No high school boy’s verbal commitment in recent years has had or will have more of an impact on Arizona high school basketball and recruiting more than Wednesday’s announcement by 2017 prospect Markus Howard to attend Arizona State University. The sophomore guard from Perry High School made a big statement with his verbal pledge. The impact of Howard’s decision to stay close to home and play for the Sun Devils does many things. First of all, for other top-rated Arizona basketball prospects, it makes a statement that no one is too good to play for the Sun Devils. Historically, many…
Author: Anthony Ray
In very shocking fashion, and in what is now the youngest basketball division-I verbal commitment in the state of Arizona’s long and rich high school basketball history, Perry High School’s superb 5-foot-10, 165-pound sophomore guard Markus Howard has given a verbal pledge to the Arizona State Sun Devils and head coach Herb Sendek and his basketball staff. This commitment is huge for the Sun Devils and Herb Sendek’s future at the program, while possessing the fire power to help the program now attract better basketball prospects over the next few years. The top-rated 2017 prospect, Howard, is the top-rated Arizona…
The Back To School Bash took place this weekend at the Kroc Community Center in South Phoenix. Organized by Harding Group Basketball and Arizona Elite Tournaments, and directed by Cline Daniel and Tamica Goree, this event included boys and girls basketball talent from 2nd through the 12th grade. The event was fun and had a DJ playing music at center court in the 2-day event. I was able to attend the tournament action on Sunday and observed the championship games for the boys 17U and 16U divisions, and also the girls championship game for the 13U division. The event was…
It has finally come to a conclusion for one of the top basketball prospects we have seen in some time. South Mountain High School graduate and San Diego State signee, 6-foot-8 forward prospect Zylan Cheatham had a very long and tiresome road that forced him to re-take his entire junior year of classes at South Mountain, after having the NCAA declare his classes at Westwind Prep as ineligible for course credit. In 2013, the NCAA ruled that the classes taken by students at Westwind Prep were not permitted by NCAA standards, so student athletes at the program, such as Cheatham,…
One of the elite talents in Arizona’s 2015 class has gone almost forgotten through the biggest spring and summer of his basketball career. While Arizona’s top talent was showcasing themselves to college coaches, scouts and media throughout the busy recruiting month of July, Central High School’s 6-foot-6 senior forward Famoun Miller would miss playing the entire month. Miller is as talented a prospect as there is in the state of Arizona. He actually might be the best individual basketball talent there is in the state. Miller has been a troubled prospect for some time. Miller has been raised by many…
One of the best two-sport athletes in the state, Hamilton High School’s 6-foot-6 junior forward James Scoggin is coming off an excellent summer performance, allowing him to now become considered amongst the top overall prospects in the state. I had not seen much of Scoggin before this summer, so I was anxious to see him perform against much better talent. I came away very impressed with this young man’s ability to play the game and compete at a high level. While not overly athletic, Scoggin is a skilled stretch four-man with a strong, well-built body, and a nice shooting stroke…
Rising 5-foot-10 freshman phenom Rayah Craig now prepares to enter the Arizona high school ranks, and is ready to make a name for herself amongst the state’s top girls prospects. The budding, young prospect became a phenom this spring and summer after competing at the 17 & Under level and performing at a high level, and in a consistent manner. Craig will be headed to Valley Vista High School this fall, where she will begin her high school varsity basketball career, while playing for fiery head coach Rachel Matakas. Matakas and her talented staff have built one of the top…
It soom time for him to figure things out, but this week, after waiting for some time, Maryvale High School’s talented 6-foot-6 unsigned senior forward Jorge Cano has found a home. After considering numerous college programs for his future, Cano signed this week with a local up-rising NAIA program, Benedictine College. Cano chose Benedictine College over heavy interest from such college programs as Arizona Western JC, South Mountain JC, Tohono-O’odham JC, College of Southern Idaho JC and Indian Hills JC. He also received some interest from Portland State, UC-Riverside, Eastern Washington, and Cal State Bakersfield. Benedictine College is officially located…
When we release our new rankings for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 classes this month, for boys and girls, there will be some serious movement in the classes from our last release of our player rankings. Since our Arizona Preps Spring Player rankings, many prospects have emerged and even improved, while some others have been passed up. We will begin our new player rankings with the release of the 2015 class player rankings for boys and girls. The rankings for the boys in Arizona will show some serious movement, as such prospects as Desert Vista’s Brandon Clarke and Quincy Taylor,…
The top available prospect in the state of Arizona’s 2014 class was Westview High School’s unsigned 6-foot-5 graduated senior forward Isaiah Bellamy. After graduating from Westview High School this spring, Bellamy went into the summer still unsigned. While still considering his options for college, Bellamy competed again on the club circuit in an attempt to find a college home. This summer, Bellamy played his best basketball of his young career – helping lead his Arizona Magic Elite 17U team to several strong tournament finishes in July, including an Elite 8 finish in the Las Vegas Fab 48 – an event…