Chol Marial is six days back from his native Sudan and already becoming the big attraction at the little charter school in Chandler.
College coaches are at AZ Compass Prep School’s gym to see the much-traveled big man, who has been listed between 7-1 and 7-3 in reports from coast to coast. He says he is 7-2, 225 pounds.
What college coaches really want to know is: How is Marial’s leg, and can he play a full basketball season?
Last year, when he was at IMG Academy in Florida, Marial played in only 17 games because of foot and shin injuries.
When he started AAU ball in the summer, he had to shut it down because of a hairline fracture in his shin.
He was held out of the early practices at AZ Compass Prep to make sure he is all the way back. But Marial says he is ready to start the season on Oct. 14, when AZ Compass Prep will be part of Jerry Mullen’s Prep Showcase in the Desert at the new The PHHacility in Phoenix.
Others on the showcase’s marquee:
- 6-10 Shon Robinson of the new Gilbert team, Eduprize, that will play in the Canyon Athletic Association
- Terry Armstrong, Addison Patterson and Dayten Holman, who are new to Scottsdale’s Bella Vista Prep
- California Veritas Prep’s Iverson Molinar, who holds 13 Division I offers
- Point guard Daishen Nix of Trinity International Schools in Las Vegas, a University of Arizona target.
Marial is ready to become the Valley’s biggest prep academy sensation since 7-1 Deandre Ayton arrived in Phoenix in 2015 as a junior and put Phoenix Hillcrest Prep on the national map.
“I’m good,” Marial said. “I’m just waiting.”
