It has been an interesting road for New Jersey native, 6-foot-8, 225-pound senior forward Stephan Gabriel. After moving to the state of Arizona in the fall and playing for AZ Compass Prep’s national team, and then competing for Planet Athlete during the second half of the season, Gabriel has now landed at Hillcrest Prep, where he will finish his senior season. Gabriel transferred to Hillcrest Prep, after deciding to reclassify to the 2019 class. He decided to not graduate this spring, and will finish his senior season next year for Hillcrest Prep. Recently, Gabriel played in his first game for Hillcrest, and…
Author: Anthony Ray
The 2017-2018 ACCAC junior college basketball season has come to an end, with Phoenix College winning the ACCAC regular season title. Arizona Western would win the Division-I Conference Title, while Pima Junior College would win their second-consecutive Division-II Conference Title. Here are the post-season selections for All-ACCAC and All-Region-I Teams in the conference, led by the Player of the Year, Phoenix College sophomore wing Rashaad Goolsby and the Coach of the Year, once again, Phoenix College head coach Matt Gordon . . . 2017-18 Men’s Basketball All-ACCAC/Region-I Teams ACCAC Player of the Year Rashaad Goolsby- Phoenix ACCAC Freshman of the…
Pima Junior College (28-4), behind the quality leadership of head coach Brian Peabody and his staff, have done it again – winning their second-straight Region-I, Division-II ACCAC Conference Title on the home floor of rival Phoenix College. As a result, Pima will be advancing back to Danville, Illinois for the NJCAA Division-II National Tournament. To win this year’s conference title, #2 seed Pima defeated the top seeded #1 seed Phoenix College 73-70 on the road, after their pressure defense forced a missed three-pointer and a missed shot in the final seconds of the contest. With the game tied at 65-65 with…
The exciting annual Southwest Showcase Main Event will be held, once again, to kick off the 2018 club season. This year’s event will be held between the days of Friday, March 23 – 25th @ the Avondale Sports Complex. Our Arizona Preps’ staff will be in attendance to bring you all the coverage from this year’s event and the top performers in action (players and teams). Here is some more important information for this year’s event . . . Date: March 23rd – 25th. Out of city teams will start on March 24th (Saturday). Cost: $350 for High School, $300…
With the end to the 2017-2018 high school basketball season, the spring evaluation period is now upon us, and set to take center stage for college coaches across the country, as programs look to fill voids for next season. While some college programs will be evaluating some younger talent this spring and summer, most programs will still be looking toward the 2018 Class this spring. Here are some more of the state’s top available prospects, still remaining on the recruiting board this spring (In no particular order) . . . TOP AVAILABLE 2018 ARIZONA HS PROSPECTS (CLASS OF 2018) Bryce…
With the end to the 2017-2018 high school basketball season, the spring evaluation period is now upon us, and set to take center stage for college coaches across the country, as programs look to fill voids for next season. While some college programs will be evaluating some younger talent this spring and summer, most programs will still be looking toward the 2018 Class this spring. Here are some of the state’s top available prospects, still remaining on the recruiting board this spring (In no particular order) . . . TOP AVAILABLE 2018 ARIZONA HS PROSPECTS (CLASS OF 2018) Both Gach …
The 1st Annual 2018 Relentless Arizona High School All-American Game took place in amazing fashion on Friday, March 9th in the middle of the Westgate Entertainment District. Arizona Preps’ staff writer Justin Vargas), along with Kenny Dobbs and Gary Smith hosted the “March Madfest” while also launching their new Relentless Brand, which supports a belief in God, family and education. The all-star game and a celebrity all-star game was played outside on an amazing $19,000 basketball court that was placed in the middle of the busiest restaurant/shopping/nightlife district on the West Side. The game was also played directly in front of Gila River Arena. The All-Star game was held Friday…
With the spring evaluation and recruiting period now upon us, one of the top overall available unsigned prospects in Arizona’s 2018 class is Arizona Compass 6-foot-3 senior guard Dwayne Walker. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where put up big numbers as a junior, Walker averaged 27 points per/game for a very talented AZ Compass Prep program this high school season. Walker had a big season for AZ Compass, which included a huge 40-point performance against a loaded and terrific Findlay Prep (NV) team in Compass’ second game of the high school season. Walker moved to the state this high school season to…
Arizona Western Junior College (23-9, 16-6) stayed in the hunt all season long in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC), and then turned it on at the right time of the junior college season. After reaching the semi-finals and blowing out Central Arizona Junior College (85-57), Arizona Western came right back on Monday evening in the tournament final – only to knock off Cochise College (74-63) for the ACCAC Division-I Conference Championship. Arizona Western and Cochise are two of the top junior college programs in the country consistently over many years, and are both definitely two elite programs in…
Another one of the top former basketball products to come out of the state of Arizona was Tarik James. A graduate of Cortez High School in 1992, James was one of the top scorers of the basketball during his high school career in the state – leaving Cortez as the school’s all-time leading scorer, and one of the top overall scorers of the basketball in Arizona high school basketball history. “I was told after my freshman year in high school that I was good enough to play varsity, but I was just too small. I was just 5-4,” said James. …