Feast Week: Top-10 Standouts

Thanksgiving week I attended four tournaments for exactly 25 games and 48 different teams. The events I watched were Phoenix Union Coyote Classic at Central and Deer Valley for 2 days, Fear The Hop Tournament at Mesa HS, Ben Franklin Thanksgiving Classic at Ben Franklin and Gilbert Christian and lastly the LV8 Invitational at Chandler-Gilbert CC.     <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were some Top-10 Standouts</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='2412268' first='Maurice' last='Carter II'] Willow Canyon    A scoring point guard with speed, next level court vision and scoring ability. He found multiple teammates in stride and will fill it up with catch threes, quick bursts to the basket thru contact and his jab step is impressive. His three point stoke keeps improving and is slowly extending his natural range. He scored 17 points while impacting the game on defense and dropping dimes.    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/EVision_AZ/status/1994628209284190714 </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='2386978' first='Jaydon' last='Hayes'] Willow Canyon   An impressive performance on Wednesday when I viewed him. The combo guard will drive and kick it to find teammates in tighter spots but he has become a three level scorer. He is still a mid-range magician who gets to his spots but now is extending his shooting past the arc. He shows good body control and has a polished floater game. He was eating on the glass and scored 26 points including a key pull-up with 40 secs left.     <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/EVision_AZ/status/1993377047935377792 </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='2146269' first='Daijon' last='Grayson'] Mesa    An athletic defensive lead guard with next level speed. Not many have his speed in the junior class as he consistently outraces his opponents to the basket and he is a stud on the break. He can literally poster someone with his elbows above the rim bounce and shoots it comfortably with mid-range pull-ups and is pest on the ball defensively. He scored 24 points.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/EVision_AZ/status/1993106189308366855 </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='1900362' first='Colby' last='Jessup'] Valley Christian (Pictured)   One of the top performers of the week was Jessup with 34 points thru only three quarters. An impressive showing for the small school standout. He made shots from all levels with deep threes off the catch or pull (7 3's), driving layups with floaters or runners, mid-range pull-ups and dunks on the break. One of the top 3A teams is led by Jessup.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/EVision_AZ/status/1994498389615297014 </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='1873639' first='Grant' last='Mattingly'] Central    A bigger sophomore point guard with length scores it easily with offensive rebound put backs with his size, lob catch layups, fall aways, next level euro steps with advanced body control and he has a high feel for the game. His length on defense bothers his opponents. He scored 18 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='1150901' first='John' last='Mattingly'] Central    A scoring point with a sneaky burst to the basket but he loves changing speeds. He is super crafty to get to his spots and earn trips to the free throw line often. He will stop and pop from mid-range and rattle in threes one by one. He is a great passer up the court and his ability to go from slow to fast makes him go. He scored 27 points.     [player_tooltip player_id='1651788' first='Jakyi' last='Miles'] Mesa    One of the top bigger guards in the AIA. He scored back to back 40 points versus Arcadia and Queen Creek. He scores it with pull-ups or off the catch threes and his mid-range pull-up is his sweet spot. He will find teammates in stride with some drop off passes in traffic and rebounds well in his area with his size.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/EVision_AZ/status/1993453647687295058 </div></figure>   [player_tooltip player_id='1598402' first='Johnny' last='Rios III'] Centennial   A scoring point guard who goes thru stretches making it look easy with catch threes and mid-range pull-ups. He truly has a nice nasty mid-range jumper he often uses and elevates high to not get his shot blocked despite his size. He is super intelligent and talks to his teammates often. He had a couple needle threaders and came up clutch in overtime winning the LV8 Invitational. He had nearly 20 points.   [player_tooltip player_id='2767903' first='Jacobi' last='Thompson II'] Arcadia    A defensive wing who can defend almost every position in HS. He is a star in transition and a very good slasher with elite body control. He is tough to stop from getting downhill with his tighter handle and burst. He will score with offensive rebound put backs and will grab a ball off the glass and throw a dart up the court for an assist. He had an impressive 24 points.     [player_tooltip player_id='2297437' first='Dylan' last='Vargas'] San Tan Charter   An athletic power forward will score with rip thrus and offensive rebound put backs. He cuts off the ball and scores it with his left or right hand with layups and floaters. He has sticky fingers to catch any pass thrown his way in the paint and will leap up quickly to lay it in thru the traffic. He will throw it down effortlessly on the break and will rebound at a good clip in his area. He will even step out and shoot the three. He scored 27 of the teams 54 total points.

Thanksgiving week I attended four tournaments for exactly 25 games and 48 different teams. The events I watched were Phoenix Union Coyote Classic at Central and Deer Valley for 2 days, Fear The Hop Tournament at Mesa HS, Ben Franklin Thanksgiving Classic at Ben Franklin and Gilbert Christian and lastly the LV8 Invitational at Chandler-Gilbert CC.