With the end to the 2017-2018 high school basketball season, the spring evaluation period is now upon us, and set to take center stage for college coaches across the country, as programs look to fill voids for next season. While some college programs will be evaluating some younger talent this spring and summer, most programs will still be looking toward the 2018 Class this spring.
Here are some more of the state's top available prospects, still remaining on the recruiting board this spring (In no particular order) . . .
TOP AVAILABLE 2018 ARIZONA HS PROSPECTS (CLASS OF 2018)
Bryce Davis 6-7 SR PF Deer Valley High School (Glendale, AZ)
A big-bodied stretch four-man prospect that likes to play inside and out. At his best around the basket and from mid-range. Has a good overall skill level and some good athleticism, although he can disappear at times, and needs to be much more active to reach his potential as a player. A nice overall physical talent. A good rebounder that does not mind physical contact. Runs the floor. An OK ball handler and passer. Good shotblocker. Has excellent potential and upside.
Steele Bennett 6-11 SR C Taylor Made Prep (Avondale, AZ)
Bennett is a nice sized post prospect with some upside for the future. Bennett is the best true-post talent in the class. Bennett runs the floor well for his size, but needs to play with much more energy to maximize his potential as a player. Has an ability to score inside with a jump hook. He has solid post moves, but needs to get quicker in making his moves. Has a solid shooting stroke out to 15 feet. A good rebounder. A capable shotblocker. A solid passer out of the post. Needs to work hard to develop as a player, but has potential for the future.
Donovan Reagan 6-5 SR SF/PF Fairfax HS (Phoenix, AZ)
Reagan has really intrigued me each time I have seen him perform, and I love his unique athleticism and ability to make plays for himself off the dribble - whether from the perimeter or around the paint. He has a good perimeter shooting stroke with range. Has a good mid-range game as well. He has excellent length of body. He has a lot of potential to develop into a serious prospect with continued hard work. A nice sleeper prospect.
Isaiah Thompson 6-6 SR SF/PF CGM Prep Academy (Phoenix, AZ)
Thompson is a load physically, and has tremendous physical talent in his strong body. He would be a superstar in the football ranks. As a basketball prospect, he has a large combo-forward prospect that has a nice overall skillset that allows him to get a lot done. He makes shots with range - enough to prove that he can do it consistently. He is a solid ball handler and passer, and runs the floor hard and is a very good finisher in the open floor. A strong rebounder, although he could become elite in this area, if he wants to. A solid defender that also needs more focus in that area to maximize his potential. Has excellent work ethic. A very good sleeper prospect.
Carrington Wiggins 6-0 SR PG/SG AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, AZ)
Wiggins recently moved to the state from Detroit, MI. An excellent scorer and shooter of the basketball with range on his shot and a quick release. Capable of playing the point guard position and also making plays for his teammates off the dribble. Able to get into the lane and finish strong at the rim. A very good scorer. A very good defender with quick hands and feet. Pushes the basketball up the floor. An intriguing prospect.
Jaylin Fleming 6-3 SR PG Arcadia HS (Phoenix, AZ)
A native of Chicago, where he attended Mount Carmel HS, Fleming (pictured) is a pure point guard prospect with excellent size for the position. He handles the basketball with a strong feel for the game, and is able to get the basketball to the open teammate on the floor, while also being able to create scoring opportunities for his teammates off the dribble. Fleming plays with a high level of confidence and provides excellent leadership on the court, which rubs off to his teammates. Fleming is very mature for his young age and has excellent leadership qualities. He pushes the basketball up the floor to the open man and likes to pass the ball without a dribble - a fundamentally sound performer. He is an OK shooter of the basketball, and still needs to add more consistency to his shot from longer ranges, but his size allows him to be best from mid-range while shooting over smaller defenders. A good finisher in traffic that uses a variety of floaters in the lane. Fleming is an active rebounder and his size allows him to be effective. With more continued focus in this area, he will maximize his potential as a player. A good on the ball defender with quick hands. Was previously rated as the #1 prospect in America’s 2018 class as a 7th grader.
Breven Burnett 6-5 SR SF Cienega High School (Tucson, AZ)
Burnett emerged last summer as one of the top sleeper prospects in Arizona’s 2018 class. Burnett is a skilled combo-guard prospect that likes to handle the ball and make plays for himself and others off the dribble. The younger brother of former Indiana State guard Brandon Burnett. A skilled combo-guard prospect with good size. Can score inside and out. Has good range on his shot, which allows him to set up defenders nicely for drives to the basket. Can create off the dribble and make plays for himself and others. Has a good overall feel for the game. A good rebounder. A good defender with lateral quickness for his size. Has the potential to develop into a low to mid major prospect over time. An intriguing player and prospect with upside.
Saikou Gueye 6-7 SR SF/PF Taylor Made Prep (Avondale, AZ)
Gueye is a long, athletic and versatile combo-forward prospect with upside still. He has very good versatility as a player and his ability to score inside and outside is a nice attribute to have. A left hander, Gueye is difficult to defend for many opposing wings, since he is able to now score effectively around the paint, since he has added size to his thin frame. He is able to make shots from the perimeter, but needs to improve his consistency from longer ranges. He is at his best when taking defenders off the dribble and making plays at the rim and around the paint. Gueye also is able to play much bigger than his size suggests, as he uses his length to finish around the basket. An active rebounder and shotblocker. A good defender. Good sleeper prospect.
Ajang Aguek 6-7 SR SF/PF Ironwood High School (Glendale, AZ)
Aguek is a very intriguing prospect with excellent length of body and a lot of true-upside to his frame. He is still growing a great deal physically and has excellent potential over time. Likes to play on the perimeter, where he is still developing a great deal. Can score inside and out, but is at his best now from around the basket, until he becomes more consistent from longer ranges on his shot. An active defender and rebounder, that uses his lengthy frame to make plays. A good shotblocker. Runs the floor very well and is a good finisher. Has an excellent motor. A big-time sleeper with loads of potential for the future. With continued hard work, he should develop nicely over the next 1 to 2 years.
Jared Perry 6-8 SR PF Paradise Honors HS (Paradise Valley, AZ)
Perry has improved a great deal over the past year, and has developed himself nicely into a serious college prospect. He has really improved his body and has gotten much stronger physically, which has benefited him a great deal. Very athletic with good length and broad shoulders. A solid shooter from mid-range and a very improved and good overall low-post scorer. Has good low post moves and a nice jump hook. An excellent finisher that plays above the rim. Runs the floor hard and is an excellent finisher while slashing or in the open floor. Has quick lift off the floor. An active rebounder and shotblocker. Has excellent work ethic. Has developed as much as anyone in the state, and is now a nice sleeper prospect.
Mike Rogers 6-1 SR PG CGM Prep Academy (Phoenix, AZ)
Rogers is a very good point guard prospect with a nice body and size for the position. His body does need some serious trimming down, which would make him much more effective. Needs to drop 15 – 20 pounds to maximize his play. A native of New York. Rogers is an explosive scorer with a nice ability to get his own shot and create for others. As a result, Rogers is difficult to defend one-on-one. He is a very good one-on-one player with the basketball in his hands, and does a great job of making plays off the dribble. He is a good shooter of the basketball also with nice range on his shot. He is a strong ball handler and passer and pushes the basketball up the floor. A solid defender.
Cedric Bridges 6-5 SR PF Valley Vista HS (Surprise, AZ)
A very strong, athletic and compact forward prospect that plays much bigger than his size suggests. Has very good bounce off the floor, which allows him to finish plays strong at the rim and over defenders. Does not mind physical contact and is a strong finisher. Gets to the free-throw line quite often. Plays with very good intensity. A solid shooter that needs to become more consistent from longer ranges to maximize his potential. An active rebounder. An OK ball handler and passer. Runs the floor hard. Good in the open floor. Good sleeper prospect that should be able to play both forward positions over time.
Aiden Weber 6-5 SR SF/PF Arcadia HS (Phoenix, AZ)
Aiden Weber is a very nice sleeper prospect. Weber led the state last season with double-doubles as a junior, and he returned for his senior season and did much of the same thing. Weber is a versatile forward prospect with a strong, athletic frame, which allows him to play inside and out. He is a strong finisher around the basket and is very tough to keep off the glass, and is a true mis-match for opposing teams, as he does not have a true position on the floor. A nice prospect for a smaller college program. An amazing student.
Bryson "Pee-Wee-" MeWhinney 6-0 SR PG Sunnyslope HS (Phoenix, AZ)
A herky-jerky point guard prospect with an excellent handle of the basketball and an ability to create shots and make shots with regularity. Plays much bigger than his size and smaller body suggests. Very difficult to defend one-on-one. A good shooter with range on his shot. Has a nice mid-range game for his size. A good penetrator and finisher in the lane, that has very good body control. Pushes the ball up the floor and is a good passer that looks for the open man, and gets the ball to them early. A very good defender with quick hands and feet. A solid overall guard prospect.
Brennen Davis 6-5 SR SF Basha HS (Chandler, AZ)
Davis is a two-sport athlete, as he is a standout baseball player as well. Should play baseball in the future, but he is also a nice basketball prospect as well. A very good athlete on the basketball court, Davis is a slashing wing prospect with a live body. A good shooter but at his best from mid-range. Davis moves well without the basketball and is very good in the open floor. He is a very good defender. A solid passer and ball handler. Great work ethic.
Miles Lightfoot 6-9 SR PF/C Gilbert Christian HS (Gilbert, AZ)
The younger brother of Mitch Lightfoot (Univ. of Kansas), Miles is still a developing prospect that has very good potential over time. He has nice length and size on his frame and has good overall toughness as a player. An okay post player that should develop nicely over time. An active rebounder and shotblocker. Runs the floor hard. Has a very nice upside.
Chris Orozco 6-6 SR PF Sunnyslope HS (Phoenix, AZ)
A big, wide-body post player with very good hands and good low-post moves. A very good low-post scorer that has a nice jump hook with either hand, and is able to score effectively in the low post. A very tough and physical stretch-four man prospect. Has a good jump shot from 15 to 18 feet. Runs the floor hard. A very good rebounder on both ends of the floor. Good low post defender. Gets the most out of his ability. A solid low post prospect for a smaller college program.
Koby Jones 6-3 SR SG Centennial High School (Glendale, AZ)
An excellent athlete with a strong physical frame and bouncy athleticism. Runs floor well and is a good scorer in transition. A nice slasher and finisher. Has a solid shooting stroke with range. Needs to become a better mid-range player. An active rebounder. A very good defender with lateral quickness – plays passing lanes. A solid ball handler. An OK passer. Plays with a very good motor.
Jok Jok 6-6 SR SF/PF Moon Valley HS (Phoenix, AZ)
A very thin but athletically gifted combo-forward prospect with nice potential as a player. Has a good overall skill level. Left handed, which makes him difficult to stop around the basket. An OK shooter that needs to develop in this area to maximize his potential as a player. At his best in the post or from the short corner currently. An active rebounder and shotblocker. Runs the floor. Good finisher. Has excellent upside for the future.
Alan Abayev 6-1 SR PG Sunnyslope HS (Phoenix, AZ)
A strong lefty guard that can control the game. He has very good poise with a strong handle of the basketball, and picks his spots wisely on the court. A good passer of the ball that has nice size and hits the open shot. A winner. Has good lateral quickness, and is a good overall defender with quick hands. A good shooter with range on his shot. Has a good mid-range jumper that he is able to knock down after dribble drives toward the lane. Has a very good basketball IQ and does not turn the ball over. A very solid prospect.
Jaden Rollins 6-6 SR SF/PF Desert Vista HS (Phoenix, AZ)
A gifted wing prospect that is still soft physically but has a lot of talent. A skilled wing prospect with nice size and length. A good mid-range shooter with some range but needs to become more consistent from longer ranges. A very good slasher and finisher. A good defender and a capable shotblocker. Has excellent potential for the future.
Ryan Pate 6-5 SR SF Mountain Pointe HS (Phoenix, AZ)
A sharp-shooting wing prospect with good size and pure shooting stroke with unlimited range and very good consistency. Can make shots from anywhere on the floor. Had a terrific senior season for himself, and was a big reason for the success of his Mountain Pointe team. A capable defender and a good rebounder that plays with good overall toughness. A capable ball handler and passer. A specialist.
