The 25th Annual Arizona Preps Fall Showcase event took place this weekend at Skyline High School in exciting fashion, and was another enjoyable event - filled with numerous teams and top performances. This year's event gave us a good look into some of the state's top teams and players to watch for this high school season. St. Mary's High School looked strong in the event and were led by the superb play of 6-foot-2 senior point guard Styles Phipps (Grand Canyon University commit). Phipps was very impressive in his performance this weekend, and also showed off his well developed, college-ready body in the process. As a result of his performance this weekend, Phipps has been selected as the event's Fall Showcase Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Phipps is headed to Grand Canyon University next fall and will sign a national letter of intent with GCU next month, after giving an early verbal commitment earlier this month. Phipps is very excited about his commitment to GCU and looking forward to his future at the program.
"It just felt right," said Phipps. "Everyone there showed love to me. I'm excited."
Phipps will lead a very talented roster at St. Mary's this high school season. Even though the team is still young and filled with many new faces, it looks to be a very good season for the Knights. St. Mary's looked very good in this year's event and deep, and Phipps really looked to lead this group in the event and get his teammates involved.
Phipps is coming off an excellent junior season where he was among the top individual scorers in the country last season - averaging 29.1 points, 10.1 assists, 6 rebounds and 3.1 steals per/contest. Phipps is a stat-sheet stuffer and put up some amazing numbers as a junior prospect, despite having defenses designed to stop him every night out. Phipps is certainly prepared to have another big senior season for himself.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: Whether as a scorer or as a facilitator, Phipps enjoys having the basketball in his hands. The ball is a string in his hands and he is almost a magician with the basketball. Phipps has put in countless hours of ball handling and practice for himself over the years, and it seriously shows in his approach to the game. He is difficult to defend as a result of being able to get anywhere he wants to on the floor. He almost toys with his defenders at times, which can be a blessing and a curse. Because Phipps can almost do what he wants, he will continue to develop when and what to do with the basketball, as the game simply comes easy to him. Phipps is fundamentally sound. He pushes the basketball up the floor to the open man, and plays fast, but in a controlled manner. He dissects defenses and surveys the floor - looking for cutters or the open man on the floor. He is a good shooter of the basketball with range, and also has an excellent mid-range game. He is a very good rebounder for his size and position, as he has a serious knack and nose for the basketball. He is also a strong defender. When he locks in defensively, he is very capable of becoming a serious lock-down defender over time - an attribute that will benefit him a great deal throughout his high school career and down the road.
