Southwest Basketball Camp: Exciting Finish!

The Seventh Annual Southwest Basketball Camp took place on Aug 19-20 and it might have been the camp’s most balanced level of talent in the event’s history. The Top 20 All-Star Game was ultra competitive and came down to an incredible buzzer-beating shot. We recap the top game and top camp performers.

RELATED: Southwest Camp Top 30 Player Rankings

It was only fitting the Top 20 All-Star Game reserved for the camp’s best performers came down to overtime to decide, because the talent level at the 2024 Southwest Basketball Camp was arguably the most balanced in the camp’s seven-year history. According to camp director Gregg Rosenberg, the Top 20 All-Star game was the best played game ever in the camp’s history in terms of talent level and intensity. The Top 20 game quickly displayed who the camp’s elite talent was, and a group of roughly 15 players out of the approximately 115 showed themselves as true D1 prospects in a time when it’s clearly not easy for a high school player to earn a D1 college scholarship.

According to Rosenberg, the camp was created to showcase players from Arizona who normally don't get an opportunity to be invited to elite summer camps; it was designed for the region’s players to be seen in front of lower level coaches who are looking for quality players for their programs. Players that are serious enough and good enough to play after high school. "Many players will be going to a junior college or to NAIA schools, and it’s important to get them seen in front of college coaches that are able to attend,” Rosenberg said.

After each camper participated in five, running-clock games, 60 were chosen to one of the camp’s three all-star games. A couple of campers who were not necessarily D1 prospects were rewarded for their outstanding play with a Top 20 selection, but once the ball was tipped, it was evident the camp’s elite prospects had separated themselves from the pack. It resulted in a well played game with defense on both sides. The on-ball defense in the closing minutes was good and the game went into overtime. That's when Deshawn Gory, a post-graduate 6-foot-7 wing from Phhoenix Prep in Phoenix, hit a deep 3-pointer in the closing seconds to seal the win for his team, 76-73. Gory finished as one of three players on the winning team to score in double-digits, scoring 15 points.

He was joined in the double-digit scoring column by Adam Hubbard, a 6-foot-4 2025 from AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) with 17 points and by leading scorer Mason Magee, a 6-foot 2026 guard from Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) with 23 points. Hubbard set the tone for the game by nailing five 3-pointers in the early going, and from that point on, both teams ratcheted up the intensity. Magee is one of the nation’s best point guard prospects in the 2026 class and is sorting offers from Arizona State, Washington State and UNLV with other high majors taking serious looks.

The leading scorer from the losing team with 27 points was Jaylon Dean-Vines, a 6-foot-3 2025 shooting guard who plays for a talented Phhoenix Prep team, including a group of players who will play on the Overtime Elite (OTE) circuit. Dean-Vines is one of the most athletic players in the 2025 national class and at this camp his outside shot was on point. He was excellent in both the half court and in transition. He currently holds offers from Oklahoma, Tulsa, UT-Arlington and Vanderbilt. Elijah Hayeems, a 6-foot-6 2025 forward, and Dean-Vines’ Phhoenix Prep teammate, also netted double figures for the losing club with 13 points.

Magee and Dean-Vines were not only the Top 20 game’s leading scorers, they were deservingly named co-MVPs of the entire camp.

Gerron Graham Jr., a 6-foot-2 2026 guard from Premier Prep (Gilbert, Ariz.) was named the MVP of the Top 40 all-star game.

RELATED: Southwest Camp Top 30 Player Rankings

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

							

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