Top Playoff Forwards
DaRon Holmes (6’9 F Millennium 2021) There’s nothing I could say about this kid that you don’t already know. He has gotten a ton of media attention due to his stellar play. He dropped a triple double against Ironwood off…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingDaRon Holmes (6’9 F Millennium 2021)
There’s nothing I could say about this kid that you don’t already know. He has gotten a ton of media attention due to his stellar play. He dropped a triple double against Ironwood off of points, rebounds, and blocks. Yes, you read that correctly…blocks! He had 13 blocks against Ironwood and led his team to the championship game. However, Millennium came up short but will be heavily considered the favorites for next year’s playoffs.
Carson Towt (6’7 F Gilbert 2019)
Towt has an arsenal of post moves that he can use and is one of the best rebounders I’ve ever seen. Earlier this season, he racked up 25 rebounds in one game. Those type of numbers are video game like and Towt never really slowed down. He played big in the playoffs and led his team to a state championship.
Jalen Williams (6’4 F Shadow Mountain 2019) & Shemar Morrow (6’4 F Shadow Mountain 2020)
Jalen Williams and Shemar Morrow don’t get enough credit in my opinion. It’s hard to get credit when Blacksher and House are constantly in the light of the media but I wanted to acknowledge them. They both are athletic freaks and have big frames. They provide a lot of versatility for Shadow Mountain and are very tough to stop on the boards and when driving to the lane. They are some big bodies coming at you with high speed down the lane, that’s tough to stop.
Dylan Anderson (6’10 F Perry 2022)
Perry is in very good hands with Anderson. He is only a freshman and has already showed that he can play at the highest level of high school basketball. He is very skilled and has a nice jumper. His potential is sky high and he will be scary coming into next season.
Emmanuel Taban (6’7 F Apollo 2019)
Taban is one of the best scorers in Arizona, if not the best. He stands at 6’7 and has an incredibly high release on his shot. That height and shot release make it very hard to contest his jumpers. He is also a lot smarter than I think he gets credit for, having a very high basketball IQ. He knows when to stop short on screens for a jumper and when to attack the defender very well.
Cassius Carmichael (6’5 F Ironwood 2019)
Cassius Carmichael is probably the breakout player of the year. He put up ridiculous stats in the regular season and performed very well in the playoffs as well. His match up with DaRon Holmes really impressed me because of how well Carmichael was able to score the ball despite having a huge height disadvantage. Holmes got in blocks don’t get me wrong but there were a lot of plays where Carmichael was not afraid of the mismatch and took it right to Holmes and got a bucket. He is a very versatile player, doing a little bit of everything for his team. He runs point sometimes, shot 49% from 3, and averaged a double double on points and rebounds.
Alec Bryan (6’6 F Chaparral 2019)
I see Bryan as a 3 and D type of player. He does not excel in one area specifically, but does a little bit of everything well. He is very solid defensively and is able to knockdown the deep ball. That brings a lot of versatility to his team.
Kyle Patterson (6’5 F Perry 2019)
Patterson was a straight up bully this postseason. He is a very physically/athletically gifted, choosing between playing college football or pursuing basketball. His great strength made him a nightmare in the post as he was able to just bully people out of his way. Furthermore, he also showed off some solid handles and shooting skills.
Jake Ehmann (6’3 F Gilbert 2019)
Ehmann is a guy that probably won’t get much love, much like Paul Maldonado. Doc Self and Carson Towt are the best players on that roster but their state championship wouldn’t happen without Ehmann or Maldonado. Ehmann sticks to his role and does whatever the team needs him to do.
Paul Maldonado (6’0 F Gilbert 2019)
This guy makes the list because of his pure toughness. He was a huge part of Gilbert’s win over Millennium. While Doc Self hit those back to back three’s, Maldonado did all of the dirty work to help his team win. Maldonado can also shoot the ball very well and made some key passes in their victory.
Luc Rosenblatt (6’3 F Salpointe 2020)
Rosenblatt makes this list because of his performance against Shadow Mountain. Rosenblatt came out firing and was hot! He has a super quick release and knocked down 6 out of 6 three’s. This display was very impressive and electrified the entire GCU arena and provided his team with some much needed energy and momentum.