Jared CohenJust before the Findlay Prep basketball team begins their 2015-16 season, they are taking in some exhibition games in the Phoenix area this weekend. On Friday night, they scrimmaged Scottsdale Community College and on Saturday afternoon, against Phoenix College.
Findlay coming to town means the first return to game action in this state for two who began their high school careers in Phoenix. That is junior Markus Howard and senior Carlos Johnson.
“It’s always fun to come back and play in front of my family, my friends,” said former Perry high school guard Markus Howard. “It’s a great feeling being here, especially with my first game at Findlay being here in Arizona so it was really fun to see everyone come out and show support.”
“Yeah it was really great,” mentioned former Shadow Mountain forward Carlos Johnson. “I haven’t played here in like two years so it just felt like home. I felt comfortable, hit a few shots. I did pretty good today. I could do better though.”
The two did what we saw them do so often when playing in Arizona. Howard knocking down deep threes and Johnson physically imposing his opponents inside, sometimes with big dunks.
The two are getting used to life that is a member of Findlay Prep Hoops which this time of year, includes a ton of training. Something that Howard mentions he loves.
“It’s been a great experience so far,” explained Howard. “Me being a kid who loves to work, I mean, that’s what we do each and every day. We have weights everyday, we have practice for two-three hours, were up at 6am every day doing conditioning and stuff like that.”
Johnson has completely transformed his body since we have seen him last. He mentioned that Findlay Prep head coach Andy Johnson and his staff has forced him to be very diligent with his diet.
“They are strict on me,” mentioned Johnson. “I’ve lost 13 pounds in like three weeks. Four weeks. It was hard on me just running constantly and just critiquing my game really good.”
For Johnson, his recruitment is set as over the summer he committed to UNLV.
“Man, it feels great,” state Johnson. “It feels good to just be like ‘I am going somewhere,’ I just can’t wait to get there and hopefully be an impact player as a freshman.”
Howard’s recruitment was very busy this past summer after having an amazing summer on the club circuit and became a member of USA Basketball U16 team. There is much to decide on for Howard but the upcoming season allows him to take a step back and just focus on basketball.
“I still hear from coaches every now and a gain but it is definitely, once the season gets started and the recruiting calms down,” he said. “So when the season comes around, its nice where I can just focus on me and what I can do for my team.”
Findlay Prep will return to Phoenix again from December 10-12 for the Meritas Desert Challenge where they will face Desert Vista, Shadow Mountain and St. Mary’s at Rancho Solano Prep.
