For some prospects in Arizona that were lesser known performers during the high school season, one player that has used the spring evaluation period to increase his exposure to college coaches and will benefit in this week's Summer Player Rankings is Red Mountain High School's 6-foot-3 rising senior shooting guard prospect Travis Meeker.
An unheralded prospect before the spring, Meeker had a strong spring showing for himself while playing for his club program, the Arizona Stars - enough to make a jump into our rankings for the shooting guard position among the 2013 class.
While I had not seen much of Meeker this high school season, this young man made a very good impression on me as a prospect, as a result of his excellent athleticism for his size and his nice shooting stroke with excellent range on his shot.
Meeker helped lead his Red Mountain HS team to a strong 2011-2012 season, as the team finished with a 23-10 overall record and advanced deep into the Division-I state playoffs - before falling at the hands of state champion runner-up Cesar Chavez HS in the state quarterfinals. Meeker averaged 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per/game on the season - numbers that should increase a great deal next season as a senior.
This spring, Meeker has already proven that he is a college prospect - possessing the physical tools to play at the collegiate level. Simply with more touches of the basketball and increased confidence as a scorer, Meeker is one prospect that looks able to improve his recruiting stock with a strong performance this summer on the club circuit.
Sharing a similar resemblance to Tucson native and former UTEP freshman guard Mike Perez physically, Meeker is able to play well above the rim and attack the basket where he is a very good finisher. He just needs to believe that he can be that guy mentally, since he is among the most gifted athletes at the position in the 2013 class.
I will continue to follow Meeker's performance this off-season and, of course, next high school season, as he continues to develop as a player and as a college prospect. He should garner a lot of recruitment this summer from smaller schools, as he is a good sleeper prospect among the class.
Look for Travis Meeker to see himself in our 2013 shooting guard rankings, with the ability to continue to rise in the rankings with continued strong play this off-season.
