2022 Phoenix Union HS Coyote Basketball Classic
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The weekend of Thanksgiving we had the 2022 Phoenix Union Coyote Classic which had multiple playoff teams from last years 4A, 5A and 6A divisions. In the Championship game on Saturday it was the Basha Bears pulling out the victory…
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Continue ReadingThe weekend of Thanksgiving we had the 2022 Phoenix Union Coyote Classic which had multiple playoff teams from last years 4A, 5A and 6A divisions. In the Championship game on Saturday it was the Basha Bears pulling out the victory over the Canyon View Jaguars.
Here are a few of the standout players from the event.
Izaih Johnson
Izaih
Johnson
5'9" | PG
Basha | 2024
State
AZ
Basha*
The most outstanding player of the event. Izaih was the captain of the Basha ship as they cruised to the Championship. He seemed to be playing at a different speed than everyone else at times. He picked his spots whenever he chose to and got his teammates the ball in the perfect spots most time. He’s a prospect that I’ll continue to monitor.
DeNali McNeal
DeNali
McNeal
6'3" | CG
Canyon View | 2025
State
AZ
Canyon View*
The talented combo guard led his team to the championship game by averaging of 20 ppg for the tournament. Even though he was the focal point of the opposing teams defense he still found a way to get quality shots most times.
Mason Magee
Mason
Magee
6'0" | PG
Basha | 2026
State
AZ
Basha*
The recently turned 14 year old point guard was as advertised. He showed elite change of pace and already has a thicker frame to keep defenders on his hip. He showed his inexperience a few times but if you didn’t know who he was you wouldn’t know that he was a freshman. Top 5 in his class in the state.
Christian Warren
Christian
Warren
6'4" | SF
Basha | 2024
State
AZ
Basha*
The veteran wing has continued to slim up and showed off his improved bounce off the dribble. When he’s hitting his three ball like he was in the championship game, he’s extremely hard to handle.
Elijah Summers-Livingston
Elijah
Summers-Livingston
6'7" | PF
Basha | 2026
State
AZ
Basha*
Another freshman for Basha who gets big minutes. The long forward was aggressive on both the offensive and defensive end. He was trying to dunk everything near the rim and contested opponents trying to get into the painted area.
Cohen Aldridge
Cohen
Aldridge
6'2" | SF
Canyon View | 2023
State
AZ
Canyon View
The senior wing showed a very good touch from the outside and shot it with tremendous confidence. His catch and shoot game is among the best around. Textbook form and release even when the defenders were close.
Sabih Almasri
Sabih
Almasri
5'10" | CG
Central | 2024
State
AZ
Central
He probably was the top scorer overall at the event after averaging over 25 points per game. He was getting three pointers in bunched the whole tournament averaging almost four made every game.
Kendre Pride
Kendre
Pride
6'2" | SG
Basha | 2024
AZ
Carl Hayden
One of the better all around players during the whole tournament. He was a tough cover on offense and often guarded the other teams best player.
Donovan Beard
Donovan
Beard
6'2" | PG
Dobson | 2024
State
AZ
Dobson
Had possibly the top individual performance of the weekend. Against Buckeye Union Donovan had 40 points including nine three pointers made.
Pasha Shemirani
Pasha
Shemirani
6'7" | PF
Salpointe Catholic | 2023
State
AZ
Salpointe Catholic
Pasha almost averaged a double double for the weekend. He also showed that he’s been working on his perimeter game as he was comfortable out on the perimeter shooting three’s.
*- Denotes all tournament selection