The junior college season is in full swing, after a strong winter break where many of the teams hosted their own tournaments and faced stiff national competition. In the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC), numerous teams are jumbled together – competing for a strong position among conference leaders. Cochise College (12-3, 5-2) is tied for first place among division-I junior colleges with Mesa Junior College (7-7, 5-2), while Pima (14-1, 6-1), South Mountain (13-2, 6-1) and Phoenix College (10-5, 6-1) are still each tied for first place among division-II juco’s in the league. Here are the Players of the Week in the ACCAC, as selected by the league…
Author: Anthony Ray
Arizona Preps made the long drive to Surprise, Arizona on Tuesday evening to catch would looked to be a very good contest between 5A Division rivals, Arcadia High School and host Shadow Ridge. With both teams looking to gain momentum for the second half of the high school season, and with loads of talent on the floor, it was thought to be an exciting match-up. While the game would still be exciting, it would quickly become a lopsided contest fast. Arcadia (12-5) was coming off a loss to Mesa in the McClintock Holiday Shootout over the holidays, before defeating McClintock…
While Chaparral High School (8-10) team struggled to gain consistency during the first half of the high school season, I look for this team to put it all together during the second half of the season, behind the leadership of head coach Dan Peterson and his staff. The staff has worked hard to get this talented team going this season, and I look for the Firebirds to make a strong playoff run in the second half of the season. One player that really impressed me over the winter break and will be a major factor to the team’s resurgence in the second…
The Desert Vista Thunder and head coach Gino Crump have the tools in the shed to do something special this season. They have the coach with a great basketball pedigree, and the elite ball-handler with true point guard vision (E.J Jackson). They have the guard on the perimeter that can possibly drop 30 on you on any given night (Tyrek Chambers), and the guard that will lock you down on the perimeter and will do all the little things to make his team better (Alijah Gammage). They have the 6-6 wing man with crazy athleticism (Wesley Harris) and the 6-9…
While Arizona’s 2018 class of prospects lack a lot of true size, 6-foot-9, 225-pound senior post Barrett Keith recently moved to the state of Arizona via Texas where he attended Keller High School. Keith now attends AZ Compass Prep in Chandler, Arizona, and is looking to raise his overall college recruitment the second half of this high school season. Keith began his senior season at Keller HS (TX), but decided to leave the state of Texas after he and his family became very unhappy with the direction of things at the program. The state of Texas is also absolutely loaded…
Arizona Preps’ staff writer Derek James attended the Judy Dixon Holiday Basketball Tournament at Greenway High School this week, and was able to catch several games at the event. Here are some top performers that stood out for James this week . . . Emmanuel Taban 6-7 JR Apollo HS – 2019 Class While evaluating the Apollo vs Shadow Ridge game, Emmanuel Taban (pictured) was a clear standout for the day. A very long and lanky player, he can put the ball on the ground well enough to blow by his defenders. He had a go-to-move that works for him. He…
The season is well underway now in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC), as numerous teams are jumbled together – competing for a strong position among conference leaders. Cochise College (9-1, 4-1) is in first place among division-I junior colleges, while Pima (9-1, 4-1), South Mountain (9-2, 4-1) and Phoenix College (7-3, 4-1) are each tied for first place among division-II juco’s in the league. Here are the Players of the Week in the ACCAC, as selected by the league . . . ACCAC D-I Player of the Week: Brandon McGhee – Sophomore – Arizona Western College Brandon McGhee had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2…
The 2017 McClintock Holiday Shootout kicked off on Tuesday with numerous games on the day, but the event saved the best for last in the evening, as the top-rated team in this year’s event, Mountain Pointe, faced off with a game Mesquite HS team. Mountain Pointe (12-1) has been among the hottest teams in the state, after an early-season loss to Brophy Prep. The Pride recently handed a loaded Desert Vista team a loss at Mountain Pointe, and came into Tuesday evening’s match-up with Mesquite as winners of their last 7 games on the season. Mesquite (10-4), led by first-year…
Hillcrest Prep Academy 6-foot-4, 210-pound sophomore guard prospect Kyree Walker (Arizona State commit) is among the elite overall prospects in America’s 2020 Class. Regarded by everyone as a Top-5 national prospect in the class, Walker is a big-time young talent that has already received rave reviews nationally. He has a nice handle of the basketball and a strong feel for the game, which allows him to make plays off the dribble and finish strong at the rim, while also being able to set up his teammates for scoring opportunities. Recently, Walker exploded for 50 points in a game. Here is a highlight…
The talk of the town recently featured the undefeated Shadow Mountain Matadors and 8th ranked team in the nation (according to MaxPreps.com), taking on the Pinnacle Pioneers (7-4) and their star point guard and #25 ranked player in America (according to Rivals.com) Nico Mannion. Not to be outdone, Shadow Mountain was armed with their own stars, in one of the best backcourts in the country – junior guards 5-foot-9 Jovan Blacksher and 6-foot Jaelen House (Arizona State commit). Not only were both school’s fans packing the seats, but just about every basketball head, along with numerous college coaching staffs. Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley and the entire Sun Devil team would be in attendance…