Big summer awaits Arizona wing Arman Madi
Being able to see the ascension of a player/prospect thru their entire high school career is a special thing to see from this viewpoint. When that player goes through all the steps of becoming a national level prospect, it makes it somewhat rewarding from the outside looking in.
That is the case with 6-foot-6 class of 2023 shooting guard Arman Madi. Watching Madi turn from a big man in his early years of high school was just scratching the surface of the player he would become. Then he developed into a wing that could put the ball on the floor. Then his athleticism started reaching a whole new level. His body started to fill out a bit. Next was playing against the tougher and higher level competition on a national level. Once he was there, he succeeded in that. Last high school season at Brophy College Prep, Madi’s junior year, he established himself as one of this state’s premier players and prospects. And you have a feeling he is still just scratching the surface.
Madi is a workhorse. He dedicates hours to the gym when the lights aren’t on. He trains and dedicates himself to this game. He maintains a 3.8 GPA at one of the most prestigious private schools in the state. He seems to improve a facet of his game every time I have seen him and it is hard to find a weakness in his game.
At the next level he will play the 2/3, so at 6’6” he has great size for the position. He has become a deadly shooter from the outside, especially in catch and shoot situations. He is a dog of a defender and very versatile as well. At the next level, he will be able to guard 3 positions on the floor. He has the athleticism that makes college coaches dream of Madi in their uniform.
His grades and where he is attending high school at have undoubtedly brought out the high-academic institutions like Stanford, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton and Columbia. Some other PAC-12’s in contact with him are Cal-Berkeley and Oregon State. Add in some really well respected west coast schools like Santa Clara, Pepperdine and LMU, among others, and you have a recruitment that is impressive but might just be taking off.
After the high school season ended a little short of where Madi wanted it to, he made the decision to join Bronny James and the Strive For Greatness squad that LeBron James sponsors, and went out to compete against the country’s best on the Nike EYBL circuit. It took a couple games for him to get used to the speed, size and talent level of the competition he was seeing in those national level games but it didn’t take long for hi to get the hang of it and start doing what he does best, defending at a high level, knocking down outside shots and showing off some athleticism in the open court.
For the July live period, Madi will rejoin forces with another top 2023 prospect in Tru Washington and play for Arizona Firestorm. With Madi joining them, they should be arguable one of the strongest teams on the Adidas Gold circuit. Alongside 6’2” guard Andrew Camacho, he should be able to get himself a ton of open shots because of Camacho’s vision and basketball IQ. And when him and 6’4” wing Ejay Scroggins and 6’1” guard KJ Perry are all on the floor together, the opposition better watch their heads!
While a free Divison-I education appears to be imminent, I dare to take it a step further. I personally believe Madi has the intangibles, skillset and work ethic to get paid to play this game and possibly at the highest level. A lot of that will be him choosing the right situation for the next level. A lot of that will be him being able to extend his range a couple feet back with the same precision. He still has a ways to go, but boy is he heading in the right direction.
