Danny Powell will finally return to the Mesa gym Friday night, but he won’t be sporting the familiar purple and gold jersey.
The former Jackrabbit transferred to Desert Vista over the summer, and is averaging 21.2 points and 10.5 rebounds to lead the Thunder to a 14-4 start to the season.
Between Powell and point guard Jahii Carson, Mesa was expected to be the favorite to win the 5A Division I title this season. However, the void Powell left is still trying to be filled.
The Jackrabbits are 9-4 behind Carson’s 31.0 points …

In August, Mesa point guard Jahii Carson committed to Arizona State after being pursued strongly by several colleges.
Since then, he’s been doing some recruiting of his own.
Carson, the 35th ranked prospect by recruiting service Rivals.com, recently joined Twitter, and has posted several messages about his attempts to get Oakland, Calif. guard Jabari Brown to join him in Tempe.
Brown, ranked as the fifth-best shooting guard in the country by Rivals and Scout.com, seems to be listening. The 6-foot-5, 200-pounder narrowed down his list of schools to seven in mid-August, and he …

I talked to Vanae Carson, Jahii’s mom, for awhile today about her son’s decision to choose Arizona State. Here are a few of the more noteworthy topics that came up:
- Originally, she didn’t want him to stay in town for college. So after he de-committed from Oregon State, Arizona was the early favorite in her eyes. Gradually, though, ASU coach Herb Sendek made in-roads, and in the end she really liked what he had to say. She said that the ASU coaches had just the right touch in recruiting Jahii, …

Mesa guard Jahii Carson and former Highland guard Nick Johnson have been selected to play in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 basketball tournament in Venice Beach on August 27 and  28.
As the event title indicates, 24 of the best players around the nation were invited to the event.
Johnson, the former local guard who transferred to Findlay Prep in Las Vegas last year, could be a dunk contest participant during the weekend festivities.
It is another showcase for both elite players, who continue to get recruited heavily by some of the top …

Chandler track and field standout Hannah Carson will be in Singapore from August 9 through the 28 to compete in the World Youth Olympic Games, according to her father, Steve Carson.
She made the team by placing first in the javelin competition in Arlington, Texas on April 3. Carson is the top-rated javelin thrower in the country for her age group, and No. 4 worldwide.
The trip will cap off an adventurous summer for Carson. She helped lead Chandler to a 5A-I state title in May, then helped the Wolves to the …

In the world of transfers, coaches can never count their chickens until they’re hatched.
There was further proof this month in boys basketball, after word came that Mesa forward Danny Powell and Basha forward Judd Welfringer were both transferring.
Powell will play next year at Desert Vista, while Welfringer is moving to Iowa.
With the amount of talent coming back, Basha and Mesa were expected to be two of the top teams in 5A Division I. The Bears had Welfringer, a Drake commit who averaged a double-double last year, to go alongside talented …