AAU mid-season breakdown: 17U

Gregg Rosenberg June 14, 2021 @ 03:25 PM

As the early AAU season has ended and we head into June HS ball, we look back to see what club teams have performed well. This is obviously not an easy exercise since many of the teams never played each other and some rarely even play in the state. A lot of it is the eye test and how they performed out of state and at a few local events.   Mid season awards: Co-MVP’s of 17U: [player_tooltip player_id="933538" first="Jake" last="Lifgren"] (Factory) [player_tooltip player_id="1129431" first="Mouhamed" last="Cisse"] (AZ Select UAA)   Other MVP candidates: [player_tooltip player_id="809671" first="Isaiah" last="Broady"] (Firestorm Elite) [player_tooltip player_id="973910" first="Luke" last="Kearney"] (Firestorm Dante) [player_tooltip player_id="827033" first="Nikko" last="Pentelute"] (Prime) [player_tooltip player_id="826999" first="Andrew" last="King"]/ [player_tooltip player_id="590836" first="Justus" last="Jackson"] (AZ Select Contreras)   This may be some kind of ranking, but this can also be a cheat sheet for college coaches to view them for the July live period. Some of these teams may have a few 2021’s who may end up doing a post grad. Their may be some changes for the 17U teams, as this occurs every year. I am trying to get ahead of the curve and see who will possibly switch or who switched already. I am assuming as I write this there will be more movement. (Coaches please let me know via text if you added a player or I forgot anyone for college coaches to be aware of). 17U: 1. AZ Select UAA Led by a balanced guard attack with the big man in the middle. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="1129431" first="Mouhamed" last="Cisse"], [player_tooltip player_id="701245" first="Mekhi" last="Mason"], [player_tooltip player_id="701244" first="Nate" last="Pickens"], [player_tooltip player_id="994506" first="Rickey" last="Bradley"], [player_tooltip player_id="933489" first="Sidney" last="Wooten"], [player_tooltip player_id="706704" first="Dominic" last="Capriotti"], [player_tooltip player_id="826996" first="Patrick" last="Chew"], [player_tooltip player_id="1158869" first="Pierce" last="Bazil"], [player_tooltip player_id="827001" first="Will" last="Coates"], [player_tooltip player_id="809683" first="Nicholas" last="Riley"] (post grad), [player_tooltip player_id="959428" first="D’Mari" last="Johnson"] (post grad). 2. Factory Went with 5 players total multiple games and still won their lion’s share. A full healthy squad could give them a shot at #1. Went to the Finals of the Magic Memorial weekend. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="933538" first="Jake" last="Lifgren"], [player_tooltip player_id="701265" first="Ahamed" last="Mohamed"], [player_tooltip player_id="827004" first="Blessing" last="Nwotite"], [player_tooltip player_id="1006964" first="Terrance" last="Dixon"], [player_tooltip player_id="703837" first="Jeffrey" last="Goodere"] (post grad) and possibly [player_tooltip player_id="703839" first="Elijah" last="Thomas"] (undecided). 3. Firestorm Elite Most of their top players were the stud unsigned seniors with Broady. Lewis and Kimbrough Jr. Wady will lead them this summer. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="809691" first="Marcus" last="Wady"] (post grad), [player_tooltip player_id="936761" first="Nathaniel" last="Knight"], [player_tooltip player_id="701264" first="Jayden" last="Warren"], [player_tooltip player_id="1018516" first="Josiah" last="Sanders"] (post grad), [player_tooltip player_id="827008" first="Isaac" last="Garcia"]. 4. Team Harden Lost to Factory in the Final-4 by one point. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="701266" first="DeOtis" last="Nunn Jr"], [player_tooltip player_id="827041" first="Josh" last="McClanahan"] & stud newcomer Jahki Gupton 6’6 SF 2023. 5. Arizona Supreme The talented St.Mary’s dominant team should be watched this summer. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="701238" first="Garrison" last="Phelps"], [player_tooltip player_id="826995" first="Jeremiah" last="Cherry"], [player_tooltip player_id="826997" first="Foune" last="Doucoure"], [player_tooltip player_id="831120" first="Seydou" last="Tamboura"] & [player_tooltip player_id="933539" first="Jacob" last="Estrella"] 6. AZ Select Paynes An extremely balanced roster had a good Spring. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="1041371" first="JJ" last="McCain"], [player_tooltip player_id="973813" first="Jayson" last="Petty"], [player_tooltip player_id="827012" first="Josh" last="Deakyne"], [player_tooltip player_id="1016576" first="Brock" last="Heywood"], [player_tooltip player_id="809684" first="Timothy" last="Cochrane"], [player_tooltip player_id="932346" first="Jake" last="Clapper"] & [player_tooltip player_id="703832" first="Jake" last="TenBerge"]. 7. AZ Select Contreras Jackson and King were one of the tougher back courts in the Spring. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="826999" first="Andrew" last="King"], [player_tooltip player_id="590836" first="Justus" last="Jackson"] (undecided), [player_tooltip player_id="934598" first="Jaylen" last="Wesley"], [player_tooltip player_id="827026" first="Marcus" last="Coleman"], [player_tooltip player_id="809693" first="Zach" last="Morgan"] (undecided) and [player_tooltip player_id="1183404" first="Quincy" last="Geary"]. 8. AZ Select Show A balanced group trades off shining each game. Won many games at the Prep Hoops circuit. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="827003" first="Micah" last="Pierce"], [player_tooltip player_id="701263" first="Orlando" last="Gonzales"], [player_tooltip player_id="827035" first="Shamar" last="Moore"], [player_tooltip player_id="1118369" first="Xavier" last="Ali"], [player_tooltip player_id="976833" first="Kemp" last="Van Es"], [player_tooltip player_id="1029812" first="Anderson" last="Wilson"], [player_tooltip player_id="1030345" first="Chase" last="Mayo Harmon"] & [player_tooltip player_id="827014" first="Jo" last="Jo Montgomery"]. 9. Prime Basketball Not many better then Nikko putting the ball in the basket and Tampa sliced defenses up distributing the ball. Went 3-1 at the Magic Memorial Weekend. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="703847" first="Tampa" last="Scott"] (undecided), [player_tooltip player_id="827033" first="Nikko" last="Pentelute"], [player_tooltip player_id="1054334" first="Eli" last="Johnson"], [player_tooltip player_id="827031" first="Brady" last="Reynolds"]. 10. Team Zona They went 3-1 at the Magic Memorial Weekend. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="703835" first="JJ" last="White"] and [player_tooltip player_id="703815" first="Kevin" last="Kogbara"] (both undecided). 11. Team RHJ 2022 LJ and Malik were a tough tandem. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="827006" first="Lareon" last="Ginnis"], [player_tooltip player_id="1066478" first="Malik" last="Payton"] (undecided), [player_tooltip player_id="827000" first="Dorell" last="Thomas"] and [player_tooltip player_id="973815" first="Kyle" last="Waters"]. 12. AZ Firestorm Dante Luke carried them many contests with some monster games. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="973910" first="Luke" last="Kearney"], [player_tooltip player_id="827025" first="Pike" last="Tancil"], [player_tooltip player_id="1054928" first="Liam" last="Thompson"], [player_tooltip player_id="936383" first="Quinn" last="Thompson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1155294" first="Mason" last="Taylor"]. 13. AZ Junior Ballers 2022 Black Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="1196511" first="Mark" last="Clegg Jr"] & [player_tooltip player_id="937184" first="Brayden" last="Gant"]. 14. Arizona Dream A very balanced group who can hurt you many ways. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="973569" first="Garrison" last="Sherman"], [player_tooltip player_id="827044" first="Easton" last="Reagan"], [player_tooltip player_id="827017" first="William" last="Dubuc"], [player_tooltip player_id="831128" first="Ryan" last="Ginsberg"], [player_tooltip player_id="706706" first="JP" last="Musselmann"], [player_tooltip player_id="933540" first="Croix" last="Sweeney"] & [player_tooltip player_id="1032527" first="Brandon" last="Austin"]. 15. Team Arizona Black Elite A talented young core of sophs led the way. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="994130" first="Isaiah" last="Kai"], [player_tooltip player_id="814517" first="Cohen" last="J Gonzales"], [player_tooltip player_id="1150195" first="Brigg" last="Wolfe"], [player_tooltip player_id="1165972" first="Noah" last="Peterson"], [player_tooltip player_id="827021" first="Carson" last="Ledbetter"], [player_tooltip player_id="706698" first="Reed" last="Shuey"] & [player_tooltip player_id="827030" first="Trent" last="Moser"]. 16. NME Academy 2022 Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="1127089" first="Michael" last="DeHorney"]. [player_tooltip player_id="936768" first="Tanner" last="Pate"], [player_tooltip player_id="936769" first="Cameron" last="Coraggio"] & [player_tooltip player_id="827024" first="Quin" last="Thorne"]. 17. AZ Junior Ballers 2022 The talented back court are a tough cover. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="701269" first="Raydon" last="Thorson"] & [player_tooltip player_id="701246" first="Nathan" last="Calmese"]. 18. Westside Elite 2022 Shorts and Light lead this team most games. Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="827015" first="Justin" last="Shorts"], [player_tooltip player_id="1114578" first="Luke" last="Light"], [player_tooltip player_id="827018" first="Jayson" last="Hunt"] & [player_tooltip player_id="1196516" first="Lawren" last="Mitchell"]. 19. PAL Elite 2022 Top players: [player_tooltip player_id="1033021" first="Chris" last="Long"], [player_tooltip player_id="1030455" first="Cameron" last="Stokes"].