Now it is finally time to talk about the top girls prospects in this year's 16th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase. While this year's attendance for girls was not what it was accustomed to being, there were some really good girls prospects in this year's event, led by the Tournament Most Valuable player, Millennium High School's 5-foot-8 junior star guard Raina Perez. Perez was terrific in this year's event, showcasing her ability to score the basketball at a high rate and also run a team efficiently. Perez has impressive range on her shot and also a strong mid-range game, which allows her to make plays for herself or others off the dribble and at a high rate.
There were also many more top performing girls in this year's event as well, and here are my evaluations of the top girls performers from this year's Fall Showcase . . .
Sederia Carter 5-10 Senior Parker High School - 2015 Class
- Carter was terrific in this year's event, and was the runner-up for this year's Tournament Most Valuable Player award. Carter came up big in this year's event, scoring the basketball effectively inside the paint, and also proving a nice jump shot from the perimeter. She has very good size on her frame and is able to play inside and out as a result of her nice skill level. Carter also runs the floor very well, and should be able to make the transition nicely into a small forward during her college career. She was the Surprise Performer of this year's event as well, and she is now regarded among the top girls prospects by our Arizona Preps Staff, and will see a significant jump in our next player rankings.
Rayah Craig 6-0 Freshman Valley Vista High School - 2018 Class
- Craig was the top underclassman prospect from this year's event, as she is a budding young star guard that has the potential become a superstar player over time. She is as good a young girl's basketball prospect as there has ever been in the state, and she will develop into one of those prospects that get recruited by the best college programs in the land. She is already hearing from such programs as Stanford. Craig is a nice shooting guard prospect that has an excellent feel for the game, and advanced skillset for her age. She is able to score from almost anywhere on the floor already, and is an active rebounder and finisher in traffic. Craig should begin to receive national attention very soon, and is good enough to help lead Valley Vista to a very strong season this year.
Jordenn Reible 5-9 Junior Valley Vista High School - 2016 Class
- Reible has improved as much as any player that I have seen in the state over the last year. While last high school season she was a steady but young guard prospect that showed excellent potential, she will return this high school season as a mature guard prospect with a lot of experience under her belt, after a long spring and summer where she traveled the country with her club program - a team that finished very strong in several national and regional events. Reible is a skilled guard prospect with a strong lower base that allows her to push by defenders off the dribble, and finish plays in traffic. She has also improved her perimeter jump shot - making her tough to defend for opposing teams. Look for Reible to developinto one of the state's elite guard prospects this high school season.
Megan Smith 5-7 Sophomore Liberty High School - 2017 Class
- Smith proved to be the top runner-up for the top underclassman award in this year's event. Smith is a very skilled guard prospect with a nice perimeter jump shot and a strong handle of the basketball. She excited several members of our Arizona Preps' staff in this year's event with her ability to play the game. She is a combo-guard prospect that has a very good feel for the game already, and should only continue to improve over time. This young lady could develop into a division-I prospect over time, but may be best for a smaller college program, unless she grows physically. If she can develop into a consistent point guard on the floor, she is definitely a division-I prospect.
Savannah Anderson 5-9 SOPH Casa Grande Union High School - 2017 Class
- Anderson was another top Surprise Performer from this year's event. I was very impressed at this young girl's ability to play the game, and at such a young age. While she still needs a lot of work to truely develop as a player, she does have time. Anderson possesses very good size with unique mobility as a player, showcasing very good versatility and a good overall skill level. She still needs to improve her range on her jump shot and become more consistent overall as a player, but the skill level is there and the feel for the game. She likes to play with the basketball in her hands, so she could develop nicely into a point guard over time. Looking forward to seeing her continue to develop over time.
Jada Willingham 5-8 Senior Valley Vista High School - 2015 Class
- Willingham is a surging guard prospect with a nice jump shot and excellent length of body - allowing her to score inside and out. She does still need to become consistent in her jumper to maximize her potential as a player, but she has a good overall feel for the game and realizes her value to a team through her ability to block shots and rebound outside of her area on the floor. Willingham is a very underrecruited senior prospect, that should generate some college interest this season on a loaded high school team that should compete for a state title this season.
Jacqueline Iafrate 5-3 SOPH Scottsdale Christian Academy - 2017 Class
- Iafrate is a scrappy point guard prospect that is small in stature, but she has a good feel for the game and is a true competitor from the point guard position. She plays with true-grit and is all over the floor. While she is very small in size, she comes from a basketball program, and has a high basketball IQ. She is also still very young, so I expect that she should develop nicely over time. What she lacks in size she will make up with heart.
Perry Ellis 5-2 SOPH Shadow Mountain High School - 2017 Class
- Ellis is another small guard prospect that is still growing a great deal, but this spunky little guard prospect has the goods. Ellis is a jet-like quick guard prospect that pushes the basketball up the floor at every chance she gets, and is a very good scorer in transition. She is a great addition for any team looking to speed up the game offensively. She will need to grow physically and get much stronger to be effective at the collegiate level, but she also has time to develop over the next three years of high school. Good guard prospect.
Amy Mazanec 5-8 SOPH Cactus Shadows High School - 2017 Class
- Mazanec is another good young prospect that is an active rebounder and competes hard. She is also a good slasher in the half court set and a good finisher in traffic. An OK athlete, Mazanec will not overpower you with athelticism, but she has a good overall skil level and a nose for the basketball. She is a stretch-four prospect that will need to make the transition to the small forward position over time to reach her maximum recruitment potential as a player.
