Tarkanian Classic: 2026-27 Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>December 16th-22nd I attended the annual&nbsp;<strong>Tarkanian Classic</strong>&nbsp;at Bishop Gorman HS and neighboring high schools in Nevada.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were over 200 teams in the long week. 70+ Prep teams and 125+ in the High School division. Arizona teams invaded Las Vegas and some of them held their own quite well.&nbsp;<strong>Desert Mountain</strong>&nbsp;actually made it to the Finals of the top bracket but came up short.&nbsp;<strong>Notre Dame Prep</strong>&nbsp;won 3rd place in the 2nd toughest division. Both actually had in-game injuries in their lone losses.&nbsp;<strong>Higley</strong>&nbsp;also managed to get 2nd place in a different bracket and finally&nbsp;<strong>Sandra Day</strong>&nbsp;finished 3-1 and had their lone loss by only 5.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were some of the standout sophomores and freshmen I viewed:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1150853' first='Jabron' last='Bardwell'] Desert Mountain (Pictured)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A highly skilled combo guard plays on or off the ball. He is a good passer who moves the ball and can pull-up from mid to the three and get hot quickly. He is a good on-ball defender and his toughness and confidence shine thru in every showing.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1595670' first='Ikenna' last='Alozie'] Dream City Christian</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the better sophomores in the West is a phenomenal athlete and runner. He keeps getting better and better it seems shooting the ball from high level pull-ups to deep catch threes. He is also a very good rebounder and sneaky good passer.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1150824' first='Kaden' last='House'] Desert Mountain</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An elite feel and motor for the son of Eddie House. His ability to score on all levels with bursts to blow past defenders, toughs shots on the break and in the half court is impressive. His euro step game is hard to defend. He makes shots off the catch and off the dribble from mid to the three and keeps ascending nationally.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1150823' first='Kalek' last='House'] Desert Mountain</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A defensive lead guard with quick hands. He is a catch three point shooter but can quickly rip thru and get to the basket. He plays with an edge, toughness, high skill level, poise and better court vision then he gets credit with. He is also a very good on-ball defender.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2198867' first='Lukas' last='Toukam'] Bella Vista Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A long forward whose skill is evolving more and more. He is a close to elite rebounder with his long arms and springs. He can dribble drive to the basket and dunks the ball easily. He can step out and shoot it from the perimeter and moves gracefully to defend in space.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1591738' first='Jeehzus' last='Pagan'] Boulder Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pure point guard is a dimer. It is very hard to take the ball from him, as his handle is impressive in tight spaces. He likes getting downhill and can hit the catch three.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1464983' first='Mick' last='Riordan'] Boulder Creek</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A skilled combo guard can shoot the three and is sneaky quick to get to the basket and score on difficult shots in the lane. He has a quick trigger and plays a smart brand of ball. He rebounds well for a guard.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1694989' first='Brody' last='Postorino'] NDP&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A tough 3 and D type. He makes the three off the catch and he is a tough rebounder in his area. He can get downhill with his right or left hand using a sneaky handle and thicker upper body. He made some clutch FT's down the stretch in the final-4.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1546975' first='Javon' last='Bardwell'] Desert Mountain</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An athletic guard is a high level rebounder for size and position. He can handle it and get downhill with his shift. He can also hit the three off the catch and pull-up. He has unusually long arms and covers a lot of ground on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->