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…
Author: azpreps
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…
Arizona Preps went to another scrimmage on Thursday, November 15th and saw another upper-tier team with possible aspirations of a state title. Gilbert High School scrimmaged against Marcos de Niza HS. Gilbert HS, who is coached by Jay Caserio, has a real balanced attack – led by junior PG Anthony Bryant and senior wing Conner Helvig. But the man in the middle will be the key to take them very far this year. Enter sophomore, 6-foot-8 center Truman Moore, who has high skill level in the post on offense and can help protect the paint on defense. Their team-defense is truly special…
The 2012-2013 high school basketball season is about to start across the state with either some Thanksgiving tournaments or regular season games on November 20th. Before the teams officially start, many schools scrimmage other teams to prepare for the long road ahead. Mesa High School had a scrimmage on Wednesday, November 14th versus Central HS, Brophy Prep and Basha HS. A very impressive group of players, considering you had 5 different players 6-8 or taller, which is very rare in Arizona. All 4 teams scrimmaged 2 quarters against each other and rotated between the 2 gyms. Here were some of the…
The 14th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase was very hyped up with 5 national scouts in attendance and 3 Arizona scouts on hand as well. On October 26th at Inspire Courts in Gilbert, the play on the courts didn’t let anyone down. The talent level of the players in the massive facility was the highest in the state this year. There were 120 boys competing on 12 teams along with the 2 best players in state – Dobson’s Jaron Hopkins and Mesa Mountain View’s Payton Dastrup. After watching 3 games by each player, here were the top 40 High School…
The 14th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase was very hyped up with 5 national scouts in attendance and 3 Arizona scouts on hand as well. On October 26th at Inspire Courts in Gilbert, the play on the courts didn’t let anyone down. The talent level of the players in the massive facility was the highest in the state this year. There were 120 boys competing on 12 teams along with the 2 best players in state – Dobson’s Jaron Hopkins and Mesa Mountain View’s Payton Dastrup. After watching 3 games by each player, here were the top 40 High School…
Arizona Preps Fall Showcase Recap Zylan Cheatham By Josh Gershon Recruiting Analyst Posted Oct 30, 2012 GILBERT, Ariz. – Many of the top prospects in the state of Arizona were in attendance for the Arizona Preps Fall Showcase. There may not have been a player who helped his national stock more than 2014 forward Zylan Cheatham. Jaron Hopkins, SG/SF: One of the biggest enigmas in the 2013 class, Hopkins remains a really tough evaluation. At 6-foot-5, he has very good size for a guard, can really handle it and is a big time athlete. His shot has also…
The 14th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase was very hyped up with 5 national scouts in attendance and 3 Arizona scouts on hand as well. On October 26th at Inspire Courts in Gilbert, the play on the courts didn’t let anyone down. The talent level of the players in the massive facility was the highest in the state this year. There were 120 boys competing on 12 teams along with the 2 best players in state – Dobson’s Jaron Hopkins and Mesa Mountain View’s Payton Dastrup. After watching 3 games by each player, here were the top 40 High School…
The 14th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase was very hyped up with 5 national scouts in attendance and 3 Arizona scouts on hand as well. On October 26th at Inspire Courts in Gilbert, the play on the courts didn’t let anyone down. The talent level of the players in the massive facility was the highest in the state this year. There were 120 boys competing on 12 teams along with the 2 best players in state – Dobson’s Jaron Hopkins and Mesa Mountain View’s Payton Dastrup. After watching 3 games by each player, here were the top 40 High School…