July Recap: Best of the Best
A number of Arizona teams hit the road to go to the live periods this past July. The majority of the players have the same goals at that time of the year: gain exposure and help their teams have success. Here are the players who had the best July live period showings from the state of Arizona.
July’s Best of the Best
Majok Deng 6’5 SG/SF 2019 Salpointe (PowerHouse Hoops Black 16U)
Deng won the “Best Motor” award at the West Coast Elite Top 100 Camp. Deng is the most versatile prospect in the entire state. He is capable of leading his team in every statistical category. Further, he is very efficient on the offensive end and does not need to take bad shots to score. Further, he does not have to score to be effective – he does whatever it takes to help his team be successful. After this live period, it was very easy to see why many college coaches are drooling over him.
Dre Harris 6’8 PF/C 2019 Red Mountain (AZ Power Black 16U)
Harris finally received his first NCAA Division I offers with Grand Canyon and Houston Baptist. He is one of the best passing big men that I have seen in a long time. In addition, he has improved his versatility and is able to shoot it consistently from 16-18 and take defenders off of the dribble. He finishes well at the rim and is very strong. Harris won’t have to deal with one of the biggest changes that bigs face when they go from high school to college – physicality. He plays physical and is not bothered by others playing physical against him.
Jared Martin 6’5 SG 2018 Prolific Prep (PowerHouse Hoops Black 17U)
Although all of his games did not feature high scoring affairs, Martin showed that he can score and play a role. Defensively, he brings a lot of length at the wing. Further, offensively, he can score the basketball in an array of ways. He does a good job of utilizing his teammates on the offensive end as well. In the games I have seen, he has added some nice post moves to his game. This will further help him maximize his size on the wing. Martin’s recruiting blew up in July and should continue to as he moves to Prolific Prep.
Nico Mannion 6’1 PG 2020 Pinnacle (Earl Watson Elite 16U)
I am not sure if there is a player in the state who sees the floor as well as Mannion. He is obviously a knock down shooter who can create his own shot. However, my favorite part of his game was how he made his teammates better. His passes are on time and on target. Further, they are made in spots where his teammates can have success. If anyone is worried about his athleticism, they shouldn’t be. He has a good vertical, long arms, and moves well laterally. Mannion already holds offers from the majority of the Pac-12. With that said, he is far from reaching his peak with 3 years of high school basketball still left to play.
Josh Green 6’6 SG 2020 Mountain Ridge (Earl Watson Elite 16U)
Green’s ability to play the 1 and the 2 at 6’6 makes him an easy prospect to market. He has been extremely fun to watch along side Mannion. He also has a high basketball IQ and meshes extremely well with Mannion. Green is capable of creating shots for himself off of the dribble at a high rate. However, he showed that he can use screens and be effective in moving without the basketball to score. Defensively, Green can guard anywhere from 1-4 at this level. One of the biggest compliments I hear about him from college coaches is that they see his game translating to the next level very easily.