Live Period Round-Up: Top 5 16U Teams
With the last live period in the books, below are the top 5 16U teams from this past year. This group is loaded with talent. Further, in addition to these teams being stacked, there were a number of solid teams who fell outside of the top 5 category and landed themselves in our honorable mentions list.
Team Harden
Harden started out the spring with a huge statement win in beating Factory (AZ) 17U. After being this team, Harden underwent some roster changes that made the group better with Ty Hampton and Trent Hodges. While these two prospects helped the team, they were already loaded with NCAA Division-I caliber guards with Ty Ty Washington, Ricardo Sarmiento, and Xavier Dusell.
As far as posts are concerned, Dre Henry and Carson Basham have high ceilings. Both of these prospects are working to diversify their game and add more value. Needless to say, this team can compete with anyone in the nation at the 16U level.
Powerhouse Hoops 16U Ortega
This team had some roster changes throughout the course of the spring and the summer. However, this was one of the most stacked teams in the 16U category and they demonstrated that in every tournament they participated in.
This group is loaded with NCAA Division-I prospects as well as guards Evan Nelson, Kiimani Holt, Tay Boothman have already earned offers. These guards are some of the best playmakers in their classification. Robbie Kinard is also an intriguing guard due to his passing abilities. He is a true point who makes those around him better.
The list of high level prospects for this team continues with some of the most versatile 16U prospects in the state. Roy Eze and Jerry Iliya are long and athletic prospects who are mismatch nightmares for the opposition.
As if this didn’t make this solid enough, this well built team added Brycen Long, Hunter Ruck, Anthony Garza, and Griffin Lamb who all have the potential to play this game at the next level.
Jamal Murray Elite
JME has one of the top prospects in the nation, let alone the state, in Shon Robinson. Robinson’s length and versatility have aided him in drawing the attention of mid to high major NCAA Division-I schools.
In addition to Robinson, Nashon Harper and Jalin Anderson played at a high level throughout the spring and summer which aided them in demonstrating that they can play this game at the next level. These guards largely ran the show for the team along side Eric Blackwell.
JME represented Arizona well in their first year in the state. This group has plenty of next level talent. They showed just that against the rest of the nation during the live periods.
Factory
The Factory’s 16U team had some ups and downs with Dominic Gonzalez being the most consistent threat for the team. After a spring and a summer where he averaged nearly 20 points per game for the team, he showed that he can score the basketball against the nation’s best.
In addition to Gonzalez, Zeke Thompkins improved his ability to play the point and attack the rim.
Marcus Libman also played well as a facilitator who could shoot the basketball at a high level and lock up on the defensive end. Lastly, the team was aided with two athletic forwards in Basil Ribakare and Curtis Nichols.
This team mixed with some of the guys who could play as unsigned seniors next year could have a lot of college potential and the ability to compete with the top teams in AZ as well as in the nation.
Firestorm
The Firestorm program has made huge leaps and looks like it is only on the rise. The program has a number of skilled prospects from the AZ Compass Prep program. This aids them greatly on the gauntlet Silver Division.
Some of the top prospects to watch for the Firestorm include: Isaiah Floyd and Farid St.Cynclaire.
In addition to these two, Rashaun Wilson is a proven scorer at the high school level while UU Turay-Floyd, Nasir D’Agnostino and Josiah Turner will have the chance to compete on a nation schedule for AZ Compass Prep.