Some of the premier high-school prospects in the country, including several Syracuse basketball targets, will compete at a showcase event later this year in Arizona.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association recently announced via press release the complete field of teams and the games scheduled for the 2021 Hoophall West, an annual event now in its ninth year.
This year’s Hoophall West, to run from December 8 to December 11, will include contests at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Ariz., as well as a four-game showcase to transpire at the new Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix, according to the announcement.
Among the elite teams slated to participate in Hoophall West are the Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla., the Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., the Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, Calif., and DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md.
Syracuse basketball four-star, five-star targets will suit up in Hoophall West.
The Wasatch Academy roster features Orange 2022 high-priority prospect Chris Bunch, who is a four-star wing and a top-60 player in his class.
This past weekend, Bunch took a second official visit to the Hill, and right before that, he made a trip to Mike Hopkins-led Washington. There are rumblings that his recruitment could potentially come down to Syracuse basketball and the Huskies.
On Friday, Dec. 10, the Wasatch Academy is expected to square off versus the powerhouse Montverde Academy, a team that the majority of pundits apparently deem to be the pre-season No. 1 squad ahead of the 2021-22 stanza.
A recent transfer to the Montverde Academy is 2024 five-star power forward Derik Queen, who moved there from the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore.
As we noted in a recent column, Queen provided some details of his recruitment in an interview with Pro Insight, and he did say that the ‘Cuse coaching staff is showing interest in him.
Another really good group is Prolific Prep, whose line-up this coming term will feature former Syracuse basketball 2022 commit Dior Johnson, a five-star point guard who gave a verbal commitment to Oregon this past June.
A second former Orange 2022 commit, four-star wing Kamari Lands, used to play for Prolific Prep. During his senior season, Lands will compete for Hillcrest Prep in Gilbert, Ariz., alongside Syracuse basketball 2022 four-star target Chance Westry.
Westry, a four-star combo guard as well as consensus top-40 prospect in his class, used to play for the Sierra Canyon School before transferring to Hillcrest Prep.
Finally, DeMatha Catholic High School and the Oak Hill Academy are often two of the premier high-school teams nationwide. We’ve detailed in the past that the ‘Cuse had shown some level of interest in a couple of players from DeMatha Catholic High School.