Top Five Small Forwards for the Class of 2022
The class of 2022 is packed with talented small forwards. In fact, one high school – Valley Vista – has two of the top five. Jennah Isai Jennah Isai 5'11" | SF Valley Vista | 2022 State #39 Nation AZ…
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Continue ReadingThe class of 2022 is packed with talented small forwards. In fact, one high school – Valley Vista – has two of the top five.
Jennah Isai Jennah Isai 5'11" | SF Valley Vista | 2022 State #39 Nation AZ is a 5-11 small forward for Valley Vista High school in Surprise. She also plays for the Cal Stars and Arizona Select as her grassroots teams. Valley Vista won their fourth State Championship in five years last March, defeating Hamilton 49-41 in the title game. Because of a torn ACL and meniscus tear, Jennah was limited to a total of six games during her sophomore and junior years. This past winter she averaged 13.5 points per game, 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 steals. As a freshman, she averaged 18.2 points per game. For her three-year career, she is averaging 16.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.8 steals.
She has been tagged the best girls high school basketball player in Arizona by Max Preps. One scout referred to her as a tough and physical combo guard/forward. “She not only gets her own shots, but she also makes everyone better around her. She is the primary reason Valley Vista is among the top 25 programs in the country.” Another scout had this to say about Jennah. “She is an agile perimeter prospect with versatility. She has a scorer’s mentality in the backcourt. Jennah handles the ball consistently in traffic, rebounds, and delivers coast-to-coast.”
As she approaches her senior year playing for Head Coach Rachel Matakas, Jennah has already received a number of scholarship offers – Colorado, Florida, Georgia, LSU, UCLA, and Kentucky. Basketball is in her family. Her father, Ben, coaches the Monsoon boys team.
Kam’Run Rhodes is a 5-6 guard/forward for Compass Prep and she also plays for AZ Supreme. Her father, Jaamal, is her head coach. Her father left Sabino High School in May of 2020 to become the head coach at Compass Prep. Sabino had won the state 3A title in 2020. For much of the 2020 season, Kam’Run had a season-ending knee injury at Sabino but returned to form this past year in the inaugural season for Compass Prep.
She is an outstanding one-on-one player with great court vision. She can also take over a game. In their first season, Compass Prep finished 20-11 while Kam’Run averaged 13.3 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and 3.6 assists per game. As she approaches her senior year, Kam’Run decided to commit to the University of Dayton and will be playing for the Flyers in the fall of 2022.
Kamarich Hawkins is a six-foot small forward for Yuma High School. She competed in both basketball and track and field at Kota High School before transferring to Yuma. This past year she averaged 17.5 points per game, 19.8 rebounds a contest, 5.9 assists, and 7.6 steals. She finished second in the state in rebounding and third in steals. She also tied for the most double-doubles with 17. Although Yuma finished 5-13 and 1-7 in their region, Kamarich was named to the All 4A First Team by AZPreps365 and was also recognized as the region’s Defensive Player of the Year.
The Yuma captain received six Player of the Game Awards from Max Preps in 2021. In all six she had a double-double. Against San Luis High School Kamarich had a triple-double with 27 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 steals. While at Kota High School, she specialized in two track and field events – the 400 meters and the 4 X 800 relay. At Yuma, she made Honorable Mention All-Academic Girls Basketball team with a weighted 3.7 GPA. She is very athletic and her ceiling is high. Kamarich should be playing at the next level in 2022.
Mikela Cooper is a small forward at six feet for Valley Vista High School in Surprise. She averaged 10.5 points per game last season along with 6.2 rebounds per game and 2.4 steals per contest. She also shot 52% from the field as Valley Vista, under Head Coach Rachel Matakas, won their fourth state title in five years. Valley Vista defeated Hamilton in the championship game with Mikela contributing 10 points and seven rebounds.
Mikela was named to the First Team All-Valley Preps and, by AZPreps365, she was an All-Conference second team member. She also was named to the Sports360 All-Academic second team. This past January she was named Player of the Game against Xavier College Prep by Max Preps. Mikela has now played in 44 games over her first three years at Valley Vista. She is considered an outstanding rebounder, finishes at the rim, and has improved her game each year. She should be ready for an outstanding senior season.
Charlotte Kelmon Charlotte Kelmon 6'0" | SF Notre Dame Prep | 2022 State AZ is a six-foot small forward for Notre Dame Prep. The Saints finished 16-3 last winter and were 9-1 in their region. Charlotte averaged 12.2 points per game, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.85 assists. Playing in a total of 37 games for her career, she averaged 10.2 points (8.3 as a sophomore) and in 2021 she shot 41% from beyond the three-point arc. Notre Dame lost in the state playoffs to Mesquite.
In one game last winter, Charlotte scored 25 points and had five three-pointers in a 66-22 win over Marcos de Niza. She was selected on the 4A West Valley First Team and was named to the first team on the Sports360Arizona girls All-Academic team with a weighted GPA of 4.19. Charlotte moved to Arizona from Northern California in the fall of 2019 and played for the AAU team Basketball Science. She continues to grow and improve her all-around game and should have a tremendous season in 2021-2022.