Uncategorized

THE IRON SHARPENS IRON 2025 INVITATIONAL WILL BE RAN AS AN EVALUATION SHOWCASE WITH THE TOP 8TH GRADE TALENT IN THE STATE, WITH A TOUCH OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FLAVOR, SET TO COMPETE WITH THEIR CLUB TEAMS IN AN ULTRA-COMPETITIVE EVENT DESIGNED TO BRING OUT THE BEST IN THE TOP TALENT AND PUSH THEM. ALL TEAMS AND PLAYERS WILL BE EVALUATED BY ‘THE SHOW BASKETBALL’ AND WILL BE COVERED BY SOME OTHER LOCAL MEDIA OUTLETS. LET’S GET IT!

THE EVENT WILL BE HOSTED AT SAGU AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE. THE ADDRESS TO THE VENUE IS 10020 N 15TH AVENUE IN PHOENIX, AZ 85021. PLEASE PARK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL, AS IT IS THE EASIEST WAY TO COME AND GO FROM THE GYM. IF YOU ARE NOT COACHING OR PLAYING, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ARE WEARING A MASK AT ALL TIMES INSIDE THE GYM. EVERYBODY WHO ENTERS THE GYM WILL NEED TO PASS A TEMPERATURE CHECK AS WELL.

ENTRANCE TO THE EVENT WILL BE $15 FOR ADULTS, $10 FOR STUDENTS (WITH ID) AND $5 FOR KIDS 5 & YOUNGER AND YOUR BAND WILL COVER YOU FOR THE DAY.

BELOW IS THE SCHEDULE FOR THE EVENT AND IT WILL BE UPDATED AFTER EVERY TWO GAMES WITH SCORES THROUGHOUT THE EVENT THRU THIS SAME LINK.

Eduprize Prep is brand new to the Grind Session this season, with their first games coming in the Arizona Bubble and headed by Program Director and Head Coach Christian Polk. Possibly his most recruited and productive player is 6-foot senior guard Justus Jackson, who has hit the ground running in his first five games on the Grind, averaging

Jackson spent the first three years of a very successful high school career at Millennium High School (Goodyear, AZ), helping lead them to the playoffs as a freshman and a state title appearance as a sophomore and junior. Combined with a successful AAU career, Jackson picked up Division-I offers from Montana State, UC-Riverside, Montana, Pacific, Southern Utah, Portland, North Carolina A&T, Pepperdine, and GCU.

Justus has adjusted fast to the pace of play and intensity of the Grind Session. There is no high school basketball platform like it. The day-in and day-out competition and talent level is something that is not made for everybody. You have to be built of something a little different to compete at this level every time you take the floor. Jackson has done that, averaging 22.1 points and 4.2 assists per game for his Eduprize Eagles.

He has been a shining light for a team getting acclimated to this circuit. He has formed a super-talented backcourt with 6-foot-2 junior Devontes Cobbs, a good compliment to each other’s game.

Jackson and Eduprize will be back at it tonight at 7:30pm against Bella Vista Prep. On Thursday night they will take on Balboa School (CA) and SoCal Academy on Saturday at 2:00pm.

Few have impressed in the first Grind Session Bubble than West Oaks’ 6-foot-5, 210-pound wing Justin Neely (Miami, FL). He has been one of the better 2-way players on the Grind thus far with a nice mixture of size, strength and versatility. On the offensive end, he could hit the jumper from any spot on the court and has the strength and size to finish inside amongst the trees. On the defensive end he can guard 4 positions on the floor, even at this level of play.

When you watch him you get the sense he can be the same exact player in any program in the country, rather that be at the high or mid-major level. A consummate 3-and-D guy with a high understanding of team defense and playing within a system.

Thus far, Neely holds offers to Rice, Temple, VCU, UTSA and Washington State with his phone still ringing since arriving in the Valley for the Grind Session’s First Bubble. Thus far through 6 games he has averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 boards, 2.3 assists and close to a steal per game against the most talented high school basketball platform in the country.

Neely made the decision to transfer to West Oaks to play for Head Coach Kenny Gillion and join the Grind Session circuit amidst the pandemic that is threatening the high school basketball season in Florida. Neely couldn’t have made a better decision, displaying what he does so well on a high level against top-notch competition is sure to set the table for the meal he wants to eat. He wants to not only get to the next level, but be ready when he gets there, wherever that may be.

Justin appears to be a little ahead of his years when speaking to him. He is very in-tune with what he wants out of this game and out of life. He wants to find a basketball program that he can call home long after he dribbles his last basketball in their jersey and find a team that he can bond with, players and coaches alike. He will major in business, in some capacity, when he gets to college. But business will be no new thing to Neely, as he is already a partner in a company with his father, Damond Neely, making and selling breathable masks. And before you think that he may just be in the backyard sewing together some fabric like so many pop-up shops you see in the middle of the mall, think again. One conversation with Justin about the business and he will break down to you the simple science about the product. About what they offer over your run-in-the-mill mask you can buy at any convenience store these days. I must say, it is an impressive conversation, coming from such a young man about such an important issue we are dealing with as a country.

His mother, Rosa Neely, is the Director of Communication at the University of Miami back home, so education is a big part of Justin’s upbringing and future. That is reflected in his impressive 4.0 GPA.

Neely is thoroughly enjoying his experience on the Grind so far, citing “the Grind Session is for real hoopers. If you aren’t serious, this isn’t for you. Every night you see top-level competition and it is the closest thing you will get to college basketball.”

Welcome to the Grind, Justin Neely.