthy of serious recruiting attention for himself.
Look for Gates to make a a nice jump in our new player rankings for the 2016 class, and have a strong junior season for hismelf.
