Friday afternoon was the tipoff of one of the premier national high school basketball events, Section 7.
The fifth annual edition of the tournament was in a new location as Arizona Athletic Grounds in Mesa took center stage for the scholastic event that drew thousands of coaches, players, and fans for the event.
Some of the top college programs in attendance included powerhouses such as North Carolina, Arizona, Gonzaga, Houston, and more.
With 160 teams competing across 10 brackets, plenty of players and teams alike stood out on day one to set themselves up for the winner/bracket on Saturday.
The Five Star Duo
Cameron Holmes entering his senior season, was going to be called upon to lead the way for the Millennium Tigers as his running mate for the past three seasons, Kingston Tosi had graduated and was heading off to Utah State.
Then prior to the Summer, multiple transfers had made their way to Goodyear such as Gabe Coronado from Catalina Foothills and DJ Spencer from Desert Vista.
But none bigger than five star sophomore to be Adan Diggs
Holmes and Diggs looked like one of the best duos not just in the state but the entire country on Friday as they helped lead the Tigers to a 73-44 victory over Pasadena (CA) who was led by 4 star center Josh Irving.
Arizona’s Best
In the top two brackets of the event, Arizona went 5-1 against out of state competition as Millennium, St Mary’s, Sunnyslope, Basha, and Brophy all rolled through opposing teams with an average margin of victory of 17.8 points.
This sets up a huge potential showdown in both brackets as Sunnyslope should be favored to get past Bishop Gorman (NV) in their first game of the day to send them to a semifinal versus either The Villages (FL) or Mater Dei (CA).
On the other side of the bracket, Basha opens up the day versus Harvard-Westlake with either Timpview (UT) or Salesian (CA) waiting in the semifinal.
If both teams can get past tough competition it would lead to an all-Arizona final in the top overall bracket.
In the second bracket, the eight seed St Mary’s rolled to the quarterfinals alongside the second seed Millennium and the sixth seed Brophy.
Millennium is considered by many to be the favorite to win the bracket and should they get past Inderkum (CA), a semifinal matchup could be a region showdown between the Tigers and the Broncos. Brophy will face off against Redondo Union who’ll be a tough matchup, however if the Broncos can get the win it would all but guarantee an Arizona team to make the title game.
In the top half of the bracket, St Mary’s will test itself against top seeded St. John Bosco in a holy war, what is key for the Knights is that Bosco is without multiple key pieces making the matchup that more winnable.
A victory would set up a semifinal battle versus Archbishop Riordan (CA) or Owyhee (ID), two teams the Knights matchup well with.
The New Kings Of Gilbert?
Last year, the darlings of the Summer and of Section 7, was Williams Field led by a flurry of transfers and incoming 2028 stars. Superstars such as Chris Paul made their way over to observe the Blackhawks battle it out.
This year, the superstars were out in full force to watch Higley. JR Rider formerly of the Lakers was out to watch his son and incoming freshman Isaiah Rider IV and another incoming stud Marquise Pless battle it out versus Sierra Canyon.
For a game tucked away in the back corner of court 16, no game during the 6:45 window pulled in as many coaches and fans alike quite like the Knights battle versus the California power.
The main standout of the showdown though was the new Knight himself Andre Tyler who just transferred to Higley from Chicago, Illinois powerhouse Simeon high school.
Tyler, who drew the attention of many college coaches finished the game with 27 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, and knocked down 5 threes.
That also included a dunk that brought the house down.
His all-around performance kept the Knights close in a game they did not have their starting center Michael McIntyre due to an ankle injury.
Player of the day: Cameron Holmes, Millennium
Player of the day goes to Cameron Holmes who fresh off his surprising cut from the Team USA U-18 team, showed up and showed out for the Millennium Tigers on Friday.
As court three was filled to the brim with college coaches such as USC’s Eric Musselman and UCLA’s Mick Cronin, the belle of the ball, Holmes showed why he’s one of the top prospects in the country.
Finishing just shy of a triple double, Holmes held his own versus a 4 star center who had a six inch height advantage over him as he pulled in 15 rebounds, had 5 steals, and 3 blocks.
On the offensive end, Holmes did everything as he scored 20 points showcasing his finishing ability, his smooth shot from deep, and his playmaking ability as he had 8 assists.
When he’s on, there’s no one better to watch showcase in the state, and on Friday, Holmes was on.
Games Watched
Sunnyslope vs Olympus (UT)
Canyon View vs Westward (CA)
St Mary’s vs Zephyhills Christian (FL)
Millennium vs Pasadena (CA)
Willow Canyon vs Jserra Catholic (CA)
Higley vs Sierra Canyon (CA)
Deer Valley vs Lincoln (CA)
Saguaro vs Vanden (CA)
