Last season was very difficult season to swallow for Mesa Mountain View High School’s players and coaches, as the team finished with an 18-11 overall record and were unable to truly compete for a state championship – an uncommon situation for one of the state’s premier basketball programs. But this season has already been much different for this group, as the team is already off to an excellent start to the 2013-2014 high school basketball season. This week has been a very good week too for the Toros, as legendary head coach Gary Ernst would win his 800th career victory on Thursday evening -…
Author: Anthony Ray
The VisitMesa.com Basketball Challenge has quickly developed into the premier high school basketball tournament over the holidays in the state, and this year’s tournament got off to an excellent start on Thursday evening with only two games on the night. After Mesa Mountain View would blow past an outmatched Salpointe Catholic HS team in the first game, the stage was set for, possibly, the best match-up of the tournament in the final game of the evening. On the first night of this year’s event, Arizona’s two-time defending Division-I state champions, Corona Del Sol (9-0) would face one of the top…
The VisitMesa.com Basketball Challenge has quickly developed into the premier high school basketball tournament in the state during the regular season, and has also created a stage for Arizona’s best high school basketball teams to compete against some of the top high school programs around the West Coast. This year’s loaded field of teams for the 2013 event at Mesa Mountain View High School is no different than year’s past, and actually looks to be the best ever. The tournament will feature many of Arizona’s best teams, including the state’s top two teams this season – undefeated Corona Del Sol and Pinnacle High School. Corona and Pinnacle…
Madison Meadows Junior High School has a talented middle school program currently. Led by former Iowa State University standout Gary Thompkins, the program has some talented prospects for the future. Another one of these talented young players that has emerged as one of the top 2018 prospects in the state is 5-foot-7 8th grader, Jayden Nickels-Raphiel. A very skilled and talented guard prospect that is capable of playing both guard positions on the floor, Nickels is a gym rat that loves the game of basketball and works hard at his craft. He has a strong handle of the basketball, combined with excellent quickness. …
With the Christmas holiday approaching, one gift that Marcos De Niza High School head coach Jermaine Whitaker received early this season was the strong play of 5-foot-8 senior guard/forward Sophia Anaya. One of the premier sleeper prospects in the state’s 2014 class, Anaya is having a strong senior season for her team – leading Marcos to a 11-4 overall record this season. Anaya has led Marcos to contention among the state’s top teams in the Division-II Class, and is doing it in style – averaging 14.9 points and 4.5 assists per/game this season, and pouring in a game-high 24 points…
Another young prospect to consider for the future is another in a terrific line of basketball prospects. The younger brother of current Sunnyslope high school basketball star guard Sammy Thompkins, 5-foot-6 6th grader Zeke Thompkins is on the rise. This super young prospect from Madison Meadows Junior High School, has been playing exceptionally well as of late, and looks to be another top-rated prospect for the future. Thompkins is a left-handed combo-guard prospect with an excellent feel for the game, a deadline shooting stroke and a slick handle of the basketball at a very young age in the sport. Thompkins is…
After a rocky start to the high school season for Peoria High School, the team has really picked it up as of late. The Peoria program started off with a dismal 1-5 record – losing 5 of their first 6 games on the season. This past weekend Peoria, a team filled with athletic talent, put it all together – winning the Horizon Invitational. In the tournament, Peoria would win three consecutive games – defeating North Canyon HS (47-30), Scottsdale Christian Academy (49-47) and, finally, Marcos De Niza (57-53) in the tournament’s championship game. A major bright spot for Peoria HS this season…
No Arizona prospect has helped themselves more this high school season than Westwind Prep Academy’s 6-foot-4, 180-pound senior guard Lyrik Shreiner. After deciding to transfer from Glendale High School for his senior season to Westwind Prep, Shreiner has elevated his game, and, as a result, also elevated his college recruitment as well. After strong performances this past spring and summer on the AAU/club circuit, Shreiner has played exceptionally well this fall as well and many college programs are now taking notice. Recently, Shreiner turned in his best performance of his young career when he poured in a big 24-point effort in his…
This season has already been a very interesting and unique season for South Mountain High School and ultra-talented 6-foot-7 senior forward Zylan Cheatham (San Diego State signee). In fact, it has been an emotional season already, as South’s star forward has had to deal with media scrutiny, college recruiting, the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA), academics, and, at the end of the day, just living and getting to school each day with limited resources. For Zylan Cheatham, this young man has had to grow up very quickly in a short period of time. While many other basketball prospects simply have to worry about playing…
No Arizona product that has gone on to the NBA has done more for the state of Arizona or given back to the state as much as legendary Arizona basketball product Mike Bibby. After an illustrious NBA career, college basketball career, where he led the University of Arizona to a national championship, and also one of the best high school basketball careers in the country, Mike Bibby has returned to the state of Arizona to help promote many of Arizona’s top young boys and girls basketball prospects with his successful club program – Team Bibby. While Bibby has put a lot of his…