The Bella Vista Prep program is on the rise again under the strong and experienced leadership of longtime successful coach Matt Gordon. After taking over the program recently, Gordon has literally taken over and is now taking the program to new heights - hiring a nice list of experienced coaches and bringing in loads of talented players to the program. The program is now ready to compete on a national level again, and take their program to another level.
Bella Vista Prep, located in North Scottsdale, is back and on the rise in the state of Arizona, after winning a national championship on the Grind Session just years ago. The program is no stranger to producing quality high-major Division-I talent over the years, as former Head Coach Kyle Weaver and former Director of Operations Dionne Phelps, together quickly built the Bella Vista program into a national prep power. Under Kyle Weaver's guidance and leadership, the program reached new heights fast and produced loads of division-I talent for numerous high-major programs in a short period of time - producing such high-level talents as Terry Armstrong (University of Arizona-professional), Addison Patterson (University of Oregon), Rick Issanza (University of Oklahoma), Zion Harmon (Western Kentucky), Jimmy Bell (Saint Louis), Emmanuel Tshimanga (UC-Irvine), Nicolas Elame (UT-Artlington), Girr Ring (Coppin State) and Jeron Artest (UC-Irvine).
After several years of restructuring and coaching changes, owner Don Brown has sold his stake to the school and program, and now Matt Gordon and his team have taken over, and the future looks extremely bright for the program. Dionne Phelps has also returned to Bella Vista Prep as the Dean of Students now for the program, after a tremendous stint at Dream City Christian Prep, where he developed numerous pros and Division-I prospects at the Dream City program with Kyle Weaver.
Matt Gordon works tirelessly daily operating numerous business ventures that he is involved with, including working for the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association, where he serves as the Business Director. He was the Head Coach at Phoenix College for (14 ) years, before stepping down in 2018. In his (14) years at Phoenix College, he won over (300) games, and led the Bears to (7) NJCAA National Tournaments, including 1 National Championship (2014), (3) Final Four appearances, (7) Region 1 Championships, (7) District 1 Championships, and (14) Region 1 Championship game appearances. Coach Gordon was named the National Junior College Coach of the Year by the NABC and the NJCAA in 2014.
Gordon works behind the scenes for Bella Vista Prep, as he has hired an advanced coaching staff to run the basketball program for the school, which includes numerous teams. His long list of coaches now which includes highly successful trainer and former Division-I coach Tony Miller. Miller is the new Head Coach for the National Team, and he leads an experienced staff of coaches, which also includes Arizona-native and former longtime Division-I coach Damon Archibald. Both Miller and Archibald, and a nice list of other coaches make up the Bella Vista coaching staff, which will have the Bella Vista players developed and ready to compete at a high level each game.
Gordon and his staff have completely retooled the stock of players for the program as well, and have done an amazing job in attracting some top-rated national level talent to the program. 6-foot-6 senior guard Jason Fontenet (pictured) leads a nice list of prospects for the program's National Team, which is absolutely loaded. Fontenet is a supern talent and prospect, and has completed recovered from an injury he suffered last season. Fontenet will be one of the highest recruited prospects in Arizona's 2023 Class this year. 7-foot junior post Makhan Diof is a superb talent for the 2024 Class, and is a future pro. Diof is a native of Sudan, Africa, and recently came to the program. He will make a major impact this season for the program, and raise a lot of eyebrows with national scouts over time.
The Bella Vista Prep National Team is off to an excellent start to their prep season, after a big win over Albuquerque Prep (NM) on Friday evening @ the AZ Compass Hoops Classic. This will be a big season for Bella Vista Prep, as the program has numerous teams and players for college coaches at all levels to take a hard look at. I look forward to watching this program this season, as they look to return to form on the Grind Session, and the CAA this season. Well done Coach Gordon and staff.
