Tarkanian Classic: 2024 Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>December 16th-22nd I attended the annual <strong>Tarkanian Classic</strong> at Bishop Gorman HS and neighboring high schools in Nevada. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were over 200 teams in the long week. 70+ Prep teams and 125+ in the High School division. Arizona teams invaded Las Vegas and some of them held their own quite well. <strong>Desert Mountain</strong> actually made it to the Finals of the top bracket but came up short. <strong>Notre Dame Prep</strong> won 3rd place in the 2nd toughest division. Both actually had in-game injuries in their lone losses. <strong>Higley</strong> also managed to get 2nd place in a different bracket and finally <strong>Sandra Day</strong> finished 3-1 and had their lone loss by only 5. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were some of the standout seniors I viewed:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1036000' first='Khalon' last='Johnson'] Eduprize (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A good sized combo guard with a strong body and good feel. He is a very good passer and he is unselfish. He almost broke down the rim on the break with some viscous dunks. He can rattle in threes off the catch and is highly competitive on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2300309' first='Jayden' last='Williams'] Bella Vista Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A freaky long post player's skill seems to be improving. He rebounds and blocks shots from the weak side. Outside of dunking the ball, his jump hook shot is his best skill with his left or right hand. He will also score on offensive rebound put backs in traffic and high level dunks way above the rim. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992829' first='Gabe' last='Pickens'] Dream City Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A power PG with a running back like body. He moves the ball and makes teammates better. He is very hard to take the ball from and his three point shooting keeps shining. He has speed and can defend on the ball. <strong>New Mexico State</strong> is heavily involved currently.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1123040' first='Anthony' last='Batson Jr'] Notre Dame Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The<strong> Rice </strong>commit gets downhill thru contact really well. He made multiple catch threes and had his usual highlight reel dunks. He also out sprinted his opponents for fast break layups with some English off the glass. He is a very good passer and help defender. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1032529' first='Nate' last='Parras'] Eduprize</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bouncy power forward springs up so quickly to throw it down and plays way above the rim.&nbsp;He can face-up from the arc and then work inside to score versus the post players. His energy to rebound and run the floor is highly coveted by college coaches. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1124235' first='Marcus' last='Wilson'] Bella Vista Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The <strong>Washington State</strong> commit is a scoring point guard that has real speed in the open court. His floater game is polished and his euro game is tough to defend.&nbsp;He hits catch threes with range. He also made a few up the court passes on a rope.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1634735' first='Emmanuel' last='Stephen'] Dream City Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The <strong>Arizona</strong> commit is a menace. His footwork is more improved since last year and he will still block every shot and rebound like a man obsessed. His chiseled frame, motor and speed allows him to dominant inside.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1055726' first='Sammie' last='Yeanay'] AZ Compass Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The <strong>Arizona State</strong> commit has advanced post footwork that seems to keep evolving. He quickly spins off of his defenders and goes to work.&nbsp;He can also rip thru and score in the lane versus the post players plus step out and shoot it. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1074371' first='Jovan' last='Milicevic'] Canyon International Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The <strong>New Mexico</strong> commit has an elite feel for the game as he is a top of the food chain passer. His skill is advanced shooting the three, fading away from his defender and scoring on put backs. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1634726' first='Makhan' last='Diouf'] Bella Vista Prep&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long and tall power forward is a face-up player and he can post up and shoot the right hand hook shot well. He has decent post footwork but is best when he is facing up and shooting that pretty jumper from mid to the three.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->