Author: Anthony Ray

Paradise Valley High School’s 6-foot-6 junior wing Paul Watson is our #2 overall prospect in Arizona’s 2013 class (with the recent departure of Torren Jones to the state of Indiana).  On Saturday evening, Watson gave a verbal commitment to a basketball program in the Mountain West Conference, and became the first prospect in Arizona’s 2013 class to commit to a college. Watson gave a commitment to Fresno State University and 2nd-year head coach Rodney Terry and his basketball staff – completing the 2013 recruiting class for Fresno State. Heading into the spring of 2012, Watson was regarded as good a prospect as…

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One of the state’s top overall prospects in Arizona’s 2013 class is Valley Vista High School’s 5-foot-7, 130-pound junior point guard prospect Lacey Viselli.  Viselli is coming off her best high school season as a junior, and now will be entering her senior season for one of the state’s top girl’s programs. I caught up with Viselli recently regarding her current college recruitment and she advised me that she is still hoping to land something serious herself, but that three different schools are currently involved with her.  She stated that Idaho State, Wesleyan University and Washington University have each been recruiting her the hardest, as…

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One player in the state that will look to definitely see a rise in our next release of Fall Player Rankings for Arizona’s 2013 class is Mesa High School’s 6-foot-2, 175-pound rising senior guard prospect DJ Henderson.  An athletically gifted guard that is capable of scoring in bunches, Henderson is one player to definitely watch this up-and-coming high school basketball season. Henderson is one player in the state that has soared below the recruiting radar, as many college programs have not seen him play; but this young man is definitely worthy of serious recruiting attention. Henderson is coming off the best season of his…

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Brophy Prep’s 6-foot-9 rising senior post Tim Kempton is coming off a very good summer performance for himself – a summer in which he raised his recruiting stock a great deal with several strong performances in July. As a result of Kempton’s play this summer, numerous college programs began showing interest in Kempton – extending scholarship offers to the skilled post prospect.  Kempton received scholarship offers from numerous college programs after his play on the summer club circuit, where he led his Arizona Magic Pump N’ Run-2013 team to a runner-up championship finish in the Adidas Super 64 tournament in Vegas.    I…

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The state’s top overall prospect in Arizona’s 2015 class by our Arizona Preps’ basketball staff is Mesa Mountain View High School’s 5-foot-9 rising sophomore guard Armani Hawkins.  While we have Hawkins as our top prospect in the class, it is no secret to college coaches, as the ultra-talented girls’ basketball prospect is already receiving loads of recruiting attention already. Recently, while observing Hawkins in this year’s All-Arizona Showcase event held recently at Deer Valley HS, I caught up with her father and he advised me that Arizona State University and head coach Charli Turner Thorne and her basketball staff have extended an offer…

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One player that saw a definite rise in his college recruitment over the past year is Poston Butte High School’s 6-foot-3 senior combo-guard prospect Jalen Richard.  After a big junior season last year, Richard became one of the most sought after recruiting targets in Arizona’s 2013 class. Richard then carried over his strong play onto the spring club circuit, and raised the eyebrows of several high-major division-I programs, including Arizona State.  Heading into the summer months, Richard would receive heavy interest from such programs as Weber State, Drexel, New Mexico, Tulsa, Northern Arizona, Boise State, San Francisco and Santa Clara. I…

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The state of Arizona continues to have a major need for good basketball training for it’s basketball talent.  With more than 6.5 million people living in the state, Arizona has yet to reach the level of basketball of many other states across the country.  While the 2014 junior class of prospects in the state looks to be the most talented class of prospects ever in the state, with the top 10 prospects in the class currently receiving high-major division-I interest, the state still lacks the depth of talent many other states have. In 2010, the state of Florida posted 87 different division-I signees in…

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There is a new facility in town that is changing basketball in the state of Arizona, like never before.  The new Inspire Courts, located in Chandler, Arizona, is the first of it’s kind – a 52,000 square feet state of the art multi-purpose facility.  The Inspire Courts recently opened its doors on June 12,2012 and has not looked back since. Inspire Athletics is owned by Mike and Greta Clark, a couple who felt that building the facility was truly necessary during this time and for the East Valley.  With another facility currently located in the West Valley, the Clarks felt it made sense to bring their facility to the East…

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It will be sad to see him go, but the decision has already been made for former Basha High School 6-foot-8, 220-pound rising senior post Torren Jones.  Jones will be leaving the state of Arizona for his senior season – heading to the Mid-West to finish his high school career. Jones, our #1 rated power forward prospect and the #2 overall prospect in Arizona’s 2013 class, decided to transfer from Basha HS after the high school season, and also after the resignation of former Basha head coach Brad Pinter.  Jones had planned to transfer to Mesa’s Dobson High School where he would team up…

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Scottsdale-based basketball trainer Padraig O’Brien (OB) has worked very hard to raise the level of basketball training in the state of Arizona.  In an effort to do so, O’Brien created the Give N Go Hoops basketball facility in North Scottsdale three years ago.  OB brings 20 years of experience to Give N Go Hoops and started working with 7th and 8th graders in 1993.  Since then he has worked with thousands of high school, college, and professional players (including 5 NBA lottery picks). Very well respected in the business, O’Brien has earned the respect of coaches and players across the country for his ability…

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