2018 Ballislife All-American game feature two Arizona Basketball targets

Cinco de Mayo just got a lot more fun because the Ballislife All-American Game (BILAAG) will be taking place in Cerritos, California on May 5th with rosters which include Jordan Brown and Brandon Williams.

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The Ballislife All-American game is this week, and it should be one for the ages. Every year I cover the game through my show In The Front Row, and I have a blast. The reason that I enjoy it so much is because of all the talent on the court, but more because I get a chance to catch up with future Arizona Basketball players in Los Angeles. Even though there will be no Arizona commits playing a the beginning of the game, there is a chance there will be one playing at the end of the game.

The event gets bigger and bigger each year with special guests, usually YouTube sensations or notables like the Ball Family and BILAAG Alumni. The first year I covered the game, Arizona commit Chance Comanche was invited to play. I had covered him in high school, so it was fun to see him compete against fellow future college players. The organizers used to let former BILAAG alumni coach the two teams in those early years and Stanley Johnson was one of his coaches. That was an added benefit for this Wildcats fan.

Last year we had the opportunity to cheer on and then talk to Ira Lee and Brandon Randolph. The two Wildcats started bonding while hanging out and BILAAG weekend and that camaraderie continued through the season. Lee being a west coast guy, got to show Randolph, an east coast guy, different parts of Los Angeles including the Venice Beach boardwalk which Slim was not a big fan of. Both Lee Time and Slim entered the dunk contest and wowed the crowd. So much so that the fans swarmed them after the game asking for autographs.

The previous year, I sat down with Rawle Alkins and Terrance Ferguson together. I was so excited. It was hard to contain myself while interviewing these two. Ferguson ended up going to Australia to play professional basketball, then returned to the states to get drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves at the No. 21 pick in the first round. I don’t care what anyone says, Ferguson wanted to be a Wildcat and I still believe if it worked out for him, he would have come to Tucson.

Alkins gave Wildcats fans two glorious savage years. Everything he showed fans at the Ballislife game he gave us at Arizona. He played harder than anyone else on the court, dunking the ball, sharing the ball, bringing the ball up the court, laying the ball up, rebounding, he was everywhere. At times he was the only player taking the competition seriously, and that caught my attention.

King Rawle, a fan favorite, has a motor that never quits, and that motor and the heart he plays with helped him in the NBA Combine last year, he was the talk of the combine. Why? Because he went after the loose balls because he didn’t give up on a play, because he didn’t play scared, and because he went for the rebounds and second-chance points. All the things that players need to rise to the top. I am looking for that type of player on Saturday.

In The Front Row spent the last year or so covering Shareef O’Neal and Brandon Williams, sharing their excitement about their upcoming college career and this game. Since then, O’Neal decommited and then committed to rival UCLA.

B-Will will be announcing his decision at the Ballislife All-American Game. O’Neal will be playing and featured in the game, and he has entered the dunk contest which he has a great chance of winning.

I feel I have gone full circle from having future commits to interview to having none or maybe one Arizona commit if Williams recommits to Arizona. One can only hope, but not hold your breath.

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

I was in a similar situation when T.J. Leaf (who decommited from Arizona and committed to UCLA) played in this game. I went up to him in full Arizona gear, and he looked scared to talk to me, it was very funny. I assured him that I cover UCLA as well and just wanted to introduce myself. I would end up having him on the show the following year when he showed up with Jordan Bell as a Ballislife alumnus.

That brings us to this year. There will be two huge Arizona targets playing in this years BILAAG;  Brandon Williams (has Oregon, Gonzaga, and Arizona in his top three) and five-star McDonalds All-American Jordan Brown (has Nevada, Cal, and Arizona in top three). Miller learned today that big man Lukas Kisunas committed to Stanford University, so now if Brown commits to Arizona he will be the Wildcats key big man next season at 6-foot-10.

Williams has given hints about all three schools, he and his family have done a great job keeping secret who he ultimately ends up playing for, but Arizona Fans still have huge hopes he will recommit to Sean Miller.

UCLA has four Bruins playing in the game. O’Neal, David Singleton, Jules Bernard and Moses Brown. USC has one in Kevin Porter Jr., and LSU has three with the flashy Emmitt Williams and highly touted Naz Reid and Javonte Smart. Former Arizona targets Devon Dotson (Kansas), Taeshon Cherry (ASU), Nassir Little (North Carolina) and Jahvon Quinerly (Villanova) will also be playing.

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So we may be watching two future Wildcats or no future Wildcats, but either way, it is always a great time, and we will see who we can get to sit down with us. Alkins is in Los Angeles training for NBA tryouts, and he is a BILAAG alumnus, so maybe King Rawle will make an appearance. That just might make covering the game a lot sweeter. Set an alarm for all @ZonaZealots posts on Twitter so you can get a notice when we go live around 4:00 pm and do our very best to stream Brandon’s decision live.