Tommy Lloyd may scout USA Basketball target

It was “the way he ran the floor and came off ball screens as their three guard,” Grier said, “just giving him the role of really doing everything on the floor.”

Grier may get a chance to test himself in the same role under Lloyd this summer. The 6-6 standout from Austin, Texas, is one of the high school players expected to receive an invitation to tryout with USA Basketball’s U18 team, which Lloyd will coach later this spring. .

During USA Basketball junior minicamp in Phoenix last weekend, Grier said Arizona is “pretty high on my list,” but he hasn’t cut his college options down yet. He said he has already traveled to his home state of Texas, as well as Clayton and Arizona for last October’s Red Blue Showcase.

“It was a great experience,” he said.

A chance to play for the U.S. U18 team at the FIBA ​​America Cup in Argentina would give Grier a chance to not only be under Lloyd’s tutelage but also make up for a disappointing junior season at Austin’s Lake Travis High School. It may also be helpful. Grier said he missed six weeks in the middle of the season after breaking his wrist during a game in early January, and he didn’t return until the high school playoffs.

He then attended a USA Basketball minicamp near the Final Four. The camp includes 65 players from the 2025, 2026 and 2027 high school classes, some of whom will be invited to try out for the U.S. U17 and U18 teams this summer.

That means the core Pete of Arizona target Gilbert Perry will have to make a choice. As he did not turn 17 until January, he is eligible to play for both the U17 and U18 teams and will undoubtedly be valued by either team. Pete was named USA Basketball’s 2023 Male Player of the Year and has already won two gold medals with Team USA.

“He can do whatever he wants,” said Perry’s coach, Sam Duane, who helped with the U.S. minicamp. “He is a person of very high character.”

Playing on USA Basketball’s U18 team will put Pete against older players, but the America Cup is only open to countries in the Americas, and the U17 team will compete in the FIBA ​​U17 World Cup in Turkey this summer. They will participate and play against the strongest U17 team in the world.

“I don’t know yet, but I’m definitely going to talk to my parents and figure out what I want to do,” said Pete, a two-time Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year who coaches Perry. He won the state open division title last month. “I think it’s probably because of the competition (the U17 World Cup is chosen).”

America’s camp took place just a month after Perry defeated Goodyear Millennium to win the state open division title, but Pete was already back in the gym. Mr. Duane said he expected Mr. Pete to take at least a week off, but he did not.

“I took a few days off after the state championship, but I went right back to work because I have really big goals and I’m just trying to get better,” Pete said. .

The weeks since Perry vs. Millennium have been pretty busy for Millennium standout Cameron Holmes, a 2026 UA recruiting target.

Cameron, the younger brother of Dayton star Darron Holmes, went to Brooklyn to watch the Flyers play in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and then to Salt Lake City to watch Dayton’s memorable comeback win over Nevada in the first round. However, he said he watched the loss. Arizona is second.

As a UA rookie from the Phoenix area, Cameron had mixed emotions watching the Wildcats defeat his brother’s team 78-68.

“I thought he played great,” Coach Cameron said of Daron. “At the end of the day, he gave it his all, but Arizona had a better team and better players. And Royce is a great coach. Dayton has a great coach, Arizona has a great coach.

“After the game, he was down, so it hurt to see him lose, but it was tough to see Arizona win. I’m kind of proud of that because that’s the state I live in. I did.”

Holmes, who said he would like to join the U.S. Under-17 team this summer, said he is in talks with Arizona through his coach but is still in the early stages of a call-up. He said he has just received offers from Stanford University and others.

Pete said he plans to narrow down his list of colleges after the summer. He is already very familiar with UA, having visited Phoenix and ASU multiple times this season, also attending the Wildcats’ games against Alabama.

Pete said that no matter what he decides to do in college, he can’t decide anything about his senior year in high school. Pete has already led Perry to three consecutive state titles, but he plans to return to school in Gilbert for his senior year, he said.

“There’s no better place to do it than at home,” Pete said. “My whole decision was to stay at Perry with Coach Duane.”

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• Oregon National Guard Departure Jordan Pope The Athletic reports that it has heard from a long list of major programs, including Arizona State and North Carolina, but UA’s needs remain unclear. caleb love Make a decision. On Jan. 25 against Corvallis, Pope hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift OSU past Arizona.