Best High School Boys Basketball Player in Every State 2022: West

The best high school boys basketball players in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyo

Stadium Talk’s annual preseason list of the best high school boys basketball player in all 50 states is upon us, and we’re trying something new and exciting this year by dividing the stories up into regions.

First up are the westernmost states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Can you guess who the best of the best is?

Alaska: Stewart Erhart

West Valley High School

High School: West Valley High School (Fairbanks, Alaska)

Position: Guard

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 160 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: West Valley High guard Stewart Erhart made history as a junior in 2022, becoming the first Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year in school history as well as being named Alaska MaxPreps Player of the Year.

Erhart averaged 16.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.8 steals and 2.5 assists on the way to the Wolfpack going 26-1 on the way to a berth in the Class 4A state semifinals. He’s also breaking ground for his region — Erhart is the first Gatorade Player of the Year winner from the interior since 1987.

Arizona: Koa Peat

heinnews / Twitter

High School: Perry High School (Gilbert, Arizona)

Position: Forward

Graduation Year: 2025

Height/Weight: 6-foot-8, 210 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Few high school basketball prospects in the entire country — regardless of class — are more coveted than sophomore forward Koa Peat, the younger brother of three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Andrus Peat of the New Orleans Saints and the son of former NFL offensive lineman Todd Peat.

Peat, a top-five recruit in the Class of 2025, will have his choice of any Power Five conference program in the country in a few years or possibly go the route of the G-League Ignite. He’s also the youngest player ever to compete for Team USA at the FIBA U17 World Championships.

As a freshman at Perry High, Peat led his school to the Class 6A state championship while averaging 15 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. Expect to hear Peat’s name called as a lottery pick in the NBA Draft the first year he’s eligible to be selected.

California: Jared McCain

Trigonis30 / Twitter

High School: Centennial High School (Corona, California)

Position: Guard

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 195 pounds

College: Duke (committed)

Bottom Line: Centennial High guard Jared McCain was the star on one of the greatest teams in California history as a junior, leading his school to a 32-1 record and CIF Open Division state championship while averaging 16.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

McCain, who is committed to play for Duke, also became the first player from Centennial to be named California Gatorade Player of the Year.

How unique was Centennial’s state title? They’re only the second public school in state history to win an Open Division title following the legendary Chino HIlls High team in 2016, which featured three future NBA lottery picks in Lonzo Ball, LaMelo Ball and Onyeka Okongwu.

Colorado: Baye Fall

On3Recruits / Twitter

High School: Accelerated Academy (Denver, Colorado)

Position: Center

Graduation Year: 2023

Height: 6-foot-10, 210 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Baye Fall’s high school basketball career has been its own odyssey. An elite center prospect, he moved from Senegal to the U.S. when he was 15 years old and won back-to-back state Class 3A state championships at Lutheran High in Parker, Colorado, earning MaxPreps Freshman All-American honors his first year and Class 3A player of the Year and Colorado MaxPreps Player of the Year as a sophomore.

Fall transferred to Denver Prep Academy as a junior but was thrown off the team after 10 games and will play his senior season at Accelerated Prep, also in Denver. Fall was impressive in the summer before his senior year, earning co-MVP honors at the Pangos All-American Camp Top 30 All-Star Game in June before he led the NBAPA Top 100 Camp in scoring and rebounding in July.

Hawaii: Jonny Philbrick

HawaiiPrepWorld / Twitter

High School: Kailua High School (Kailua, Hawaii)

Position: Guard

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 5-foot-9, 150 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Kahuku High guard Jonny Philbrick averaged 15.0 points for Kailua on the way to being named a Hawaii Prep World Top 15 pick as a junior in 2022.

Philbrick’s signature game of his junior season came in a battle between Top 10 teams, as he scored 21 of his 29 points in the second half of an upset road win for No. 8 Kailua over No. 5 Kahuku to clinch the top seed in the OIA East.

Idaho: Blake Buchanan

idahosports / Twitter

High School: Lake City High School (Couer d’Alene, Idaho)

Position: Forward/Center

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-10, 215 pounds

College: Virginia (committed)

Bottom Line: Lake City High’s Blake Buchanan averaged 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds as a junior in 2022, leading his team to a 23-3 record and becoming one of the top high school prospects in the Pacific Northwest.

Buchanan is headed east to play college basketball — he’s committed to playing for the University of Virginia and could be a major contributor to the team right off the bat. Buchanan comes from a family of athletes who have excelled in different sports. His father, Buck, played tight end for the University of Idaho, and his older brother, Austin, won an NCAA championship in volleyball at the University of Hawaii in 2022.

Montana: Hayden Opitz

406mtsports / Twitter

High School: Capital High School (Helena, Montana)

Position: Forward

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 215 pounds

College: Montana (football)

Bottom Line: Hayden Opitz was one of the key players for Capital High on its way to a Class AA state championship in 2022, as he averaged 11.2 points, led his team with 6.7 rebounds and shot 52 percent from the field on the way to being named Class AA All-State. It was all part of a big junior year for Opitz, who was also an All-State tight end in football and was part of Capital’s 400-meter relay team that placed fourth at state — he has been clocked at 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

Opitz is committed to play football for the University of Montana, where his father, Chad Opitz, played wide receiver in the early 1990s.

Nevada: Dedan Thomas

griffgreenberg / Twitter

High School: Liberty High School (Henderson, Nevada)

Position: Point Guard

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-1, 170 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: One of the best point guards in the nation from the Class of 2024, Liberty High’s Dedan Thomas averaged 13.3 points, 5.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals as a junior in 2022, as he led his team to the Class 5A state championship.

Thomas whittled down his list of college options to UCLA, Arizona, Florida, Gonzaga, Houston and UNLV in October 2022.

New Mexico: Jalin Holland

RussellGurule / Twitter

High School: Los Lunas High School (Los Lunas, New Mexico)

Position: Point Guard

Graduation Year: 2025

Height: 6-foot-5, 185 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Los Lunas High point guard Jalin Holland was the only freshman and one of just two underclassmen named to the Class 5A All-State team in 2022 — the largest division in New Mexico.

Holland, who won a state championship in football for Los Lunas as a freshman, is a point guard who averaged 32 points and 10 rebounds and already has Division I offers from New Mexico, New Mexico State and Southern Utah.

Oregon: Jackson Shelstad

MilesVance1 / Twitter

High School: West Linn High School (West Linn, Oregon)

Position: Guard

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot, 175 pounds

College: Oregon (committed)

Bottom Line: Jackson Shelstad led West Linn to a 21-4 record and the Class 6A state semifinals as a junior in 2022 and was named Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year after he filled up the state sheet with 27.0 points, 5.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 3.2 steals for the season. Shelstad, who was also named Oregon MaxPreps Player of the Year, will stay close to home for college and is committed to play for the University of Oregon.

Shelstad showed he could absolutely fill it up as a junior — he scored 30 or more points in 14 games and scored over 40 points three times.

Utah: Isiah Harwell

eric_hampford / Twitter

High School: Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah)

Position: Shooting Guard

Graduation Year: 2025

Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 190 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Isiah Harwell changed schools — and states — before his sophomore season, transferring from Century (Idaho) High to Wasatch Academy, where he joins a laundry list of blue-chip basketball prospects.

Even among those players, Harwell seems unique. The shooting guard already has offers from Kansas, Baylor and UCLA after a standout summer with AAU team Utah Prospects and is ranked as a Top 10 prospect for the Class of 2025.

Washington: Zoom Diallo

Curtis Senior High Point Guard Zoom Diallo

ManyHatsMiles / Twitter

High School: Curtis Senior High School (Tacoma, Washington)

Position: Point Guard

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 190 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Whichever college is lucky enough to end up with Vazoumana “Zoom” Diallo is getting a player ready to make an impact right away — the point guard averaged 17.8 points for Curtis Senior High and led his school to a Class 4A state championship as a sophomore.

Diallo is one of the top recruits in the Class of 2024 and will have plenty of options when his college choice finally rolls around, with offers from Arizona, Florida State and Gonzaga, among others.

Wyoming: Andrew Hanna

Jackson Hole News & Guide

High School: Jackson Hole High School (Jackson Hole, Wyoming)

Position: Forward

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-7, 175 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Jackson Hole High’s future looks bright with junior forward Andrew Hanna returning for two more seasons after he was named Class 4A All-State in 2022, averaging 15.0 points and shot 63 percent from the field.

The biggest difference for Jackson Hole during Hanna’s breakout season came in the win column. After going 1-40 over the previous two seasons, the team finished 9-12 in 2021-22 and now has a good shot at posting its first winning season since 2010-11.

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