CINCINNATI — Taft High School rising senior and University of Cincinnati verbal commit Rayvon Griffith announced Thursday night he will play basketball at AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Ariz., this upcoming season.
Griffith, a 6-foot-7 wing and a four-star recruit, helped to lead Taft (19-8) to the Division III state title March 20 at University of Dayton Arena.
Rated the nation's No. 41 player in the 2023 class by 247 Sports, Griffith is expected to arrive in Arizona in June, joining a very talented roster. He remains verbally committed to the Bearcats for college basketball.
"We just love the fact that he's very aggressive," AZ Compass Prep program director Pete Kaffey said. "Love his size at 6-6, 6-7. He's a two-way player. He can guard all positions on the perimeter. He's very athletic. He can shoot the 3-ball really, really well and he's just a competitor. That's one thing we really like about Rayvon. He's a competitor. He's going to compete no matter what."
AZ Compass Prep, ranked No. 8 nationally by MaxPreps this past winter, completed this past season with a 25-5 record and was a GEICO High School Nationals participant.
The prep school has helped several significant standouts including University of Kentucky freshman guard TyTy Washington, a projected NBA Draft lottery selection.
San Antonio Spurs guard Josh Primo, who played college basketball at Alabama, was selected No. 12 in the 2021 NBA Draft and became the first AZ Compass Prep basketball player selected in the draft.
AZ Compass Prep is also expected to have several nationally-televised games this upcoming season. Its roster features 2023 small forward Mookie Cook, a five-star recruit and University of Oregon verbal commit. There is also 2023 point guard Kylan Boswell (Arizona verbal commit), who is rated the nation's No. 16 player by 247 Sports.
Griffith, who announced his verbal commitment to the University of Cincinnati May 1, is rated Ohio's No. 1 player in the 2023 class by 247 Sports. He also considered Alabama, Ohio State, Kansas and UCLA among his finalists earlier this month.
247 Sports rated Griffith the No. 10 shooting guard in the 2023 class. He was named a Division III first-team all-state selection this past season by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.
Griffith averaged 19 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block during this past season, according to the Taft athletic department. He scored 12 points and had five rebounds, three steals and two assists in the state final — the second state championship in program history (2011, 2022).
The NCAA's Division I basketball early signing period is scheduled to start Nov. 9 when student-athletes are able to sign National Letters of Intent during their senior year of high school.
