Published Mar 16, 2017
The ArizonaVarsity Fantasy Basketball Draft- You Pick the Winner
circle avatar
Ralph Amsden  •  ArizonaVarsity
Publisher
Twitter
@ralphamsden

ArizonaVarsity.com publisher Ralph Amsden invited lead basketball analyst Gregg Rosenberg, The Chuck Constantino Show host and staff writer Chuck Constantino, and Chilly of the C-Town Rivals Podcast to draft a team of 13 Arizona high school*** basketball players to see which team the readers thought would have the best chance of beating the rest. The draft results and rosters are below, and the guys answered some questions about why they selected the players that they did, and who they think would be their biggest threat in a head-to-head matchup.

MAKE SURE TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE TEAM ON TWITTER! Voting will stay open for a week.

***eligible players had to play for an Arizona public, private or charter school during the 2016-2017 season. For the purpose of fairness, year-round clubs and basketball academies were excluded.

info icon
Embed content not availableManage privacy settings
Advertisement
ArizonaVarsity Fantasy Basketball Draft Results
RoundTeam ChillyTeam ChuckTeam RalphTeam Gregg

1

Holland Woods

Saben Lee

Alex Barcello

Marcus Shaver

2

Gabe McGlothan

Tevian Jones

Nigel Shadd

Nico Mannion

3

Jaelen House

Timmy Allen

Nikc Jackson

KJ Hymes

4

Terrell Brown

Walter Talley

Caleb Simmons

Majok Deng

5

Lucas Elliot

Andre Harris

Jovan Blacksher

Wesley Harris

6

Bryce Davis

Donald Carter

Jason Harris

Jared Martin

7

Bryce Fowler

Dre Marin

Colton Kresl

D'Maurian Williams

8

Mason Stark

Trent Brown

Chris Orozco

Christian Anigwe

9

Darion Spottsville

Sam Beskind

Trey Wood

Jaxson Baker

10

Spencer Rattler

Michael Rogers

Steele Bennett

Jared Rodriguez

11

Daniel Callendar

Donovan Hanna

BJ Burries

Rashad Smith

12

Carson Pinter

Benjamin Kelty

Cole Roether

Kyle Fischer

13

Dalen Terry

Daxton Wirth

Jake Lieppert

Evan Nelson

What was your strategy going into the draft? What do you like most about your team? What would you say are your team's strengths and weaknesses, if any?

Chilly: I wanted my team to be Fast. Strong. Athletic. Tough. And my roster is filled with that. I wanted the best of the best. Three Arizona Varsity Players of the Year prove I got that. House demoralizes every opponent put in front of him, Woods has the best handles maybe west of the Mississipi, and McGlothan plays the best against the best. My team doesn't have any weaknesses.

Chuck: My strategy going into the draft was to try to grab the best value and figure out positions later. I knew I wanted my team to resemble a somewhat real team with players in defined roles. It was tough with the draft taking place over multiple days, so I may have strayed from my strategy at times. My team's strengths are defense, we have players who make their teammates better, guys who can score in bunches and athleticism. My team's biggest weakness is the overall lack of size.

Ralph: I wanted a starting 5 that could out-rebound and out-defend the competition, and I wanted a bench with size and scoring. I feel like I accomplished both of those, while also building around the extremely talented Alex Barcello as my first pick. If my team has a weakness it might be a lack of a wing shooter on the bench. My bench is all height and scoring guards.

Gregg: My goal was to form the most talented balanced team. What I like most about my team is my depth. I feel I have the best depth of all 4 teams. Strength is my balance of my overall team. My top pick all the way down the my last pick are all D1 players. No one else can say that. Weakness would be vs a huge team like Ralph's.

Which of the other teams do you see giving your team the biggest challenge? Who do you think your team would have the easiest time beating, and why? What do you see as the strengths of each of the other teams?

Chilly: Gregg is the best in the biz. He knows every player inside and out. He could probably tell you what they eat for breakfast and what their curfews are. His team is very well put together, however his challenge wouldn't last long- I think my team gets him in the end. I think that my team would and could run through Chuck's squad pretty easily. I do like that he has a lot of PGs on his squad IF hes leading a close game that might pay off in the final seconds. Ralph's team is OK, he has my favorite player (Barcello), and I like Shadd and Jackson. Barcello alone is enough to cause concern in any matchup.

Chuck: Although Gregg's team may be the most talented, I think Ralph's team would present mine with the biggest challenge because of his team's size. I think the team we'd be able to beat easily is Chilly's because ultimately, I think my team has more players who can fill it up. I think the the strengths of Chilly's squad are ball pressure, defensive intensity, leadership and athleticism. Ralph's team has some serious length and height to to go with some scorers. Gregg's team could roll the ball out and figure it out. His team has a very high collective basketball IQ, and is probably the most polished group.

Ralph: Every one of these teams is scary. Chilly stocked up on football players, and if there's one thing I've observed about football players on the basketball court, it's that they pay no mind to being intimidated by height or physicality. Chuck's first three picks are the Arizona high school equivalent of Golden State's 2016 big three. Gregg's team is the one I think I'd have the clearest advantage over, which is odd because it's clearly the best and most balanced team of all of us. Many of his players, especially his starting five, are the type of players that usually go off, but can go cold from time to time. If I catch him when Deng, Hymes and Shaver and Mannion aren't on the same page, with my team's height, I think that's a win.

Gregg: Ralph's size would be a challenge. Easiest would be Chilly's--he doesn't have a lot of size. Chilly's strength is they can play fast with House, Woods, Gabe and Terrell, with shooters Pinter, Stark and Fowler. Chuck's strength is the start of his team. Lee, Jones and Allen is the top trio. Ralph's strength is his incredible size to go along with two elite guards- Barcello and Blacksher.

Which player(s) did you have targeted that one of the other teams stole from you before you could draft them?

Chilly: Jason Harris, and KJ Hymes. I thought I'd be able to get them with the next picks.

Chuck: Some of the players I targeted that were selected before I could snag them were Chris Orozco, Jake Lieppert, D'Maurian Williams and Rashad Smith to name a few.

Ralph: Gabe McGlothan and Donovan Hanna. I may have cussed when Hanna went off the board. I was trying to monopolize big men.

Gregg: Shot blocker Trey Wood--Ralph got me there.

Which player do you think was the biggest steal (drafted 10th round or later), for your team and anyone else's?

Chilly: Man I loved Chuck's pick of Donovan Hanna, and Ralph made a very nice pick up of Steele Bennett.

Chuck: I think Donovan Hanna was the biggest steal on my squad. Overall, I thought Chilly's Dalen Terry in the 13th round, Ralph's pick of Jake Lieppert in the final round and Gregg's choice of Rashad Smith in the 11th round.

Ralph: It's hard for me to get Kyle Fischer's state championship performance out of my head, so I love that late pickup for Gregg. On my team, I've learned a lot about Cole Roether lately, and while I didn't get to see him play in person, I think he was a valuable addition to my team.

Gregg: My last pick. Evan Nelson--1 of the top players in all of Tucson was "Mr Irrelevant." Not too shabby.

Is there anyone who didn't get drafted that you'd like to see on your team if you had 1-2 more picks?

Chilly: I got almost all the players that I wanted. If I had another pick, maybe Grant Greabell- I think he's a special player. Or maybe Sarah Barcello. She's a pure winner.

Chuck: If I had the chance to grab a few more players, I would have selected Evan Nelson before Gregg, or Trevor Thompson.

Ralph: I was thinking of grabbing Max Moses and was surprised no one else did.

Gregg: Easily Noah Baumann, but I also liked Saikou Gueye, Josh Baker and big Sean Dunn if you needed size.