We are now focusing on some of Arizona’s top basketball products to come from the state over the years, and taking at look at what they have done to help Arizona basketball, as well as what they are doing now. Another Arizona basketball legend and another one of the best to ever lace them up in the state of Arizona on the basketball hardwood was former Corona Del Sol High School 1990 graduate Doug Harris. Harris was a big-time winner during his high school basketball career in Arizona, while dominating the state as a player. Since his playing his career, he has turned…
Author: Anthony Ray
Head Coach Mark Wood and his Liberty Lions would take on Vista Grande – coming fresh off an impressive come-from-behind 99-93 road victory over Willow Canyon HS on Tuesday night. While Vista Grande did not come into the match-up with the very talented Lions with a great record, I was looking forward to seeing their 5-foot-11 talented freshman guard Rai’Shun Wilson square up against Liberty’s star 6-foot-1 junior Josh Ursery. Liberty would pull out of the gates cold as freezer peas, missing wide-open looks, and over-committing on the defensive end, while Vista Grande would get out to an early 5-0 lead…
Cochise and South Mountain Junior College both came into Wednesday evening’s contest tied for first place in the ACCAC Conference, for their respective divisions. While Cochise held the first place spot in the conference for division-I schools, South Mountain was tied for the first place spot for division-II schools with Phoenix College and Pima JC. The division didn’t matter, both programs were simply trying to win to stay atop the conference standings. Cochise Junior College head coach Jerry Carrillo has been among the best junior college head coaches in America for many years, a long time. Carrillo won his 500th career…
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…
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…