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Evan Nelson is about as entrenched into Tucson basketball as a cactus is into the Sahuaro Desert. He takes so much pride in being from “The Tuc” that you can see it all over his face when watching his peers from his hometown play even when he isn’t on the team.

Such is the case when you watched him a couple weeks ago at the So Cal Spring Tip-Off in Anaheim. Evan watched the Tucson-based Arizona Dynasty program every chance he could and cheered for his 520 boys from the sidelines. At one point, he even took a seat on the bench in between games with his Powerhouse Hoops 17U UAA Rise squad.

It is that type of characteristic that make you fall in love with the talented 2020 point guard from Salpointe Catholic. Sure, his on-court abilities and achievements speak volumes as well. But what makes it so easy to cheer for him is the fact that his GPA sits in the very high 3’s, he cheers for teammates even when he is on the bench and when a teammate gets knocked down it is often that Nelson is the one there to extend an arm to pick his guy up.

Like most teenagers, he has a goofy side. One that makes you think that life just must truly come easy to the kid. He’s energetic to the point of hyper but has a mean streak on the court. One conversation with him off the court will give you a peak into the overall good nature that Evan possesses, but when he is on the floor he is a killer. When he feels like he is in his groove and may have a mismatch, he is a like a shark in waters full of blood. It’s attack time!

Evan Nelson is a product of a coach. His father, Jimmy Nelson, is one of the more colorful and decorated coaches in the southern part of the state. If you ever watch his father coach, it becomes very apparent where the feel for the game and the high basketball IQ came from. Coach Jimmy Nelson understands the game at a level that few are aware of in the state of Arizona. And while we are on the topic of the family and basketball, his little sister Jaya is one of the better girl hoopers in Tucson as well.

Nelson has achieved some great successes already. He has led his Salpointe Catholic squad to back-to-back 4A state championship appearances. In both championship games against the high school dynasty that is/was Shadow Mountain High, Nelson had his team with late leads before falling short. Mostly due to an undermanned roster. But Nelson has had some of his better performances when the lights shine the brightest. He has been selected to the March Madfest Arizona High School All-Star game in consecutive seasons.

He has achieved many of these successes with his longtime friend and teammate, Pepperdine signee Majok Deng. Though Nelson is a grade behind the future Wave, they have paved their way, for the most part, together. From the Catholic school in Tucson to the Powerhouse Hoops AAU program.

Nelson is now on the AAU circuit and playing very well thus far for his Powerhouse squad. He plays on a team filled with Division-I prospects and is a leader on and off the floor for the team. His ability to take a defender off the dribble and score from all three levels has been a difference maker. He is also a great playmaker with the ball in his hands. Playing on a team full of long and athletic wings and forwards, Nelson makes the game so much easier when he is disecting defenses and making plays for others. His handle is impressive to say the least and he absorbs body contact as good as you can ask for. Furthermore, his lay-up menu is about as impressive as Denny’s breakfast specials. On the defensive end he is a hound. While he does have a tendency to over pursue at times, he has no fear of getting into a ball handler and rattling their cage. He creates turnovers on a regular basis and leads the break like with aggression.

The 6-foot-3 point guard currently holds 10 Division-I offers from Grand Canyon, Duqusne, New Mexico, Rice, UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Irvine, Portland State, Houston Baptist and Utah Valley with many more on the hook. He will be playing in the first live period event of the spring in Kansas City this weekend in the Under Armour Association Rise.

The Compton Magic have long been rooted in Phoenix, Arizona in the AAU world, putting the infamous Magic logo on their chests and traveling the country with one of the highest regarded and most respected AAU brands in America. From top-ranked prospects Jahii Carson to Kody Justice to Timmy Allen and now to Dalen Terry and Andre Harris, among many other of the state’s top players.

It is a brand that has grown beyond basketball. A generational entity that has instilled its presence in just about every top player that has ever come out of the West Coast. Everyone knows the Compton Magic. Everyone knows Etop Udo-Ema or “Uncle Tope,” as most refer to him.

Ray Arvisu Jr. had started in the AAU scene with a local program that ended up becoming the new-look Arizona Stars behind a top-20 ranked prospect in America named Daniel Bejerano. Bejerano signed at Arizona and played for a year before transferring and starring at Colorado State. After a few years of running the Arizona Stars, he decided to join forces with Etop and the Compton Magic and service the top players in Arizona by adding them to the Compton Magic brand.

Side Note: When I first started this journey in Arizona high school basketball it was Etop Udo-Ema who sat me down at South Mountain HIgh and said something to the tune of “Bro, you have some players over there in your program. Just always build your program from the culture perspective. If you have the culture, kids will always want to be a part of it.” To this date it is some of the best advice I have ever received.

So fast forward to today and the Compton Magic 17U Adidas Gold Gauntlet team that Hillcrest Prep duo Dalen Terry and Andre Harris are on. Terry, the 6-foot-6 2020 point guard that holds a top-40 national ranking and climbing with offers that are spreading across the country from some of the top programs. He currently holds offers to Arizona State, Grand Canyon, USC, Utah, Arkansas, Marquette, Nevada, Memphis and Florida with so many more on the way. He has so many tools in his shed that college coaches hold so much stock in. A true point guard with length and size. A true floor general with leadership qualities on and off the court. A handle that seems to get better and better every time I see him and a jumper that is looking a little more reliable. He is about as unselfish as they come and holds more value in an assist than he does a bucket. On the defensive end he is a problem. He can guard three positions on the floor and his length causes so many defelections and steals that often lead to transition scoring opportunities. He affects the game in so many ways.

Harris is another story. If Dalen Terry is the Audi Hybrid, Andre Harris is the Big Boy Dodge Ram. An absolute load to deal with that is aggressive and dares you to bang with him on any spot on the floor. A fearless competitor that surprises you with his sneaky athleticism and agility. As much as he enjoys taking and giving contact down low, he has no problem stepping out and guarding on the perimeter. Add in the fact that he has the ability to knock it down from behind the 3-point line, and it’s almost not fair at times. However, he most impressive skill is probably his passing ability. He is an excellent passer and finds cutters as good as any big man in the country. At 6-foot-7, 250-pounds he is a mismatch nightmare.

If you rewind time almost two years ago, Dalen Terry was starring at Corona Del Sol, a program that was nearing the end of a mini-dynasty with top players such as Casey Benson (Oregon), Marvin Bagley III (Duke, Sacramento Kings), Alex Barcello (Arizona) and Saben Lee (Vanderbilt). Terry was lined up to be the next one up before Head Coach Sam Duane Jr. decided to depart from the powerhouse he had built. Terry still developed into one hell of a player at Corona. A player that was already considered one of the better prospects in the state. However, when you are a kid that truly has a passion for this game and want to be the best, you want to put yourself in a position to get better every single day you step on the floor and play alongside other players with like-minded ambitions. Thus, he transferred to Hillcrest Prep to join Top-20 2020 recruit, Kyree Walker. He joined the Compton Magic program and made a national name for himself on the Adidas Gold Gauntlet 16U Division.

As for Harris, he was a star forward at Red Mountain High in Mesa alongside former Compton Magic wing Timmy Allen. The two made a dynamic duo that few in Arizona wanted any part of. However, lack of a strong supporting cast never really allowed them to get to the point they both wanted to reach. Shortly after his junior season, as Allen was getting ready to depart for the University of Utah, Harris decided to reclassify into the 2020 class. Simultaneously he was tearing up the UAA circuit for Powerhouse Hoops 17U UAA, leading them in just about every major statistical category. In the summer of 2018 he made the decision to transfer to Bella Vista Prep.

Harris found it hard to find a real fit on the court and sensing he didn’t have time to figure it out, transferred into Hillcrest Prep to join his close friend, Dalen. It proved to be the right choice, as “Big Dre” put in work for the Bruins last high school season, showing off the weapon he is capable of being on the floor. In the early spring, Harris decided that he was going to ride with Terry thru the spring and summer and join the Compton Magic. He has looked great for them thus far, doing what Big Dre does. Causing havoc and mismatches all over the floor. Making sweet passes and knocking down shots while catching the occasional body. It has been another great fit.

Harris currently holds offers to Grand Canyon, TCU, Duquesne,Tulsa, UC-Irvine, Central Arkansas, Oakland and Houston Baptist, with many more undoubtedly on the way.

These two Arizona kids are putting on for the state. It should be a blow-up type of season for the rest of this spring for the two talented prospects.

It was about a year and a half ago. Head Coach Gino Crump, a longtime friend of mine, invited me to a Desert Vista practice to see this team he believed was good enough to make a true run for a state title. Indeed, it was loaded by Arizona high school basketball standards. It featured a 6-foot-9 skilled big man, a 6-foot-5 freak of an athlete, a 6-foot-3 volume scoring and nationally ranked combo guard, an And 1 mixtape of a point guard and a lockdown senior guard. It definitely had all the tools to be a team to be reckoned with.

That team also possessed this 6-foot-7 wing/forward that usually sat in the corners on offense and waited for a chance to knock down a shot. He was….ok. There was definitely some room for growth and some potential. After all, you can’t teach or train 6’7” with coordination and the overall understanding of the game. There were just so many things missing. He was soft. His handle was below average. He could knock it down from the outside, but it was streaky. His motor wasn’t very impressive. At times, he was just kind of there. But every now and then he would have a game that would keep you thinking about him.

He traveled last spring and summer with the Powerhouse 16U Black team coached by two of his closest mentors, Michael Contreras and Pat Johnson. Johnson was an assistant coach at Desert Vista and knew the kid on and off the floor. They both knew what most of us did not, Osasere Ighodaro really wanted to be good. He really did take basketball serious and want to do something with the game.

If you ever have a face-to-face conversation with Osasere, or “Oso”, you will be able to pull a couple things out of it right away. He is extremely intelligent almost to the point that it can make you feel a little on the dumb side of the interaction. You can also tell he is extremely respectful and not as quiet as you thought he might be based on his demeanor. He is a strong-minded kid that knows what he wants out of most situations. A rare trait for a kid his age. A side note: he is only 16 years old and will not turn 17 until July. He is one of the youngest kids in his class.

Ighodaro came out of the summer of 2018 with several low and mid-major offers. Mostly for the same reason, the promise of the future and what he could be if he truly develops. It was a popular opinion that he was not done growing and then it was a lot of the “what if’s.” WHAT IF he gets a true handle? WHAT IF he finds some real athleticism and bounce? WHAT IF he develops some real aggression on the floor?

Osasere took them offers into his junior year of high school. Due to graduations and transfers, the team that we saw the year prior for the Desert Vista Thunder was completely turned around. They added a few pieces and had some promising and teal ended freshman, but it was clear they were nowhere near what they have been in years past. However, it was Ighodaro’s time to step up and put a team on his back. And he did just that. Leading them to a 17-10 record and into the 6A state playoffs despite the heavy lack of experience on the roster. His efforts during the season landed him a spot in the March Madfest Arizona All-Star game.

Heading into the spring Oso was moved to the top Powerhouse 17U Under Armour Association Rise team and named a starter early, on a roster full of Division I prospects. He has developed into the epitome of a point forward. He takes the court now at a legit 6-foot-9 with wingspan that almost makes his skill set seem unfair. That size and length makes him an elite level defender with the ability to guard all five positions on the floor at this level. He can switch on absolutely anybody. His athleticism has reached a new peak with him collecting his own personal poster collection. His court vision is outstanding and he is a great passer in both the half court and in transition. His handle is very solid and he seems to get more and more aggressive each time I see him.

It is all these factors, coupled with the fact he owns a 4.4 GPA and still has so much room for growth that led to those offers growing into the high level mid-majors and recently his first high-major offer from Rice and Stanford. He currently holds offers to Grand Canyon, Pepperdine, UC-Irvine, UC-Riverside, San Jose State, San Diego, UC-San Diego, Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, and Montana with a bundle on the way as he and his Powerhouse 17U UAA Rise team head into Kansas City for their first live period event of the spring. The phones from anyone involved in the kids recruitment have been blowing up for the last month. His head coach and Powerhouse Hoops program director, John Ortega, is ecstatic about Ighodaro and where this train may eventually stop. One thing is for sure, it is going to be one hell of a ride.

Most people reading this know exactly who Ty Ty Washington is. The 6’3” 2021 point guard from Cesar Chavez that assasinates oppositions and is putting together one hell of a high school basketball career. But if your not from Phoenix, then you don’t really know.

So let me try to explain. Ty Ty Washington is Phoenix. Not because he is one of the higher ranked prospects in the state of Arizona. Not because he has done work on the Adidas Gold Gauntlet 16U circuit with Team Harden and is now heading to the Nike EYBL with Vegas Elite 16U. Of course, all that helps. But factor in the fact that when the wave is to start your high school career in suburban schools with better resources, academics and facilities. Ty Ty drives a couple minutes up the road from his house to Chavez, an inner city high school plotted down on the Southside of Phoenix. That area breeds out a different kind of tough. Basketball old heads could tell you that there is such thing as “Hardwood tough” and there is such thing as “Playground touch.” Washington checks both boxes. He is just as comfortable on a blacktop as he is on a nice wooden floor.

Ty Ty grew up one of the better youth football players in the Valley before he shot up in height and started to dedicate all his time to basketball. However, the love for football was never far and last year he hopped onto the Chavez gridiron to play quarterback and wide receiver for the Champions. So a little side note, Washington could easily be a Division-I football player as well.

He is very popular in the AZ basketball community. When he walks into a gym, many people gravitate towards him from all demographics. But he is an absolute bully on the floor. When the ball is tossed up at center court, his eyes start looking a little different. The smile and the jokes are gone. What you get is a certified killer. A fearless competitor that has a repertoire of moves and a mid-range jumpshot that makes college coaches fidget in their seat a little bit. He is a very reliable 3-point shooter that is shifty and can get his own shot off or make plays for teammates. One the defensive end, he is a hound of a defender. A kid that wants you to know he is on you for the next 40 or so minutes. He is not the most bouncy kid, but he does have the ability to get up and throw it down.

Ty Ty’s family ties extends about as long as the Arizona desert. His aunts, uncles and cousins are just about everywhere you go in the metro phoenix area. One is an assistant coach at Cesar Chavez and runs one of the top 14U AAU programs on the West Coast, Rodney Brown. Coach Brown seems to have a habit collecting 1st Place trophies for the Just Us Basketball Academy/Powerhouse 14U UAA. He not only serves as a big cousin/coach to Ty Ty, but also a mentor. Also a former point guard in High School (Brophy/St. Mary’s) who stayed involved in the game all these years and is a staple in the inner-city Youth Basketball community.

Anytime you check Ty Ty’s social media you will likely catch a small clip of his little brother, Tyrique. They have a very special and unique bond. His little brother is more than his big brother’s fan, he is almost like a mascot. An older soul with a bag full of personality.

Washington will be in Atlanta next weekend alongside his Vegas Elite teammates on the Nike EYBL circuit. That team is set to do some work out there with one of the more talented 16U rosters in America. I am waiting for the floodgates to open up for Washington’s recruitment. He currently holds three Division-I offers to Portland State, Santa Barbara and Louisiana-Monroe, with many more on the way. He holds a 3.61 GPA, which is expected to rise with a strong spring semester of his sophomore year.

Let’s get ready to show the rest of America about ‘The Phoenix Son.’

I have seen Isaiah Floyd on the floor before. I saw him when he was a sophomore at Millennium High. He was solid. A good combo guard that could get to the rim just about whenever he wanted. But that was the thing that left you wanting more out of his game; WANT IT ALL THE TIME!

Fast forward to 2019, after a transfer led him to Eduprize alongside Ole Miss-commit Shon Robinson, where he was an intriquite part of a state championship run for the Eagles and Head Coach Phil Lowe. He seemed to find another gear and some new-found bounce. I received multiple text messages stating that the junior guard was throwing down windmills.

This past weekend I saw him in a Team Harden jersey on the Adidas Gold Gauntlet and a big part of a big win over Uneek Ballers. I saw him kick it into the gear that you were urging him to in his time at Millennium. He plays on an AAU program filled with Division-I level guards like Trent Hudgens, Jalin Anderson and Xavier DuSell. Still, he finds a way to carve his mold into that team.

Floyd plays hard! His steps sound different. His athleticism is a factor on a floor filled with Division-I prosepects. His getting into guys on the defensive end and making ball handlers nervous., His handle is tighter. He is driving to the rim stronger. His pull-up game is legit. He plays within himself and makes an impact on both ends of the floor.

Needless to say, I believe Floyd is one good game in front of the right people to garnering some Division-I offers. He could use a little more tightening on his handle. Most people would love to see him be more consistant from the outside, but his shot is far from broken. He has the ability to get hot from out there and make a defense and opposing coaches spit out some not so kind words.

His stock has risen a lot over the weekend with scouts that know how far he has come. I am expecting that stock to rise a whole lot more over the rest of the spring and summer.

It seemed like just yesterday that Millennium’s 2021 point guard Justus Jackson was capping off a great freshman campaign for Head Coach Ty Amundsen and leading them to a first round road victory over the heavily favored Westview Knights in the first round of the playoffs. Jackson put his name on just about every top freshman list and earned just about every conference honor a freshman can earn.

Fast forward to today and we are looking at the same kid starting to become that same force on the court, but on a national level. After a strong sophomore season landed his high school in the 5A state championship game, they would fall just short against the top-seeded Gilbert Tigers.

Nevertheless, it was a coming out party for one of the top underclassmen in the state. While most of the attention has deservedly been pointed to one of the top 2021 prospects in America’s in 6-foot-9 forward DaRon Holmes, Jackson plays so in-sync with the nationally ranked Holmes. It has now gotten to the point where it seems the chemistry between the two is almost effortless and is vastly becoming the premier 1-2 punch in Arizona high school basketball. It helps that they do not take the spring and summer off from each other, as both will travel the Under Armour AAU circuit for Powerhouse Hoops UAA with coach Vaughn Compton and Jeff Becker.

Just after the high school season ended for Jackson, he would pick up his first official Division-I offer from the hometown Grand Canyon University and Head Coach Dan Majerle. Shortly after, he was selected to play in the March Madfest AZ All-Star Game.

Athletic success is no surprise to the Jackson family. His father, Chris Jackson, was a stand-out multi-sport athlete and played football at Washington State before playing in both the NFL and the AFL. In February, his father received the news that he was getting hired on to the Chicago Bears coaching staff.

Jackson has already came out of the gates in the spring with some strong performances. He and Holmes both had major hands in a big win to kick the AAU season off in the Prep Hoops Spring Showcase against The Truth EYBL, one of the top 16U teams on the west coast. Jackson looked great once again this past weekend in the SoCal Spring Tip-Off Classic, as he filled up the stat sheets with big assist games, knocking down shots, creating plays for others and looking like a much improved on-ball defender. Needless to say, Justus has his swag tank on full. If Jackson can continue with his strong play, this Powerhouse 16U UAA team has a chance to be special.

Jackson has matured on the basketball court a whole lot in the last year. About 365 days ago, Jackson took an ill-advised shot here and there that made you scratch your head if you are labeling him a premiere level point guard. Those shots have been minimalized noticeably and he has developed a great pull-up jumper off the dribble, especially in transition. He is distributing the ball with meaning a whole lot better and finding cutters like a VP of Distribution. I would not be surprised if the 6-foot 2021 point guard comes out of the spring with a couple more offers in his gym bag. Without question, he will be one to watch.