So now that it took me 100 days to finish
what does it look like just for 4A?

I am sure it will change a bunch of times but here is my tentative schedule..

Just recent news about myself

So I started being a part of a new website on Wednesday.
It focuses on Mid-Major Schools or smaller High Majors that are not in the public's eye as much as the BIG Schools.

There are 12 colleges so far:
Boise State
Charlotte
Fresno State
GCU
Memphis
Nebraska
New Mexico
New Mexico State
North Dakota State
UNLV
VCU
Western Kentucky

Another championship run...

If there is any question in your mind about where Maricopa junior college sports stands in the public eye, look no farther than today. Scottsdale Community College women's volleyball team is playing for the national championship tonight in NJCAA Division 2. Now, I realize it is Division 2, and that's a whole another story, but there is absolute no media coverage or mention of this event today. If they win, they might get a few lines in the Republic. If they lose- crickets. Anyway...

The next year in this epic was 2013-14, and was one of the most fun seasons I ever had in coaching. We had a huge loss right up front, though, as Mike Grothaus took off to be the head coach at Basha High School. We had five great years together, and that is the longest tenure of any assistant coach I had at MCC. We tried every which way to get him a full time job on campus, but, just like the high schools, assistant coaches are not valued in the local junior colleges. Mesa Community College lost someone who should have stepped right in to the head position when I was ready to go, which, as it turned out, was not too far down the road. It was definitely a win for Basha High School, however, and within four years of his arrival there, they had their first state championship.

Getting back to the season, the team had a fabulous chemistry, but going into the summer, not nearly as much size as would be necessary to contend nationally. That problem was soon fixed by the arrival of Cam Boone, who transferred to us from Grand Canyon University. Besides being a wonderful human being, he was everything you would ever want as a player- skilled, dedicated, and a fabulous teammate. Although not particularly tall at about 6’6”, he was enormously strong and could rebound and finish in a crowd. He complimented the players we had perfectly and we were off to a 26-5 season, 20-2 and conference champions in the ACCAC, and Fiesta Bowl champions. Of the five losses, all were to Division 1 programs and three of them were by five points or less. We travelled to Iowa right off the bat to play in a tournament at perennial powerhouse Indian Hills CC. Although we lost to Indian Hills the last night, anyone can tell you what a ferociously tough place that is to play. We led at the half 51-49, but Cam was in foul trouble the whole night. Indian Hills had watched him get 35 points and 20 rebounds the night before, so I’ll let you use your imagination on how the refs were the next night. Yes, that sort of thing still goes on in the juco world.

A couple of other interesting tid-bits from Indian Hills- it is way out there in Iowa. They view visiting teams more as unwelcome strangers. Since the media pretty much ignores the juco world, we watched the night before as the Indian Hills team ran onto the floor right through the other team’s warmup routine. Normally, if you do that, you are trying to intimidate your opponent and that will bring trouble- as it did that night. Both teams squared off and had to be separated before the game even started. I had to call the Indian Hills coach after the game and ask him to not do that before our game, because I knew our guys would not take it well. He feigned ignorance that his guys did what we saw with our eyes, but promised not to do it. When they ran out on the floor before our game, it was obvious that they had been talked to, so they ran around us. A few of them were laughing and faked like they were going to run through our warmup, but didn’t. The other thing that I found interesting, if not amusing, was that the section of fans right behind our bench was largely comprised of elderly people. I don’t know about you, but I expected them to be supportive of the home team, but be rather genial. All during the game, however, they were some of the most foul-mouthed people I have ever encountered. I was incredulous at what I was hearing and one time turned around to see a woman, clearly in her 70’s or 80’s, flipping me off and dropping f-bombs. Life must really be tough on the farm. It felt like a scene from the movie Hoosiers. This is the twenty first century, right?

We got out to a quick lead in the conference and would go wire-to-wire in first place. Our only two losses in the league were to Arizona Western. In both games, we led in the second half, and at Yuma, we were up 14 midway through the final period. Those really didn’t sit well with our guys, and when we met Western in the conference finals, we won 108-63, leaving no doubt with that one. The 45 point margin of victory still stands as the most one-sided region championship game victory in ACCAC history. We also won the Fiesta Bowl tournament title, beating Monroe, New York, who was ranked number 1 in the nation in the finals. Monroe had come to the Fiesta Bowl a few years earlier, also ranked number 1 at 13-0. They lost all three games in the tournament, and the coach swore he would never return. But, it ate away at him and they came back in 2013 to try and get justice. This time they were 14-1. The final score was 78-64, and the game was never really in doubt. Monroe opened the game in a 1-3-1 zone, but I guess they were unaware of our two great shooters, Sami Bzai and Tre Ogles, and with them in the corners knocking down 3’s and Cam Boone in the paint, we neutralized their size advantage. Sami and Tre made thirteen three’s. There was a pretty good crowd in attendance- not great considering this was the championship game of the best junior college holiday tournament in the nation and had a local team, which had cracked the top 25 in national rankings, playing against the number 1 team in the nation. If this had been ASU in the top 25 playing, let’s say Gonzaga, the Desert Financial Center would have been packed, and the national and local media would have been all over the upset. But that’s the scene in the Maricopa jucos.

After winning the region title, we once again had to fly up to Salt Lake to play the Region 18 winner. This time, their champion was Salt Lake City CC and we had to play them in their gym. It is one of the nicest junior college facilities in the country, and it is really tough to play them there. They were a top five team nationally and had Gary Payton II as one of the star players. We knew this would be a tough task. It became even tougher, if not impossible, when our big guy, Cam Boone, severely sprained his ankle in a shooting drill two days before the game. It was a classic case of a ball from another player rolling under Cam’s feet right when he was in the act of shooting. He came down on it, and went down as did our chances of upsetting the Bruins. He tried to play on it, but could barely move. Somehow he scored nine points, which tells you a lot about Cam. We ended up losing by nine points.

This was the first year that the NJCAA would have at-large teams in the national tournament, so we had some glimmer of hope that we would get an invitation, given the kind of season we had. But the NJCAA, which is really kind of a mom and pop outfit, kept it really simple. They went to the top 25 list and started at number one, giving invitations to any team, in order of ranking, that had been knocked out in regional play. Remember- we had won our region by 45 points and had lost in a super regional. That made no difference to them and our 15th rank was too far down the list to get a bid. It was crushing, because this was really a great basketball team. You wouldn’t know it, though, unless you were there, because there was zero media coverage.

Next time: the beginning of the end...

The brackets have been filled and it's playoff time in Arizona once again! For this first round, I'll be staying close to home and won't even have to get on a freeway. I'll be at Horizon to see the defending 5A champion Huskies against Gilbert, a team that overachieved vs. most people's preseason predictions.

Gilbert (6-4) hasn't won a playoff game since 2010, although it should be noted that the Tigers only qualified for the postseason in 2018 & 2019 in that span. The Tigers are led by 2-way RB/LB Cooper Zellner. The son of head coach Derek Zellner rushed for 763 yards & 10 TDs while also leading GHS in tackles with 121. Gilbert likes to blitz and junior defensive end Parker Bryce has cleaned up with 17 sacks and 5 forced fumbles. The Tigers defeated Sunnyslope this season and led Notre Dame last week at halftime (7-2) before falling in the second half.

Horizon (6-4) had a 5-game win streak snapped last week against ALA-Queen Creek for the San Tan Region title. With ALA in the Open bracket, the Huskies went 3-1 against teams in the 5A playoffs (NDP was the loss). Horizon was expecting to have Wesley Lambert back at RB, but he moved to Florida over the summer. That cleared up space for freshman Bodie Zamorano, who has rushed for 605 yards and 8 TDs. Kaden Zordani and Roman Funk have split time all season and it will be interesting to see if the Huskies continue this in the playoffs. Baylor commit Matthew Klopfenstein and senior WR Cole Linyard provide targets for either passer.

In terms of common opponents, both teams lost to Notre Dame and both teams beat Cactus Shadows. Horizon defeated Campo Verde while Gilbert lost to the Coyotes. It's a 12-5 matchup and the winner will likely be headed to Cactus next week in the quarterfinals.

Post 'em if you got 'em!

The Marshal Comes to Town...

The next year, we returned a good group, and it seemed like the things that split the last team up were not going to happen this time. We had been doing team retreats every Fall up in Flagstaff; having leadership sessions and practicing at Northern Arizona University.

Speaking of NAU, during our time at MCC, we helped 34 young men get NCAA Division 1 scholarships. On no occasion, did NAU ever actively recruit a single one of those guys. Some people would comment that our retreats up there should not be allowed, as it gave NAU an unfair recruiting advantage. It didn’t, because they never recruited any of our guys. A couple of times an assistant coach would call and ask if he could come watch practice, which was normal protocol for coaches, then not show up. NAU was the only school who ever did that. Another time, a coach showed up, then simply walked out during the practice. Other coaches would always pull one of our assistants aside and say thanks for letting them come watch, and they had to go. Common courtesy. The NAU guy just walked out and we never heard from them again that year. I am relating this to you, so that it is understood how recruiting should go. I would bet that Shane Burcar, being an ex-high school coach, has solved that. ASU never showed interest in any of our players, and the only ASU coach who ever came to the gym, which was about three miles from ASU, was Herb Sendek coming to a Fiesta Bowl game to recruit Jerry Blakes, a guard from San Bernadino Valley College. We were playing them in the first round of the tournament. He left before the game was over, about the time it became apparent that we were going to win. And UofA really doesn’t go the juco route, so we never had any contact with them. We know what route they went, as evidenced by an FBI investigation.

Anyway, the 2012-13 team seemed to really get straight the things that hurt the last group and were determined to not let that happen again. The team was particularly strong up front, and we returned our point guard from the previous year. Our non-conference schedule was great, with a tip-off tournament in Salt Lake, a strong Fiesta Bowl tournament, and a home game against the number one team in the nation, South Plains, Texas. We went 24-7, and 19-3 in the ACCAC.

One of the most memorable moments my time in Mesa came when we played South Plains in our gym in December. We had just come off of a third place finish in a very loaded Fiesta Bowl tournament, beating East Mississippi in the final game. They had the nation’s leading scorer and there was a brawl during the game that happened right in front of the East Mississippi bench. One of their players took exception to something one of our players did. Tre Ogles, who was a real mixer, got it going and when they started to push and shove, virtually the entire East Mississippi team came on to the floor. Of course, they were all immediately ejected and suspended for their next game, which happened to be a league game. To say the coaches were unhappy is an understatement. Lesson- don’t fight in front of your own bench. Anyway, back to the South Plains game. They were a brilliant team that would end up going 36-0. Every position was legitimately two deep- and they had a guy named Marshal Henderson.

We had heard about Marshal from a friend of Coach Grothaus, who was an assistant at the University of Utah. Marshal had gone there as a freshman, and subsequently been suspended for a variety of reasons, including slapping a BYU player. His exploits in Salt Lake City are still legendary, and he was only there one year. He then went to South Plains and ended up in the MCC gym that December. What we knew was that he was an extremely skilled player, could shoot the lights out, and would talk a lot of noise. And we were right. To say he was eccentric, is an understatement. When he and his team walked into the gym, most of the players had earphones and were obviously listening to music. Marshal had no head set, but he was literally dancing- clearly to some music in his head. He was a very friendly young guy and was the only South Plains player to walk (dance) over and shake our hands. His dad was a coach, so he evidently had some deep seeded respect for coaches. He said “hey, I’m Marshal”. OK. When they came out for warmups, he was standing near center court and became fascinated with our defensive footwork drill and started to do it on his own. At one point, he was shooting near our bench and he turned to me and Mike Grothaus and said “I feel it tonight- you better guard me”. We said we would do our best. Right after the game started, he dribbled almost to the exact spot where he talked to us and pulled up for a three. He was so far out there, that our defender hadn’t even started to guard him yet. As it swished through the net, he turned to us and said “I told you- I’m hot”. Classic. We gave them a great game and were only down four with about two minutes left. Marshal then hit two unbelievably long three’s and that was that. He would go on to play at the University of Mississippi, and become even more legendary there. His junior year, they won the SEC tournament championship by beating Kentucky- you can only imagine what that meant down there. Unforgettable kid.

Our reward for a 19-3 league record and a number 2 seed in the playoffs was an opening round game at home against Arizona Western. Playing them was always tough, close, and decided by one or two key things in the end. It never really mattered where the game was either. They played exceptionally well, and that night’s determining factor was their ability to overcome our strength, which was field goal defense- for which we had been ranked number one in the conference all year. Western came in and shot almost 60% from the field and won by seven. If this was the NCAA, we would have probably gone on to the nationals with an at-large bid, but this was juco- you lose and you’re done. So, that was the way it ended.

Next time: Another championship...

Let us take a look at some underclassmen candidates for 4-6A.

Only freshman or sophomores.

To finish off the regular season, I'm making my first trip to Desert Edge to see the Scorpions battle Cactus for the 5A Desert West Region. The teams are ranked 6 and 7, respectively. I've seen DE play twice, but both on the road and both prior to the Carters' arrival. Since Cactus has been 4A (or Division III) during my 14-year run of covering games, this will be the first time I see the Cobras play live.

Cactus (6-3) has scored 21 TDs over the past four games (all wins). It seems the Cobras have settled on Deer Valley transfer Rudy Gonzales at the QB position. RB Damian Jiles ran for 144 in last week's win over Verrado while sophomore WR Nikko Boncore caught a pair of TDs. Defensive end Dom Solano, who just committed to Montana State, had 4 sacks.

Desert Edge (7-2) won its 3rd straight last week over Millennium (55-14). Sophomore Hezekia "Budda" Millender leads the Scorpions with 2,134 passing yards, 26 TDs, and only 3 INTs. Christopher Cordero is over 1,000 yards for the 2nd straight season and has 16 TDs. Vinny Mansfield leads DE in receiving with 11 TDs, and on defense, Maxwell Sawyer has 7.5 sacks. Excited to see junior DB Aundre Gibson, who has 13 offers.

The winner has a shot at a top 4 seed. The loser should still be a top-8 seed and get a home game.

Let us take a look at some breakout candidates for 4-6A.

Either a player who is just coming into his own, getting more playing time, just moved into town or has been hampered by injuries.

Totally random idea since it seems like their will be 8 teams from the 6A conference in the open this year. Let's eliminate the Open Division and make the 6A playoffs a 12 team format with the other playoffs remaining 16 team tourneys.

Week One: 12 seed plays 5 seed, 11 seed plays 6, 10 plays 7, 9 plays 8......teams 1 through 4 have a bye.
Teams who are seeds 13-16 in 6A become the top 4 seeds in the 5A playoffs. For instance Red Mountain would play Millennium, Salpointe would play Gilbert, etc... Seeds 13 through 16 in 5A become the top 4 seeds in the 4A playoffs meaning Paradise Valley plays Lake Havasu, Central plays Yuma Catholic, etc...
The teams that would get "screwed" and not qualify for post season would be teams 13-16 in 3A. Those 4 teams were blown out anyway this past weekend.
Anyway, thats my thought process.
I'm sure you guys will rip it but it would be different

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen! This is the official thread for the 2022-2023 Arizona Varsity Ocho rankings! Each week on the forum you’ll see the rankings by each member of Team AZV before they end up on the website as well as championship predictions from a few as well. I’d love to hear from not just Team AZV but each of you as well that support Arizona Varsity and what your predictions are. I have a few surprises for the Ocho this season so stay tuned!

After going to games at Central and Trevor Browne the past two weeks, I'm going to extend the PXU tour on to a 3rd week and hit up South Mountain as the Jaguars try to play spoiler against Camelback. This will be the first time I've ever seen Camelback play live. I last attended a game at South Mountain in 2019 when the Carters were there.

Camelback (5-3) comes in at #15 in the 5A rankings. The Spartans will need to win this one to set up a winner-take-all situation for next week's game at Central. Both teams are 3-0 in the region and with Central at #14, the loser will likely tumble out of the top 16. The Spartans got some pub before the season and those interviews revealed they would throw the ball on about 80 percent of their plays. That didn't materialize as QB Max Martin has 191 pass attempts compared with 196 carries (37 from Martin) for the backs. So the Spartans are balanced, which isn't a bad thing. I first saw Martin when he was one of 5 QBs battling for the No. 1 spot at Liberty in the spring of 2021. This year, he has thrown for 1,737 yards with 16 TD passes. Whoever next year's starting QB is will have an experienced receiving corps. Kemahn Knight (soph), Jaylen Gillis (junior), and Aken Logan (soph) have combined for 80 catches, 1413 yards, and 14 touchdowns.

South Mountain (4-4, 2-1) has improved from last year when it went 2-8. Part of that is due to a return to the Metro Region. When the Jaguars had success in 2019, but no playoff spot, they were moved to the Northeast Valley Region. That may have worked out had it not been for the mostly-lost 2020 season (2-1 in three games played with none for lower levels). In 2021, South faced Sunnyslope, Notre Dame, Desert Mountain, and Cactus Shadows in region games. That didn't go well. After a midseason four-game losing streak, SMHS has rebounded with close wins over McClintock (12-6) and Fairfax (22-18). Camelback shouldn't expect an easy time on Friday as it looks ahead to next week's Central game. Not able to give stats for South Mountain's players this season as the team only entered numbers for five of the games (3 losses omitted). In looking at last week's win over Fairfax, the Jags faced a 6-0 deficit at the half. SMHS threw just 6 passes (from 2 different QBs) in the game, but found success on the ground with senior Caleb Palmer (27 carries, 172 yards, TD). Palmer was also one of 4 Jaguars to intercept a pass in the game. In all, South Mountain forced 6 turnovers and if the Jags can do anything close to that on defense this week, it can stay in the contest.

Monarch Sports Arizona is proud to announce the Inaugural Christian Challenge, which is scheduled Friday, January 13 at Mesa Community College. The boys' varsity doubleheader will feature four Christian schools from four cities in Metro Phoenix, two defending state champions, and two highly-regarded 2026s:

6p Gilbert Christian vs. Northwest Christian
730p Scottsdale Christian vs. Valley Christian

More information, in addition to the event press release, can be found on Twitter/Instagram (@MonarchSportsAZ).

Marc A. Beasley
Monarch Sports Arizona
marcbeasley23@gmail.com

School - Former Coach - New Coach (previous title)
San Tan Charter - Kerry Taylor - Chase Cartwright (QB coach @ San Tan Charter)
Crismon - (New School) - Corbin Smith (HC @ McClintock)
Westwood - Kyle Ide - Brandon Large (OC @ Higley)
Florence - Bill McKane - Jesse Hart (DC @ Westwood)
Skyline - George Hawthorne - Adam Schiermyer (OC @ Eastmark)
St. Johns - Mike Morgan - John Richardson (assistant @ St. Johns)
Rio Rico - Kevin Kuhm - Jeff Scurran (previous HC @ Catalina Foothills)
Agua Fria - George Martinez - Ricky Higuera (assistant @ Millennium)
Flowing Wells - Scott Cortese - Brian Hook (OC @ Flowing Wells)
Perry - Preston Jones - Joseph Ortiz (HC @ Cactus)
Youngker - Anthony Cluff - Josh Sekoch (former HC @ Valley Vista)
Tempe - Todd Hanley - Sean Freeman (previous DC @ Westwood)
Combs - Travis Miller - Levi Hoaglund (JV HC @ Combs)
Corona del Sol - Jon Becktold - Jake Barro (HC @ Casa Grande)
Sahuaro - Scott McKee - Al Alexander (Assistant @ Mica Mountain)
Highland Prep - Shane Stephenson - Jason Shaw (HC @ North Pointe Prep)
North Pointe Prep - Jason Shaw - Vance Phillips Jr (Assistant @ Salt River juco)
Ironwood Ridge - James Hardy Jr. - Dale Stott (Assistant in Utah)
Chinle - Alan Barwick - Pita Olomua (HC @ Red Mesa)
Maryvale - Sam Schilling -Byron Traylor (WR coach @ Sierra Linda)
Parker - Jeston Lotts - Jeff Wheatley (Assistant @ Parker)
Trivium Prep - Michael Spencer - Stephen Hemming (OC @ Gilbert Christian)
Camp Verde - Rick Walsworth - Aaron Gronwald (Assistant @ Camp Verde)
Desert Vista - Ty Wisdom - Nate Gill (HC @ Sierra Linda)
Pima - Jim Hughes - Josh Wilkins (JV HC @ Pima)
Cactus - Joseph Ortiz - Brian Belles (DC @ Cactus)
Peoria - Will Babb - Jason Golden (DC @ Peoria)
Kofa - Karl Pope - Alfonzo Brown (Assistant @ Gila Ridge)
Casa Grande - Jake Barro - Mark Luna (Frosh HC @ Casa Grande)
Tonopah Valley - Joshua Oliver - Brett Davis (HC @ Spiro in Okla.)
Lee Williams - Patrick O'Boyle - Stevann Brown (OC @ Lee Williams)
McClintock - Corbin Smith - Mike Fell (HC @ Mesa Mountain View)
Coronado - Jerry Black - Rick Benjamin (Former HC @ Tuba City)
Sierra Linda - Nate Gill - Ty Preyer (OC @ Trevor Browne)
Red Mountain - Mike Peterson - Kyle Enders (DC @ Red Mountain)
Mesquite - Scott Hare - Vance Miller (previous HC @ Arcadia)
La Joya - Devin Dourisseau - Adam Beene (HC @ North Canyon)
Maricopa - Rick Skinner - Tevin Rutherford (previous HC @ AZ Compass Prep)
Greyhills - Vaughn Salabye - dropped football
Desert Sunrise - (New School) - Jonathan Clark (HC @ River Valley)
River Valley - Jonathan Clark - Kevin Hall (RB Coach @ Ariz. Christian)
Buckeye - Kelley Moore - Puni Ellis (OC @ Buckeye)
Cibola - Steven Fritz - Kasey Koepplin (HC @ Beulah HS in N. Dak.)
Antelope - Gary Mauldin - Doug South
Benson - Chris Determan - Dustin Cluff (assistant @ Round Valley)
Kingman - Russ Stryker - Trent Graff (JV HC @ Kingman)
Holbrook - Christopher Starkey - Shawn Holley (OC @ River Valley)
North Canyon - Adam Beene - Jeremy Dieck (assistant @ North Canyon)
Arete Prep - Cord Smith - Brandon Payne (HC Papago Pumas - juco)
Sequoia Pathfinder Academy - (New School) - Steve Ciszek (DC @ Mountainside)
Palo Verde - Mike Wells - Jamal Chatman
Kingman Academy - Bill McCord - Sean Windecker (OC @ Kingman Academy)
Red Mesa - Sandy Benally - OPEN
Highland Prep West - (New School) - Mario Jimerson (assistant @ West Point)
ALA-West Foothills - (New School) - Tim Su'esu'e Liufau (OC @ Millennium)
Tempe Prep - Larry Cain - Jason Jones (OC @ Tempe Prep)
ALA-Anthem South - (New School) - Kent Anderson (Assistant @ Mesquite)
Fort Thomas - Bracken Walker - Erique Aguilar (assistant @ Safford)
Cactus Shadows - Mike Hudnutt - Chris Dixon (assistant with Arizona Rattlers)
Santa Cruz - James Fitzgerald - Thomas Cortez (previous assistant @ Santa Cruz)
Wickenburg - Mike Mitchell - Ismael McNeil (LB/WR coach @ Wickenburg)
Fountain Hills - Jimmy Curtis - Sean Moran (OC @ Shadow Ridge)
Sunnyside - Glenn Posey - Thomas Romack (DC @ Sunnyside)
Tucson - Richard Sanchez - Malcolm Nelson (assistant with Tucson Sugar Skulls)

Let us take a look at some candidates for 3-6A.

POY is usually the best player on the best team to win it all--In most years!

Feel free to play along!

22 for 2022: ArizonaVarsity Top Games of the Week (9/1-9/2)

My Top 22 games of the week, plus my picks.

Seeing 2 teams this week that I've never see play in 14 years of covering games. Both have records of 5-2 and the loser of the game will have no shot at the playoffs. For the 2nd week in a row, I'm hitting up the PXU as Trevor Browne hosts Thunderbird on the West Side.

The Bruins and Titans (formerly the Chiefs) played one another in Thunderbird's first season (Trevor Browne's 2nd) in 1973. They continued the series for the next 4 years with it being even at 2-2-1 (no OT in the '70s). 45 years later, we have meeting #6!

Thunderbird is #16 in the 4A and trying to hang on to that spot. The Titans have scored 40 or more points in 4 of their 5 wins and are allowing just 14 points per game. Sean Mathews gets it done on both sides of the ball with 5 TD runs and 3 INTs this season.

Trevor Browne started 5-0, but has dropped to #20 in the 6A (after Open teams factored out). That means the Bruins are on the outside looking in as they seek their first playoff appearance since 2009. TGB has allowed 7 or fewer points in 4 of their 5 wins (3 shutouts) and are allowing just 15 points per game. The Bruins also have a 2-way player in CJ Greer, who has rushed for 7 TDs and intercepted 3 passes.

It may be 4A vs. 6A, but it looks to be a pretty even matchup. I've been fortunate the past 2 weeks to have seen games with scores of 27-21 and 27-20. We'll see if I get another good one.

Making another run...

The 2011-12 season was also a tale of two seasons, but for a different reason. We felt like we were solid at every position with good size and depth. We opened the season by going to Hutchinson, Kansas to play in their tip-off tournament. Their arena is the Mecca of junior college basketball and exactly why I wanted MCC to stay in Division 1. That is where the annual national tournament is held for D1 and has been for almost 70 years. The building is practically a museum for junior college basketball and just reeks of the history of basketball. Mike Grothaus and I had breakfast one of the days we were there with a couple of the founders of the national tournament, including the late Sam Butterfield, for whom the court is named. They explained to us that the first two years a national tournament was held, it was in Pasadena, California. The tournaments, like the Fiesta Bowl one in Maricopa County, drew small crowds and got little media attention. These gentlemen asked the NJCAA if they could take a crack at it in their town of Hutchinson. It turns out that they had just completed a new 10,000 seat arena for basketball. The NJCAA said yes and it has been there ever since. It was then, and still is conducted by a local group- not the NJCAA, as is the case with most of their tournaments. The NJCAA is kind of a Mom and Pop outfit really. California wanted to send two teams to the tournament, but the guys in Hutch said no- you only get one, since California was one region on the NJCAA map. California balked and has never participated in the tournament or the NJCAA since. Talk about holding a grudge. A lot of people in California that I have talked to, to this day do not know the story and think the issue is just money.

There is a giant map of the United States in the lobby of the arena, and all the champions through the years are marked from their locations in the various states. Obviously, California is blank, but so is Arizona. Both states together comprise Region 1, but for reasons previously mentioned, California does not choose to participate. In all of those 70 years, Arizona has one runner-up finish by Arizona Western, when Jim Amick was coaching. In 1969, Phoenix College went into the national tournament ranked number 1 at 35-0, but lost in the opening round. They were coached by Leon Blevins and had an All-American player, Dennis “Mo” Layton. Mo would go on to play at USC with another very good guard named Paul Westphal, and then, like Paul, would play for the Phoenix Suns. Mesa had a third place finish in 1987, when just like for Phoenix and Arizona Western, all of the ACCAC teams were in the same division and was sending a representative to Hutch every year. Coach Bennett had six teams make it to Hutch during his tenure alone, but that 1987 team was his seventh, and was co-coached by him and Royce Youree. They lost to the College of Southern Idaho by one point in the semi-finals when a tipped three pointer banked in. Since the breakout of divisions, Arizona has hardly ever had a team make it to Hutch, as the Region 1 winner has to play the Region 18 winner to get in. The difference in funding for us at Mesa and Region 18 teams is like the difference between NAU and Duke. We kept trying, but the map of Arizona is still blank. I think Mesa is about to give up on it.

We lost to Hutchinson College in the tournament final, but beat two good teams earlier to get there, including Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, which was ranked in the top 25. The whole trip was memorable because of the sheer history of the place. One of the things I loved about playing games in the Midwest over the years was the fan bases of the various teams. They were generally very knowledgeable about basketball and its history; they understood the different strategies that a particular game could have; and they were very loyal to their home teams- and I mean very loyal. In Hutch, some locals really liked us the first two games, and were pleasant to talk to before and after each game. Then, we walked in to play Hutch, they wouldn’t even speak to us. We loved it and appreciated that kind of loyalty.

By the end of December we were at the top of the conference going into the Fiesta Bowl tournament. As mentioned earlier, we defeated Three Rivers Community College from Missouri in the championship game. At that moment, I could not imagine that anyone in the country was playing better than us. Three Rivers was nationally ranked, would ultimately win their very tough region and go to Hutch, and had the winningest coach in junior college history, Gene Bess. We jumped on them early and led 44-25 at the half. I think they were in shock. We still had mostly Arizona kids in those days- before the rise of the prep schools and the NAIA’s in the Valley, so the win was really meaningful to us.

Then the one thing that many coaches find troubling happened to the team. The Fiesta Bowl tournament drew a lot of college coaches from NCAA Division 1 schools, and winning it was a really big deal for them. One of our players, Asaad Woods, was named the tournament MVP, which put him in elite company. The interest from the colleges increased greatly for him, which began to cause a certain friction in the locker room. I think Pat Riley refers to this phenomenon as the “Disease of Me”. This is junior college- everyone comes to juco to develop and move on to a four year school. I never had a player sit down and say “this will do it for me. I just wanted to play juco”.

To make a long story short, our team fractured and succumbed to the disease. We needed to win one of our last three games to make the playoffs. We lost the first two- both by one point. We then traveled to Thatcher to play the season finale against Eastern Arizona. We got behind early and were down double digits most of the second half. Although not liking each other very much, the guys were still competitors and made a strong comeback to be down one with 13 seconds left. We got the ball after Eastern missed a shot at the end of the shot clock, and I decided not to call timeout. I wanted to Eastern to have to scramble back. What happened next encapsulated the team’s demise in the second half of the season. Our point guard came down the floor and looked over the floor and you could see that he had no confidence in who to get the ball to. He deferred on a couple of guys and passed it to a freshman wing- who really did not want it. It was time to make a play and he passed it instead with one second left. We ended up with a terrible shot and our season ended. It was the only time we would not make the playoffs in twelve years at MCC. So, after starting out 11-2 and winning the best holiday tournament in the country, we ended up 17-12. The Disease of Me.

Next time: Building...

The 3rd Annual Capital City Tip-off Classic returns to the high school basketball calendar! The boys' varsity doubleheader will feature the following games:

Friday, December 2
6p Aurora (CO) Regis Jesuit vs. Phoenix (AZ) St. Mary's Catholic
7:30p Goodyear (AZ) Millennium vs. Phoenix (AZ) Brophy College Prep
Games will take place at Brophy College Preparatory (4701 North Central Avenue) in Phoenix.

Past History
'20-'21 @ St. Mary's: Chandler def. Surprise Valley Vista, 63-62; Phoenix Sunnyslope def. Phoenix St. Mary's Catholic, 59-51.
'21-'22 @ Brophy Prep: Gilbert Perry def. Scottsdale Chaparral, 49-36; Phoenix Sunnyslope def. Phoenix Brophy Prep, 43-40.

Marc A. Beasley
Monarch Sports Arizona
@MonarchSportsAZ

Haven't seen anyone posting the links to these shows in a while on the boards so I started a new thread.

Congratulations to Eric and Zach on Episode 100

Take it EZ Sports Show (Ep. 100) 100 episodes with Chilly and Ralph

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Week 1:

Any and all recruiting updates and articles for the 2022-2023 schoolyear will be posted here

Agua Fria Union High School District media day recap from Richard Smith

Updates on Desert Edge, Millennium, Agua Fria, Verrado and Canyon View

ArizonaVarsity Top 10 Preseason Rankings, 6A​

I spent a week convinced that I was going to have Hamilton at #1, waited to see if the AIA was going to grant the Hamilton appeal of their probation to affirm that I'd have Hamilton at #1, slept on it, and them woke up with Hamilton at #3. The reality of losing coach Doherty (assuming he's not involved in any way behind the scenes) had me drop the Huskies to #3 behind Saguaro and Chandler.

I know everyone at the top wants some type of proof that they had doubters, so a pre-emptive 'you're welcome' to Chandler, and an apology to Saguaro for the order of my 1-2. What it came down to for me was simple- the biggest flaw Chandler had last year was the running game, and unless I see for myself that it's been repaired, it was hard for me to give them the top spot over the team that just beat them 9 months ago in the Open final.

Brett Quintyne asked me if this is Basha's best team. I believe it is. And I believe they're going to open some eyes in their opener against Los Alamitos. They have talent everywhere, and a level of buy-in that makes them a legit title contender.

Highland is your returning 6A champion, and I think they'd have made noise in the open had they been included. Brock Farrel is a fantastic coach, and all of the sudden, the Hawks are beyond a neighborhood success story, and becoming a destination school.

The 6-10 spots are the teams that I believe are going to compete for the 1-5 spots in the 6A playoffs, though the better of Liberty and Centennial when the dust settles should absolutely be placed into the Open playoffs. It's wild to think that the eventual 6A champion might not even be in my preseason 6A Top 10, any combination of Mountain Pointe, Brophy, Chaparral, Salpointe and Williams Field could make it happen, and it's crazy to exclude O'Connor and Perry from any playoff conversation as well!

This is the most loaded 6A I've ever seen, and I genuinely believe 12+ teams would be considered the top team in 5A if they were to be placed down a division.