In one of the more exciting Championship games at the Lady X Tournament Millennium defeated Perry in an overtime thriller in which Tournament MVP Kassady Dixon delivered a last second assist to Sophomore Guard Mia Amundsen, who was able to drain a game winning 3 as time expired. The matchup showcased the 2018 Champion vs the 2019 Champion. While this year's tournament did not have all the perennials powers that it usually showcases, presumable due to it postponement from its June slot due to the the pandemic, it did not disappoint in terms of game play and excitement. What follows are some take a ways that we have about the teams that made the Lady X Tournament a success in 2020. Millennium (Finished #1 with an Overtime victory over Perry) is still talented. They have a D1 committ in Kassidy Dixon (GCU) and a top 5 Freshman in Ellie Guiney. However they are not still a defensive minded program. In the past the Tigers would hang their hat o...
Over the last few months the world has been in a Global
Pandemic that shut down the NBA Season, cancelled March Madness, postponed Major
League Baseball spring training in Arizona, and cancelled spring sports in high
school as well as the May Club sessions.
But it seemed like Girls’ Basketball season for Arizona made it out just
under the wire, finishing their State Championships in the first week of
March. Had the season ran 10 days more,
they may have been cancelled, as has happened in other states. Teams in these states were in playoffs runs,
only to the rug pulled out from under them, as their playoffs were immediately shut
down.
So, it seemed like the Girls’ Basketball scene was saved
from the Pandemic. Then a new Epidemic
hit Girls Basketball in Arizona, one that could be more long term than effects
than any illness could ever have. It
seems that the top players in Arizona are done playing for their High Schools
locally and have decided to transfer to new Girls Prep Schools in the
valley. It seemed at first that it would
only affect a few high schools, like Chaparral, and Greenway, who lost just one
highly ranked player each. Then it
seeped into other Championship teams, like Perry and Millennium, who lost
multiple players. This then extended to
other powers like Hamilton, Seton Catholic, and Pinnacle. The most recent team to be affect is 6A
Champ, Valley Vista.
In multiple tweets, articles and comments these top players
have cited a need to have more competition, more College like rules such as a
shot clock, and the ability to travel the nation showcasing their talents as
reasons for their departures from Traditional High Schools. Twitter has been a flurry over the past few
months as Club teams and Prep Schools have been announcing transfers left and
right. While not all transfers played
for Club teams that have connected with or started Prep Schools, it seems a
majority of them have gone to the Prep Schools that their current clubs are
connected to. On Jan 9, PHH Fire announced
themselves as a National Prep School playing a national schedule. Their connection to Arizona Select Girls
Basketball has been the major catalyst to getting players to agree to play for
them. Next was Az Compass Prep School,
who joined Twitter in May of 2020, and announced several transfers to their newly
formed Girls Basketball team. Their
connection to AZ Supreme Hoops, which according to their Facebook page is located
in Tucson, has played a major role in their acquisition of players. Now there is talk of Arizona Elite Girls
Basketball will be starting a Prep School that will play in an all Adidas based
prep league nationwide. They have not
formally announced this at this time.
To date, some 20+ players have left traditional high schools
for prep schools.
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