Feast Week: 2025 Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thanksgiving Week I ran all around the city to many events. I attended the Sunnyslope&nbsp;<strong>Hoopsgiving Tournament</strong>&nbsp;at Deer Valley,&nbsp;<strong>Hilcrest Prep vs Over Time Elite</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Millennium Nike Tournament, Fear the Hop</strong>&nbsp;at Mesa,&nbsp;<strong>Welcome to the Jungle</strong>&nbsp;at Gilbert and&nbsp;<strong>Black Hawk Thanksgiving Classic</strong>&nbsp;at Williams Field.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2><strong>Here were some of the top sophomore standouts:</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1129193' first='Koa' last='Peat'] Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A top soph prospect is one of the toughest covers in the country. He is a three level scorer and his ability to rebound out of his area and pass are impressive. His second jump is incredible and then he will clean the glass and go coast to coast through contact. He is stepping out and shooting the three better then last year, he rips through, posts up and he is a plus defender inside and in space as well. He had a SC Top-10 poster dunk that was eye popping.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='996172' first='D'Andre' last='Harrison'] Perry&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long and efficient small forward. He uses his length well in the post and to defend on the perimeter. He loves to shoot the short corner three and lives in the mid-range game. He will be the third scorer most nights behind Cody and Koa. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1425099' first='Kaleel' last='Kelly'] Willow Canyon</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First thing that stands out is he is considerably stronger. He has a tight yo-yo handle and he can get into the lane any time he wants and will suck in the defense and kick it to a shooter. He has great defensive instincts to collect steals. He is very patient with the ball and is always waiting for his teammates to get open to throw the dime. He is hard to take it for him, as he is constantly changing speeds. He can euro his way to the basket with his stronger frame and he gets the ball out of his hands quickly. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1333653' first='Christopher' last='Brookins'] Peoria</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A strong and fast pure point guard has the ball on a string. He is like a running back getting down the lane. He whips passes around the court and has some serious jets to blow passed his defenders. Once he touches the paint, he will usually throw a dart to a teammate.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1366579' first='Andrew' last='Maier'] Hamilton&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A fluid power forward has some springs on his legs. He plays with a high motor and he is very active around the rim. He grabs out of area rebounds and always seems to make himself available. He scores it mostly in the paint. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285934' first='Zaire' last='Richardson'] San Tan Charter&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick combo guard may be undersized but he has talent. He makes up the court passes and he creates his own offense off the dribble. He will rise up from mid to the three point line. He has a polished floater and his sweet spot is from around 17-feet right now. He has quick hands and feet to defend on the ball.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1369213' first='Amare' last='King'] Casteel (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger combo guard is a naturally unselfish player. He looks to facilitate then score. He has good length on defense to play inside and out plus rebounds well for a guard. He can shoot it from mid-range with high elevation. He can post up smaller guards effectively and shows upside. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1482216' first='Christion' last='Fleming'] Gilbert</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long combo guard who has many talents to like. He is a very unselfish player and looks to make plays often. He will give a hard shot fake, dribble drive and drop off the dime. He rebounds well for a guard and can score on put backs. He is good in transition with his speed, length and athleticism. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1446122' first='Josh' last='Baber'] Estrella Foothills</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long and lean scoring guard plays hard and will sit down in a stance and defend. He can score and shoot and is handling the ball more and more. But his motor to want to defend the other teams best player is impressive. He is probably best off the ball so he can catch and shoot from the three point line.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->