Desert Pines’ Milos Uzan (12) lays up the ball against Faith Lutheran’s Azavier Johnson (4) during the Class 4A Mountain Region championship game at Desert Pines High School Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. The Desert Pines Jaguars beat the Faith Lutheran Crusaders 74-55.
Thursday, April 1, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Milos Uzan usually finds himself in the basketball gym working on his jumper in the early morning. A few hours later, he’s logged online for his virtual classes at Desert Pines High School.
Before the day is over, there’s another practice or shoot-around, weightlifting and a few hours of homework.
It’s as if the high school junior is already in college.
With contact sports shuttered throughout Nevada because of the pandemic during the traditional winter season, Uzan left Las Vegas for Northern California to join Prolific Prep, a top club team that played a 30-game slate in the competitive Grind Session in Arizona. Arizona still allowed basketball.
“Once they started talking about canceling the season, if I wanted to keep playing and working on my game, I had to come here,” said Uzan, who in 2020 led Desert Pines to the Nevada state championship game.
The experience this week includes participating in the 10-team GEICO Nationals in Florida. The high school showcase is broadcast on ESPN networks, including Prolific Prep’s two-point win Wednesday against La Lumiere of Indiana, with Uzan doling out a game-high seven assists.
A four-star recruiting prospect, the 6-foot-4 point guard has honed his craft against the enhanced competition. In Las Vegas, there’s always an opponent or two in league play against whom the game is essentially over before it begins. In Arizona, every game was a challenge.
And Uzan has risen to the challenge in averaging 13 points, six assists and five rebounds a game.
“I have definitely gotten stronger, definitely become a better defender,” he said. “The more you play, the (higher) your basketball IQ gets. I definitely have a better understanding.”
The Prolific Prep roster resembles that of a college team, with eight players taller than 6-foot-6, including three 7-footers. For a point guard, there’s no better preparation for the next level than having to get multiple scorers involved in the offense.
On one play Wednesday, he threw a flashy alley-oop pass to a teammate in transition for a dunk, drawing raves reviews on social media.
The competition is comparable to what Uzan will see in a few years collegiately. “Everyone you play against was the best player on their high school team,” he said.
The experience also mirrors college in that Uzan is living with a host family, and away from his parents in Las Vegas.
He’ll eventually decide on where to play in college, but has previously said he’ll take recruiting visits — and those can’t be done until campuses are fully open after COVID-19 closures. He’s rated as the nation’s 105th overall recruit by 24/7Sports and holds scholarship offers from the likes of UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State and UNLV.
Prolific Prep plays Sunrise Christian of Kansas at 11 a.m. today on ESPNU.
