Fabulous Freshmen – A Look at the Class of 2024
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Arizona prep girls’ basketball has incredible talent for upcoming freshmen guards. Many of them have played over 200 tournament/grassroots games before playing their first high school game. The experience helps their overall potential. Here’s a look at the top five…
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Continue ReadingArizona prep girls’ basketball has incredible talent for upcoming freshmen guards. Many of them have played over 200 tournament/grassroots games before playing their first high school game. The experience helps their overall potential. Here’s a look at the top five elite point and shooting guards:
Shay Ijiuoye: a 5-5 point and shooting guard, Shay plays for Arizona Elite Prep as well as Arizona Elite as her club team. Even as a freshman, she is projected to be one of the best basketball players in Arizona. She made All-Defensive first team recently while playing in a tournament – the Platinum Championship – for Arizona Elite.
Shay can take over games, can shoot deep threes, can get to the rim, lead a break, create plays for her teammates and, also, play outstanding defense. She also has a strong work ethic and loves the game. She is certainly a rising star.
Dominique Nesland Dominique Nesland 5'10" | PG Xavier College Prep | 2024 State AZ : is a 5-9 guard who plays for Jennifer Gillom at Xavier Prep. Dominique started as a 13-year-old for a National 15U Under Armor team. For her basketball club – Arizona Select – she averaged 14 points per game, shot 80% from the foul line and 40% from the floor.
Dominique is a fierce competitor, a tremendous team player, and should evolve into a big-time talent. She is a strong guard that can shoot the three-ball, and find teammates as a playmaker. She played on an AAU team as a seventh-grader and also played on a boys team which she believed helped increase both her speed and strength. She has a good understanding of the game with a tremendous will to win.
Sarah Nakamura Miller Sarah Nakamura Miller 5'11" | SG Xavier College Prep | 2024 State AZ : is a 5-9 shooting guard who will also be playing for Jennifer Gillom at Xavier Prep. The school fell to Mesa in the first round of last winter’s state tournament. Xavier Prep is scheduled to play 15 games in 2021. “I am excited for the upcoming season,” said Coach Gillom. “We’ve had some good individual players in the past but I don’t think we’ve had the depth before as we have with this team.”
Sarah’s grassroots team is 602 Lady Nation coached by James Singleton. “Sarah is one of the most gifted players I’ve seen at her age,” said Coach Singleton. “She can score at all three levels while her long-range shooting needs some improvement. But she has a great motor with the ability to be both physical and tenacious and has the potential to be a great defender. Even though she hasn’t played a high school game yet, she already has two Division I offers.”
Jocelyn Chavez Jocelyn Chavez 4'0" | C La Joya Community | 2023 AZ : is a 5-10 shooting guard who plays for Dysart High school in Phoenix. Her grassroots team is Las Bonitas. Offensively, she can score in a variety of ways and is projected to be the leading scorer among all freshmen in 2021.
Jocelyn also has a college-level body so she can compete with the older and stronger guards. She is a pure shooter and has improved her shooting every season. Jocelyn was the MVP of a grassroots tournament in the summer of 2019 and helped her team win a tournament in Las Vegas last August (for 14 and Under). Her team finished as the runner-up in the 16 and Under bracket.
Ellison Guiney: is a 5-10 point and shooting guard who plays for Coach Kevin Thomas at Millennium High School in Goodyear. This season the Tigers are young having won the 5A State Championship last winter but lost three outstanding players. Elli has great range for a shooting guard. She can also play multiple positions on defense and is an outstanding transition player.
“She works very hard on her game,” said Coach Thomas. “She leads by example outworking everybody else. As a player, there’s nothing she can’t do and she can play every position. She’s very versatile as well defensively. Even though she’s only a freshman, all the experience she has gotten with her grassroots team makes her ready for the varsity.”