DBI and Arizona Preps ’29 Standouts Viewed

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday, October 17th I attended the 1st annual <strong>Dillon Brooks Invitational</strong> and <strong>Arizona Preps Tournament </strong> at Inspire Courts in Gilbert, AZ. Many AIA teams were in the building plus some local top prep teams mixed in with Grind Session teams from out of town. I ended up watching nearly 25 teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sophomore Standouts Viewed</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3671762' first='Kaleb' last='Banfield'] Bella Vista Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A bigger wing forward who was nursing an injury but still playing thru it. He still showed off his two-way play as a tenacious defender using his long arms and plus athleticism and scores it with high level alley-oop dunks, off the glass and perimeter jumpers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3765253' first='Benjamin' last='Davies'] Bella Vista Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A true old school five man is a load to deal with inside. He has soft hands with plus post footwork and uses a variety of counter moves to score. He has an insane wingspan to score with offensive rebound put backs and will gobble up every board and block shots. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2574808' first='Ruach' last='Gony'] Bella Vista Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long and fluid athletic forward can play both positions up front and defend nearly every position on the floor. He will rebound the ball at a high clip and block shots in and out of his area. He will score it mid-range jumpers and threes off the catch or pull. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='3659677' first='Ezekiel' last='Ifejeh'] Bella Vista Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A thicker framed power forward is hard to handle. He has great strength, good girth, a motor and skill. He is a beast on the glass and grabbing every rebound near him. He plays from inside and out with threes off the catch, rebound put backs, euro steps down the lane and plays with some feel for the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2955337' first='Titus' last='McNair'] Perry</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A quick scoring combo guard comes in off the bench and gives the Pumas some quality minutes. He is a fluid ball handler and handles some of the ball pressure as a lead guard but is mostly looking to score it. He will shoot it with mid-range jumpers and threes. He gets the start early in the season while they wait for a transfer to become eligible. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2889279' first='Jace' last='Parris'] Mesa (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest AIA sophomore in Arizona is definitely Parris. His fluidity seems to have improved overnight and his hands, skill, agility and athleticism are coming together. He will control the paint and block shots better then most. He will score with drop steps, hook shots, rip thrus and layups. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2767903' first='Jacobi' last='Thompson II'] Mesa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top player in the sophomore class from the AIA showed off why he is so highly regarded. He is an unreal passer and will consistently pass the ball up ahead for ropes to teammates and drive and kick it. He will score it with dunks, coast to coast takes finishing it off with finger rolls and has one of the most polished runners in the game. His ability to affect a game on defense and offense in many ways puts him at the top. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->