I have been covering boys and girls basketball in the state of Arizona since 1995, almost 20 years now, and while we have seen some promise in both boys and girls basketball since I began covering the sport in the state, we still have a long way to go.
When I began covering basketball in the state, Arizona was void of a basketball culture. There were not many people playing basketball year round and the state was very limited in our approach to the sport. There were only two high-profile club programs in the state for boys, and girl’s basketball was just beginning to really take off with the career of Mountain Pointe's Nicole Powell (WNBA star & current college coach, University of Oregon).
Basketball has always been an afterthought in the state of Arizona, as football and baseball still trump basketball for boys in the state, and volleyball and softball continue to rank higher in importance with sports enthusiasts than girls basketball. Basketball has never been taken seriously in this state, professionally or otherwise. If not for the Phoenix Suns (NBA), would many people in this state even understand the game of basketball, or take the time to know what is going on in the sport - professionally or collegiately?
Other states such as California, Texas, North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois and Florida, just to name a few, have true basketball cultures that foster top-rated basketball prospects and talent that bring college coaches in droves. Each of these states have basketball prospects that begin early in the process, and also consistently have strong high school basketball programs and club programs that work together to raise the exposure of the basketball prospects in their states.
In Arizona, high school basketball and club basketball are two very different entities, as high school coaches and club coaches continue to be at opposite ends of the spectrum - both looking to gain an edge on the other. Both parties feel the other is a threat, and there is very little synergy. The governing body in Arizona for high school amateur athletics (AIA) wants nothing to do with club basketball and ignores it and the individuals involved completely. The AIA is almost light-year’s behind in their approach to high school basketball in the state - holding our state's best prospects back and doing very little to advertise or market the state's best talent.
Our Arizona Preps website was the first of its kind, starting in 1999 and bringing recruiting and exposure to the state in a manner never seen before with the Rivals.com network. As a result, many of the state's best prospects benefited and earn national recruiting exposure - resulting in national rankings for many, and many college basketball scholarship offers for boys and girls throughout the state. Since the development of Arizona Preps over the past 16 years and my scouting service being developed in 1995 (20 years ago), many other basketball websites have now developed, and many other scouts have now surfaced throughout the state in an attempt to capitalize off the market. But has the basketball culture in the state really gotten better over the years?
In states with much richer basketball tradition and cultures, shoe companies desire to fund the high school programs and also the club programs to gain a competitive edge on one another. Top-rated prospects in these states do not have to venture outside of their states to play for high-profile high school programs or club teams, because it doesn't get any better than in each prospects hometown, where basketball is celebrated and revered by both fans and media. Average basketball fans love and understand the game, and the support is immense - on and off the court.
For boys and girls top-rated basketball prospects in Arizona, the lure to play for high-profile club programs outside of the state is still glaring, since Arizona's top-rated prospects still severely lack national exposure. Many top-rated boys prospects in the state, as of late, have attempted to play for high-profile club programs outside of the state, but very few of them have succeeded in their attempts. Recently, top-rated girls prospects in the state have also followed suit - looking to gain national exposure with much higher profile club teams.
Most recently, top-rated boys prospects Markus Howard (Perry HS) and Marcus Shaver (St. Mary's HS) both transferred from the state of Arizona to much higher profile high school programs. Howard left Perry HS after averaging better than 30+ points per/game as a sophomore. Howard decided to transfer to nationally acclaimed Findlay Prep HS in the spring, and also now competes for the Las Vegas Prospects club program - one of the more heavily Nike-sponsored programs in the West. As a result of Howard's transfer, he has become one of the hottest prospects in America's 2017 class, and is coming off a terrific performance on the USA 16U trials in Colorado. Shaver has yet to gain the exposure he had in Arizona, but now will play his high school basketball at Prime Prep in Texas.
The state of Arizona still lacks much true respect nationally in basketball, and while we have had such recent nationally rated boys prospects as Zylan Cheatham (San Diego State), Michael Humphrey (Stanford) and Payton Dastrup (BYU), and also former top-rated stars such as Jerryd Bayless (Milwaukee Bucks), Richard Jefferson (NBA) and Mike Bibby (NBA), the state has yet to fully pick up any real steam.
In girl's basketball, in the 2015 class national rankings by ESPN, Desert Vista HS 6-foot-4 post Kristine Anigwe (Cal signee) was ranked as the #8 player nationally - an amazing accomplishment. Technically, Anigwe will be a pro. But to not have one other girls prospect ranked at all? Unreal? Is there that big of a drop off in the state of Arizona between the best prospects and everyone else? Maybe, maybe not.
Annually, we may have one or two prospects get lucky enough to crack the Top 100 lists nationally, but never more than that. Currently, between the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 class rankings for girls nationally, Arizona has one girls prospect currently ranked nationally among (4) different classes.
On average, the state of Arizona has 10 - 20 kids from the senior class go to division-I college programs, on a good year. In 2012, the state of Florida produced more than 80+ different division-I boys prospects from their senior class. See the difference? Why doesn't Arizona have more student-athletes going to college programs?
The answer is simple, we lack a true basketball culture. Not enough kids are not serious about the game of basketball. Basketball in Arizona is an option - one of many. In other states, basketball may be the only option.
Our kids in Arizona just don't get it as a whole. Our best prospects in Arizona can compete with anyone in the country - trust me. Our Top 20 prospects for boys and girls in this state are very good and have shown consistently that, when they play together, it is awesome to watch. The problem is that in this state, there is so much fighting and anger between programs and people involved - it is almost comedy. What are people fighting over? No one is getting ranked nationally, for the most part. Players aren't even getting much attention outside of this state consistently. A bewildering fact and an enigmatic issue that seems to make very little sense.
Will it ever change? I am not sure at this point. Arizona is a huge state that continues to grow fast, and as many more people venture to the state with new ideas and fresh thoughts about how to take over basketball in the the state, we seem to take two steps forward and three steps back consistently each year.
The emergence of Marvin Bagley III is tremendous for the state of Arizona and will bring loads of exposure to the state over the next three years. As a result, some young men will benefit a great deal and see maximum recruiting exposure as a result. But overall, everyone else will need to improve a great deal. Bagley and his high school teammate, Alex Barcello, will absolutely destroy the competition in Arizona over the next (3) years. Hopefully, it will force Arizona kids to work harder and get better.
I want to see 30 -40 kids each year go to college on basketball scholarships. I want to see the state begin to produce much more talent. I want to see more support from the local media one day for Arizona basketball; not the uninformed, novice evaluation of talent that we have today from local newspaper writers. I don't know, may just be wishful thinking for all of this, but after 20 years of working day and night to cover Arizona basketball talent and promoting kids to colleges around the country, I feel I deserve to see a day when basketball is simply better in Arizona, and a basketball culture in boys and girls basketball in the state truly exists.
Again, this state will always be about football and several other sports before basketball is even mentioned, and maybe we just need more time for things to develop. I don't know. I guess we are just not a basketball state, and will always lack a true basketball culture. It sure would be nice to have a true one though. One where more kids are playing, and not just on club teams to have fun and play in tournaments every weekend - a culture where kids train hard and work on their craft; where kids play at local gyms on their own time; where players are successful and come back to help more kids in their state; a place where more kids are going to college to play the sport; a place where people work together to help kids; a culture that embraces seeing kids succeed, and not tear them down when they do make it - regardless of what club program they play for.
Kenny Mullins has taken us into a new direction this year with his Arizona Club Basketball League (ACBL), as his league brought Arizona's top boys club teams together and helped each program to prepare for the spring and summer competition. This was a huge step in the right direction and I loved the concept. Finally, Arizona has something to play in that is predicated on working together and helping each of Arizona's players prepare for spring and summer club competition. This type of futuristic foresight is what will be needed by many to help our state advance and become more of a hotbed for basketball talent in the future.
We will need something similar to happen in girls basketball in the state. I want to see more girls prospects playing in the PAC-12 from Arizona, and see more girl's student-athletes earning McDonald's All-American opportunities. On the boy's side, it has almost become common place for their to be one or two boys in the state with the potential to rise to the occasion. The girls in the state still have a long way to go to be consistent in this area.
Overall, the state of Arizona still has a long way to go, but we are making strides, just not fast enough. Maybe the high school career of Marvin Bagley will change everything. It definitely could, as he is that serious of a national basketball prospect. I, for one, will enjoy watching it unfold, as I am starving to see better basketball as a whole in this state. No creative closing here, it is just simply that.