Author: Anthony Ray

Westwind Prep Academy’s 6-foot-3 senior guard Kye De Laveaga is still an unsigned senior prospect at this point in his high school career.  The sharp-shooting senior guard, among the purest shooters of the basketball in the state, is still mulling over his recruiting options at this time, but this week De Laveaga made a strong case for himself. With Arizona’s top high school programs competing against one another this weekend in their respective state finals, the Westwind Prep National Team was competing in two games in Las Vegas, Nevada, this week, against top-rated national competition – something that has prepared the players at Westwind this season for…

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The stage was set at Glendale’s Jobing.com Arena on Saturday as #8 seed Saguaro High School (26-9) looked to complete their Division-II state championship run in the state finals against a very strong group in #6 seed Flowing Wells (29-5). Saguaro HS, winners of this year’s Division-II, Section-III Tournament, had already upset #1 seed Bradshaw Mountain in the state quarterfinals (41-40) and also upset #5 seed Liberty HS in the semi-finals.  Flowing Wells HS, winner of the Division-II, Section-II Tournament, had defeated 3-time defending state champion Seton Catholic HS in the state semi-finals match-up, 41-34. Saguaro High School, with no seniors in their starting lineup, came…

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Arizona’s 2014 class of prospects may end up being the best class of college prospects ever in the state, as many players in the class already hold numerous scholarship offers. One of the best prospects in the class is Gilbert Highland High School’s 6-foot-6, 215-pound junior forward Jake Toolson.  Toolson emerged on the recruiting scene last season as a sophomore, when he generated three different scholarship offers for himself.  This season, Toolson raised his level of play a great deal, as he led his Highland team to a strong record on the season, 18-10, in the state’s Division-I Class.  Toolson averaged strong numbers this season -…

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The girl’s final-four teams are now set for the Division-I Class semi-finals on Thursday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.  The Division-I semi-finals were determined on Monday, as eight different teams took the floor in the D-I quarterfinals at Wells Fargo, with four teams emerging as the smoke cleared – setting the stage for this year’s semi’s. In the first game of the day, #5 seed Hamilton High School upset #4 seed Westview HS (32-2) with a 48-29 victory.  In the win, Hamilton controlled the game from the outset, jumping out to a 28-13 lead by the half.  Westview only scored 3 points in the game’s…

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Head coach Jay Cesario and his Gilbert Tigers (24-7) came into Saturday night’s Division-I state playoff game on the road at Chaparral High School as one of the clear favorites, by many basketball enthusiasts, to reach the state finals this high school season.  But Gilbert’s chances of even advancing to the next round of the playoffs would be in question after the Tigers would run into a game bnch of talented prospects, the Chaparral Firebirds (22-8). Chaparral is among the most talented teams in the state, as they have two of the state’s premier post players and also several top prospects from…

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While many of the state’s top girl’s teams in the Division-I Class faced off in the first round of this year’s state playoffs on Wednesday, the state’s and nation’s top-ranked St. Mary’s Knights (26-1) waited quietly for their second round match-up – earning a bye in the first round.  While teams, at times, struggle after a layoff, the Knights would get some much needed rest in preparation for their third consecutive state championship run. St. Mary’s, sporting the best lineup of players that the state has ever seen on one team, is so good that we may need to stop the girl’s…

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Scottsdale’s Saguaro High School entered into Thursday night’s first round match-up with #24 seed Flagstaff High School looking to put it all together at the right time of the 2012-2013 high school basketball season.   #9 seed Saguaro (19-10) is one of the state’s most electrifying teams on the offensive end of the floor – capable of putting points on the board in a hurry. Led by the play of ultra-skilled and sharp-shooting 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior combo-guard Ryan Berg and gifted 5-foot-11 senior point guard Mike Hauser, Saguaro has had games this high school season where they have caught serious fire on the…

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Xavier High School’s 6-foot-1 senior guard/forward Katie Werner (Yale commit) has had an excellent senior season and she is not ready for it to end just yet.  After a superb senior year where she has led her high school team in almost every statistical category, Werner led her team into Wednesday evening’s first round match-up with Boulder Creek HS (18-11) in this year’s Division-I state playoffs. Werner, currently rated as our #1 overall prospect in Arizona’s 2013 senior class, is a very skilled and gifted talent that is able to play several positions on the floor, and is a fundamentally sound…

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 Arizona’s 2014 class of girl’s prospects in the state of Arizona has defined itself this high school season a great deal, as many of the top-rated prospects in the class have made significant cases this season for recognition among the state’s best.  One of the top overall prospects in Arizona’s talented junior class is Dobson High School’s talented and skilled 5-foot-7 junior guard Tori Lloyd. Lloyd is among the state’s top emerging talents this season and has had a strong junior campaign while helping lead a talented Dobson HS team to a strong record on the season.  Dobson has compiled a record…

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The Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) is currently in full swing, as each of the teams in the conference are currently winding down the 2012-2013 junior college season. As the regular season is nearing the end to another great year in junior college basketball in the state, numerous junior college prospects in the state are having excellent seasons.  One prospect that has risen to the top of the conference as one of the league’s top-rated prospects is Central Arizona’s 5-foot-9, 160-pound sophomore point guard Dre Mathieu. Mathieu has risen to the top of the conference’s elite prospects while leading Central Arizona Junior College to…

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