Team Preview: Team Zona 17U Black
Team Zona is alive and well with successful showings at two live periods. They will travel to Las Vegas this coming weekend to participate in their third live period event. Needless to say, Coach Sal and this group has put a lot of time in this July. They will finish up at Bigfoot this weekend with a number of unsigned seniors as well as some other talented prospects.
Team Zona features a number of talented players who are looking to play at the next level. With a roster mixed with talent from out of state, Grant Greabell still steals the show quite often. In addition, Ahmire Gaines provides solid scoring and athleticism from the 2/3 spots. This group is fun to watch and should continue to have success going into the final weekend of the live period.
Team Zona 17U Roster
Jalen Gibson-Starks 5’10 PG 2017 Chandler
Ahmire Gaines 6’0 SG 2017 Sierra Linda
Abdi Odowaay 5’10 PG 2019 Cesar Chavez
Grant Greabell 6’3 SG 2018 Estrella Foothills
Gabe Lee 6’2 SG 2018 Moon Valley
Zellie Hudson 6’5 SF 2018 San Gabriel Academy (CA)
Carmelo Bright 6’7 PF 2017 San Gabriel Academy (CA)
Alex Cucovic
Team Zona 17U Watch List
Ahmire Gaines
Gaines is a really skilled scorer. He has a lot of athleticism as well as skill. He attacks the paint well and brings length. Defensively, he moves his feet well and can keep athletic guards/wings in front. Gaines is a next level caliber player, but he will need to continue to improve his ability to shoot it from deep. He is a capable shooter, but he prefers to live in the paint.
Grant Greabell
I have been on the record multiple times voicing support for this young man. My stance hasn’t changed. In an era where many club players think that they can get a college coaches’ attention by dribbling the air out of the basketball, Greabell is an effective scorer who does not need to ball in his hands for the majority of the possession. He comes off of screens extremely well, shoots on the move and off of the catch at a high level, and can shoot off of the dribble. For colleges looking for a player who can score in bunches and keeps the offense flowing, there might not be a better player in Arizona.
Jalen Gibson-Starks
Gibson-Starks is a solid prospect who travels to Las Vegas for his last live period as an unsigned senior. Starks can impact the game in an array of ways, which is evident in his stats at Chandler. For only being 5’10, he rebounds the basketball quite well. In addition, he has a great feel for the game. He uses this feel to put his teammates in a position to be successful. When he drives, he keeps his he on a swivel and finds the open man well.