On Friday morning at the Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa, the eyes of the girls basketball world will descend upon the 7th annual Section 7 tournament.
100 programs from throughout the West Coast have made their way to the valley to compete against the best of the best in the state of Arizona and some of the top college basketball coaches have made the trek as well to find the next superstar.
For many, Section 7 is an event that showcases to plenty who the top programs and contenders are for the Open Division championship but as well as who could be the next generation of girls hoops in the state.
For myself, it is the State of the Union for girls basketball.
Last season saw plenty of historic moments. Millennium, one of the programs that led to the Open Division being implemented, got over the hump and defeated rival Valley Vista in the championship.
Destiny Lunan who started her career at Valley before finishing at Millennium led that Tigers team and is now off to North Carolina State.
Taliyah Henderson who is now at North Carolina missed the season with a knee injury and that was a factor in Salpointe reaching only the quarterfinals.
Desert Vista after back to back open title game appearances reached the semifinals behind freshman Cherri Hatter and brought in the top freshman arguably in the country in Kolbi Brooks for the 2025-26 school year.
That leads to tomorrow where the path towards Veterans Memorial Coliseum begins with multiple questions in mind.
1. Who is the team to beat?
With so much movement in the high school transfer scene and more moves to be made, crowning a team as a favorite is a challenging task that only gets harder the longer the offseason goes.
The 2025 class left its mark on the state, yet the 2026 class and onward is ready to take the torch.
Irene Noelle Guimatsia at Xavier Prep is the most coveted senior prospect in the state and has the ability to take the Gators far, but how much of the weight can she carry?
Millennium reloaded with multiple 2029 prospects including Brooklynn Williams who made the all-tournament team at their own summer tournament last weekend and added senior point guard T’maea Eteuati from Utah.
Desert Vista (for now) has Hatter and Brooks, and that could be the most lethal combination the state has seen in the girls scene, but whether or not that leads to success remains to be seen.
Valley Vista lost in the championship last year but behind their core four of Deja Strong, Emma Bremer, Kinsey Murray, and Braya Neal-Tiffany, the Monsoon may be the top team as shown by their success at the recent LadyX tournament
2. Could the 2029 class be the best to enter Arizona?
There’s the potential for multiple superstar freshmen to lead the way in the state and three of them I have my eyes on to carry the torch across the coming years.
Kolbi Brooks at Desert Vista and Jaiyana Bogan-Jacobs at Campo Verde turned heads throughout the state last summer as middle schoolers competing against AIA high school athletes in events and dominating the competition.
Their success led to changes in multiple tournaments and extra emphasis on not allowing younger athletes the chance to compete.
Now, one year later they’re entering high school and ready to take on all challengers.
Both have received offers from programs such as Louisville, Arizona, Alabama, SMU, and more and will garner plenty of attention from college coaches this weekend.
Brooklynn Williams at Millennium has already made an impact on the Tigers program, her defensive ability coupled with her selfless play has put her in a key position against top teams throughout the summer so far. With her ability to catch and shoot, create off the dribble, and create for others, her two-way upside firmly puts her in the conversation for best incoming freshman in the state.
3. How do we keep the top talent at home?
Earlier in the week on X, I posed a question.
Arizona this year should be celebrating Jerzy Robinson’s senior season, the kid from South Phoenix should be at Desert Vista.
Instead, Robinson begins her senior year at Sierra Canyon as opposed to in Ahwatukee.
There’s already rumblings of multiple top prospects in the state leaving after Section 7 or prior to the school year for other programs in other states in search of a better opportunity in both recruiting and in competition.
That is unacceptable.
As a state, girls basketball has continued to progress to put more and more Arizona kids on national platforms.
Look at what women such as Cavinder twins from Gilbert high were able to do at Miami, or Shaylee Gonzales while she played at Texas.
Khamil Pierre from Perry was one of the best players in all of college basketball this past season.
They stayed in-state and got the chance to go to the next level.
The class of 2025 sent 12 players to division one programs and over 50 to programs at the next level.
The quality of talent is here to be successful, the platform via media from myself, Richard Smith, Gregg Rosenberg, Cedric Cobb Sr, Logan Stanley, and Jose Garcia who all dedicate ourselves to providing a space and an outlet to highlight these talented athletes at what they do best is here, the quality of coaching has elevated as well.
So the biggest thing, to answer the question I posed is that awareness and education is crucial.
Providing parents and athletes with the understanding that the best of best at the next level are from here, the top colleges recruit from here, and the media coverage is second to none, that’s how to keep the top players at home in Arizona.
