Hoopsgiving Tournament: Top Seniors

On Tuesday, November 23rd I attended the Sunnyslope Hoopsgiving Basketball Tournament at Deer Valley HS in Glendale/AZ. There were 8 teams on this side of the bracket with 4 games.

Here were the results of the four games I viewed: 

Deer Valley 64

Greenway 45

Liberty 98

Sandra Day O’Connor 51

Centennial 86

Willow Canyon 59 

Apollo 77

Peoria 52

Here were some of the standout seniors:

Jake Lifgren Jake Lifgren 6'1" | CG Centennial | 2022 State AZ Centennial 

An effortless scorer makes it look easy. His stroke is so pure from the catch or pull. He made five 3pt shots and is crafty in lane to score through contact. He loves his pull-up and can hesi and get to rim quicker then you realize. He had 23 points in their win. The Point Loma commit is about to have a monster season in the AIA. 

Ahamed Mohamed Ahamed Mohamed 6'0" | PG Apollo | 2022 State AZ Apollo (Pictured) 

A scoring lead guard will drive and kick it to his shooters but he is a scorer. He has a nasty pull-up off the dribble and his burst to the cup is impressive. He uses his long arms to collect steals and rebounds well for a guard. His defensive IQ is high and he will also drop off an assist to a cutter showing an all-around game.   

Xavier Ali Xavier Ali 6'8" | PF Sandra Day O’Connor | 2022 State AZ Sandra Day O’Connor

A long and lean catch and shoot-3pt gunner. He has a super quick release and he is a fluid athlete. He is active on the glass for put backs and he will track the ball for blocks on the weak side. He can cross his man over and rise up and shoot it from mid-range. He should have a breakout year for the Eagles.      

Jo Jo Montgomery Jo Jo Montgomery 6'6" | PF Deer Valley | 2022 State AZ Deer Valley 

An athletic forward is improving his skill. He did have an incredible dunk on the break over a defender but he can shoot it. He can hit the catch-3 plus drive it to the cup and pull-up from mid-range. His handle is good enough for him to create his own offense and he can crash the boards.  

Abe Rangel Abe Rangel 6'0" | PG Centennial | 2022 State AZ Centennial 

The best on-ball defender I saw all week was Rangel. He is also a pure PG and makes all the right reads. He sees plays developing quickly and he has good speed to turn the corner and will dime his teammates. He can make the full court advance passes plus pull-up off the dribble from mid-range and has a polished runner.   

Pike Tancil Pike Tancil 6'2" | PG Willow Canyon | 2022 State AZ Willow Canyon

A sturdy framed point guard is becoming a leader on the court and a play-maker. He shows nice court vision and will read a defense and dissect it. He rebounds the ball well for position and loves getting downhill with his floater game and scoring near the basket. He gets many deflections and is a physical on-ball defender with his long arms and strong upper body.   

David Bright David Bright 6'3" | SF Willow Canyon | 2022 State AZ Willow Canyon 

A long arm wing forward does many little things to win games. He handles the ball for them, makes correct reads and will score. He is not afraid to score it through contact near the basket and has a good understanding and a high IQ for the game. He always seems to be in the right spot on offense and defense. He can shoot it a little from the perimeter or score it inside. He is a nice compliment to Tancil.   

Semajay James SF 6’2 Deer Valley 

A power wing forward who seeks contact. He loves taking the ball in the paint and scoring through defenders. He has unreal strength for only 6’2. He can handle the ball really well and break his man down and score it in traffic with euros and gets many and-1’s.