Team Ariza Top Performers at Compton Magic Memorial Day tournament 2010

Team Ariza at Work

Choncey White, San Bernardino High School, 2011
Choncey is a complete player, a 5-11 combo guard who can score, defend and plays hard. Scored 40 points to lead his team to a huge sweet sixteen victory over WCA Elite on Sunday night. Hitting 5 -3′s in a row, and attacking the basket. He’s a rare player in puts as much energy into defending as he does scoring.

Zach McMillan, 6-7 Pacifica Christian High School, Santa Monica. 2012. Zach right now is an up and coming Mid-Major prospect. He has improved every time I’ve seen him play and the key is that he is currently still playing baseball. He should have a huge summer and this is his first year playing any kind of travel ball. He can hit the outside shot, rebounds well, plays hard and has the potential to be a solid college wing. Looks like he might grow another few inches over the next year. His GPA is 4.0 taking honors and AP Classes

Jordan Wilson: 5-8 PG, Windward School, Culver City, 2013 . This kid can flat-out play the point. Has a real good feel for the game, can defend, can hit the out shot and make plays for his teammates. He is very quick and deceptive and has an iron clad dribble. He is a player to watch over the next several years. Look for him to have a huge summer. Will need to have consistent back to back games to be considered as a top recruit.

Gio  Romano- 5-10 PG, Westchester H.S, Los Angeles, 2012- Quick as a jet, knows how to push the ball and will get better under coach Azzam’s tutelage and ability to turn out D1 point guards. What I like about this player is that no matter what the circumstance he gives his all.  How many players do you know take charges in grass-roots basketball ? Jio, has taken several this season.

David Nwaba, 6-4 University High School, Los Angeles, 2011. Averages a double-double ( points and rebounds) mostly every time he plays and this is another Team Ariza player  who has never played travel ball until this year. If he can get a more consistent outside shot and better handles, the sky is the limit. Has great Vert and explosion, and doesn’t need to gather himself to explode up. Very solid player on defense, and gets his share of blocks.

Dominque Lanier- 6-2, Lakewood H.S, Lakewood, CA 2011. Another first time club player new to  the Team Ariza program. Dominque is a slasher and can get to the basket against anyone. Needs to work on his explosion at the basket and a more consistent outside shot, but plays hard and is a solid player. Has interest from several Mid- Major D1′s.

Josh Wilson- 6-2, Westchester H.S, Los Angeles. 2011. Josh is a very interesting player. He has long arms, rebounds exceptionally well for his size, has nice mid range game and is being converted to a point. Playing for Ed Azzam, you know he will play hard and will develop the key parts of his game to have a solid senior season. Josh will be a key contributor to Westchester fighting to  defend their city and state titles.

Keywhon Powns, 6-3, Westchester H.S, Los Angeles, CA 2012. Keywhon is a unique athlete whose athleticism exceeds his basketball skills. Once the two catch up to each other, you will have another high level recruit out of Westchester High School. He has explosive ability and needs to learn to play hard on every play.

Daveon Thomas 6-7, Compton High School, Compton, CA 2012. Daveon is a project right now, but a great project to have on the team. I saw something in him during his last 3 games of the  Magic tournament that give me reason to believe he will become a solid player over the next year. His size and strength make him a D1 prospect. Seems like a kid that wants to get better and that should help his development.

Matthew Grant  5-11, Westchester High School, Los Angeles, CA 2013. Matthew is an athletic guard, with speed and a deadly outside shot. Making the transition to a pure point and should be a tremendous PG for Ed Azzam’s comets in the coming years. At 15 he is still good enough to play against 17u players and matter in a game.  Will be a varsity contributor for the comets this coming year. Has to continue to work on his game and understanding the intricacies of the PG position, but should be a very good one and a D1 prospect.

Luke Silverman-Lloyd, 6-1, Windward School, Los Angeles, CA 2012. On a team full of guards, Luke is a sleeper. He can hit the outside shot and is a developing player who will get better over the next year. He ball handling is getting better and he made some good decisions with the ball when on the court.

Justin Bibbins, 5-7 PG, Price H.S, Los Angeles, CA 2014. Right now he is one of the best 8th grade points in Los Angeles. Justin has a strong  feel for the game and very good control of his handle. He should develop into a top-level high school guard over the next 4 years.

Malik Spears, 6-0, wing, Palisades H.S, Los Angeles , CA 2013. Malik is a very skilled player who has to fine a position over the next year. If he can convert to the guard position he will be a strong and physical guard. Right now he is a strong rebounder, inside scorer and has a nice outside shot. Really understands how to play.

Report on unsigned seniors in the next update.

Two players with Character

Mike Rosario of St. Anthony High School

If you didn’t know where # 17 played High School basketball before, you knew after he did something that was not done by anyone for the entire 3 days at RbKU—take a charge at an exposure event. By that action alone you knew that #17 was Mike Rosario and he played by Bob Hurley at St. Anthony High school in Jersey City, New Jersey. If you read the book the Miracle of St. Anthony or ever attended a St. Anthony practice or game, you know that Bob Hurley’s players play defense and take charges even in showcase events like RbkU. By the way, Mike also scored buckets when he wanted to, dished the ball and was a cheerleader from the side when he tweaked his ankle. No attitude, no lip to the refs, just played the game hard and with solid understanding of how to play the correct way.

Malcolm Lee of North High School

Another player who demonstrated the benefit of learning to play in a system from AAU –High School is Malcolm Lee, from Moreno Valley and North High School. I first saw Malcolm play as Middle school player for Charles Matthews’ Tar Heel Nation team. Charles would ride him and get after him about playing the right way. Now watching him play, you can see the benefit of Malcolm staying with one program throughout his formative years. This was another player who played every game without giving attitude to the refs, talking smack or looking disgusted when he didn’t get the ball.

I also saw Malcolm work out during this freshman year in High school and you could see then that he was dedicated to getting better. He played Brandon Jennings to a standstill and demonstrated why he will be a solid point for UCLA in the 2008/09. At 6’5” and still growing it will be interesting to see how well Malcolm develop over the next few years. The one area that he needs to work on is his outside shot. I am sure that will develop because Malcolm works hard on his game.

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