Prep Hoops Sweet 16: Bottom Half

<p>The Prep Hoops Sweet 16 starts tonight, October 4th, at Ironwood and Apollo High School. Below is the bottom half of the bracket which will take place at Ironwood High School. Games start at 6:00 PM.</p> <h2>Mesa vs. Cactus</h2> <p>Mesa is always at the top of the pecking order in the 6A world. They experienced a lot of turnover from last year to this year. However, they will reload instead of rebuild. One of the prospects who will aid them in doing that is <strong>Steven Cervantes</strong>. Cervantes will provide the team with a true point guard who can run the show. He will be responsible for getting a lot of new faces comfortable with playing in a tough 6A region. <strong>Zayn Kimbrough </strong>will be responsible for aiding him in this task. The two were the only 2021s to see significant minutes for the team last year. The now juniors will have plenty of weight on their shoulders.</p> <p>Cactus will not have all of their resources at their disposal this weekend. However, <strong>TJ Rucker </strong>and <strong>Ben Seale </strong>led the group last year and will be on the court this weekend. Rucker and Seale are capable of getting into the paint at will. Further, Seale, who attacks the paint with a lot of aggression, is a gifted athlete as well. In addition to Rucker and Seale, Cacuts will look for <strong>Nick Orick </strong>to make a huge impact for the team. Between these three guards, Cactus is hopeful to have a much improved 2019-2020 season.</p> <h2>Sandra Day vs. Chandler</h2> <p>Sandra Day is another program that is extremely well coached but will have a lot of turnover this upcoming season. After an 18 win season and a number of faces departing who played since they were freshmen and sophomores, the program will have a lot of new faces on the court this year. <strong>Kaelen Knaub </strong>played the biggest role of all of the returns. After that, there are few with meaningful varsity experience. However, expect this group to pick it up quickly and compete at a high level.</p> <p>Chandler, on the other hand, brings back a lot of talent and is one of the favored teams in 6A. <strong>Carson Kelly, Mekhi Mason, </strong>and <strong>Isaiah Broady </strong>are household names for prep followers in AZ. Kelly is a versatile PG who makes great reads with the basketball. Further, Broady has come into his own. The lengthy prospect has provided a lot of intrigue to NCAA Division I schools due to his length and constantly improving skill set. Moreover, Mason will now have a year under his belt after playing high level competition last year and over the summer. He provides another lengthy guard whose experience will aid him in having a huge year for a talented Chandler team.</p> <h2>Ironwood vs. Rio Rico</h2> <p>Ironwood has one of the more intriguing teams in 5A. They feature one of the top backcourts in the state with <strong>JJ White, Bailon Black, </strong>and <strong>Dominic Gonzalez</strong>. All three prospects averaged over ten points per game last year while shooting the basketball at an alarming rate from deep. In addition to those three, the team features a lot of depth at the guard spot and two new faces in <strong>Jaden Glass </strong>and <strong>David Teibo</strong>, who also averaged over ten points per game at their previous schools. This team has the makings of something special.</p> <p>Rio Rico plays hard night in and night out. They are extremely well coached and understand how to make the basketball move side to side. They have shooters who are capable of making teams pay who closeout with their hands down. <strong>Mario Alvarado, Sebastian Alvarez, </strong>and <strong>Kevin Nido </strong>fit this mold extremely well last season and look to do more of it once again this year.</p> <h2>Verrado vs. Planet Athlete</h2>