Below are the Prep2Prep All-Area Selections for boys basketball. Players were selected based on position as well as individual and team success.
FIRST TEAM
Chuy Ortiz, G, Kofa
Ortiz’s 17.5 points per game was one of the area’s best scoring outputs. The junior point guard scored 20-plus points in six of his 22 games, including a career-best 32 points against Lake Havasu in the Rotary Classic. He also added nine games of five or more assists. But Ortiz, who is known for being one of the fastest players in the area from end-to-end, was defined as much by as quick-strike prowess, notching high-scoring quarters against each of the in-town teams the Kings faced.
Jaylen Barnes, G, Yuma Catholic
The running back turned point guard played both football and basketball with a similar spirit. Barnes was the team's top scorer and assister. It's no coincidence that in an up-and-down season for the Shamrocks, the best stretch they played matched the senior's best stretch. He scored 15 points or more in five games of an eight-game winning streak, and nearly notched a quadruple-double in a win over Palo Verde Valley. Injuries best Barnes in both football and basketball his final season at Yuma Catholic, but his impact on both programs will likely last well beyond his time there.
Johnny Kay, F, Gila Ridge
In a town that was flush with point guards and devoid of big men, Gila Ridge was fortunate enough to have both. The bouncy 6-foot-3 Kay averaged 10.3 points and 7.0 boards. He set the tone for his best season with 15 points in the opener against Metro Tech and finished with 19 games of 10-plus points. He also helped Gila Ridge go 16-12.
Gabriel Ponce, F, San Luis
Ponce made, perhaps, the biggest leap of anyone in the area from junior to senior season. He averaged a team-high 18.5 points per game and 8.3. boards and was among the team's leaders in assists and steals as well. He was able to handle the ball, score from all areas of the floor and used shear strength and athleticism to consistently remain one of the best players on the floor each night. San Luis had the most successful season in school history, in part, because of seven seniors in its rotation. However, you could argue that success was mostly due to Ponce and is improvement.
Daniel Callender, F, Yuma Catholic
The biggest guy on either the first or second team had as big of an impact as anyone. The 6-foot-6 senior averaged 3.8 blocks per game, but there is no statistic to account for how many shots he altered as the centerfielder of Yuma Catholic's 2-2-1 press. He was the perfect compliment to fellow first-teamer Jaylen Barnes, giving the Shamrocks an reliable inside presence for Barnes to play off of. Callender finished with 11.2 points per game and 10.4 rebounds, finishing as the only player in the area to average a double-double.
SECOND TEAM
Anthony Rodriguez, G, Gila Ridge
It is hard to gauge the kind of year Rodriguez had in 2016-17. On one hand, he was at least as good as he was in the waning moments of his junior year when he closed with double figures in four-straight games. But on the other hand he didn't take the step to dominance that sometimes happens in a player's senior season. Either way, the three-year starter averaged 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.0 steals to finish his career.
Ryan Curtis-Sanchez, G, Cibola
Curtis-Sanchez became a first-year starter and while he was not the most impactful statistically, he became the pseudo heart-and-soul of the Raiders after Michael Gazda was lost for the season. The scrappy junior guard was defensive menace and led the team in assists in the two months Cibola played without Gazda.
Mario Castro, G, Antelope
Antelope (12-13) played an uptempo pace that netted 62.5 points per game and the senior point guard was a big part of that. He was a menace in the three-quarter court defense and pushed the ball up the floor off of steals and rebounds alike. He finished the year averaging 14.9 points per game with 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals.
Damian Miller, F, Yuma
The junior forward led the Criminals in points per game and rebounds and finished second in assists and steals. During a year when little went right for Yuma, Miller’s energy rarely waned, collecting a double-double in the season finale against Youngker with a similar wrecking ball style of play that he showed in the season opener against Kofa.
Jordan Rojano, F, Kofa
Prior to the season, Kofa head coach Jeff Frazine said his senior leaders would come from the front court, and it held true. Rojano, who averaged 7.3 points per game and was second on the Kings with 5.9 boards per game, provided inside toughness for a group who relied on perimeter scoring.
HONORABLE MENTION
Michael Gazda, G, Cibola
Despite playing in just eight games before tearing his left ACL, Gazda was arguably one of the better point guards in the state. His absence from Cibola's relatively inexperienced lineup should be enough to warrant consideration for postseason honors simply because the Raiders were unable to maintain anywhere near their level of execution on either end of the floor without him. They finished under .500 and missed the postseason for the first time since 2008-09.
