Winter Warzone: High School standouts

<p>On January 14th I attended Justin Vargas’s <strong>Winter Warzone</strong> tournament at the Phhacility in Phx, AZ.  </p> <p>I watched six local prep teams with some post grad teams mixed in with HS preps. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Here were some of the high school standouts:</p> <p><b>2022</b></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="701263" first="Orlando" last="Gonzales"] Phhoenix Prep</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the better shooters in the class. He squares up likes you should and lets it fly with a quick release and he comes with range. He also thinks the game and will thread the needle to his teammates and spray the ball around. He can pull-up from mid or from the 3.   </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1030345" first="Chase" last="Mayo Harmon"] Phhoenix Prep</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A scoring guard with a pretty 3pt stroke. He has bounce on the break and he can drive the lane and score contested layups using his athleticism. He makes good reads to teammates and is a natural scorer from all levels.  </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="936761" first="Nathaniel" last="Knight"] AZ Compass Prep Green </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A wildly athletic forward who flies on the break. He seems to glide in the air and will make difficult shots in traffic with good body control. He can make perimeter jumpers and will defend his position inside and out.  </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="827006" first="Lareon" last="Ginnis"] AZ Compass Prep Green</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A pure PG with one of the tighter handles in the class. He uses his long arms, speed and quickness to defend on the ball. He can burst into the lane plus step back on his defender and hit from the 3pt line. </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="827015" first="Justin" last="Shorts"] Skyline Prep</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A powerful downhill wing is good in the passing lanes. He has a quicker first step to burst into the lane and score among the trees. He is also a physical on-ball defender using his length and bulk. He will take charges and rebounds and his shooting stroke looks more confident.   </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>2023</b></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1183400" first="KaShar" last="Benton"] AZ Compass Prep Green</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An old school five-man is a strong post player who will score with his back to the basket. He has good hands and feet and he is a strong two-handed rebounder. He is a little grounded but strong and efficient in the paint using his girth and skill. </span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="936906" first="Masaiah" last="Binford"] Ascending Life </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A big time transition player transferred over to Ascending Life from South Mountain. He can hit the catch-3 and the athletic forward almost posterized a Skyline Prep player on the break. His skill can keep evolving but when he get rolling, he is a tough cover.  </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>2024 </b></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1066495" first="Aeramiah" last="Binford"] Ascending Life </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">MJ's younger brother also made the move to Ascending Life. He can make contested shots in the lane, he plays the passing lanes and plays with a big time motor. He rebounds in and out of his area jumping to corral the ball at its highest point. Like his brother, he is also a star in transition.  </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>2025</b></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="1366003" first="Jaden" last="Vance"] AZ Compass Prep Green (Pictured) </b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A scoring guard is one of the longer kids you will see. He defends his position and will collect steals plus blocks shots in his area. He has a knack for scoring the ball as he has a nice touch on his jumper to the 3pt line and he comes with range. </span></p>