The defending 5A State Champions, Sunnyslope High School (23-5) have been special all season long – displaying a well-disciplined style of play that the state has not seen since the 1980’s. The Vikings began their quest for a third-straight State Championship game berth, and their second-consecutive state title on Tuesday evening at home against a talented Chaparral team. Chaparral (14-15) has struggled all season to live up to their potential. A talented group of younger prospects, many of whom will return next season, the Firebirds will have a bright future ahead of them, but this season the team fell very…
Author: Anthony Ray
Hillcrest Prep has been consistently known for having top-rated national talent over the years, after featuring such top-rated future NBA prospects previously as Marvin Bagley (Duke) and DeAndre Ayton (University of Arizona). The program is currently led by one of the nation’s premier talents, Arizona State commit, 6-foot-5 sophomore do-it-all guard Kyree Walker. Recently, the program received another big-time talent when 6-foot-11 sophomore post Davion Bradford left the state of Missouri, and arrived at the Hillcrest Prep program. Bradford attended Christian Brothers College Prep in Saint Louis earlier this season, before moving to the state of Arizona in December. Bradford…
There are still numerous Arizona prospects in the 2018 class that remain unsigned, and I look for many of these prospects to begin to garner serious recruiting attention this spring, during the late signing period. One of the top available prospects in the class is Hillcrest Prep’s 6-foot-3 unsigned prep guard Demarius Jacobs. Jacobs one of the top unsigned guard prospects in the West, and this week he received a big scholarship offer from a Big-10 program from his hometown. A native of Chicago, Jacobs came to Hillcrest Prep as a post-graduate prospect last spring with his younger brother Markese Jacobs…
It was an electric night on the campus of AZ Compass Prep Wednesday evening, as the top-rated Hillcrest Prep National Team faced AZ Compass Prep in front of a standing-room only crowd that was filled with fans, college coaches, scouts and media. In a contest that featured numerous top-rated prospects for both teams, Hillcrest Prep turned in a strong effort to defeat AZ Compass on their home floor, 104-95, in what was a very exciting affair. The gym was filled with a who’s who group of fans, which included numerous college coaches – UCLA assistant coach David Grace, University of…
This week in major news for Arizona club basketball, the Powerhouse Hoops basketball program would finalize a shoe contract with the Under Armour shoe brand – making the program one of only (3) programs on the West Coast that have an official relationship with the company. Powerhouse Hoops will now compete on the Under Armour shoe circuit this spring and summer, and moving forward, which will allow for maximum college recruiting exposure for the program’s players. The program has produced more than 80 college student-athletes since 2013, and currently has 25 different players competing in the college ranks. The program…
One of the top young prospects in the state of Arizona is having very good success as a youngster at the varsity level this high school season, while helping to rebuild a storied basketball program in the state. South Mountain High School’s 6-foot- freshman guard Zay Freeney, a member of the 2021 Class, is starting as a freshman guard for South Mountain HS this season, and is putting up strong numbers, while leading his program to a 16-10 overall record on the season. Freeney has brought hope to a storied program with his play this high school season, as he has…
The junior college season is winding down in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC), as Phoenix College (18-5, 14-1) continues to hold on to a narrow lead for first place in the conference, after two wins last week. Pima (21-2, 13-2) is in excellent position late in the season, currently in second place and playing their best basketball of the season. Here are the Players of the Week in the ACCAC, as selected by the league . . . ACCAC D-I Player of the Week: Danny Garrick – Sophomore – Central Arizona College Garrick averaged 27.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, while shooting 63.3% from…
After facing up earlier this season in a game that Skyline Prep (18-1) would win in fine fashion over Tri-City Christian, 75-62 on the road, the two teams would meet up again at Skyline Prep recently – only to watch Skyline Prep win again. This time Skyline Prep would again use a nice, balanced scoring attack to defeat their rival behind a game-high 31 points from 6-foot-2 senior guard Amari Hudson, and 29 points from 6-foot-5 senior wing Devonte McKinney. These two programs are serious competitors with one another, and have developed one of the best rivalries in the state…
The junior college season is winding down in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC), as Phoenix College (16-5, 12-1) continues to hold on to a narrow lead for first place in the conference, while Pima (19-2, 11-2) and Cochise (17-4, 10-3) are in good position late in the season. Here are the Players of the Week in the ACCAC, as selected by the league . . . ACCAC D-I Player of the Week: Alfonso Plummer – Freshman – Arizona Western College Plummer came up big last week – averaging 27.5 points and 5.0 rebounds, while shooting 70.8% from the field and 72.2%…
After losing two of their last (8) games of the high school season, which the state’s 5A Division defending state champions are not accustomed to doing, Sunnyslope High School (21-5) got back to their winning ways on Tuesday evening – completing a big road win over a talented Apollo team 58-38. The contest began as a low-scoring affair in the first half, as Sunnyslope comfortably held a nice lead in the contest. Apollo (13-11) has a very talented team, but they are young. As a result, the team has struggled to gain consistency this season. Late in the first half,…