For UA target Brady Dunlap and his Harvard-Westlake teammates, the offseason was basically one night of really bad sleep.
On June 17, Harvard-Westlake ended its long-delayed 2020-21 season by losing 65-56 to St. John Bosco in the semifinals of the CIF Southern California regionals.
Less than 24 hours later, Harvard-Westlakeโs 2021-22 team was matched with Phoenix St. Maryโs in the first day of last weekendโs Section 7 team camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Dunlap and the Wolverines transitioned during the drive over from Los Angeles the morning of that game. That about all the time they had.
โIt was hard to wake up and feel disappointed from the loss, but you still had to get yourself ready to go because youโre finally going to play in front of coaches,โ Dunlap said. โIt was an adjustment for sure.โ
Nearly every Western-based Division I head coach was in attendance at some point last weekend, and UA coach Tommy Lloyd is among those also expected to show up for the Section 7 finals this weekend at Phoenix Brophy Prep.
โItโs great to be out,โ Lloyd said in Glendale last weekend. โItโs great to see kids playing. Itโs great to see a bunch of your coaching friends and itโs great to be out representing Arizona. Itโs a lot of fun.โ
As it turned out, it was also fun for Dunlap and his teammates. A 6-7 wing forward from the class of 2023, Dunlap said he had to transition from mostly being a shooter to handling other responsibilities literally overnight since the Wolverines lost two starters off the 2020-21 team that finished up on June 17.
Most of his teammates had to adjust, too. Yet the Wolverines went 3-1 in the Section 7 team camp, beating St. Maryโs, Peoria Centennial and Seattle Prep while losing to Campolindo of Moraga, California.
โWe lost a tough playoff game,โ in the CIF, Dunlap said. โEveryone had a certain role in the playoff game and then we came here and we have a different role. My coaches wanted me to do more in this setting and it was an adjustment. Everything was adjustment and Iโm just proud of our guys that we got through it.โ
More UA targets in Section 7 finals
Harvard-Westlake is among the teams returning for the โSection 7 finalsโ this weekend, along with some invited teams, plus powers such as St. John Bosco who were still playing state tournaments last weekend and bracket winners from the Section 7 team camp.
Many of the UA targets on hand are expected to return for a second weekend, while others such as 2022 guards Joseph Hunter of Fresnoโs San Joaquin Memorial, Miles Byrd of Stocktonโs Port City, and 2022 forward Jaxon Kohler of American Fork in Utah will be appearing for the first time in Section 7.
The UA staff is also expected to drop in on other events to be held around the nation this weekend, the last weekend for open evaluation of high school teams before the club-ball events fill up the July evaluation periods.
Tangara says Ballo โcan punish guysโ
Once he heard fellow Mali native Oumar Ballo was transferring from Gonzaga earlier this spring, Mohamed Tangara texted him to ask what was up. But he wanted to keep his bias out of it.
Tangara is a former UA player, after all.
โI was trying to guide him,โ Tangara said. โBut he had Arizona on his list so I didnโt want to say anything. Whatever decision he made, Iโd be happy with that.โ
As it turned out, Ballo chose Arizona so he could play for Lloyd again, making him the Wildcatsโ first player from Mali since Tangara played for them late in the Lute Olson era.
Oumar Ballo โcan move,โ former Arizona Wildcat Mohamed Tangara says.
Now an assistant coach for Scottsdale Chaparral, which competed in the Section 7 team camp, Tangara said Lloyd and the Wildcats will be getting a physical presence who is more mobile than his 7-foot, 260-pound frame might suggest.
โHe can move,โ Tangara said. โI think heโs more like a defense guy, where when a coach wants to slow the game down, he can throw the ball into him and let him punish guys. Heโs very physical and strong.โ
Their bond is Tru
Arizona may have missed out on guard TyTy Washington this spring, but the Wildcats might just have a shot at his uncle.
Itโs Tru.
Roosevelt โTruโ Washington is a brother of Tyrone โTeeโ Washington, who is the father of Kentucky-bound TyTy.
Tyty and Tru have a close relationship, however it is defined. Tru said the two work out often together and TyTy has dished advice on what is ahead for his uncle.
He says โjust stay focused,โ Tru said.
While TyTy starred for Laveen Cesar Chavez and then moved to AZ Compass Prep before committing to Kentucky last month, Tru Washington is 6-foot-4 guard in the class of 2023 playing for Mountain Pointe. He said last weekend heโs received scholarship offers already from ASU, LSU, Georgia, Portland, UCSanta Barbara, Pepperdine and TCU.
