The 2013 NCAA Evaluation Period is set to begin today on Friday, April 19th, and for this year’s superb crop of players in Arizona’s loaded 2014 class, it couldn’t get here soon enough. Arizona’s 2014 Class just might be the best class of college prospects the state has ever seen, and the quest to prove so will begin this afternoon when several high-exposure club events get underway – the Double Pump Hoop Fest and the Nike EYBL Basketball Tournament in Los Angeles, and the Pangos Spring Spectacular in Las Vegas, Nevada. In each of these three events, each of the elite and top prospects in Arizona’s 2014…
Author: Anthony Ray
Deer Valley High School turned in a very good season for the program in 2012-2013, as the Skyhawks compiled a 20-8 overall record in the Division-I Class. Head Coach Jed Dunn is one of the state’s top young coaches and has done an excellent job of developing the players in the Deer Valley program. One player that Dunn has to be excited about is talented 6-foot-4, 180-pound sophomore forward Rees Plummer. While Dunn’s Skyhawks will be losing a lot to graduation next year, the future still looks extremely bright for Deer Valley as their leading scorer and second leading rebounder will…
Many of the state’s top-rated prospects in Arizona’s 2013 senior class are still on the recruiting table – looking for future destinations for themselves. One of these players is Westview High School’s 6-foot-6, 185-pound unsigned senior forward Airen Randolph. Randolph saw his game improve a great deal from his junior season and played himself into a solid senior season during the 2012-2013 high school basketball season. Randolph teamed up with nationally ranked and ultra-talented 2014 prospect Andre Adams this season, and helped Adams lead Westview to a 21-8 overall record on the season, before falling to Cienega HS in the Division-I…
Catalina Foothills High School’s basketball program has been well-recognized over the years among the elite basketball programs in the state, as the program has seen much success on the basketball court over the past decade. This past season was no different for the programs as Catalina Foothills posted one of the best overall records of the season, as they finished with an impressive 29-4 overall record on the season in the state’s Division-II Class. A major reason for the success of the program the last two seasons has been the terrific play of talented 6-foot-4, 180-pound junior guard Austin Nehls. …
Chaparral High School’s 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior post Joe Boyd is officially back on the recruiting trail, once again. While it was planned that Boyd would be headed to Drake University next fall to begin his college career, he is back in the recruiting hunt at a prime time of the year after receiving an official release from Drake on Friday. Boyd’s release from the Drake program comes after former head coach Mark Phelps was released from his duties as the school’s head coach recently. After the school hired new head coach Ray Giacoletti, the new Drake staff attempted to keep Boyd as a player, but Boyd…
There have been many of Arizona’s elite prospects receiving major attention at an early age throughout the years. Such past Arizona star players as Matt Carlino (BYU), Nick Johnson (University of Arizona), Jerryd Bayless (Memphis Grizzlies) and Mike Bibby (Former NBA player) are just a few names of past Arizona products that have received early national recognition for their young exploits on the AAU/club circuit. One player that has received the most national recognition early on in his young basketball career is #1 nationally ranked 7th grader Marvin Bagley Jr. Bagley is nationally recognized by every national scout as the top prospect from…
Arizona’s 2014 class of prospects is absolutely loaded with top-rated talent at the top of the class, as many of the prospects among the class are receiving high-major division-I college recruitment. While many basketball enthusiasts in the state and across the country already know many of the top-rated prospects in the class, there are also many prospects in this class of players that have not received much attention, but are worthy of it. One of these prospects is Desert Ridge High School’s ultra-talented 6-foot-1 junior guard prospect Hunter Thomas. Hunter Thomas is a name many still have not heard as of yet…
While Arizona’s 2014 class of prospects for boy’s looks to be one of the best classes of players in the state’s rich basketball history, on the girl’s side the class also looks to be very strong. While not as strong as the boy’s 2014 class, the class is beginning to round into shape nicely. One of the top-rated overall prospects in the class is Mountain Pointe High School’s talented 6-foot-1 junior post Kaylah Lupoe. Lupoe is coming off an excellent junior season for herself where she turned in her best performance of his young high school career and received nice…
When I first laid eyes on this young man as a freshman prospect at St. Mary’s High School, I knew he would become a great talent for the future. I have scouted the state’s best basketball talent since 1995, and have seen hundreds of the state’s best prospects develop over time. While I have observed and also coached and personally developed such NBA talents as Jerryd Bayless (Memphis Grizzlies), Isaiah Thomas (Sacramento Kings) and Luis Ahmundson (New Orleans Hornets), I have not seen a talent with as much size, athleticism and ability as Westwind Prep’s 6-foot-8 junior guard/forward Zylan Cheatham. Not since former Moon…
This weekend saw some very exciting basketball action in the state of Arizona, as each of the top club programs in the state of Arizona faced off with one another in what was the event that opened the 2013 club basketball season – the Southwest Showcase Main Event. Organized again by successful Tournament Director Ron Coleman, this event was as good a club event as the state has seen in many years. The competition was fierce and each of the state’s top players and college prospects matched up with one another for the right to claim this year’s tournament championship and…