On Thursday, November 29th, I went to observe the Brophy Prep Broncos vs the Horizon Huskies at Horizon’s house. 6-foot-4 senior forward Sean Deacon got the tall task of guarding skilled 6-foot-9 senior post Tim Kempton (Lehigh University signee). Kempton took advantage of his height and made 9 quick points to start the game, but 6-foot sophomore PG Brandon Burke hit two 3-pointers and 6-foot-3 senior forward Jordan Esser came in off the bench to score 4 quick points to tie the game at 16 after 1 quarter. The second quarter began and it was a back-and-forth battle with 6-foot sophomore guard Abraham Sesay sparking the Huskies with 5 quick…
Author: azpreps
Diego Magana is a member of the 2013 senior class – a shooting guard prospect that is 6-foot-5, 175-pounds and attends Desert Mountain High School. In my opinion, Diego is the best pure unsigned senior shooter left in the class. He is an elite catch-and-shoot player from 3-point range and can take you off the bounce and rise up for a mid-range shot too. He also is an outstanding rebounder for a SG, since he is 6-5 and knows how to get position down low in the paint defensively. Once he puts on the proper weight and muscle, the sky’s the limit. Here is a conversation…
On Tuesday, November 27th, I went to the Mesa Mountain View vs Marcos De Niza game at Marcos, and watched 2 very good teams slug it out for 4 quarters. Besides the quick 13 to 4 start for Mountain View, the game was a close 2-possession game the entire night. Both teams were playing man-to-man defense and looking to try and stop or contain the other teams star. Mesa Mountain View HS 6-foot-10 junior Payton Dastrup shot a desperation 3-point shot, but missed the shot at the buzzer – losing 78 to 75 with Marcos pulling off the upset at home. Payton Dastrup of Mesa Mountain…
A matchup between Deer Valley and Perry was a fight between two teams on opposite sides of the spectrum. Perry, led by their high-octane offense and elite scorers took on a very well-coached Deer Valley team who takes pride in getting everybody involved. Deer Valley came out in a zone press and took Perry out of their offense. Early on, Perry struggled with turnovers and getting open shots. Meanwhile, Deer Valley’s offense moved the ball and got open shots. Deer Valley’s zone press kept Perry from getting out in the fast break. A 20-9 score after 1 was…
The Horizon/Cactus Shadows game was a matchup of two teams each with a win and a loss. Cactus Shadows came out in a man press and was disrupting Horizon – causing turnovers and keeping them out of their offense. Cactus Shadows quickly turned these turnovers into points, jumping out to an early first-half lead. Down 23 at the break, the Huskies faced a tough second half challenge. Horizon became aggressive and began penetrating on Cactus Shadows’ defense. Horizon High School’s 6-foot-2 senior guard Sean Deacon hit a shot from the corner, which seemed like it may spark a run, but Cactus…
Dobson High School’s Ryan Richardson is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound junior shooting guard prospect, and a member of Arizona’s loaded 2014 class. In my personal opinion, Ryan is the 2nd best-unsigned shooting guard in the entire state – regardless of class. He is an elite shooter with 3-point range and loves the mid-range shot. He is a long defender with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, which allows him to get many steals. Once his body fills out, he will be scary good. Here is a conversation he had with Arizona Preps (AP) … AP: Tell me about your family. Ryan: My family is real close, a real tight family. I…
The first game of Day 2 of this year’s 22nd Annual Paradise Valley Invitational from Paradise Valley High School was Sandra Day O’Connor vs Cactus Shadows. Cactus Shadows would win the game 59 to 46, and was up by atleast 6 to 15 points the whole game. Cactus was led by senior 6-foot-1 shooting guard CJ Davis who had 26 points in the game. Davis scored at all 3-levels making it impossible to focus on one aspect of his game. He has a very good deceptive crossover and can pull-up from deep, or blow by his man and finish with his left or right hand. Davis will be…
The first game of the 22nd Annual Paradise Valley Invitational from Paradise Valley High School featured Cactus Shadows vs Desert Ridge. Desert Ridge took a quick 10-point lead and never looked back. Desert Ridge defeated Cactus Shadows 65 to 47. Desert Ridge was led by 6-foot-1 junior point guard Hunter Thomas. 6-foot-5 senior power forward Nick Allen was too much for Cactus with his strength and defense in the paint. Hunter Thomas was special tonight, as he could do anything he wanted to with his elite shooting and setting up his teammates. Hunter had 21 points and atleast 7 assists – finding players in stride, on the run…
It was the first games of the year officially for me and I went to Dobson High School to catch day one of the Catalina Hardwood Classic. I saw Basha HS take on Seton Catholic, and then Poston Butte take on home team Dobson. The first game was Seton vs Basha and you quickly realized how small Seton Catholic was compared to Basha. Basha won 64-54 in the low scoring game, and these are a few things I noticed from the game. Seton’s tallest player was 6-foot-4 and they mostly played 5 guards – ranging from 5-10 to 6-2. But new…
DJ Henderson is a 2013 combo-guard prospect who is 6-foot-1, 165-pounds and attends Mesa High School. In my personal opinion, DJ is the best-unsigned true, combo-guard prospect in the class. He is an elite shooter off the dribble, can catch-and-shoot well and can drive to the lane and set up his teammates easily. He also is a reliable ball-handler to break any press. Here is a little conversation that he had with Arizona Preps (AP). Arizona Preps: Tell me about your family and why you started basketball? DJ: I come from a military family; my Dad was in the marines…