Local Arizona public school stars
The host state, Arizona, has quite a few stars that could gain some national prominence from this weekend. There are a few local storylines to follow. Starting with two ranked players from public schools:
Dylan Anderson is a five-star center on Perry (Gilbert, Arizona). Just a sophomore, with his 6-foot-11 stature and ability to shoot from distance, there could be a time in the next couple years when he’s regarded as the best player in the state. He will lead the charge Saturday against No. 14 Mater Dei and Chosen 25 point guard Devin Askew in a game to be aired on ESPN+.
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DaRon Holmes, a four-star junior power forward, led Millenium to the 5A state championship game while averaging 19.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 4.2 blocks per game. Among the best defenders in Arizona, he will be tested in his matchup against Sierra Canyon on Saturday. This game will be on ESPN+.
Secondly, returning 6A state champion Pinnacle and 4A state champion Shadow Mountain will be participating, but there has been massive change at both schools. Pinnacle lost its backcourt duo of Nico Mannion, now starring at the University of Arizona, and Trent Brown, who averaged 19 points per game last season. There can’t be a reasonable expectation to replace those two.
Shadow Mountain basically has a brand-new team without head coach Bibby (now at Hillcrest) and its Div. 1 backcourt tandem of Jaelen House and Javon Blacksher, who are now at Arizona State and Grand Canyon State, respectively.
Who is going to step up for these teams as they try to continue to compete at the highest level?
Pinnacle faces Albany Academy (New York) on Thursday and Crossroads School (Santa Monica, California) on Friday while Shadow Mountain will see Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colorado) on Friday and Coronado (Nevada) on Saturday.
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