Section 7 basketball adding prep academies division for first time in June
Section 7, the largest June basketball showcase in the country for NCAA coaches to recruit, is expanding with a six-team, non-NFHS (National Federation of high schools) division.
Chandler's AZ Compass Prep, Glendale's Dream City and Scottsdale's Bella Vista, who do not play in the Arizona Interscholastic Association, will be the three Arizona prep academies participating, along with Georgetown Prep out of Washington, D.C., Real Salt Lake Academy of Utah and Veritas Prep from Los Angeles.
AZ Compass Prep reached the GEICO national championship game last season.
AZ Compass, Bella Vista and Dream City all have other teams that play in the Canyon Athletic Association.
"This was something we got feedback from the NCAA, and from college coaches about legitimate schools, not random basketball places," said Matt King, director of Section 7. "Why don't they have the opportunity to play, as well?"
King said he wanted all of the prep academy teams to be "brick and mortar" schools. AZ Compass, Dream City and Bella Vista fit that criteria.
He said this is the pilot year for prep academies with a chance to expand in the future.
"The most important part of that was to make sure those teams pass the test scholastically," King said. "This is a scholastic event. It's not an AAU event. We felt comfortable in Year 1 keeping it small. And we felt comfortable keeping to the schools that have brick and mortar."
Expanding the fields
King is excited about the other expansions to Section 7.
The girls' field will be the biggest it ever has been with their own weekend, June 15-17, a live event for college coaches to recruit. There will be 128 girls teams from all over the West competing.
Before this year, the most Section 7 had on the girls' side was 16 teams. Now it is almost as big as the boys' side for the weekend games.
Because so many boys teams in Arizona have felt left out, Section 7 will now have a 96-team qualifier to get to the weekend. In the past, Section 7 prioritized schools that had Division I talent.
The 96 Arizona teams trying to qualify for the big weekend will be placed in eight brackets with 12 teams each. Twelve teams would advance to the weekend to play out-of-state competition. That qualifer, from June 21-22, is open to Division II, III and NAIA coaches.
The big weekend for the boys event, June 23-25, is open to all NCAA Division I college coaches.
"You have a pathway to play your way in and to prove that," King said about the qualifier. "It's pretty simple. You win three games, you're in for the weekend."
Arizona teams that will bypass the qualifier include Gilbert Perry, American Leadership Gilbert North, Chandler Basha, Anthem Boulder Creek, Phoenix Brophy Prep, Glendale Cactus, Waddell Canyon View, Scottsdale Desert Mountain, Gilbert Highland, Glendale Ironwood, Peoria Liberty, Goodyear Millennium, Scottsdale Notre Dame, Peoria, Phoenix Pinnacle, Phoenix St. Mary's, Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor, Scottsdale Christian, Phoenix Sunnyslope and Chandler Valley Christian.
Perry is led by 6-foot-8 2025 Koa Peat, the Arizona high school basketball Player of the Year last season, one of the top five college prospects in the nation in his class. St. Mary's is led by 2024 point guard Styles Phipps, who will be highly coveted at Section 7. Desert Mountain features the House twins, 2026 guards Kaden and Kalek, who are high-major prospects.
Cactus is led by 7-foot 2024 center/forward Bradey Henige, who put up otherwordly numbers his junior season. Millennium has one of the top 2026 prospects in 6-6 wing Cameron Holmes. And Scottsdale Christian is led by 6-7 forward Elijah Williams, whose father Monty was let go by the Suns after the team's Western Conference semifinals exit.
Helping under-represented areas
King said it is important to give schools in under-represented areas a chance to play in Section 7.
"Now parents, when they're thinking about which high school they want to send their kids to, they're asking, 'Are you in Section 7?' " King said. "We wanted to make sure a Maryvale or Alhambra had the opportunity to play their way in. And a big part of that is the ability for schools like that to keep their kids, and go to their parents and say, 'We have a chance, too.' "
More than 500 college coaches are expected to come out to the girls' and boys' weeks of Section 7, which is being played at the site of next college basketball season's Final Four.
King said Section 7 has become the No. 1 high school basketball recruiting event in the country.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Section 7 basketball adding prep academies division for first time
