After an illustrious and decorated high school career, Hillcrest Prep’s Mike Foster decides to commit to the NBA’s G-League. The 6-foot-10 senior forward prospect racked up multiple accolades, such as nearly (20) Division-I offers, multiple professional offers, leading his team to a 34-2 record and being selected as a McDonald’s All-American in 2021. It is fitting for Foster to commit to the G-League, since he averaged 32.2 points, 18.4 rebounds, 6.7 blocks, 2.1 steals and 4.1 assists per/game this past season. In his career stats, he accomplished 23.6 points, 2.7 assists, 13.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 4.3 blocks per/game. Foster is…
Author: George Courtney
This season was filled with excitement, despite the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) cancelling, then reinstating the very short season. There were a lot of competitive games played throughout the season, with certain prospects and coaches emerging as front-runners for the Arizona Preps Post-Season Awards. Arizona Preps, along with our partners Zipps Sports Grill, Just4Hoopin and MoBallin are pleased to announce our nominees for the post-season awards. The Bribiescas Family Award is awarded to the High School Girls Player of the Year. The Bribiescas Family has been a fixture in Girls Hoops and High School Basketball for many years. Monique Bribiescas…
The pandemic has limited opportunities for student-athletes, especially those who reside on the Native American Reservation. Some high schools located near the reservation cancelled winter sports, due to a spike in COVID-19. Native American Grassroots Director Jon Yarrow decided to put together a two-day individual showcase to help student-athletes gain exposure to college opportunities for high school boys and girls. Here are the top girl’s prospects that I witnessed from Day 1 of this year’s event: Ahdiayh Chee 2024 5-5 Combo Guard (Chandler, AZ) – She is a solid combo-guard prospect who has great ball-handling skills. She impresses with her…
The pandemic has plagued the Native American Reservations especially student-athletes. School districts with high Native American populations have cancelled athletics, which resulted in very limited exposure and opportunities for Native American student athletes. Tribal Basketball Circuit Director Jon Yarrow was moved to help the community out by organizing an individual showcase. The Tribal Athletics West Coast Desert Individual Showcase was formed. The event took only a month to fill up with (40) High School Girls and (70) high school boys. Yarrow contacted multiple media outlets, scouting services, and college coaches to scout the event. The outlets include NDN Sports, Arizona…
In an electric 4A Semi-Final match-up, the Seton Catholic Lady Sentinels held off an upset-minded Mesquite Lady Wildcats squad. Coach Candice Gonzales had a fantastic strategy in running a zone most of the game, to force the Lady Sentinels to move the basketball and take lower percentage shots. To start the game, Coach Gonzales’ Lady Wildcats sparked a 6-0 run. The run prompted Seton Catholic’s Coach Karen Self to burn a 30-second timeout to regroup her troops. Coach Self pumped life back into her players offensively, as they were able to score some buckets. Mesquite held a two-point lead after…
The 6A Final Four features (4) highly talented programs in Dobson, Hamilton, Xavier Prep and Valley Vista. Besides the talent on the court, all four programs have great coaches in Dobson’s Henry Bribiescas, Hamilton’s Trevor Neider, Xavier’s Jennier Gillom, and Valley Vista’s Rachel Matakas. All four coaches are in the running for 6A Coach of the Year, as all had very strong campaigns this season. Here is the breakdown of the Final Four Match-ups: #4 Dobson @ #1 Hamilton This will be a war of the backcourts. Both Dobson and Hamilton sport some of the state’s top talent at the…
Last week the 5A Girl’s Bracket was shook up with #1 Seed Casteel forced to pull out of the playoffs, due to a self-reported prior contact violation. The Lady Colts of Casteel were heavily favored to win the state championship, since they blew out nearly every 5A opponent they faced all season. The result is a wide open race for the State Championship in 5A. 5A Girl’s Final Four Preview #8 Gilbert @ #5 Flowing Wells This is an intriguing match-up since upper seeds #1 Casteel and #4 Cactus Shadows are no longer in the field. Gilbert’s first-year Coach Colton…
As each round progresses, it seems like the stakes get higher and the competition gets tougher. Every team left has been playing at a high level. It is exciting to see which teams fight their way into the championship game. Here is a look at the Final Four Breakdown for 4A . . . 4A Final Four Preview #4 Mesquite at #1 Seton Catholic This is a 4A Desert Sky Region rivalry. Mesquite and Seton Catholic are two of the top teams in 4A from the past decade. Both schools have produced multiple college prospects, as well as a winning…
Despite the pandemic, the AIA winter season was a blast to cover. For the first time, the AIA playoffs are taking place during the month of March. There is a lot of good basketball being played with a lot of parity. I was lucky enough to catch up with Coach Erin O’Bryan, the Ladies Varsity Head Coach at Desert Ridge High School. Coach O’Bryan seems to be running a pretty disciplined program. I was very impressed with her X’s and O’s, as she looked to direct her team to control the tempo and pick apart the defense with her ½…
The Mesa Unified School District is loaded with solid basketball programs in Dobson, Mesa and Westwood High. Since I was lucky enough to interview Coach Fonseca of Mesa and Coach Bribiescas of Dobson. It was only fitting I try to get a sit down with Coach Ron Campton of Westwood High. Coach Campton has done a phenomenal job with his program. His guard play is one of the top back-courts in the state. The result was the Lady Warriors finished the regular season with an impressive 15-3 record. Here is the Q&A from our sit down: Q: How long have…