Arizona MLK Classic Recap: Top Glass Cleaners
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The MLK Classic took place at the Arizona Grand Ballroom from January 16th through January 18th. Hosted by recruiting legend, Gerry Freitas, the event featured grassroots programs from Washington, California, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. It also featured several guys…
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Continue ReadingThe MLK Classic took place at the Arizona Grand Ballroom from January 16th through January 18th. Hosted by recruiting legend, Gerry Freitas, the event featured grassroots programs from Washington, California, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. It also featured several guys with the ability to clean the glass. In this article, we take a look at some of the top rebounders from the event.
Gideon Harris Gideon Harris 6'2" | SF ABC Prep | 2023 State NM 6’0 SG D1 New Mexico 2023 (#2PHNM 2023) – It didn’t shock me that Harris was a dominant rebounder in high school. Although only 6 feet tall, he’s relentless when going after the basketball. The guard from New Mexico was the best undersized rebounder that I saw on the day.
Malek Gomma Malek Gomma 6'8" | PF Ingraham | 2022 State WA 6’8 PF Elite Prep 2022 (WA) (#24PHW 2022) – Gomma has the longest arms of anyone on the list. When you combine that with his hops and quick 2nd jump, his rebounding radius is wide, to say the least. Goma grabbed a boatload of boards during the weekend off both the offensive and defensive glass.
Jalen Barbee Jalen Barbee 6'5" | SG Franklin Pierce | 2021 State WA 6’5 SF Washington Supreme Purple 2021 (WA) (#47PHW 2021) – Barbee was spectacular in several facets all weekend. Rebounding was just another one. The versatile wing was able to use his long arms and bounce to grab all kinds of boards. Although only 6’5 he was perhaps the best out of area rebounder at the event.
James Freemen 6’5 SF Capital 2022 – Freemen was a bundle of energy all weekend. When he wasn’t hanging off the rim, he managed to snag a ton of rebounds. He’s more of a two-footed jumper that leaves the ground with explosion, but when he makes up his mind, he can go get the pumpkin.
Malik Madison 6’9 C Ascending Life 2021 (featured image) – I need to see more film on Madison. There are a lot of programs looking for athletic 6’9 bigs, and Madison is just that. He put his hard hat on and went to work, grabbing both in and out of area rebounds at a high clip. I spoke with Gerry Freitas during the event about him, and he says that he has greatly improved, it was easy to see that this weekend.
Miles Heide Miles Heide 6'7" | C Mount Si | 2023 State #274 Nation WA 6’8 PF Team Lavine 2023 (WA) (#22PHW 2023) – I don’t think Heidi played his best this weekend, but one thing I noticed about him is that he is a natural rebounder. He never really looks like he’s playing hard, but they say the ball finds activity and the ball seemed to find him quite a bit once it bounced off the rim.