A member of Arizona’s 2017 class that has emerged this fall is Casa Grande Union High School’s talented 6-foot-3 senior guard Jacob Johnson. Johnson has proved this fall in several events that he is worthy of better college recruitment, as he looks to be prepared to have a big senior season for high school program. Related to former NBA player and Suns announcer Eddie Johnson, Jacob is a skilled guard prospect with a good overall feel for the game and a nice approach to the game. Being around the game of basketball all of his life, this young man loves…
Author: Anthony Ray
Arizona’s 2018 class is still developing for college coaches to take a hard look at, and Buena High School’s 6-foot junior point man Dominic Mooney recently emerged at this year’s Arizona Preps Fall Showcase as one of the elite point guards in the class. While I had not yet seen Mooney play before this year’s event, he more than made up for lost time with his performance – displaying a serious ability to play the game and while playing against elite competition. While in a serious match-up against Hillcrest Prep senior point guard Virshon Cotton, who has numerous division-I offers,…
On Wednesday, November 9th, the Early National Letter of Intent (NLI) Signing Period began. The period will run for a full week, from November 9th until November 16th. During this time period, high school prospects will have the opportunity to sign their respective national letters of intent with the school of their choice. The NLI seals the deal for a college prospect with the desired school – once a student-athlete signs the NLI he/she is locked in to the program. This week the early signing period begins. Each of the prospects in the state from the 2017 senior class that have given verbal commitments…
Hillcrest Prep Academy 6-foot, 165-pound senior point guard prospect Virshon Cotton is one of the shiftiest guard prospects in the West. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Cotton moved to the state of Arizona this high school season to play for Hillcrest’s national high school team – an opportunity to play for one of the top prep programs in the country, and also play with the nation’s top prospect, 7-foot-1 senior post DeAndre Ayton (University of Arizona commit). Cotton ventured to Arizona this season in an attempt to develop his exposure to more college coaches and maximize his college recruitment. Already,…
The most talked about college prospect from this year’s recent Arizona Preps Fall Showcase traveled a 6-hour distance with his high school coach to take part in this year’s event. Menaul High School’s (NM) 6-foot-9 junior post Michael Ou is a rapidly developing post talent that most college coaches, scouts and media have not yet seen, until this year’s event. That quickly changed over the two-day event as Ou impressed our staff and other regional and national scouts in attendance with his play and upside for the future. Ou traveled to this year’s event with his high school head coach…
Arizona’s 2020 class of prospects is loaded with superb talent for the future. While there are many prospects in the class that are already getting division-I attention, one prospect made a strong case for himself in this year’s Arizona Preps Fall Showcase – enough to make him among the elite prospects in the class overnight. Sunnyslope High School’s 6-foot-2 freshman guard Chance Garland is a serious basketball talent for the future, and after his superb showing in this year’s event, it is obvious that this young man is definitely one of the elite-level talents in the 2020 class. With such…
Former Deer Valley High School 2015 graduate, Mesa Junior College 6-foot-10, 245-pound sophomore post Edward Hardt developed as much as any player I have seen in sometime. Under the development of Mesa JC long-time terrific head coach Sam Ballard, Hardt made dramatic improvement as a college prospect over the past two years for the Thunderbirds. This season, Hardt is projected as my top post prospect in the conference, alongside Arizona Western JC’s 6-foot-11 sophomore post Isaac Allen. Much different than Allen, Hardt is a wide-body post player with broad shoulders, excellent physical girth and a strong motor on both ends…
One of the better incoming young freshman prospects in the state is Deer Valley High School’s 5-foot-7 guard Jalen James. While small in stature currently, James is a very skilled and sharp-shooting young prospect with loads of potential for the future. The son of former Arizona high school and junior college standout performer Tarik James, this younger version of the James’ family has excellent promise as a 2020 performer. Arizona’s 2020 class is absolutely loaded with very good prospects across the state. While several of the prospects in the class are already getting serious division-I attention, James has time for…
The 18th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase, Arizona’s original showcase basketball event, was held this past weekend on the campus of American Indian Indian College (SAGU University). The event was held on Saturday and Sunday for high school and junior high aged boys. This year’s Fall Showcase event included each of the top scouts / writers in the state, and also very influential, top-rated national scout Jerry Mullens. The event also included top-rated writers Gregg Rosenberg (Rivals.com), Chad Groth (Area Codes Basketball), Ron Coleman (Southwest Showcase & Rivals.com), Dee Coleman, many other writers from the Arizona Preps Staff and numerous…
The 18th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase, Arizona’s original showcase basketball event, was held this past weekend on the campus of American Indian Indian College (SAGU University). The event was held on Saturday and Sunday for high school and junior high aged boys. This year’s historic event went back to a multiple day format, adding skill and drill work and also spoofing up the guest speakers in the event. Once again, the event also included some of the top scouts in the business – creating amazing potential scholarship opportunities for each player involved. This year’s Fall Showcase event included each…