AZ Basketball Events March Madness Top Performers

March 21-23 I attended the Arizona Basketball Events March Madness tournament hosted by Michael Martinez in Tucson, Arizona. This event is always a great tip off event for the spring AAU season. Below are some individuals who stood out in the games I was able to watch in classes 2027-2030.    Impressed with Moreland in the first game I saw him play. He is a very good on ball defender who can pick up the length of the court and makes it extremely difficult for opposing guards to get past. High energy and moves with purpose. Skilled ball handler who sees the court well and makes the extra pass. Can shoot the three ball effectively and made some good clutch plays down the stretch. Looking forward to watching more of Moreland as he competes in the NXTPRO Circuit with Apex 14U.     First viewing of Andrews and I can already tell hes gonna be one of my favorite Southern AZ kids to watch for the next few years. Andrews does what it takes to win. he will dive on the floor for the loose ball and jump to save the ball from going out of bounds. Makes the hustle plays. Very good on ball defender. Makes great reads and adjusts quickly in transition on either side of the ball. Very effective on the boards. Plain and simple, Andrews does the dirty work and is a strong impact player on a pretty good Apex 14U squad.     The Falcons have a lot to be excited for with incoming freshman Elijah Hitz. A lengthy defender who can move quickly and knows how to use his stride to cover alot of ground. Crashes the boards well and is a good shot blocker. Hitz has a great perimeter shot that he knocks down consistently. Can dribble the ball well and take it the length of the court for the score. Strong passer and vocal on the floor. Another player for Apex who comes up big when the team needs someone to step up. Hitz seems to have a strong foundation that could see him develop into a nice Southern AZ prospect in the 2030 class.     Young was another player I had a chance to view for the first time. Good size and strong frame. Young was dominant in the post. A strong physical force who seemed to rebound everything. He showed off a high percentage mid range shot and good second chance scoring ability. Disciplined shot blocker. Young has good skill for his position and should continue to develop in what's already looking like a strong off season. Looking forward to seeing Young again throughout this club season.     Urquidy was one of the top performers on day one. His defensive pressure was second to none at this event in this game as he was just a menace for opposing guards. He came up with numerous steals while also forcing many bad passes. Offensively his shot was falling from just about anywhere. Was scoring from the perimeter with a strong, quick release. Then would come down the court blazing past the defense on the fast break. Landyn has a strong motor and when he's at the top of his game he's a high impact player on both sides of the ball.     Griffin plays with great confidence and his play making ability backs up that confidence. He dribbles well and studies his defender and seems to always know how to shake them and make the play. Very high percentage shooter from mid to long range. Thrives is high pressure situations. Most memorable moment of the weekend was Griffin receiving the inbound and going the length of the court, calling his own number and hitting the three at the buzzer to give his team the win. Can defend the ball well and see the court well. Griffin has the talent to be good and with the work will see himself rise in the rankings.     If I had to pick a "freshman of the year" for the Southern Arizona Basketball season it would have been Johnson. He showed why again this past weekend. He plays very composed and mature for a freshman. He's very quick on his feet and has a great all around feel for the game. A very confident shooter and with good reason. In my viewing Johnson knocked down there consecutive threes in three consecutive possessions for his team in a span of 90 seconds. He handles pressure extremely well with the ball. Look for Johnson to step up this coming season as I expect him to take on a much bigger role for the Sunnyside Blue Devils.     From the first time I saw Banks entering his freshman year to now he's a completely different player. Just for reference I thought he was pretty good at that time. Since then he has developed into a much better player and more importantly a much more intriguing college prospect. Banks fears no one on the court and plays with a chip on his shoulder. He plays with purpose and impacts the game at a high level. A very athletic guard who will get his paint touches and finish strong at the rim through contact. Has a very high motor and plays with 100% of what he has every possession. Skilled and effective dribbler who can make plays.     Mendoza is playing with more confidence and thus becoming a highly effective player on the court. What stands out right away is the energy he puts into his defense. A 94 feet defender who moves very quickly. Forced quite a few turnovers. Handles the ball very well and made some great looks getting his teammates involved. Can score the ball effectively but plays the pass first. Shoots very well off the pass but will also use a nice pump fake and then dribble into a mid range jumper. With Cholla graduating the best two way player who ironically is Leos older brother, its only fitting the torched gets passed and based on this viewing Mendoza looks ready to take on the task. Very excited to watch more of his game. Expect to read about Mendoza much more.     Lee looked good this weekend. Not my first time watching him play and you can see the development going in the right direction. Most notably his ball handling has improved dramatically. Another noticeable improvement is his footwork in the post. He has become a much more skilled scorer in the post. Lee also has a very good turnaround mid range that he can score off of once he's in his spot. Strong and physical on the boards. Strong passer and just an overall disciplined player. Lee is trending in the right direction and could be a name we see quite a bit for the Marana Tigers next season.

March 21-23 I attended the Arizona Basketball Events March Madness tournament hosted by Michael Martinez in Tucson, Arizona. This event is always a great tip off event for the spring AAU season. Below are some individuals who stood out in the games I was able to watch in classes 2027-2030.