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Hoophall West, consisting of three top-10 Super 25 teams and five games that will be aired on ESPN channels, returns to Phoenix.
The tournament will take place from Wednesday through Saturday. For those interested in the high school basketball landscape, this is a good place to start as the 2019-20 season gets underway.
Teams from a handful of Western states, New York and Tennessee will participate in this tournament. It all begins Wednesday, when three girls basketball games — all six teams from Arizona — take place.
Super 25: National boys basketball rankings, Week 1
It will be the first time girls teams are included in Hoophall West.
Here are the top things to watch for:
Hillcrest Prep vs. Prolific Prep on ESPN2
A battle of top-five teams is set for ESPN2. No. 3 Hillcrest Prep and No. 5 Prolific will face off Thursday.
With several games under each teams belt, the transfer players have already had some time to get used to the team. Jalen Green and Nimari Burnett, ranked No. 3 and 15, respectively, in the 2020 Chosen 25, already have a handful of highlight plays ranging from alley-oops to a buzzer-beater from beyond halfcourt to win the Duel in the Desert title game
This is called a PERFECT fast break 💯 @NimariBurnett @JalenRomande @colehawk23 @T_Hoopfest pic.twitter.com/haxLapoo7P
— Overtime (@overtime) November 30, 2019
This buzzer-beater had everyone losing their minds 😮 #SCtop10
(via craigstutesman/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/9iGcaQseCd
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 24, 2019
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Meanwhile, Hillcrest Prep has also come as advertised, scoring more than 110 points in its last five games. Incoming transfers headlined by 2021 Chosen 25 players Michael Foster, Jr. and Keon Edwards and 2022 five-star center Sadraque Nganga have fit in seamlessly thus far.
In addition to roster overhauls, both teams also have new head coaches. Former NBA player Mike Bibby took over Hillcrest, while Joey Fuca, who played professionally in Germany, is the new Prolific head coach.
Hillcrest has yet to see a real challenge while Prolific has played a tougher schedule early in the season.
It will be an early look at two rosters still getting comfortable with new players and schemes taking on top competition with potential future NBA players.
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