This weekend many of Arizona’s top prospects in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 classes traveled to the state of California to take part in this weekend’s 2012 Double Pump Best Buy Challenge Hoop Fest. The event took place at four different locations with the headquarters of the event being hosted by Cal-State University Dominguez Hills in Carson, CA. I was in attendance for Saturday and Sunday’s action at this weekend’s event and caught much of the action, including the final day’s championship games. Here are the top individual senior performers from the state of Arizona from this weekend’s event. 2012 Double Pump…
Author: Anthony Ray
It was a repeat performance of sorts for the Arizona Magic club program. After last year’s Arizona Magic Pump N’ Run-2012’s won the same Double Pump event last spring, this year’s Arizona Magic Pump N’ Run-2014’s would return to win this year’s 2012 Double Pump Best Buy Challenge Hoop Fest. A team comprised of many of the state’s top sophomore prospects would win this year’s 16U Gold Division tournament crown after knocking off some stiff competition on the way to a tournament championship. After already having defeated one of the nation’s top 16U teams, the Oakland Soldiers, on Saturday afternoon, the Magic,…
Arizona Reign head coach Fabian Valladolid has had his team together since they were each in the sixth grade, and it proved to be a major factor in his team’s qwest for a tournament championship this weekend, as the 17U version of the Arizona Reign would defeat the Arizona Magic Seniors, 66-58, for the consolation championship of this year’s 2012 Double Pump Best Buy Challenge Hoop Fest in California this weekend. It was an all-Arizona final, as two of the state’s top club teams met in the consolation championship of this weekend’s event – an exciting finish for Arizona fans in…
This year’s 2012 version of the Arizona Magic Pump N’ Run-2014’s has received a lot of press early on this spring, as many basketball enthusiasts in the state regard the group as the top club team in the state of Arizona. Well, the argument gained much more validity on Saturday afternoon, when the young and talented Arizona group of prospects thwarted the nation’s top-rated club program and most-heavily Nike-sponsored team – the Oakland Soldiers, 72-58, in the second round of this year’s 2012 Double Pump Best Buy Challenge in Carson, CA. The Oakland Soldiers have been regarded as the nation’s…
With many of the state’s top prospects already off the recruiting board, there are still many top-rated prospects in the state’s 2012 class still available for college coaches to take a hard look at this spring. One of the top prospects still available this spring is Westwind Prep International’s 6-foot-6, 210-pound prep forward Tuff Barnes. The younger brother of current Arizona State sharp-shooting guard Bo Barnes (University of Hawaii transfer), Tuff is among the state’s top 3/4 prospects still on the recruiting board. A graduate of Scottsdale Christian HS in 2011, where he helped lead his high school program to a…
Brophy Prep 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior guard/forward James Harper had his best high school season of his career this year, and it has all paid off for the talented 2012 prospect. While looking to continue playing through the spring and, possibly, the summer this off-season, Harper is now off the recruiting board and has signed with a division-I program – adding to the list of division-I signees from this year’s 2012 class in the state of Arizona. Harper had looked to attend a prep school next season and reclassify as a 2013 prospect, after already playing in two tournaments this spring with…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Westwind Changes Direction with New Hire Local Arizona Talent to be Showcased Westwind Preparatory Academy (WPA), a Phoenix, Arizona based charter school, has announced the hiring of Jeff de Laveaga as their new Director of Basketball Operations. WPA was recently awarded its 20-year charter renewal and has a new focus on academic excellence, which is why the hiring of de Laveaga was essential for the future of the basketball program as a part of the organization. De Laveaga is well known for developing great basketball programs and talent throughout Arizona for the past decade. His Arizona…
WHAT: 2012 Arizona Reebok Headliner Try Out WHEN: Sunday, May 6th, 2012 (10AM to 6PM) WHERE: Chaparral High School – Located at 6935 E. Gold Dust Avenue Scottsdale, Arizona 85253 COST: FREE For All Participants AGES: High School Boys (2013, 2014 and 2015 only) – * No Post-Graduates or Seniors permitted.) FORMAT: LIMITED to 100 players – each player will play in two games on the day and be evaluated by the Headliner staff for an opportunity to be selected for the Reebok Basketball Breakout Challenge held in Philadelphia July 10-13th. The Arizona Reebok Headliner Try Out will take place…
The 2012 aau/club basketball season is now in full swing and the Arizona RedShirtsare off to an excellent start this spring. This weekend the Redshirts, coached by Brian Fabiano and Jordan Ballard, traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada to take part in the Jam On It – Shoot The Rock Las Vegas tournament. The Redshirts, comprised of a team of unsigned seniors (2012 prospects), finished undefeated in this weekend’s event – with a perfect 8-0 record and winning by an average margin of 25 points in the event. After a strong showing last spring and summer, this talented group of players…
While there just are not many available bigger post prospects still available this spring throughout the country, the state of Arizona seems to still be loaded with some talented prospects, and also some post players that are good enough to make an impact for the right college program. One of those student-athletes worthy of some serious interest this spring is Desert Vista High School’s 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior post KJ Hoffman. Hoffman missed much of his senior season for the Thunder with an injury and returned late in the season to help head coach Dave Williams and his team to a strong finish on the season,…