On October 31st @ Inspire Courts, the 22nd Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase will take place with loads of Arizona's best high school varsity teams, boys and girls, taking the floor. Arizona Preps is proud to announce that successful Division-I college coach and former South Mountain High School State Champion David Grace will be making his return to speak at this year's exciting event. Grace coached in the event in the early years, and will be making his return to the Fall Showcase for the first time in (15) years.
Grace will be an excellent guest speaker for the event, as he came up through the high school ranks in Arizona, first serving as an assistant coach at Trevor Browne High School, and then a short stint at Deer Valley HS, before taking over at South Mountain.
David Grace recently coached at Vanderbilt University as an Associate Head Coach in 2020, after spending the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Cal.
Prior to his stint with the Cal Golden Bears, Grace completed five seasons at UCLA. He spent (5) seasons at Oregon State prior to that, along with stints at the University of San Francisco and Sacramento State. He also served with the United States Air Force for two decades.
Throughout his established coaching career, Grace has earned a proven reputation as a leading developer of big men at each of his stops, coaching collegiate and pro stars such as Kevon Looney, TJ Leaf, Thomas Welsh, Eric Moreland, Gyorgy Goloman, Jonah Bolden, Ike Anigbogu, Angus Brandt, Travis Wear and David Wear.
While at UCLA, Grace’s coaching and recruiting prowess helped the Bruins compile a 117-57 record with (4) NCAA Tournament appearances, plus four top five recruiting classes. With responsibilities ranging from self-scouting, opponent scouting and game preparation to on-floor coaching and in-game adjustments, plus community service, Grace played a key role in the development of (10) prepsters to the NBA, including Lonzo Ball, Norman Powell, Zach LaVine and Kyle Anderson, as well as Looney, Leaf, Anigbogu and Travis Wear.
Grace’s time in Westwood saw the Bruins advance to the Sweet Sixteen during (3) of his seasons, including the Ball-led 2017 squad that posted a 31-5 overall record. The 2017 and 2014 UCLA squads ranked among the nation’s elite in numerous categories, including scoring, assist turnover ratio and assists/game.
In 2016, he was ranked the best recruiter in the West and the 7th-best recruiter nationally based on an ESPN coaching peer survey. He helped the Bruins establish the No. 2 recruiting class for 2018, including nine top 100 prospects across back-to-back recruiting classes.
In 2011, Grace was selected to attend the prestigious Villa 7 Center for Sports Leadership Conference at Virginia Commonwealth, where he learned alongside an elite group of basketball coaches, athletic directors and conference commissioners.
Arizona Preps is proud to have Coach David Grace back at this year's Fall Showcase, and look forward to having him speak to this year's group of players, coaches and spectators.
