PHH Prep Post Grad Features Intriguing Core Tailor Cut For Princeton Style Offense
PHH Prep Post Grad Features Intriguing Core Tailor Cut For Princeton Style Offense
PHOENIX–Sitting in his office, which overlooks PHH Facility’s sparkling John Ortega Court, where NBA players Nassir Little and Doug McDermott were immersed in the off-season workload just two hours earlier, PHH Post Grad Director and head coach David Thomas assesses a jarringly overlooked core stoked with translatable upside.
With the rapid progression of the NCAA transfer portal, which has seemingly evolved into the definitive lifeblood of Division-I programs, droves of overlooked talent have popped up at traditional prep programs across the country.
Thomas, however, has cultivated the development of a roster that mirrors a style of play he’s known to enforce.
“We’re going to run what a lot of the NBA and Division-I colleges run, we’re going to run a lot of zoom action,” Thomas said. “It’s loosely based off the Princeton offense. We’ll get a lot of backdoors. We’ll get a lot of open threes. We’ll get a lot of two-man games with ball screens… Ultimately, at the end of the day, we want to play fast.”
As a coach, Thomas finds he can circumvent the mistakes that tend to hamper teams at this level with a breakneck-paced offense. He wants to attack the run and score in quick-hit fashion.
In Class of 2025, 6-foot-7 stretch four Cliff Robinson, PHH has a major sleeper with a high ceiling.
While his game is buoyed by prodigious vertical leaping ability and his tendency to crunch extravagant two-handed dunks and defend the rim on the other side of the floor, Robinson is an intriguing threat with his long-range shooting.
He’s steadily developed into a 3-point rainmaker. Robinson is now capable of firing in 3-pointers from NBA territory and hitting those opportunistic treys that cap runs and leave a lasting impact on the game.
“With Cliff being able to put it on the floor at 6-7 and stretch the floor out, he creates a lot of mismatches,” Thomas said of Cliff Robinson.
PHH will lean on the leadership of Robinson’s brother, Lyle Robinson, a high-octane and slick-finishing Class of 2025 point guard.
With considerable burst in his surges to the rim and a purity of vision that enables him to see the floor and create for his teammates, the 6-foot-5 Lyle Robinson has a prominent role for a team rife with shooters and subscribing to the concept of versatility and interchangeability.
“He can get to the rim almost at will,” said Thomas of Lyle Robinson.
“When defenders tend to not play him as close because they are protecting the drive, he can definitely step out and shoot.”
Thomas is content with the backcourt depth PHH Post Grad has, citing a convincing pre-season from Shane Biscaya.
A traditional point guard who initiates offense first and shoots second, Biscaya brings a controlled, quickened pace style that his teammates feed off. His ability to locate cutters, deliver assists in the transition attack, and feed the post have all been notable. Biscaya has established himself as a consistent source in the catch-and-shoot game, with a quick release and a knack for firing in 3-pointers from straight on and the corners.
In Keith Williams Jr., an inside-outside threat at 6-foot-6 with a bulldozing frame, Thomas envisions a veritable walking double-double. He finishes around the rim with finesse, adjusting his shot and finishing ambidextrously through traffic. Williams Jr. also has an old-school, throwback style with a feathery hook from his left hand.
As he prolongs his presence as a catch-and-post threat and a scorer with his mid-post game, Thomas is sold on Williams Jr.’s grit as an interior cog who can bang bodies and snare boards in the trenches.
In Kai Sadler, PHH has another bigger-built guard at 6-foot-4 with a vast, wide-ranging scoring prowess. Sadler is able to slither into defenses and score with a nifty, crafty around-the-rim arsenal. He can play off two feet, get defenders to bite on fakes, and utilize a fluid mid-range touch.
The schedule is front-loaded with marquee matchups against prep heavy hitters such as Prolific Prep (CA) and Rocktop Academy (PA). This young core will gauge its grit against an array of local Division-I JUCOs, such as Pima and Glendale CC.
“I don’t know if we are going to win a lot of games or lose a lot of games, but I’ll tell you what: we’re going to be dogs in every game,” Thomas said. “They bring a lot of intensity, a lot of toughness. And, they are just great teammates.”