THE PROCESS THAT MADE AZ COMPASS PREP'S MEN'S NATIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM BECOME NATIONAL

CHANDLER, Ariz., - AZ Compass Prep’s Men's National Basketball Team had one possible division one prospect to now a whole team of certified future college stars in a few short years. 

 

AZ Compass Prep is a preparatory high school in Chandler, Arizona that has been on the national stage of high school men’s basketball for the past three years. The team is the AZ Compass Prep Dragons and they are a national basketball team that has played all over the country. It’s not a mystery how the team got to where they are but the process by which the team did it is amazing. 

 

It started with Zyzick Owens, Pete Kaffey, Rhonda Owens, Swen Anderson, and, later, Ed Gipson. Zyzick Owens, the athletic director and VP of Operations for AZ Compass Prep’s national basketball team said that one of the reasons for the success of Compass Prep is that everyone knows their roles. 

 

“We all have our specific job duties that we do and we'll respect them, but at the same time if we need to help another one of our guys out, we're able to step in because we work so closely together.” said Owens

 

One of the many keys to the success of AZ Compass Prep is keeping it small. The team only has 11 players on this past season's roster, and the team has only one athletic trainer: Emily Grasic. Grasic’s favorite part of the job is watching all of the athletes succeed. 

 

“Just knowing that I played a little part in that and I did my part to help them stay on the court” said Grasic.

 

Another one of the parts that makes the team so successful is the recruitment process to get more talent. They started with Both Gach, a player who would eventually go on to play basketball with University of Minnesota and University of Utah and little by little the team got better players year after year. These past couple of years they have had players such as TyTy Washington, who, after a stellar year at University of Kentucky, declared for the 2022 NBA Draft and is projected to be a top pick in the upcoming draft. 

 

Pete Kaffey, the program director, described by coach Ed Gipson “ Pete is very gifted. I'll tell you that, he know how to talk to guys. He know how to build a relationship with guys.” Kaffey also had a vision about the national basketball team and helped Gipson realize it right as when Gipson was handing in his resignation letter 

 

“Yeah. I was going to leave, but coach Pete had this vision that he said he felt like he could help. We can build this national team and it would work” said Gipson. 

 

Gipson talked about his decision to stay with the school and become the National Basketball Team’s head coach “The best decision I ever made in my life, because I wouldn't be a part of this right now.” 

 

There is also a strong bond that has been created between Ed, Pete, Zyzick and the players. All of the players live in a house and all of the staff that works with the team has tried to make it like a college experience. “We definitely want to try to mimic as close to college,” said Gipson.

 

Another part of the team is their faith. Faith is a huge part of the way that Gipson conducts his life and is one of the ways that the team is so close. “I think all the guys that helped start this program know that like, we wouldn't be where we at without God” 

 

Sometimes all anyone needs to make something happen is a vision and the right people to make it come true.