Apollo High School is coming off a very good performance as a team during the 2014-2015 season, after finishing with a nice 22-7 overall record on the season. This season, Apollo is expected to battle all season for a Division-I state title behind the coaching of Jacob Marin, and the superb play of their junior backcourt - 5-foot-11 junior guard Holland Woods Jr. and 6-foot junior guard De Marin.
Woods and Marin are both coming off excellent performances this spring and summer on the club circuit - leading their respective club teams to strong performances in the spring and summer. As a result, both prospects are beginning to garner a lot of division-I college recruiting interest.
Late last week, both prospects received a visit to their school from numerous college coaches, but both prospects would receive scholarship offers from the same school - Portland State University.
The offer would be the second for Woods, who has also received an offer from Long Island University, while for Marin, the offer would be his third. Marin also currently has offers from Idaho State and Texas Rio Grande Valley. Neither prospect has indicated when they will make their college decisions, so many more offers could pour in over time.
Woods (pictured) is coming off an excellent July evaluation period performance for himself, after leading his club program to consecutive tournament championships in July. Woods is a ball-hawk and when he has the ball in his hands, good things happen for his team. Woods is a big time ball handler and floor general, that plays with superior confidence and knows how to run a team efficiently. Woods has an ability, almost by himself, to hold down the backcourt on the offensive end and apply constant presure on the opposing guards defensively.
Woods has worked hard on his craft as a youngster, and has also been around the game of basketball all of his life. It shows as this young man is very skilled and advanced for his young age. Woods is known by his friends, family and teammates as "Boo Boo." Woods is capable of getting anywhere he wants to on the floor and rarely do you find guard prospects like this in the state of Arizona. He is an excellent penetrator with the basketball in his hands and is also a strong finisher in the lane and at the basket over bigger defenders. He is a good shooter with range on his shot and possesses good shot selection. He also has a strong mid-range game, which makes him difficult to slow down. Woods also pushes the basketball up the floor as often as he can, and always seems to find the open man on the floor. He enjoys making the extra pass, and gets more joy from an assist than he does scoring the basketball - although he is a very good scorer.
De Marin is also coming off a terrific breakout performance this summer, as he poured in numerous scoring outbursts. With opposing teams organizing a box-and-one defensive maneuver against him, and looking to slow him down offensively, Marin would continue to get it done. Marin would connect on a barrage of three-pointers from almost everywhere on the floor, and would also score off the dribble on drives to the basket or from mid-range.
Marin is a handful for opposing guards, as he can do almost what he wants to, and when he wants to with the basketball in his hands. He also is a big-time competitor on both ends of the floor. His sheer toughness as a player is what drives his competitive force. Marin is an excellent shooter of the basketball with unlimited range and a quick release on his shot. A very good scorer off the dribble, he is able to drive to the basket and finish strong against bigger defenders. He makes players around him better.
This year's Apollo team will be high-scoring and very tough to defend. While they lack much size, these two guards are a handful and speed up the game - putting consistent pressure on opposing defenses. It should be an excellent season for these two guards and their Apollo teammates.
