For over a decade, The Hoophall Classic has earned a reputation as one of the premier high school basketball events of the year. Since 2013, the Hoophall West has served to match the high standard set by its predecessor and the 2015 version was no different. Put on by the Naismith Hall Of Fame and hosted at Chaparral High School in Arizona, the 2015 Hoophall West was a two-day smorgasbord of elite talent and coaching. The weekend’s attendee’s included Hall of Fame member and head coach of the St. Anthony basketball team, Bob Hurley. The Friars went 2-0 and the coach even got to attend his son’s game in Tempe in on Saturday afternoon. Coach Hurley’s Friars have been apart of the Hoophall classic in Massachusetts for years and seemed poise to continue their strong showing throughout the weekend. Coach Hurley even came close to getting ejected in Friday’s game; the reasons seeming to be curious as no explanation seemed to be offered.
St. Anthony’s game on Saturday was against Shadow Mountain of Arizona. It was fitting that former NBA player Mike Bibby take on the coaching legend as both can count coaching, as the family business. Hurley’s two sons, Bob & Dan, both coach division 1 programs and Bibby’s father, Henry, coached USC for 9 years and has been an assistant in the NBA for 3 different teams. St. Anthony’s ultimately beat out Shadow Mountain after a highly contest first half by really grinding. They controlled the boards and won the 50-50 balls; Jagen Mosley showed out as easily the best player on the floor scoring 29 points in the contest.
The showcase ended with a bang as two national powerhouse prep schools squared off in the finale. Both Advanced Prep International & Hillcrest Prep spent Wednesday and Thursday in Las Vegas at the Tarkanian Classic before making the trek to Arizona for Saturday’s showdown. On the surface, API would seem to have the overall advantage with top 10 senior, Terrance Ferguson and two top 10 juniors in Trevon Duval and Billy Preston. Hillcrest however proved that in basketball, there ain’t nothing quite like having the best player. DeAndre Ayton was considered by some reporting services as the top player in the country regardless of class and showed why as he refused to let his team fail. Even as API stormed back in the second half to take a lead, Ayton knuckled down and made plays down the stretch including hitting a pair of long range bombs. Throughout the game, Ferguson struggled from the field, Trevon Duval showed out including one highlight reel dunk. (You can see the dunk, from the official broadcast on The Cube here) One reporter on twitter even compared him to D Rose, much to the chagrin of Chicago native, @IndiJarrell. While Preston did his best to hold Ayton in check, showing great positioning on a couple of possessions that lead to stops, Ayton showed maturity in the post. On one possession, he waited for a double team to come before passing to an open teammate for three.
In the end, the event was top notch all the way with the Naismith Hall of Fame upholding its reputation for excellence. Fans were treated to some of the finest high school teams in the nation and they did not disappoint. Throughout the weekend, we at Hoops Factory caught up with a number of the showcases participants and Jarrell Strong of IndiHoops entered the fold as well. You can check out all of our players and coaches interviews here.
