Under the Radar: Arizona 6A Premier Region

With the 2021-2022 high school basketball season closing in, let’s take a little bit of time to look back on the last season and some of the elite players that may have fallen a little Under the Radar in the state of Arizona Class AAAAAA Premier region. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="205639" first="Sarah" last="Nakamura Miller"] - Sophomore - 5’11" - Xavier College Prep </strong> I saw Sarah perform a few months ago at the Prep Girls Hoops Top 250 Expo in Gilbert, Arizona and I couldn’t believe that she was an incoming sophomore. She has the ability to score at all three levels and the confidence of a veteran player. During the 2020-2021 basketball season, Nakamura-Miller averaged 13.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game and, 1.9 steals per game as a freshman for the Lady Gators. She had a standout game early in the season against Chandler and finished off with 26 points, 8 rebounds (five of them came from the offensive end of the floor), 3 assists, and 4 steals. In her first year playing at the high school varsity level, she scored 230 points and was a leader for her team. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="263394" first="Ella" last="Murakami"] - Sophomore - Basha High School </strong> Another standout freshman in the Arizona 6A Premier region is [player_tooltip player_id="263394" first="Ella" last="Murakami"] for the Basha Lady Bears. Last season, Ella averaged 12.7 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game and, 2.4 steals per game in just her first year playing at the varsity high school level. Although the team as a whole may have struggled some throughout the year, Murakami still played with the confidence of a four-year veteran. She finished off the season with two double-double performances against Mountain View (13 points, 10 rebounds, 7 steals) and Liberty (14 points, 10 rebounds, 6 steals). With a few more years at this level under her belt, she will be more than prepared for the next level. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="205638" first="Dominique" last="Nesland"] - Sophomore - 5’10" - Xavier College Prep </strong> [player_tooltip player_id="205638" first="Dominique" last="Nesland"] is a five-foot-ten combo guard that just finished off her first season with the Xavier College Prep Lady Gators averaging 9.2 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. She also averaged 3.1 assists per game and used her quick hands to pick up 2.7 steals per game as a freshman. The Lady Gators finished the season off with an overall winning record of 13-4 for the 2020-2021 basketball season with a lot of big minutes from the rookie. Nesland had 156 points total for the season and was awarded the MaxPreps Player of the Game award for her outstanding performance against Tucson Magnet where she had 20 points (3 three-pointer’s for 75%), 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 11 steals. Expect big things from Dominique over the next few years to come. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="65611" first="Mia" last="Davis"] - Junior - 6’1" - Xavier College Prep </strong> The Xavier College Prep Lady Gators were jam-packed full of some of the top underclassman in the state last year and incoming six-foot-one junior, [player_tooltip player_id="65611" first="Mia" last="Davis"] was one of them. As a sophomore last year, Davis averaged 11.6 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game and, 2.8 steals per game. She was selected as the MaxPreps Player of the Game for her top-tier performance against Chandler High School late in January. During the game, the guard scored 29 points, brought down 4 rebounds, and had a steal to pull out a 90-27 W. Mia can get the job done at all three levels and will play hard every single minute. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="138093" first="Autumn" last="Rodriguez"] - Junior - 5’7" - Chandler High School</strong> Rodriguez is a five-foot-seven shooting guard for the Chandler Lady Wolves starting her junior season off in the upcoming weeks. Throughout the 2020-2021 high school basketball season, Autumn averaged 10.3 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game finishing off the season with 113 points scored total. She contributed in all 11 games played last season with her ability to get to the rim and knock down the three-ball. Even though it was a tough year for the Lady Wolves, Rodriguez fought hard each game and had a high scoring performance of 18 points against Hamilton early in the season. I am looking forward to seeing how Autumn will grow over the next couple of years with Chandler High School.