Vote now: Who should be the WaFd Bank Arizona High School Boys Basketball Player of the Week?
Here are the candidates for the WaFd BankArizona High School Boys Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 10-16 as nominated by coaches, fans and readers.
Read through the nominees and cast your vote. We’ll send a free SBLive T-shirt to the winner of the poll! Voting will conclude Sunday at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced Monday.
If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, please email brittanyabowyer@gmail.com or tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @sbliveaz.
Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
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Dillan Baker, Senior, Salpointe Catholic - Leading the Lancers in scoring on Tuesday, Baker posted 26 points to help Salpointe Catholic pick up a 78-53 win over Canyon del Oro. He also had four rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Wes Ball, Senior, Marana - Returning to the list this week is Ball, who had an outstanding night in Marana’s lone game of the week. Helping the Tigers to a 73-40 win over Mountain View - Marana, Ball had 21 points while shooting 71 percent from the field. Making it a double-double with 10 rebounds, he also had three steals, two blocks and an assist.
Donovan Beard, Sophomore, Dobson - With an outstanding 90 percent shooting from the field, Beard had 22 points, three assists, a steal and a rebound to help lead Dobson to a 75-63 victory over Red Mountain on Tuesday.
Liam Bunker, Sophomore, Queen Creek - In Tuesday’s 58-51 win over Desert Ridge, Bunker posted a career-best 18 points, along with five rebounds, four steals and two assists, to help lead the Bulldogs to a win. Despite the Bulldogs’ 77-64 loss to Maricopa on Thursday, Bunker had the best all-around game of his career so far. With 17 points, he was one point shy of meeting his career high set earlier in the week. He added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Andrew Camacho, Junior, Peoria - Finishing the week on a high note, Camacho teamed with teammate Calvin Windley to help the Panthers dominate their way to an 86-59 win over Desert Edge on Friday. Posting 26 points while shooting 67 percent from the field, he also had seven assists, five steals, two rebounds and a deflection.
Rafe Canale, Senior, Sunrise Mountain - Canale returns to the list again this week after getting off to a hot start Monday in the 77-45 win over Gila Ridge. Shooting 75 percent from the field, Canale had 26 points, along with five rebounds and a pair of assists and steals.
Alfredo Carbajal, Senior, Kofa - Lifting Kofa to a big win over Yuma on Friday, Carbajal had 22 points and six rebounds to help get the 55-44 victory.
Gabe Escobedo, Senior, Miami - While the Vandals weren’t able to pull out a win on Monday in the 69-55 loss to Globe, Escobedo put in work on the hardwood. With 33 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four blocks, three deflections and a steal, there was no shutting down Escobedo.
Oakland Fort, Senior, Sunnyslope - After being announced as a nominee for the 2022 McDonald’s All American Games on Wednesday, Fort became the newest member of the 1000-career point club in the 63-31 victory over Valley Vista. Shooting 60 percent from the field, he had 21 points along with five rebounds, two steals and an assist in the game.
Marcos Fuentes, Senior, Sunnyside - Helping the Blue Devils pick up a 75-59 win over Nogales on Monday, Fuentes led the game in scoring with 25 points on the night. He also had eight deflections, five rebounds, four steals, three assists and a block.
Brayden Gant, Junior, Coolidge - Making some noise outside The Valley once again this week is Gant, who posted 22 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, three deflections, three blocks and an assist to help Coolidge snag a 58-45 road win over ALA-Ironwood on Friday.
Carter Gittens, Junior, Sunrise Mountain - Posting a double-double with 23 points and 13 rebounds on Friday in the 63-54 victory over Ironwood on the road, he also had four assists, two steals, a block and a deflection to close his week strong.
Bradey Henige, Sophomore, Cactus - Dropping 21 points and 17 rebounds, Henige’s double-double helped propel the Cobras to a 69-54 win over Desert Edge. In addition to crashing the boards, he also had three assists and three steals. In Thursday’s 70-21 win over Barry Goldwater, he had another double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, accompanied by three steals, three blocks, a deflection and an assist.
Logan Hopkins, Senior, Mountain Ridge - Despite the Mountain Lions’ 89-60 loss to the Boulder Creek Jaguars on Thursday, Hopkins dropped 36 points, nailing 10 of his 14 shots from behind the arc to account for 30 of his points.
Caden Hunter, Junior, Liberty - In Tuesday’s 82-69 victory over Pinnacle, Hunter’s career-high 32 points led the game in scoring. With nine rebounds, he almost made it a double-double, along with two steals, two deflections and two blocks. He followed with another strong night on Thursday to help lift the Lions to an 89-60 win over Mountain Ridge with 17 points, six rebounds, six steals, two assists, two blocks and two deflections.
Rob Jenkins, Senior, Cactus - Jenkins had back-to-back strong performances on Tuesday and Wednesday for the Cobras. Helping Cactus to a 69-54 win over Desert Edge on Wednesday, Jenkins had a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, along with five steals, four assists and two deflections, teaming with Henige to dominate on both sides of the court. He followed Thursday in the 70-21 blowout of Barry Goldwater with 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Marshall Kerley, Junior, Thunderbird - Grinding it out on Tuesday to help Thunderbird pick up a 65-63 win over Moon Valley, Kerley recorded a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Paired with three steals, two assists and a block, he helped the Titans pull out a close one on the road.
Adonis Lafleur, Sophomore, Cesar Chavez - In Friday’s 73-48 victory over Maryvale, Lafleur had a career-best performance with 18 points and eight rebounds, along with six assists, four deflections and two steals.
Jesus Martinez, Senior, Sunnyside - Coming in off a career-high in scoring, Martinez was just shy of tying his personal best once again with 18 points in the 76-49 win over Rio Rico on Friday. In addition to shooting 70 percent from the field, he also had six rebounds, five assists, four deflections, three steals and a block to dominate on the hardwood.
Ty McDowell, Junior, Campo Verde - With one of his career-best performances on Monday night, McDowell had 25 points and 11 rebounds, along with two assists and two steals, despite the 73-59 loss to Casteel. He followed Wednesday with 25 points, five rebounds, two steals and an assist in a tough 67-65 loss to Gilbert. Rounding out the week strong to help Campo Verde pick up a 66-55 road win over Higley, McDowell led the game in scoring with 19 points while shooting 64 percent from the field. He also had 10 rebounds and nine assists, nearly notching a triple-double, along with five steals.
Ahamed Mohamed, Senior, Apollo - Returning to the list this week is Mohamed, who opened with a strong performance on Monday in the 66-49 rout of Centennial. He had 30 points and 11 rebounds to snag a double-double, while also recording four assists, three steals and two deflections. Rounding the week out on Thursday in the 85-62 road win over Sunrise Mountain, Mohamed had 39 points while shooting 61 percent from the field, along with two rebounds and a deflection to help Apollo come out on top.
Tony Mottola, Senior, Marcos de Niza - Notching his first career double-double, Mottola had 23 points and 10 rebounds to help Marcos de Niza pick up a 72-68 win over Mingus Union on Monday. He also had four blocks, three assists and a steal.
Devin Murphy, Freshman, Maryvale - Maryvale has struggled this season coming off last year’s COVID-19 shutdown, but the Panthers have a bright spot in freshman Devin Murphy, who played in his first high school game this week. Shooting 100 percent from the field on Friday in the 73-48 loss to Cesar Chavez, he also had 16 rebounds to notch a double-double while also putting up three blocks and snagging two assists and two steals.
Brennen Neal, Junior, Liberty - With a career-best performance on Thursday, Neal helped Liberty to an 89-60 win over Mountain Ridge. Posting 21 points while shooting 80 percent from the field, he also had two deflections, a rebound and an assist.
Kevin Patton Jr, Junior, Maricopa - Can you say triple-double? Patton dropped 21 points, 11 blocks and 10 rebounds, along with six assists, in the 77-64 win over Queen Creek on the road Thursday. Maricopa extended its win streak to 16.
Kendre Pride, Sophomore, Carl Hayden - In Carl Hayden’s 76-38 slicing of Sierra Linda, Pride was shooting 69 percent from the field to put 20 points on the board for the Falcons. He also had five steals, four rebounds, an assist and a deflection.
Chino Salas-Zorilla, Senior, Camp Verde - In Monday’s 69-51 victory against Bourgade Catholic, Salas-Zorilla had his best shooting percentage from the field all season, hitting 67 percent of his shots to rack up 31 points. He also had seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and two blocks. On Friday in the 80-49 rout of Wickenburg, he had 26 points while shooting 63 percent from the field, combined with five rebounds, three steals and two assists. He finished things up on Saturday by posting 27 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double, his first of the season, along with six assists and six steals to help Camp Verde defeat Page 75-41.
Elijah Saunders, Senior, Sunnyslope - Saunders had a stellar week, starting with being named a nominee for the 2022 McDonald’s All American Game on Tuesday. In the game that night against Westview, he had 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block to help the Vikings cruise to a 64-32 win. It was more of the same from Saunders on Thursday in the 63-31 victory over Valley Vista. Leading the game in scoring with 25 points, he also had 11 rebounds, seven assists and a steal to dominate the statbook.
Croix Sweeney, Senior, Horizon - Opening the week with a bang, Sweeney had 25 points and 14 rebounds to help Horizon down Arcadia 67-51. He also had two assists and a steal to help pick up the win.
Edmond Touye, Senior, Poston Butte - The Broncos earned a big win on Friday over Combs, led on the court by Touye. With 19 points and 12 rebounds, along with three steals, Touye and the Broncos defeated Combs 54-41.
Hunter Warren, Sophomore, Basha - Helping Basha pick up a 56-42 win over Hamilton, Warren had 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the team across the board on Saturday.
Calvin Windley, Junior, Peoria - Windley had a strong performance on Friday night to help the Panthers pick up an 86-59 win over Desert Edge, teaming with Andrew Camacho to become a dynamic duo. Windley dropped 27 points to lead the game in scoring, along with eight rebounds, four steals, three assists, two blocks and a deflection.