LAS VEGAS – Two final games were crammed on to the Desert Oasis High School gym floor late Thursday night, and there were no real seats set up on the side where Josh Green and Nico Mannion were playing for the Earl Watson Elite U16 club.
That is, until the other game finished up at 10:15. Then the coaches in attendance sprung out of the corners of the gym and pulled up seats to watch the Earl Watson Elite club from the side of the floor where the other game had taken place.
Among those coaches were all four members of the Arizona staff: Sean Miller, Lorenzo Romar, Mark Phelps and Book Richardson.
Mannion and Green both noticed. It isn't often the UA coaches show up together at one game when there are hundreds of four- and five-star talents to watch all over town.
“I really appreciate the coaching staff coming out,” Green said. “I’m really grateful for that.”
Said Mannion: “It’s a good feeling knowing that you’re wanted.”
While Green is an emerging shooting guard talent in the class of 2019, playing alongside DeAndre Ayton last season at Hillcrest Prep, Mannion is already well-versed in the spotlight even as a class of 2020 prospect.
Already he received an offer from UA last season while also being the feature subject of a long Sports Illustrated story about how a college-bound star balances being a teenager.
“I’ve kind of grown into it,” Mannion said of the attention. “When it first stated, it was kind of shocking. Now I’m just getting used to it, and I’m more comfortable with it. It’s not as nerve wracking. But it’s still really important to me.”
The Powerhouse U16 just might have the best collection of Tucson players yet on a summer travel club, including Majok Deng and Evan Nelson of Salpointe, Jackson Ruai of Amphi and Lucas Elliott (Sean’s nephew) of Pusch Ridge.
They looked that way during a 59-27 dismantling of BBC 16 Elite of California on Thursday.
“Especially coming out of Tucson, people don’t expect you to do what we can do,” Deng said. “So we try to come out and represent Tucson.”
Jimmie Nelson, coach of the Powerhouse U16 club, said the team has seven players all receiving significant Division I interest, while Deng is an established UA recruiting target.
ICYMI, earlier we had a seen-and-heard notebook off the three Las Vegas events, and a feature on New Jersey guard Jahvon Quinerly, one of UA's top remaining 2018 targets.
