Las Vegas products help shape Pac-12 basketball

One look at the Pac-12 basketball landscape shows just how good Southern Nevada’s prep hoops scene is. Talented players with ties to Las Vegas litter the rosters of the teams contending in the Pac-12 this season. Here are a few of them:

Brandon Ashley, Junior Arizona Wildcats (Findlay Prep, Henderson, Nev.)

Of all the local Las Vegas products, Brandon Ashley has received the most national attention at the collegiate level. Originally from San Francisco, the junior finished his high school career at Findlay Prep.

Ashley averaged 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a senior in high school, and led Findlay Prep to a 32-1 record, and an ESPN NHSI National Title. The McDonald’s All-American was ranked as the No. 16 prospect in his class.

At Arizona, he has been a key cog in the Wildcats success over the past three years. Ashley averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore before suffering a foot injury against California that ended his season. The injury ended Arizona’s hopes of a National Championship, but he is back this year and has helped the Wildcats to a 12-1 record and the No. 8 ranking in the nation.

Ashley is currently second on the team in points per game with 11.7 and third in rebounds with 5.6 per game.

He put up 13 points and 9 rebounds in Arizona’s loss to UNLV at the Thomas & Mack on Dec. 23.

Dillon Brooks, Freshman Oregon Ducks (Findlay Prep, Henderson, Nev.)

Dillon Brooks has traveled a similar path to that of former NBA first overall pick Anthony Bennett. Brooks, originally from Ontario, Canada, made a pit stop at national powerhouse Findlay Prep before entering the college ranks.

Brooks averaged only 8.4 points and 1.7 assists in his senior year at Findlay Prep, but his physical skills and potential earned him a four-star ranking by ESPN.

Starting at forward for the Ducks, Brooks is the team’s second highest scorer with 14.5 points per game. The athletic freshman has shown ability to shoot the deep ball as well, shooting nearly 40 percent from behind the arc.

Brooks should play a major role in the Ducks’ 2014-15 season, as they hope to challenge the Arizona Wildcats for the Pac-12 title.

Marcus Allen, Sophomore Stanford Cardinal (Centennial High School, Las Vegas, Nev.)

Marcus Allen starred in his time at Centennial High School, being named the 2013 Gatorade Player of the Year for Nevada.

He averaged 28 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game his senior year and was named first team all-state and MVP of the Sunset Region Southwest Division. Allen is averaging only 2.7 points per game in nearly 11 minutes of action for the Cardinal as a sophomore in 2014.

His twin brother Malcolm Allen is also on the Stanford roster. Malcolm is redshirting this year after competing in 16 games off the bench as a freshman. The Cardinal have a third player with Las Vegas ties on their roster – Rosco Allen, a forward from Budapest, Hungary, who played his high school hoops at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas.

Nigel Williams-Goss, Sophomore Washington Huskies (Findlay Prep, Henderson, Nev.)

Nigel Williams-Goss may have been born in Happy Valley, Ore., but he was the first ever four-year player for the Findlay Prep Pilots. Despite the school’s stranglehold on the high school basketball world, they have only been around for a brief time.

Williams-Goss helped build the program into the powerhouse that it is today, going 124-8 in his four years there, and winning two National Championships. He participated in both the McDonald’s All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic before heading to Washington. Last season Williams-Goss set the single-game school record for points by a freshman with 32 against Oregon State on Jan. 25. This year the sophomore leads the Huskies in scoring with 14.6 points per game, and is eighth in the country in assists with 6.9 per game. His scoring and playmaking ability has helped the Huskies to a No. 21ranking and their best start since 2005.

Jesse Granger is a student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and covers sports for The Rebel Yell and the Las Vegas Review Journal. Contact him at jesse.granger.ry@gmail.com