GLENDALE β While college basketball decided to pretty much barge right through COVID-19 last season, the approach of high school federations varied wildly across the country.
Some played normal regular basketball seasons. Some delayed them. Some canceled playoffs.
And two, Nevada and Hawaii, canceled the entire thing.
Milos Uzan and his father, Mike, saw it coming.
The head coach at Las Vegas Desert Pines, Mike Uzan wasnβt allowed to start his teamβs season in November. He suspected his son, a 6-foot-4 class of 2022 point guard who has landed firmly on UAβs recruiting radar, could be idled for a while.
βThe name of the game was keep playing,β Mike Uzan said. βCanβt get better sitting at home.β
At first, Nevada proposed a six-week season in January and February and then, once February rolled around, canceled it all.
By then, Milos was long gone. He was headed to Northern Californiaβs Prolific Prep, computer in hand, after that first delay in November.
βWhen they canceled, Prolific gave me a call, and I came,β Milos Uzan said.
Except he never actually left Desert Pines. Prolific is a club-style program that doesnβt actually have its own classes, with players attending at local schools, so Uzan simply kept attending classes at Desert Pines virtually.
He wasnβt a transfer, just a COVID-19 basketball refugee.
βMy schedule was pretty flexible and I had good classes,β Uzan said. βMy teachers understood too because I told them about it, and practices were at nighttime anyway.β
Basketball-wise, it turned out to be something of a no-brainer. Instead of playing zero games for Desert Pines, Uzan logged 10 games in the prep βGrind Sessionβ circuit, averaging 9.4 points and 3.6 assists while shooting 47.6% from 3-point range for Prolific.
βTheyβve got lot of good players (at Prolific) and the games were against great competition,β Uzan said. βSo it was a really good experience for me to see where Iβm at against other high-level players.β
His father was not surprised, having seen Milos grow as a player in a family that has already produced two college players, including former USC guard Julian Jacobs.
βHeβs the youngest of the three (sons) and βLos has always been good,β Mike Uzan said. βHeβs always been ahead of the curve. There was no doubt in our minds that he would be able to do what he did. I mean, we knew he just needed to be on that stage and he did a terrific job.β
Uzanβs season kept him firmly on the high-major college radar as a four-star prospect, too. Mike Uzan said heβs drawn a scholarship offer from UCLA while ASU, Cal and Arizona are among other schools showing significant interest. Milos said heβs heard from UA associate head coach Jack Murphy, and that assistant Jason Terry has FaceTimed him.
During Uzanβs fourth Section 7 game on Sunday morning, UA coach Tommy Lloyd and all his of three assistants all sat along one baseline, while Cal coach Mark Fox and Utah staffers sat down on other ends of the court.
Reminded afterward who all those spectators were, Uzan smiled.
βI feel like I play hard every time I play, but seeing all those coaches, that is exciting to see for sure,β Uzan said.
Heβll begin repaying the interest later this summer. Desert Pines is expected back in the Phoenix area for the Section 7 finals next weekend, then Uzan said he plans to visit Creighton unofficially afterward. Uzan said he is also planning to visit Utah in September and Cal after its facility improvements are completed early this fall.
Uzan could have also been in the middle of another recruiting battle for next season, too, but Prolific Prep wasnβt going to win that one.
Mike Uzan is still coaching Desert Pines, after all, and the Jaguars are planning to have their own season this time in 2021-22.
βI think Prolific knew I was gonna go back with my dad,β Milos said. βI want to come back to play for my dad my last year.β
