It’s all in the family for the Bagleys. An incredibly tight knit group that travels the country to support each other all throughout the AAU season with the We All Can Go All-Stars, the Bagley’s (including No. 1 sophomore Marvin III) roll together. Now they have a new stop: Hillcrest (AZ) Academy.
After simply dominating his freshman year at Corona Del Sol in Tempe, there was little more for Marvin III to prove at the local high school level. He led his squad to an undefeated record and state title while rarely facing players near his 6-11 stature. Spurning offers from national powers such as Findlay Prep to stay home for a year, the Bagley family wanted to give their son at least one year of the traditional high school experience.
“We wanted to give him a chance to have that normal high school experience with regular students, cafeterias, changing lockers, and all of that,” his father Marvin II told SLAM. “It was an easy decision [to attend Corona], especially with him being so young.”
At Hillcrest, Marvin III will be with his entire family. His father will be an assistant coach and his younger brother Marcus, a 6-5 eighth grader, will be playing right next to him on the varsity team. Hillcrest will play a national schedule that includes games against junior colleges and many of the nation’s elite high school programs. With Arizona Interscholastic Association bylaws not allowing middle schoolers to play varsity ball, the opportunity to play next to his baby bro was just too much to pass up.
“It was Marvin’s decision,” his father explained. “Marcus wanted to play and compete as an eighth grader, and Marvin wanted to play with him. It was a tough decision for him, but after discussing it and going through Hillcrest’s schedule, it just provided a great opportunity to continue to get better and play on the national level right at home.”
