ARS National Hoopfest primer: DFW takes on national talent

The ARS National Hoopfest will bring a whole slew of national talent to Waxahachie high school, with the best of Dallas/Fort Worth ready to show them how they handle business. This article serves as a preview to get you ready for the games, and offers an insight into teams and players to keep an eye on.

Two of the best unsigned 2019 backcourt prospect in the state will both be lining up against nationally recognized programs on Friday, with Jarius Hicklen’s Desoto taking on IMG Academy and JT Warren and his Waxahachie group facing off with Huntington Prep.

Hicklen has been a scoring livewire so far this season, while teammate Claven Wilson has also attracted plenty of college suitors over the past several months. 2021 Forward prospect Duncan Powell has shaken off an early ankle injury and will be looking to make his mark against an IMG group chock full of talent from all around the country.

Waxahachie on the other hand will have to lean on the toughness of Warren and scoring ability of teammates CJ Noland and BJ Francis to handle Huntington Prep and ex-Texan Quinn Slazinski. The Indians may have lost some firepower from last year’s team, but the same hard nosed defensive system is in place that makes them so hard to beat.

As I already mentioned, this weekend marks the return of Louisville signee Quinn Slazinski to the Lone Star state, but he is not the only Texas returnee. Grant Sherfield, Jordyn Turner, and Bryce Cook will all be back in state with Sunrise Christian, who will matchup with the SEC-bound tandem of Tyrese Maxey and Chris Harris when they take on South Garland.

Sunrise has been down in Texas a few times in the last month or so, and each time has impressed with Sherfield running the show next to high major prospects Austin Crowley and the 7-foot N'Faly Dante. It will be interesting to see how South Garland handles that size inside, but we've seen Maxey and Harris get into the zone offensively to win shootouts over stacked teams in the past.

Denton Guyer had a tough time against the depth of Sunrise Christian during the Thanksgiving Hoopfest, and will be looking to rebound with a win over the storied and prestigious program that is Dematha, ranked No.9 in Maxpreps' latest Xcellent 25 rankings. De'Vion Harmon has been gunning for that 5th star so far this year with some excellent point guard play, and Jalen Wilson looks ready to step into Michigan colors as the kind of scoring wing with length that John Beilein has been so successful with at UM.

Besides those two, it will be interesting to see how Jakobe Coles faces off with the size Dematha brings, with the 2020 forward's buzz turning into an offer from Grand Canyon just last week to go with a few more local offers. If Coles has a big day for the Wildcats, it could surely propel them to a win, and get even more national interest in one of the most skilled interior players we've seen over the past few years.