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…
Author: Anthony Ray
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Cesar Chavez High School (27-2) has been as good as any team in the state this season, sporting a deep lineup of players that combine good size with superior athleticism. Chavez head coach Gary Lee has been extremely successful in leading the program since the school’s development many years ago. Last season Chavez would reach the state final before losing to eventual state champion Corona Del Sol HS, and this season they could go one step further and win it all. Chavez would face Millennium HS (23-5) in the Division-I, Section-I tournament championship game Saturday evening at Westview High School, after blowing out Central…
We may never see a girl’s high school basketball team as good or as dominant again, as the St. Mary’s Knight’s girl’s basketball program. In fact, I am saying never again. If we thought the last two year’s of St. Mary’s girl’s basketball was dominant, this year’s team has been more of the same for a Knight’s basketball program that has completely dominated the state of Arizona’s best. St. Mary’s (25-1) came into Saturday night’s Division-I, Section-I championship game at Westview High School as winners of their last 55 games against Arizona competition. Saturday evening’s match-up with previous undefeated Westview High School (32-1) would…
It is that time of the year when college programs are beginning to turn their attention towards top-rated unsigned prospects around the country. Within the state of Arizona, one of the top unsigned senior prospects in Arizona’s 2013 class is Westwind Prep Academy’s 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior combo-guard prospect Glenn Baral. A native of Richmond, California, Baral ventured to the state of Arizona this year after spending last season at a prep school program on the East Coast. As a result, Baral has blossomed as a college prospect and is among the state’s best unsigned performers. While playing for Westwind’s National Team…
Since being a youngster in the state of Arizona, he has been widely recognized as some that can fill it up – scoring the basketball at a high rate and shooting the basketball with excellent precision. While many have marveled at his ability to put up big scoring numbers and some have even questioned his ability, Saguaro High School’s 6-foot-1, 185-pound senior combo-guard Ryan Berg has remained consistent – torching the nets throughout his four-year varsity career. After a strong season at the varsity level as a freshman, Berg helped lead his Saguaro HS team to a state championship runner-up finish as a sophomore. Berg…