Tag: prolific prep

Prolific Prep battles undefeated Montverde down to the wire for second time this season

Cooper Flagg and Montverde beat Prolific Prep, but for the second time this season, the AJ Dybantsa-led team pushed them to their limit.

With 1:38 remaining in Saturday’s game between national powerhouses Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) and Montverde Academy (Fla.), Prolific Prep led the undefeated Eagles by two points.

Montverde has yet to be truly tested this season. Running out a lineup of three McDonald’s All-Americans (and arguably five worthy of consideration), the Eagles entered the game 22-0 with an average win margin of about 32 points per game.

With just half a minute left, Prolific Prep was as close to beating them as any team had been since Jan. 14, when the team faced, well, Prolific Prep. The score was tied in that game with about a minute remaining before Montverde grabbed it.

On Saturday, Prolific Prep did not score over the final minute-and-a-half as Montverde clamped its defense, forcing a shot-clock violation and an offensive foul. The Eagles went on an 8-0 catalyzed by a pair of field goals by Robert Wright III, a basket by Cooper Flagg, and then a pair of free throws by Derik Queen and Flagg. The final score was 78-72, a game that was even closer than the final indicated.

Liam McNeeley led with 19 points, while Flagg recorded 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals and blocks apiece. AJ Dybantsa led Prolific Prep with 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists, though Montverde forced him into six turnovers.

The finish was similar to that Jan. 14 game, when Prolific Prep led by as many as three points with less than three minutes to play. The Eagles went on a quick 5-0 run behind a pair of free throws and a Curtis Givens 3-pointer and closed it out with a 76-71 win.

Only one other team this season has come close to beating Montverde: No. 3 Paul VI, which kept the deficit within two points entering the final minute of the contest before McNeely hit a 3, Montverde forced a turnover, and Wright added another pair, per MaxPreps’ scoretracker. That made the difference, as the Eagles won by seven.

These games could mean a couple of different things. One is that Montverde is not a team that dominates only until it faces pressure. It’s a mature group that meets the pressure and has stayed strong against all of the top teams it has played so far this season.

The other is that Prolific Prep is darn near close to taking them down. The team knows it must play just about perfect to win. And twice, they’ve toed that line of perfection.

Montverde might not want to see them a third time.

Rising HS sophomore has worked out with LeBron, Durant and Chris Paul

AJ Dybantsa, a top player in the class of 2026, has worked out with NBA stars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul this summer.

AJ Dybantsa is starting his sophomore year of high school, but that age hasn’t prevented him from working out with some of the modern greats of the NBA. According to Adam Zagoria, the 6-foot-8 wing has worked out with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul in recent days.

Dybantsa, who ESPN ranks as the No. 1 player in the class of 2026, was shown doing a post workout led by James in the video tweeted by Zagoria for the New York Times on July 27. In the clip, LeBron walks the athletes through backing down, spinning into position along the baseline, and pulling up for a midrange look.

After working out with Durant, Dybantsa told Zagoria that the Phoenix Suns star — who is Dybantsa’s favorite player — gave him advice.

“Stay focused, make the game easier than what it is,”Dybantsa said. “We’re taller than everybody so don’t need to do all that extra dribbling, just one or two dribbles and get to your spot.”

He appears to have had multiple workouts with Paul, a future Hall of Famer who is now on the Golden State Warriors.

Those weren’t the only NBA players Dybantsa has played with in recent weeks. He attended the Jayson Tatum Camp in St. Louis recently, where he participated in drills led by counselors including Tatum, Paul, Bradley Beal, Paolo Banchero, Cam Whitmore and Jett Howard, according to Zagoria.

He’s not done. On Aug. 3, Dybantsa will head to the Steph Curry SC30 Camp.

It’s part of the process for an incoming star sophomore and Peach Jam standout. In his freshman season, Dybantsa was named the 2022-23 Gatorade Massachusetts Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He led St. Sebastian’s School to a 26-2 record and averaged 19.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 60.8% from the field, and 41% from 3, according to Gatorade.

He has since transferred to Prolific Prep, where he will play at one of the elite basketball programs in the country. Dybantsa is a player to keep an eye on, in addition to rising juniors Cooper Flagg and Cameron Boozer and senior Dylan Harper.

GIECO Nationals: Preview the 8 boys basketball teams competing for the championship

With the GIECO Nationals boys basketball tournament approaching, get a preview of the eight teams competing for the championship.

The GEICO Nationals boys basketball tournament is set for another star-studded showdown between some of the best teams in the nation. Between the eight teams competing, there are 71 players listed on 247Sports’ recruiting rankings, which averages out to the entire starting lineup, plus at least a few guys coming off the bench.

The eight teams who will compete are Paul VI (Va.), Link Academy (Mo.), IMG Academy (Fla.), Prolific Prep (Calif.), AZ Compass Prep (Ariz.), Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.), Sunrise Christian (Kan.) and Montverde (Fla.).

To get you up to speed before the prestigious tournament, here is a quick rundown of each team. The quarterfinals tip off on Thursday at noon.

Find the GIECO Nationals schedule here.

Six teams debut in Super 25 Week 2 Boys Basketball rankings

Montverde Academy remains atop Super 25 boys basketball rankings, six new teams emerge.

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The Super 25 Boys Basketball rankings shifted substantially in Week 2, with six new teams making their debut.

The steepest slide came after then No. 3 Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix) dropped two games at Hoophall West last weekend, subsequently dropping them out of the Super 25. One of Hillcrest’s losses came to then No. 5 Prolific Prep (Napa, California), who moved up to No. 2.

FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Boys Rankings, Week 2

Reigning GEICO Nationals champs IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida) had previously held down the No. 2 spot, but the Ascenders got picked off by then No. 11 Paul VI (Fairfax, Virginia), which sent the Panthers to No. 8.

Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kansas) made its debut at No. 19 after knocking off then No. 10 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Maryland).

RELATED: Chosen 25 | ALL-USA Preseason

Jalen Green, Prolific Prep dominate Hillcrest Prep at Hoophall West

Jalen Green scored 33 at Hoophall West for the second year in a row to lead Prolific Prep over Hillcrest Prep.

One of the marquee matchups of Hoophall West ended up to not be much of a battle at all.

No. 5 Prolific Prep jumped to a 51-27 lead over No. 3 Hillcrest Prep at the half and wouldn’t relinquish the lead, winning 88-71.

Chosen 25 guard Nimari Burnett said the key was on the defensive end.

“We know we can score at any given time with all the shooters and athleticism we have on the team, and we just gotta get in on defense and we was locking up,” he said. “The key thing was boxing out to get the rebound cause they have a lot of athletic guys.”

Prolific Preps’ Jalen Green torched the Bruins, matching his output in last year’s Hoophall West with 33 points. The No. 3 player in the Chosen 25, Green is largely similar to the player he was at that 2018 event with his sharpshooting and confidence.

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The first basket of the game was a deep 3 by Green early in the possession, and to end the first quarter, Green got the ball on the other side of the court with about six seconds left, paused to see how much time he had, then raced down and drilled a 3 at the buzzer.

He’s known for his finishing abilities even more than his jumper, and he showed those off, making a tough layups through contact even through fellow Chosen 25 player Mike Foster.

But Green is expanding his game a little more, using his smarts to go with his insane athletic abilities. At one point he was matched up off-ball against 6-foot-3 sophomore Devontes Cobbs, who had two fouls, and Green practically begged for the ball while posting up. He didn’t get it, but Cobbs did foul him trying to prevent positioning and was subbed out. Green was frustrated he didn’t get the touch.

Green agreed he’s rounding out his game.

“Just working on my game, adding to my craft every day,” he said. “I’m just trying to look for different ways to score.”

But Prolific Prep is much more than just Green, which is a big difference from his previous school of San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno, California). Burnett finished with 13 points and the team as a whole was stellar from behind the arc.

“(The offense) is a lot of motion-based movement and knowing our guys,” Burnett said. “We know where each other are.”

Hillcrest Prep fought back in the third, but fell back behind by as many as 27.

One thing to be said about Mike Bibby’s offense: it has a lot of movement, even more than lots of college teams. But it looks like Hillcrest, with a drastically different roster than last year, is still getting used to each other and often didn’t see open players for passes.

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Foster creates space on the floor simply by being on the floor as defenses send help toward him, but he couldn’t spot an open shooter on multiple occasions as he drove for tough layups.

Sadraque Nganga was perhaps the most impressive Bruin and finished with a team-high 19 points. He showed he has the skill to drive with a nice euro-step, flashed mid-range ability and is an excellent rebounder.

Just a sophomore, Nganga showed potential to be a dominant big with the capability to stretch the floor.

This is the toughest opponent Hillcrest (8-1) has played by far, and they were thoroughly outmatched. Nganga said they were cocky coming in. Now that the Bruins have seen they’re not unbeatable, they’ll have to find the proper mindset.

Prolific Prep (12-0), on the other hand, proved its meddle with a strong opening half and holding the lead.

“Usually we start off slow, don’t get going til the second half, so we just decided to come out and change some things,” Green said.

Hoophall West to feature top teams including Hillcrest Prep, Prolific, Sierra Canyon

Hoophall West will feature nationally-ranked teams including Hillcrest, Prolific Prep and Sierra Canyon, and will have girls teams for the first time.

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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

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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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