Getty The Shadow Mountain High School (Arizona) Matadors will play the Simeon Career Academy (Illinois) Wolverines on Saturday.
The Shadow Mountain High School (Arizona) Matadors will go up against the Simeon Career Academy (Illinois) Wolverines at the Hoophall West High School Invitational in Phoenix on Saturday.
The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET. While it won’t be broadcast on television anywhere in the US, you can still watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN that will have coverage of eight Hoophall West games this weekend.
You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game (and several other Hoophall 2018 games) on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
If you can’t watch live, all games — including Shadow Mountain vs Simeon — that are streamed on ESPN+ are also available to be watched afterward on-demand via ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
Preview
Shadow Mountain is led by a pair of seniors who’ve been recruited by Division I schools across the country. Jaelen House is the No. 11 point guard in the class of 2019, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. He ended his recruitment in November, committing to Arizona State University. His dad Eddie House starred at ASU before going on to an 11-year NBA career that included a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008.
As a senior, the older House set ASU records by averaging 23 points per game for the season and scoring 61 points in a game, a double-overtime win over the California Golden Bears. He’s also the Sun Devils’ all-time leader in steals and field goals.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” the younger House said of his being the offspring of ASU basketball royalty, according to The Arizona Republic. “I’m going there to play for myself. His records don’t mean anything to me.”
Jovan Blacksher, also listed as a point guard by 247Sports, is the No. 25 player at the position. In the wake of overtures from schools like the University of Dayton, Fresno State, and Boise State, he elected to stay local with Grand Canyon University.
“I like the team and the coaching staff,” Blacksher said after committing in August, according to The Arizona Republic.
Despite the presences of House and Blacksher, the school’s most notable point guard won’t suit up on Saturday — coach Mike Bibby, who played in the NBA for 14 seasons.
He runs unique practices, which don’t involve five-on-five scrimmages.
“The reality is we never scrimmage,” assistant coach Michael Warren said, according to the Republic. “We do timing and situation stuff. The rest of the stuff is individual work.
“He works at skill building. It is skill building ad nauseam. He works it. It’s every day. It’s not rolling the ball out. It’s not scrimmaging. It’s skill building. It’s basic basketball. It’s over and over and over again.”
The team is 4-1 on the season; they beat the Saint Mary’s Catholic High School (Arizona) Knights in their first game of the tournament.
Shadow Mountain’s Saturday opponents, Simeon, are a Chicago superpower. The school’s produced NBA players like Derrick Rose, Jabari Parker, Nick Anderson, and Bobby Simmons.
Rose led the school to state championships in 2005 and 2006, and Parker led them to four straight from 2010 to 2013. All those titles came under head coach Robert Smith.
“[Parker and Rose] had to deal with that stuff all the time, ‘Is he overrated?’ ‘Is he really that good?’ I always told people when the lights get real bright they’ll show you how good they are,” Smith said, according to NBA.com. “Playing a regular team they might not go out and play as well. When the game is on the line and really matters and you need them to step up, that’s the kind of player both those guys were. When you needed them the most they took care of it.”
Smith’s team is 1-2 in the early going, having lost to a pair of powerhouses. They fell to St. Vincent-St. Mary High School (Ohio) on December 1, then dropped their matchup with Rancho Christian School (California) Eagles in their first game of the tournament.