Feast Week: Sleepers
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The week of Thanksgiving I watched 50 teams play (48 from AZ) from Monday-Saturday at five different tournaments. I attended the Coyote Classic at Central and Camelback on Monday and Tuesday. I was at Mesa HS for the Fear the Hop tournament on Wednesday,…
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Continue ReadingThe week of Thanksgiving I watched 50 teams play (48 from AZ) from Monday-Saturday at five different tournaments. I attended the Coyote Classic at Central and Camelback on Monday and Tuesday. I was at Mesa HS for the Fear the Hop tournament on Wednesday, The Valley Christian Tournament at Seton Catholic, Welcome to the Jungle at Gilbert HS on Friday and lastly I attended the The LV8 Invitational at Chandler-Gilbert CC on Saturday.
Here are some of the top sleepers I viewed:
Tion Wright Tion Wright 6'0" | PG Carl Hayden | 2025 State AZ Carl Hayden (Pictured)
A natural scorer with speed. He has quick hands on defense and plays the passing lanes well. He can get to his spots and pull-up from mid to the three while being contested and will go on his own personal runs. He is a scorer but also a sneaky good passer.
Deshaun Johnson Deshaun Johnson 6'3" | SF Corona del Sol | 2025 State AZ Corona del Sol
A long wing forward can score and defend. He will hit the catch three point shot and has a quick first step to get to the rim. His deep stroke seems to be improving as he is getting older. He will block shots at the rim and closes out to shooters.
Desmone Brooks Desmone Brooks 5'9" | PG Peoria | 2025 State AZ Peoria
A quick on quick guard can hit the pull-up three off the dribble and rise up from mid-range. He is very fast in the passing lanes and can burst by his defenders and finish it off with floaters or layups. He also sees the court well to throw a dime.
Amous Pice Amous Pice 6'1" | SG Mountain Pointe | 2025 State AZ Mountain Pointe
The nephew of the head coach plays the right way. He can score a variety of ways with the catch three, he gets to the free throw line and his floater game is polishing up. He is also a good passer and is quick on the ball defensively.
Asher Perez Asher Perez 6'1" | CG AZ College Prep | 2025 State AZ AZ College Prep
A combo guard can make plays but he is mostly looking to score. He can hit the catch three and can get to his spots and score with hard ball fakes and a quick speed burst to the basket. He is competitive on defense to rebound, collect steals and even block shots. He looks to be their leading scorer most nights.
Mark Wiltshire Jr Mark Wiltshire Jr 6'4" | SF Mountain Pointe | 2025 State AZ Mountain Pointe
A long wing who can score it from all three levels. He can score on runners, floaters, dribble drives and can hit the three off the dribble. When he is playing well, it gives the Pride another player who can put points on the board.
Gavin Bartlett Gavin Bartlett 6'2" | SG Shadow Ridge | 2024 State AZ Shadow Ridge
A sharp shooting guard who can drive it. He is good with the one dribble pull-up from mid-range. He is a natural catch three point shooter and will rattle them off one by one. He can also create his own offense and rise up from deep. He rebounds well with sneaky bounce.
A long wing forward is a good passer who can dribble drive to the basket. He catches the ball in traffic and will go up quick with a good second jump. He will rebound and block shots and defend multiple positions. Once he fills in some more, watch out.
Bobby Smith Bobby Smith 6'6" | PF Salpointe Catholic | 2024 State AZ Salpointe Catholic
A good sized face-up power forward with some strength. He can shoot the three off the catch and can muscle his way into the lane and finish with a nice touch. He can pull-up from mid-range and plays physically inside the paint.
Jaylon Hooks Jaylon Hooks 6'1" | SG Mesquite | 2024 State AZ Mesquite
A long wing forward is hyper athletic. He can get out on the break to dunk it easily above the rim. He rebounds well in his area using his length and pure energy. He can score it near the basket and brings the juice to every possession.
Jay Ralph George Jay Ralph George 6'6" | PF Shadow Ridge | 2024 State AZ Shadow RIdge
A post player who is highly effective inside with some size and length. He lives on the glass with offensive rebounds and will score on put backs. He will take charges and block shots. He will score on tip ins, layups and is an elite rebound chaser.
Aiden Castanon Aiden Castanon 6'4" | SF Paradise Valley | 2024 State AZ Paradise Valley
A good sized wing forward is a catch three point shooter. He will get on the glass to rebound to score on put backs and plays the 3-5 for the Trojans providing that much needed size.