Sports360AZ
If you’re a fan of high school basketball, then Highland High School will be the place to be this weekend, as it will be hosting the third annual PrimeTime, which is presented by Monarch Sports.
Some of the top college prospects in the state will take to the hardwood to show off their skills.
The tournament kicks off on Friday evening and runs through Saturday afternoon. There are eight teams taking part (in order by seeding): Tempe Corona del Sol, Phoenix Pinnacle, Mesa, Scottsdale Desert Mountain, Gilbert, Scottsdale Chaparral, Mesa Mountain View and Gilbert Highland.
Top seed and two-time defending Division I state champion Corona del Sol features senior point guard Casey Benson, junior forward Cassius Peat (who’s been looked at by Arizona State for basketball) and Sun Devil commit Connor McDougall.
Pinnacle is led by small forward Dorian Pickens, who’s gotten offers from both Arizona State and the University of Arizona, among others.
The Jackrabbits have a “Big Three” of their own in guards Christian Harris, Jalen Jenkins and center Isaac Allen.
Jenkins is considered the top prospect in the state of Arizona for 2015. He’s also gotten offers from the Sun Devils and Wildcats, and has gotten looks from Stanford, Oregon State, UCLA, Marquette, Indiana and Washington.
Desert Mountain has a brand new head coach in Kurt Keener, after former head coach Todd Fazio left to become head coach at Red Mountain.
The Wolves feature senior point guard Rolando Rhymes, who’s being pursued by GCU, NAU, Oregon State, San Francisco, UC-Davis, UC-Irvine and UC-Santa Barbara.
It’s yet to be determined if Mark Andrews – who’s also a wide receiver on the football team – will suit up this weekend and play ball. Andrews has no less than 20 Division I football offers, including Arizona State, Arizona, Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Nebraska.
Head coach Jay Caserio and the Gilbert Tigers are coming off a solid 24-8 campaign in 2012-13. They’ll be relying heavily on junior power forward Truman Moore. He averaged 10.2 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Tigers last season.
Chaparral has guard Kenzo Nudo on their roster. Nudo’s gotten four Division I offers, including the Lumberjacks and San Jose State.
Center Payton Dastrup will be in full view for the Toros this weekend. His 6-9, 214 pound frame and his play has gotten him almost 20 Division I offers. Among the 20 are Arizona State, Arizona, Boston College, Florida, N.C. State and Virginia.
For the host team, the Highland Hawks, all roads for them lead through 6-5 swingman Jake Toolson, who is set to head to BYU upon graduation.
Toolson was by far the team’s best scorer last season. He averaged almost 19 points per game and was deadly from three point range, hitting 33-percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
