July Wrap-Up: Factory AZ 17U
Despite July being over, Factory is not done competing as they will enter an extremely competitive tournament this weekend in the Fantastic 40 in Las Vegas. They will bring some of their 16U prospects up, most notably: Colin Carey Colin…
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Continue ReadingDespite July being over, Factory is not done competing as they will enter an extremely competitive tournament this weekend in the Fantastic 40 in Las Vegas. They will bring some of their 16U prospects up, most notably: Colin Carey Colin Carey 6'6" | SF Sunrise Mountain | 2021 State AZ . Carey recently earned an offer to NAU. Further, Kevin Kogbara Kevin Kogbara 6'6" | PF Skyline Prep | 2022 AZ is an intriguing prospect with good size and a great skill set.
This team has been one of the hottest team’s throughout July. Further, they have done so without a lot of elite size, which is not the norm for Kenny Mullin’s organization.
With that said, the group has great length at the individual positions and used it as well as their skill sets to put together one of the most impressive July club seasons of any of the teams in the state. Below are three takeaways from their July.
1. D’Maurian Williams is the real deal
Williams played at an extremely high level throughout July. His ability to touch paint at will made the lives of those on the perimeter extremely easy. Xzavier Lino Xzavier Lino 6'5" | SF Sunnyslope | 2020 State AZ got wide open three after wide open three despite everyone having the same scouting report: Lengthy and elite shooter.
Further, Dominic Gonzalez Dominic Gonzalez 6'3" | SG Ironwood | 2020 State AZ shot the basketball at a high level. Thus, Williams’ ability to create forced hard closeouts and gave Gonzalez the ability to get straight line drives. Gonzalez was able to show his playmaking skills and ability to score the basketball at a high level with the assistance of Williams.
2. Determination
This group played the majority of July with 6 players on the 17U roster. Despite being limited on subs, the team played through it and win a lot of basketball games. In fact, the most impressive win for the team came in their last game of July as they trailed heavily.
However, instead of allowing tired legs to be an excuse, they competed and found a way to come back. As good as Williams was, Zeke Thompkins Zeke Thompkins 6'6" | SF Apollo | 2020 State AZ was solid at creating and doing all of the dirty work as well. He created a couple of open looks for teammates which aided greatly in Factory getting confidence and a rhythm.
Needless to say, it does not take much for Lino to get a rhythm. Once that basketball leaves his hands, it is an immediate energy boost as it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that the score’s table will be putting three points on the board.
Further, this team was able to string stops together at a high level as Gonzalez showed a much improved ability to create havoc and keep the basketball in front on the defensive end. This led to a number of easy shots as well.
3. Length
As stated earlier, this team does not have the type of top tier size that they typically have. However, man for man, most of the guys have great size for the position that they will most likely play at the next level:
Williams 6’5 PG, Gonzalez 6’3 PG/SG, Thompkins 6’6 PG, and Lino 6’6 SG. In addition to these prospects, Sunday John Sunday John 6'3" | SG Phhoenix Prep Post Grad | 2021 AZ is a 6’5 SG/SF who has elite athleticism and has demonstrated that he is a more than capable shooter. John’s current skill set and upside should have college coaches quite intrigued.
Unlike many prospects, college coaches don’t have to wonder if these guys can translate to the next level in terms of position as they are all the average or above average size of players who play that same position.