Who were the top dogs of the 2022 Cactus Classic over the weekend at Bell Bank Park in the 17 and under division? Our staff dives into the best of the best.

Andrew Camacho, Firestorm 17U: From start to finish, no one tickled the twine quite like Camacho did. He was a scoring machine for the 17U champions to the tune of 21 points a game. We saw the full array of offense from him in their championship run. He popped the nets from three, he drove hard to the rim, he converted at the charity stripe. There were a wide variety of weapons in his bag and we saw them all. An elite student, the academic schools will - and should - spend the summer watching him in action. - Justin Young 

Tru Washington, Firestorm 17U: The story hasn’t changed for me and my opinion on Washington remains as solid as it was the first time I saw him play. I think he’s the toughest rim driver in the state of Arizona and one of the players in the West’s 2023 class that just knows how to find a way to wear down an opponent. He’s pure grit all game. Washington pumped in 20 points a game in his team’s championship run. - Justin Young 

Ejay Scroggins, Firestorm 17U- If you’re a fan of high-flying athleticism, explosiveness, defensive versatility and a fearless approach to getting to the rack, you should be a big fan of Scroggins because he checks all those boxes.  He didn’t have a great shooting performance for the weekend but he has developed the ability to knock it down from outside. He is one of them guys that when he gets some runway in the open floor, everyone gets up to see what he’s going to do.  He is really big for this team on the boards as well since they do not have a true big man on their roster. - Justin Vargas 

Derek Stanley, Legion of Hoops 17U Gold- Every event it seems like you see a guy that opens your eyes for the first time, rather it be that you have never seen him play or he is given an opportunity to show off what he can do.  That player for me over the weekend was Derek Stanley from Yuma, AZ.  While he had some inconsistent play over the weekend, he also had some real shining moments as well.  He had a couple plays that made you look at the person next to you and think “who the heck is that?” He has the ability to score from all three levels and has some sneaky bounce and a nice little handle and he really competes hard on both ends of the floor. - Justin Vargas 

Preston Lee, AZ Legends- A lot of players took part in the Cactus Classic and played up an age group over the weekend and Lee was one of them.  He was his team's best player in every contest I saw them in over the weekend. He had a little turnover bug at times but I chalked that up more to defenses keying in on him in the 2nd half, while his team was struggling to shoot it from the outside.  But Preston showed up and scored at a good clip while still keeping his teammates involved.  He really knows how to get to his spot and shoot that beautiful midrange jumper he has. - Justin Vargas 

Ezias Steffan, AZ Firestorm 16U- One of the other players that played up an age group in this 17U bracket was 6’2” 2024 guard Ezias Steffan.  Steffan plays with a real competitive edge and has a toolbox of offensive weapons at his disposal.  He is more than capable of knocking it down from the outside and is athletic enough to finish in the paint off of penetration.  He is really impressive on the offensive glass coming from the guard position as well.  His perimeter game is developing more and more.  He has a chance to do something at the next level through this game. - Justin Vargas