AZC Fall League: Upperclassmen Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I am clearly backtracking here because of the state rankings but I did not want to miss some players who caught my eye at multiple events.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On September 6th I attended the <strong>AZ Compass Prep Fall League</strong> in Chandler, AZ. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I took in 2 games on this night and I will be back the next week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Here were the upperclassmen standouts from the four teams viewed:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2023&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1168771' first='Nait' last='George'] Dream City International (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the better performers of the night was George. He was diming his teammates all game long and plays with an elite feel for the game. He uses hesitations and has a shifty handle to get space from his defenders. He made some full court passes down the court and shot the ball well. He was hitting 3's off the catch and pull.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='994004' first='Mathiang' last='Maker'] Dream City International</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A super long athletic bigger wing seems to defend every position. He was mostly defending the opposing teams point guard then would switch on post players. He is a natural rim runner, shot blocker, he will hit the occasional three but he dunks the ball impressively. He had arguably the best poster of the night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1580111' first='Dimitri' last='Cleric'] Bella Vista Prep CAA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A big boy with huge hands and long arms. He works best in the paint to score with decent footwork and obvious strength. His 7'2 wingspan allows him to board over taller players despite not springing up like some others.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1032529' first='Nate' last='Parras'] Bella Vista Prep CAA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A super athletic power forward is a way above the rim dunker. He seems to explode up quickly. He works best off the glass and goes up to score. He is starting to create his own offense. He can euro his way to the rim and he can shoot it to the three point line. (He recently transferred to Eduprize.) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1390041' first='Sedrick' last='Nari'] Skyline Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic off guard can flush it down on the break. He transferred over from Queen Creek and looked good in his first game with Skyline. His feel is steadily improving, as he made smart decisions with the ball and is a plus rebounder for his position. He can hit the three and get out in transition. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1141681' first='Jonathan' last='Bradford'] Bella Vista Prep CAA</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Simply put, the athletic off guard is ranked too low. He has polished up his skill from the perimeter while still being a ball hawk defensively. He throws it down effortlessly on the break and plays the passing lanes. He excels at getting downhill with a quick first step.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1074371' first='Jovan' last='Milicevic'] Dream City International</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A thicker power forward with arguably the most skill per position in state. He can rise up from mid-range flat footed and shoot it. He has the Dirk move down pat and shoots the three point shot off the catch better then most. He also has a high feel for the game to make plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036000' first='Khalon' last='Johnson'] Bella Vista Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A true two-way guard is a quick twitch athlete. He had one of the best dunks of the night where he rose up in traffic and dunked it high above the crowd. He has a quick first step to get passed his defenders and euro to the cup. He can hit the three and he went through stretches where he was dominant. (He recently transferred to Eduprize.) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1127081' first='Liam' last='Bunker'] Skyline Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pure point guard transferred over from Queen Creek. He has great size for position and uses his left hand just as well as his right. He can hit the 3pt shot off the catch and has a little burst to get passed his defenders.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->