Willow Canyon at ACP Standouts

On Thursday, December 5th I attended the match-up of 5A AZ College Prep hosting 5A Willow Canyon. Both teams most likely will be in the 5A playoffs and Willow has a chance to make a very deep run.   I checked out two levels with JV and Varsity.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the standouts on the night </h2>   Junior Varsity Game (58-57 Willow Canyon won)   [player_tooltip player_id='2396374' first='Levi' last='Carter'] Willow Canyon   A pure point guard with a high feel for the game. He will drive and kick it, he assisted with touch passes and just knows how to play. He will score with catch threes and drive it with good quickness to the basket.   [player_tooltip player_id='2564217' first='Justin' last='Holland'] Willow Canyon   A very strong wing forward has grown man strength. He can handle it and pound his way into the paint. He will give hard ball fakes and will go up in traffic versus players taller than him and absorb the contact. He will hustle on defense versus any position.   [player_tooltip player_id='2683089' first='Gabe' last='Davis'] Willow Canyon   A newcomer is an easy scorer. He is a combo guard who will score with off the glass buckets, use the floater game, and pull-up off the dribble from mid-range. He is very shifty and has a stronger upper body to handle the pounding in the paint. He plays the passing lanes and is tough on the ball defensively. He scored 15 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='2683087' first='Chris' last='Monroe'] Willow Canyon   A long and lean wing shooter. He has good patience in the painted area and can pull-up from mid-range. He uses his length in the passing lanes on defense and he will hit the catch three with an easy stroke.   [player_tooltip player_id='2266385' first='Braylen' last='Gray'] Willow Canyon   A bigger guard looks like he grew again. He will catch and shoot with the best of them from off the catch from the three and the lefty will rattle them in. His floater game is legit and he is a sneaky good passer but he is usually looking to score it. He scored 20 points with multiple steals.    [player_tooltip player_id='2677607' first='Tanner' last='Ivory'] AZ College Prep   A skilled wing forward is a two-way player. He scores with cuts to the basket, layups with either hand and tough shots in the paint. He can also step out and shoot the three. He will rebound in his area and close out to shooters to block a shot.   [player_tooltip player_id='2149103' first='Kevin' last='Kuang'] AZ College Prep   The scoring lead guard did not get the heavy minutes like he did earlier in the week but he came in and shot the ball well from mid-range wtih pull-ups and gets to the basket. He has a really good feel to make a play for a teammate.    Ayush Prasanna SF 6'3 2026 AZ College Prep   A long wing with decent size and skill. He can hit the three off the catch and he loves the mid-range game off the dribble or catch. He gives sharp ball fake and will go up to score inside the paint. He is a good passer and plays fundamentally sound defense.   Varsity Game (77-43 Willow Canyon won)   [player_tooltip player_id='2386978' first='Jaydon' last='Hayes'] Willow Canyon   One of their star freshmen scored 17 points leading everyone in scoring on the night. He has a big bag with downhill contact takes with either hand in traffic, fast break takes above the rim, slick drives to the basket with a nice handle, threes and his mid-range jumper with elevation. That mid may be one of the most polished in the class.     [player_tooltip player_id='2412268' first='Maurice' last='Carter II'] Willow Canyon   A pure point guard who can defend and score. He has a polished floater game he often uses which is difficult to defend. He makes tough shots in traffic with his yo-yo handle and quick burst, he has a nice mid-range jumper with plus elevation and he can do a quick spin off of his defenders and get to the basket. He sees the court well with next level vision and he is a dog on defense. He scored 11 points while filling the stat sheet.   [player_tooltip player_id='1425099' first='Kaleel' last='Kelly'] Willow Canyon   The senior taller point guard is their leader this season. He brings that toughness and strength to the court every game. He rebounds like a man in heavy traffic and he is very calm under duress. He scores with floaters, tough driving layups and will facilitate. He scored 6 points with many assists.   [player_tooltip player_id='1430733' first='Zayden' last='Canchano'] Willow Canyon   A tough senior point guard came up big in this game. He scored 13 points, as he gets himself to the free throw line often with his speed with the ball, and he rattled off three triples in a row. He is a feisty on-ball defender and a good passer in tight spaces.   [player_tooltip player_id='1591737' first='Daniel' last='Garza'] Willow Canyon   A pure point guard was questionable per coach tonight but played thru an ankle injury. He throws up the court ropes to teammates, he rebounds better than you think and will score with speed dribble layups and catch threes. He scored 7 points with multiple assists. He is a true spark off the bench in every game he plays.   [player_tooltip player_id='2323067' first='Jayden' last='Maxwell'] Willow Canyon   A senior combo guard has a breakout night. He scored 10 points and affected the game with his tough defense. He has quick hands and feet and he makes it difficult to score on him. He collects steals, rebounds well and will score with catch threes and quick downhill takes. He had a few assists on his stat line.   [player_tooltip player_id='2574815' first='Garrison' last='Bambolo'] Willow Canyon   A very long wing forward with decent size and skill. He takes unusually long strides to get to the basket and he actually scored with an impressive 360 degree spin move in the lane that surprised his own teammates. He has good hands to make tough catches in the lane and will score on offensive rebound put backs and layups.   [player_tooltip player_id='1986808' first='Asher' last='Perez'] AZ College Prep   The top performer of the night for the Knights was Asher. He scored 13 points with blow by layups with a deceptive quick burst, in-traffic takes, threes off the pull or catch and tough euro steps. He rebounds well and he is their go-to scorer for the season.   [player_tooltip player_id='2507244' first='Aidan' last='Riesen'] AZ College Prep   A lefty sharp shooter did not get man attempts up but you can see his obvious skill he brings to the court. He will pull-up from mid-range and he can create his own separation off the dribble. He makes smart reads and will get on the glass.   [player_tooltip player_id='1986856' first='Justice' last='Moore'] AZ College Prep   A strong forward is their top interior presence for the Knights. He is very tough and will score thru any contact and handle the bump. He will rip thru with driving layups and is their top rebounder for the team using his physicality and positioning. He scored 7 points.

On Thursday, December 5th I attended the match-up of 5A AZ College Prep hosting 5A Willow Canyon. Both teams most likely will be in the 5A playoffs and Willow has a chance to make a very deep run.