PHOENIX – The second Southwest All-American Camp, run by Gregg Rosenberg, Anthony Ray and Justin Vargas and held at Cortez High, got off to a rousing start with 12 games involving 100-plus players Saturday.
Action resumes Sunday morning at 10, with each of the camp’s 12 teams playing one game apiece (they played twice Saturday).
All-star games begin at 1:45 in the afternoon, starting with a contest with just underclassmen (Classes of 2020-22), followed by Top 40 and concluding with a Top 20 affair (scheduled to tip at 3:55).
Cortez High is located at 8821 North 31st Street.
The final game (on Court 1 in the school’s main gym) was a doozy, with Kyree Walker (PICTURED) – one of the most touted prospects in the Class of 2020 – sending the game into overtime for his Cal team with a 35-footer that just beat the buzzer.
And, following the two-minute overtime, Walker and his buddies had prevailed over Washington, 71-67.
Walker (Hillcrest in Phoenix), a 6-foot-5 swingman who has been “committed” to Arizona State for a year or so, struggled with his jumper early but also hit another 3 from the right corner a couple of minutes before the shot that sent things into OT.
He finished with 23 points, as did Jackson Ruai (6-4, Tucson Amphitheater).
Ruai, one of the more underrated western shooting guard prospects from the Class of 2019, had 17 of his points in the first half via deep jump shoots and slick and explosive drives.
He wasn’t quite as productive after intermission, in large part due to the determined defensive effort of junior-to-be Nashon Harper (Avondale La Joya).
Another compelling prospect from the Class of 2020 for the Cal game was 6-11 Fallou Diagne (Chandler, AZ, Tri-City Christian), who came to the U.S. from Senegal seven months ago.
Among some of the other impressive performers Saturday were:
*Jalen Graham (6-8/Phoenix Mountain Pointe), playing for the Washington State in the camp; he had a very good spring with Team Why Not on the Nike/EYBL circuit;
*Tre Bell (Peoria High), a clever and skilled point guard from the Class of 2021 on the Oregon State squad;
*Ty Harper, a 6-3 left-hander and recent move-in from Covington in Georgia. Harper, a junior-to-be, apparently could end up enrolling at Shadow Mountain or Pinnacle in Phoenix. He’d be a huge boost to either of those standout programs;
*Emad Elniel, another underrated shooting guard (Independence High in Glendale) from the Class of 2019, who hit five 3s in Arizona’s win over Arizona State.
