On Saturday I was able to catch several games at this year’s Paradise Valley Invitational, and came away impressed with the play of numerous players in action. Here are the players that I observed on Saturday that caught my attention, and will look to become definite sleeper prospects in the state – players that you may not know much about that deserve some serious attention (in no particular order) . . . Coby De Laveaga 6-3 SR SG Perry HS (2015 Class) – Coby was terrific on Saturday – leading his high school program to the tournament championship with 28…
Author: Anthony Ray
In case you missed it, Dobson High School’s 6-foot senior post Monay Mariscal is now officially off the recruiting board. After having a very good junior season last year for Dobson, and then helping her club program, Arizona Blue Star, to a big spring and summer performance on the club circuit, Mariscal has found a college home – signing with a nationally ranked division-II college program. Recently, Mariscal took an official recruiting visit to Cal Poly Poma and decided to sign a national letter of intent with the program, and head coach Danelle Bishop and her women’s basketball staff. This…
Chaparral High School’s steady and true point guard prospect Brandon Hoffer is now officially off the recruiting board after signing a national letter of intent with a strong division-II program in the West. Recently, Hoffer released the fact that he has signed with Colorado Mesa University, formerly known as Mesa State College. Head coach Andy Shantz and his staff did an excellent job in recruiting the hard working Hoffer to the program, and they continue to recruit the state’s top basketball talent Hoffer is a basketball gym rat that works as hard as any player in the state on his…
Desert Vista is the most dominant girl’s team in the state, led by the imposing inside presence of nationally ranked 6-foot-4 senior post Kristine Anigwe (Cal signee). But national scouts will soon figure out that Millennium High School’s ultra-talented 5-foot-6 junior point guard Raina Perez can be just as dominant from the guard spot on the floor. For her exploits on the court, Perez would earn First Team All-State honors last season by the Arizona Republic as a mere sophomore. Perez would continue right where she left off last season, and also after a strong performance throughout the spring and…
For the second year in a row, Perry High School would win the Paradise Valley Invitational – one of the best pre-season Thanksgiving basketball tournaments in the state, and my favorite pre-season tournament to attend. Paradise Valley High School head coach Mark MacGowan and his staff always put on an excellent event, and it is annually filled with many of the state’s top basketball programs. This year’s event was no different as the championship game would feature host high school Paradise Valley HS and Perry HS, which features one of the state’s elite talents – 5-foot-10 superb sophomore guard Markus Howard (Arizona…
The talk of this year’s 1st Annual Hoopsgiving Tournament at Sunnyslope High School was Brophy Prep early on. The Broncos are very big and have a talented group this season, led by experienced head coach Tony Fuller. Fuller does not allow his teams to beat themselves, so this year’s group will only get better throughout the season. Host Sunnyslope High School is also very talented again this season. While the Vikings are very young, their young prospects are good – combined with the state’s top scoring guard, 6-foot-3 senior combo-guard prospect Sammy Barnes-Thompkins. Barnes-Thompkins (pictured) will put up impressive numbers…
Pima Junior College is off to an excellent start to the 2014-2015 junior college basketball season, behind the strong play of 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Ben Gershman. Recently, Gershman would make his college decision – signing with a smaller college program that is high on academics. Gershman is a big-time student that has a desire to be an engineer in the future, so he recently signed a national letter of intent with the perfect school for his endeavors – the Colorado School of Mines. Gershman is 24 years of age and returned to Pima JC to play basketball for Brian Peabody…
The 2014-2015 junior college basketball season in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) is now in full swing. Here are this week’s Players of the Week in men’s basketball in the conference . . . ACCAC Division-I Player of the Week: Jaraan Lands, Eastern Arizona Lands led Eastern to a perfect 2-0 record in ACCAC league play this past week – averaging over 25 points and 7 rebounds per game. For the week, Lands shot 65% from the field, including 60% from 3-point line, and 82% from the free throw line. ACCAC Division-II Player of the Week: Ben “Murphy” Gershman, Pima…
The 2014-2015 junior college basketball season in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) is now in full swing. Here are this week’s Players of the Week in women’s basketball in the conference . . . ACCAC D-I Player of the Week: Kandiss Barber – Central Arizona Kandiss Barber averaged 19.5 points per game in wins over Tohono O’Odham JC and Arizona Western last week. She scored 26 points in the win over the Matadors (AWC). Barber also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 3 steals and 1 block per game in the two victories. ACCAC D-II Player of the Week: Melody…
Indian Hills Junior College (IA) has been consistently rated among the nation’s elite junior college basketball programs for many years now, so when they traveled to Mesa, Arizona on Wednesday evening to face host Mesa Junior College (MCC), it seemed as though the Mesa Jackrabbits would be outmatched significantly on the basketball court. The difference though for Mesa was the coaching style and ability of long-time veteran, Arizona coaching legend Sam Ballard. Ballard has been highly successful as a head coach at many different levels and for many years. Ballard comes from a long line of highly successful coaches in the state, which includes…