AZ Main Event Recap

Main Event

On April 5th and 6th I attended Ron Coleman‘s Main Event at American Sports Center in Avondale (Ariz.).

There were many competitive games and possibly all the best teams in Arizona were on display over the weekend from 15U-17U.

Here were some of the top players who impressed this weekend on 17U teams
5-foot-10 PG 2017 Markus Howard (AZ Power 17U Black) attends Perry. Howard is a special scorer with terrific range on his shot out to 25-feet. He also can defend his man well when he is engaged. He uses his strength to keep players from getting into the lane. He uses his speed and tight handle to get by them and finish. He is developing as a true point guard, but is arguably already the best scorer in the state regardless of class. Howard holds offers from ASU and NAU.

6-foot-7 SF 2015 Nate Renfro (AZ Power 17U Black) attends Sahuaro. Renfro was the biggest riser of the weekend with his all-around play. Looks like he grew some more and has a long wingspan of over 6-foot-10. He is disruptive on defense using his length with blocks, steals and rebounds. He shoots the ball at a good percentage from the arc, handles the ball well, runs the court and can finish off dunks. He will need to find a middle game, improve his left hand and add some strength to reach his potential. Renfro has offers from GCU, Northern Colorado and NAU with high interest from others including Harvard. Renfro is the top of his class academically.

6-foot-2 CG 2015 Sammy Thompkins (AZ Magic Elite 17U) attends Sunnyslope. Thompkins is one of the best scorers in the state and has the ability of making players around him better as well. He has a strong upper body and handle. He has stretched out his natural range well beyond the HS arc and is confident taking over at any time during the game. His left hand has improved and his mid-range jumper is one of the best in state. He also is a sturdy defender using his strength and quickness. Thompkins has an offer from San Jose State with interest as high as SEC and PAC-12 schools.

6-foot-7 W 2015 Dane Kuiper (AZ Power 17U Black) attends Corona del Sol. Kuiper was scoring all weekend with athletic drives to the basket and points in bunches on the break. His shot was streaky out to the arc, but made some strides using his left hand and getting into the lane and scoring. He has a nice first step and can rise up high over defenders and score before the defense blocks his shot. He stays with his man on defense well on the perimeter, but needs to improve rebounding in traffic. Kuiper committed to New Mexico.

6-foot-3 SG 2015 Kenzo Nudo (AZ Power 17U Black) attends Chaparral. Nudo is known as one of the better shooters on the west coast. He proved that this weekend with 17/23 shooting behind the stripe in five games of play. He also has improved scoring from mid-range as he makes a shot fake with two dribbles and then stops and shoots. He has good upper body strength to defend and shows solid defensive awareness. Nudo seems to be in a two horse race for his services with GCU and Santa Clara.

6-foot-6 SF 2015 Famoun Miller (17U AZ Magic/Jump Athletic) attends Central. Miller is an athletic stud with a great build. The lefty attacks the rim with power. He seldom uses his right hand, but has a nice handle for a forward. His shot has improved out to the three-point line, but is still a bit streaky. He fights hard on defense and has great court vision with the ball. He will have to improve his GPA to be a qualifier, but has nice potential and will have many options if he does.

6-foot-1 PG 2015 Montez White (17U Aces CM Van Guse) attends Shadow Ridge. White is a strong physical lead guard who attacks the basket. He gets to the free throw line at a high rate and can hit consistently from mid-range. He can pass with either hand and is underrated athletically. He will have to improve the range on his shot and increase his end to end speed, but was impressive nonetheless. White has interest from Eastern Washington.

6-foot-4 SG 2014 Will Goff (Arizona Stars-Littles 17U) attends Desert Mountain. Goff was consistent all weekend long with hot shooting. He has a good build and is a strong man-to-man defender. He has a high IQ and makes plays for others too. Goff would be a solid late pick up. He is hearing from Boston University and Sam Houston State.

6-foot-3 SG 2015 Christian Hakilimali (AZ Magic Seniors Gray) attends Apollo. Hakilimali is an athletic wing player who has an extremely improved jumper out to the three-point line. He uses his speed on the break and is an active defender.

Off the radar players who impressed
6-foot-2 CG 2015 Jordan Lee (Aces CM Van Guse 17U) attends Mesquite. Lee was highly thought of when he was younger and fell out of the limelight, but has picked his game up and is now an effective player. He has easy range out to arc and has a very strong body to defend. He has a solid handle and can make plays for others. He is usually looking to score first then facilitate next. He is a decent athlete and should have a strong senior season.

6-foot-6 PF 2015 Nick Allen (AZ Magic/Jump Athletic 17U) attends Willow Canyon. Allen was the diamond in the rough this weekend. He has a solid face-up game from 15-feet and in, and can score some with his back to the basket. He has underrated bounce in his step and can grab rebounds in traffic. The more he gets tested with higher competition; the better off he will be long term.

6-foot-6 PF 2014 Jorge Cano (AZ Magic Elite 17U) attends Maryvale. Cano is a very good paint defender protecting the rim. He shows terrific timing blocking shots with either hand. Offensively, he needs some help with his footwork, but will help any team immensely on defense. He also is a good athlete to throw down dunks near the basket.

6-foot-4 SF 2015 Avonte Nelms (Aces CM Windler 17U) attends Arcadia. Nelms continues to make strides and produces every game consistently on offense and defense. He hits threes, mid-range jumpers, rebounds and puts the ball on the floor well. He will need to get a little quicker, but he has a lot of tools to work with.

If you want to see more about Arizona players log on to ArizonaVarsity.com – Arizona High School Sports.