One of my favorite overall prospects to watch perform in the state of Arizona has been AZ Compass Prep's talented and gifted 6-foot-4 senior guard/forward EJ Scroggins. A joy to watch play and a freak athletic talent, Scroggins has flown well below the recruiting radar for some time. While those close to the Arizona basketball community can have a developed understanding for this young man's individual talent, most college programs have either not seen him or do not have a good feel for this young man's tremendous potential as a pure athlete.
Scroggins played his first three seasons at McClintock High School, but decided to change high school programs for his senior season. This season, Scroggins has competed for the AZ Compass Prep Black team, coached by Eric Hood and his experienced staff. Scroggins has continued to flourish with his play, and now college programs are beginning to take a serious interest in this talented prospect. While most high school seniors have received very little to no recruitment at all from Division-I college programs, the recruitment for Scroggins is beginning to heat up.
This weekend, Scroggins received his first Division-I offer from Hampton University. Currently, Scroggins has another offer to his credit from Point Loma.
Scroggins is a superior athletic talent for his size, and is physically very strong and able to overpower much of his opposition. I have marveled for some time now at the individual talents of Scroggins, and have been championing him as a Division-I prospect for some time. This young man deserves serious college recruitment, as Scroggins is a true and unselfish talent that college coaches need to take a very hard look at. He is that good and deserves the opportunity.
Scroggins came off an excellent junior season last year, where he led his McClintock program to an excellent season, as the team finished with a 24-4 overall record. The team was very talented and well balanced, but Scroggins was the catalyst and leader - averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 steals per/game. He helped lead the team to a 5A State Semi-Final finish, a game that they lost in overtime to Gilbert HS.
As a college prospect, Scroggins has superior physical size and strength and an ability to dunk the basketball with extreme authority around and over defenders. Scroggins is a very compact, well put together physical presence that is an undersized power forward in the Arizona high school ranks, and especially since he is so dominant against prospects his age. He is also able to play on the wing and make shots and also create scoring opportunities for himself off the dribble. He is also very unselfish and a creator for others on his team. He sees the floor very well and can facilitate. He is a bull with the basketball and overpowers opposing defenders around the paint with his physicality. Reminds me also of a young Michael Craig, who previously played for South Mountain JC and has went on to have a nice professional career for himself.
Scroggins is aq true sleeper prospect in Arizona's 2023 Class, and should continue to get more attention from college coaches throughout the spring. I will continue to follow Scroggins and his play throughout the remainder of the season and bring you any recruiting updates as they continue to develop.
