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Haven't seen the Coyotes play at Campo Verde in 9 years. The past 3 times I've seen them play, they were on the road. Making my way to Gilbert this Friday to see them against Apollo. Should be a good test for the Campo D.

I last saw Apollo (1-1) in 2018 and then went to the Hawks' spring game in 2019, which was the first for head coach Aaron Walls. AHS improved from 2-8 his first season to 8-3 last year (and a playoff appearance). Of course, the star attraction at Apollo is running back Adam Mohammed. Through 2 games, the junior has 413 rushing yards and 7 TDs. Silas Chicharello returned at QB last week and had 2 TD passes, so Mohammed isn't having to do that job again (like he did in Week 1).

Campo Verde (1-0) only got to play about 6 minutes last Friday night. Then the rains and lightning came and with their opponent coming from Tucson (Ironwood Ridge), the Nighthawks did not return on Saturday to finish it. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, that cost them a likely victory as CV led the game 20-0 when it was stopped. That defensive effort followed up on an 18-0 win in Campo's opener in California. I believe their quarterback, Ashton McPherson, was injured in that game. Mason Shea moved over from receiver to finish it. Junior running back Athan Ferber went over 100 yards (115) in the win over Chavez. Campo Verde also made the 5A playoffs in 2021, despite a 4-6 regular season record.

Through 13 varsity games, Mohammed has had 100 or more yards in all 13 of them. Will Campo be the first to keep him under the century mark?

On to Mesa Community College

As fate had it while that season was progressing, I learned of an opening for a head men’s coach at Mesa Community College. I talked to Scott about it and, surprisingly, he said that he thought it was the third best coaching position in the Valley, behind the Suns and ASU. He said it was full time, it was Division 1 NJCAA, and the recruiting field in the metro area was very fertile, since ASU really wasn’t recruiting any Phoenix kids, and Scott and his GCU staff didn’t really hit the valley that hard, as well. This was 2007, and there were none of the NAIA schools present then either. Equally surprising, Scott told me that he might even apply. So, I put in for the job. That was in October. I called my friend, Tom Bennett, and told him that I was going to apply and was there any guidance he could give me. Coach Bennett was the winningest coach in MCC history, and was a member of the NJCAA Hall of Fame. He told me to make sure that I included an experience reference to each one of the requirements listed in the job description. Otherwise the search committee would throw my cover letter in the trash without any further consideration. A few years later, to amplify the point, I served on a search committee at MCC for an on campus job of some importance. Over two hundred people had applied, and in the first meeting of the group, we were told to read each introductory letter, and if the candidate had failed to mention prior experience that was listed in the job description, we were instructed to throw the application out. I tried to object to this method, as there were many outstanding candidates with great educational and work backgrounds who had simply not listed their experiences in each category. I was told by the committee chair that was how it was done at MCC- period. I couldn’t help but to think back to Coach Bennett’s advice and be grateful that I had followed it. I declined to ever participate in another search committee after that. So, if you ever apply in that District, remember this.

As I eventually found out through the years, the Maricopa County Community College District is a lumbering bureaucracy that moves extremely slow when filling jobs. I think right now in 2022, the majority of college presidents in the district are interims, as is the Chancellor, if that gives you any idea. I thought in October 2007, that they would wrap up the coaching search fairly quickly to give the new coach a recruiting advantage. Wrong. It was January of 2008 before I heard anything. I had no idea if I was even being considered and by January was beginning to think I had been passed over. The GCU basketball team was in Hawaii, and with a day off, we were all at Sunset Beach on Oahu when my phone rang. It was an administrative assistant to the interim Vice President of Student Affairs at Mesa Community College. She said the search committee wanted to interview me. Over the sound of the crashing waves, I told her where I was and that it would be difficult for me to get there. She said not to worry, the interviews would not take place until February- late February. What’s the hurry, right?

It was the kind of interview that I do not like- a committee of coaches who had been roped into asking candidate after candidate a series of scripted questions. You could just read their faces that they knew this was a waste of their time. I believe the main role of a college athletic director is to hire good coaches, and then give them all the resources they need to be successful in the pursuit of excellence. That’s his/her job, not some committee. If this was a high school interview, I would have walked, like I did at South Mountain CC a dozen years earlier. I actually did that at Mesa High once, also. I went over to interview with Lionel Gore, who I believe was the Mesa District AD at the time, only to walk into a room that had parents, players, teachers, and God knows who else. I asked Lionel if I could speak to him in the hallway, and then left. But, after my experience at GCU, and the fact that Tom Bennett and Royce Youree really wanted me to do this, I gutted out the MCC interview. But the fact that MCC did it this way, would be a bad omen for the future, as it usually is.

I actually didn’t find out that I had been selected as the next MCC coach until late March. They called me in for what was supposed to be a second interview with the college president, only to be told by him right away that they wanted me for the position. Just like the South Mountain president, he didn’t beat around the bush, only this time it was a full-time position coaching basketball. It turned out to be perfect timing for retiring from teaching, as well, as I had reached my 80 point retirement threshold in February, so I immediately put in for it upon hearing the news from Mesa. I finished out my teaching contract in May, but was actually working two jobs in March, April, and May. I would drive to work in Ahwatukee each morning- teach at Mountain Pointe High School, then go to MCC for work there, then home to Central Phoenix. Long days.

Right here, let me say that for the third best coaching job in the valley, it was crickets when I got the job. I did not receive one call from anyone in the media to talk about the job, or to announce it. I don’t coach for that, but I thought it was a bit odd. As with most people, I hadn’t really paid any attention to the kind of media coverage that the Maricopa jucos got in the media, which was actually nata. Even the MCC Sports Information guy said he would get it up on the internet somewhere down the line. He was a part timer, like many people who worked there, as I found out. Some people refer to the community college system in Maricopa County as a kind of pyramid scheme- most of the faculty are what they call “adjunct”, which is probably Latin for “part-time”. Even my wife was an adjunct French teacher at MCC. She taught the same subject at Camelback High School full time, and most adjuncts have a desire deep down to catch on at one of the colleges full time. That is a very slim chance proposition, as full time faculty positions are few and like golf coaches in high school- you have to pry them away from cold, dead fingers.

There was no official announcement from the school about the hiring, nor was there any sort of welcome ceremony. Sometimes I wondered over the years why the Maricopa Community College District even bothers with athletics. They have a low regard for coaches, only hiring a few full time. I went to a Vice President at MCC once to see if I could get some jobs on campus for my assistants. She said “what can I do for them, they’re just coaches?” These were men who had Master’s Degrees and years of experience in education, but to her they were just “coaches”. The District recently dropped football altogether, and during that mess, there were serious discussions at the district level as to why they should fund any athletic programs. The schools had to scramble around and come up with justifications for keeping the athletic programs at their schools. The reason for funding any program should be the pursuit of excellence, but unfortunately for most high school coaches and all of the MCCCD coaches, it is simply participation. Just don’t bring them any problems. The pursuit of excellence, unfortunately brings problems- most notably a strong level of institutional commitment.

But, I just wanted to coach…so away we went.

Next time: The Vision

GCU (part 2)

Let me amplify the family aspect of teams that I ended with last time. In 1968, which was my senior season at East High, and the school’s first year in the highest classification of Arizona high school sports, which was “AAA”, we were immediately tossed into the toughest region in the state- the Metro. The Metro in those days had two divisions, and ours had North High, South Mountain High, Central, Maryvale, and Carl Hayden. On the other side, one of the teams was Phoenix Union, which was coming off a 28-0 season. Another of the teams was West High, where we would open the season. They initiated us to the Metro with a 75-59 thumping. We won our home opener against Scottsdale High, and then headed over to play Phoenix Union in that huge gym of theirs. They were already 3-0, so had a 31 game win streak going. We beat them 65-64, which Coach Youree still refers to as the “arrival” of East High basketball. We would go 6-4 in our side of the Metro, and even though we didn’t go far in the playoffs, we were the only team in Arizona to have beaten the two '68 AAA finalists during the season- Phoenix Union and Maryvale. And many people know how East High then dominated the Arizona basketball scene for the next thirteen years until the school closed. Where does family come into this picture? Well, on the night of the Phoenix Union game and all of the subsequent games that season, we started four seniors. On the day I posted Blog #41, those same four starters met for lunch, almost 55 years later, as we have done many times over the years. It is a brotherhood, a bond. Sometimes, Coach Youree joins us, and he is the father figure. Yes, a family. Isn’t this what sports should be for someone?

The 2007-08 GCU season was rocky, and pretty much all over the map in terms of how we played. We definitely played much better at home in Antelope Gymnasium. We ended up 15-16, which reflected our inability to play well on the road. Since GCU was in the PacWest Conference, which included four teams from Hawai’i, we had two different road trips to the islands that were a week each. Those were pretty cool for coaches, because on our dead time, of which there was quite a bit, we could sightsee. It wasn’t so good for the players, however, because they needed to rest and/or do homework on their down time. Scott had been there several times and knew all the sights that appeal to tourists. We climbed Diamond Head on Oahu, as well as taking a drive up into the rainforests in the center of the island. I was also able to take walks on the boulevard facing Waikiki Beach, which was pleasant. On one of the walks, I pulled out my cell phone and called the lunch room in the Social Studies Department of Mountain Pointe High School, where I was still technically a teacher. It was lunchtime for the group, so I wanted to make sure I described my walk down to the beach and into the ocean. On the Big Island, where we would play the University of Hawai’i Hilo, we drove along the coastal highway and visited some of the beautiful waterfalls along the way.

The most poignant visit for me was on Oahu- Pearl Harbor. My Dad grew up in a tiny town in Texas during the Depression. His parents lived on a small farm and life was rough. My Grandpa had to deliver ice to homes for coolers and my Dad would help him before and after school. The blocks of ice were fifty pounds each and had to be hand carried to each location, many times up some stairs. My Dad couldn’t wait to graduate from high school, and had plans to join the army in the hopes of becoming a pilot. Right after graduation in 1940, he drove 50 miles to Dallas, where there was an army recruiting center in which he could sign the enlistment papers. His neighborhood buddy, Duane “Rusty” Jackson, went with him, even though Rusty was not a high school graduate yet and was only 16. He was going to see if he couldn’t lie about his age and get in the service. His life in the small town was dreary and he envied his friend’s ability to get out. When they got to the recruiting office, my Dad went to the army office and told Rusty to wait in the lobby and he could go next. Rusty got up after a few minutes and went down the hallway to the navy office. He had never seen the ocean, so the idea of working on it and going around the world on a ship kind of appealed to him. By the time my Dad finished enlisting in the new Army-Air Force, Rusty had lied his way into the navy.

Dad’s first station after boot camp was at a new base out in the dusty town of Phoenix, Arizona, called Luke Field. Rusty, on the other hand, landed a plum position as a gunner’s mate on one of the premier battleships in the U.S. Navy- the USS Arizona. On December 7, 1941, Rusty was able to make it to his gun position on one of the two towers of the ship before the bomb hit that completely destroyed it. His body was blown out into the bay and recovered later. Most of the crew of the Arizona were never recovered and were entombed permanently in the wreckage. Rusty was eventually buried back in his home town. Every other year when I was a kid, we would go to Texas to visit my Grandma, who still lived on that old farm. And on each trip, my Dad would drive my brother and I out to the cemetery and we would go to Rusty’s grave. His grave marker was a simple stone with his name and years of life on this planet. He was 17 when he died on the Arizona. There was also a metallic frame that held a small black and white picture of Rusty wearing his navy uniform and his sailor’s hat with “USS Arizona” written on it. When I stood at the Arizona Memorial all those many years later, and saw Duane Jackson’s name on that wall, I understood why my Dad took us to the cemetery on each visit to Texas. He wanted us to understand that Rusty’s sacrifice mattered. And as I stood there, I was overwhelmed by that.

We lost all four games in Hawai’i, but would beat all four of those teams in Antelope gym. That’s kind of the way the whole season was. Chaminade, which was and still is a D2 famous for hosting a tournament that annually includes some big time D1’s now referred to as the Maui Invitational, actually has an on-campus gymnasium that is…well, rustic. What struck me immediately was that there was no dressing room for the visiting teams, so we had to dress in a classroom that was on top of a hill directly above the gym. That is junior college stuff. Anyway, as we descended the hill, we were directed to a side door and found that we entered the gym on the second level and would have to go down through the bleachers to get to the floor. That also meant that at halftime and after the game, we would have to climb through those same bleachers to get back to the classroom. If there were fans present, those trips could be problematic. When we got to the floor, I immediately noticed that the entire surface was covered with Chiquita Banana stickers. I had never seen that before- or since. Predictably, when we went up the bleachers at halftime, the fans were giving us the business, and after our loss, many hung around to give us more of the business as we walked out. We played a very poor second half, which of course we attributed to having to climb that hill at halftime.

When we played Hawai’i Pacific, I found that they did not even have a gym of their own, and played at two or three locations around Honolulu. The night we played them, they were at a local high school gym. Although their team was not very good, the gym was packed with fans and they had a great pep band. I spoke with a student after the game and found out that their housing costs would be reduced if they attended sporting events. And they partied the whole game- very loud. The student told me that if they had to be there, then they felt they should have a great time. Smart. I hear the Havoc at GCU these days gets the same deal. One of the players on their team was someone that I knew from Arizona. I asked him if he liked it at Hawai’i Pacific and he said “Yes, great weed”. The fans really did carry a mediocre team to victory that night.

BYU Hawai’i was a different story. They were the class of the PacWest and had a great South American player named Lucas Alvez. He would be PacWest Conference Player of the Year three times. Great big man- 6’9” with great athleticism, feet, and hands. He was very skilled and fun to watch. They had a beautiful arena and were located on the North Shore of Oahu. Nothing remarkable about the game stands out, and they handled us pretty easily. BYU Hawai’i has since dropped their athletic programs, which is a shame.

Hawai’i Hilo played in the Hilo Civic Center, which was one of those old combine gyms with a stage at one end of the court. There was no air conditioning- beach breezes, right? Wrong, it was stuffy in there and even more so when it filled up with people. It was so humid that there were two boys at each end of the floor with mops to wipe up the droplets of sweat from the players each time they went to the other end. There were several times during the game when the boys were caught out on the floor by one team or the other coming down on a fast break. We at least had a locker room, but the windows were open and people outside could hear everything. We played a poor first half, and Scott came in at halftime and started to give it to the team pretty hard. When he paused, some lady outside yelled “you tell ‘em, coach!” Everyone laughed, including the players.

Next time: On to Mesa Community College

This week, I'm checking out two teams that both have new head coaches, both have just been moved down from 6A to 5A due to struggles, and both won exciting games in Week 1.

I'll be in East Mesa at Skyline as the Coyotes host Tucson.

Tucson made a late hire bringing in Malcolm Nelson in July. He has 18 years of experience and was an assistant with the IFL Tucson Sugar Skulls in 2019. The Badgers played just 2 games in the COVID 2020 season and went 1-9 last year. TMHS matched that win total with a 29-21 victory over Dobson last week. The game was tied with less than 3 minutes to go before the Badgers prevailed. Tucson played two QBs, a senior and a freshman. They combined for 215 yards with Devin Neumann (Sr.) going 8-of-11 for 150 yards. The two QBs also totaled 85 rushing yards. Defensively, the Badgers held Dobson to 61 passing yards (8-of-18).

Skyline hired Adam Schiermyer back in January. He was previously the OC at Eastmark where he helped get the Firebirds into the playoffs in just their second season of varsity play. Prior to that, Schiermyer was a part of Preston Jones' staff at Perry. Over the last three seasons, Skyline's record was just 5-23. Like Tucson, the Coyotes were 1-9 in 2021 and matched that win total with a 21-17 victory at North Canyon last week. The Rattlers were driving at the end, but were tackled just one yard short of the end zone on their final reception as time expired. The Coyotes got it done on the ground with junior Jordan Blake tallying 251 yards on 20 carries and a pair of touchdowns. The SHS defense held North Canyon to 88 rushing yards.

It's a pair of teams that don't get much attention, but someone will be 2-0 and I think will have a chance at a 6-4 season. Should be a close one in the East Valley.

Who are some sports reporters/media that others may not know to pay attention to but do good work?

I say in Flagstaff that Brenden Martin gets out to a lot of stuff that I don’t have time to cover. Same with with Ava Nichols.

The Granillo show is new in the valley but they’ve got some good stuff early going on. Seliberty was recently on

Every year we find out there are these secretive scrimmages around the state

Here are some I found out about

All the levels are playing this week (I'm calling it Week 1 for the big schools). Doing this thread weekly again so we can seen what games everyone is covering.

I'll be making my first trip to Corona del Sol since 2015 to see the Aztecs against Mesa. The Jackrabbits return WR Tre Brown, who went for over 1,000 yards and 11 TDs in a 10-game season. Mesa was 4-6 last year, but is in a winnable region this year with Corona now moved out of it. This is the 4th year at the helm for Chad DeGrenier and MHS has only posted a winning record during his first season in 2019. Mesa will be starting a new QB this year as Cy Schmaltz is now playing for Gila River in the HJCAC. 2015 was also the last time I saw Mesa play in person.

The last time Jake Barro coached in a football game, he was claiming the gold ball after Casa Grande took the 4A Conference title last December. Just a month later, he took the job at Corona del Sol. The Aztecs went 5-5 (5-0 in region play), but finished at #19 in the power rankings. Corona returns Connor Ackerley at QB, who passed for 1,051 yards in his sophomore year. It seemed the reins were on him as he only attempted 20 passes twice last season. In Barro's offense, he could have a career-high 28 in this opener. CDS also brings back RB Jonathan Kubat, who rushed for 1,128 yards and scored 21 TDs in his junior year. It conjures up memories of a solid offense Barro had at CG with Angel Flores and RJ Keeton.

GCU (Part 1)

What intrigued Scott about having me on board was the system of team defense that we taught. I didn’t know Scott that well, but I knew that he had been an assistant for Paul Westphal when GCU was an NAIA school. He had been part of a national championship with Paul and was a disciple of his way of doing things, as you would expect. What that meant, though, that Scott’s view of defense was all about effort, and not necessarily technique. Our system was not only about effort, but also very much about technical expertise- footwork, arm work, body positions relative to the ball, and floor position.

When I worked with Bill Farrell, he also was intrigued with the defensive system. He let me go to teach it as thoroughly as I could, because he really wanted to learn it for his own coaching future. I understood that and obliged by not holding anything back. Other coaches that I worked with, including Scott, were taken aback by how much time it took to learn the system and usually tried to get me to do a quicker version before eventually giving up altogether. It wasn’t too long at GCU that I was cut to one drill per practice and soon after that to none.

I still had to try and figure out a way to contribute, because standing around during practice was beyond boring. We had some good big men, so I migrated to them after asking Scott if I could be utilized there. I had noticed that the bigs really had no system of individual work- they just went to a basket and shot free throws and anything else they could think of. We had developed through the years something we referred to as the “post sequence” and I thought it would be a good way to get the big guys organized and learning some new skills. It starts with the jump hook around the basket with both hands. We have taught the jump hook through the years to all of our players, regardless of size. That shot allows a player to score over bigger opponents when they are near the basket. It is frustrating to watch a guard get a great offensive rebound, but then have no way to get their shot off over a bigger player who is next to them. For big guys, the best way to score right at the basket is to go up and dunk the ball on their opponent, but most guys can’t do that. So, the jump hook keeps them moving towards the basket instead of fading away.

From learning the jump hook, the post sequence moves to how to get position relative to how the defense is playing you. There are four ways you can be guarded in the post area- behind, side top, side bottom, and in front. There are techniques for gaining good offensive position for each type of defense. Big guys must learn how to show a target hand that tells their teammate where they want the ball to be thrown. It is amazing to watch on TV or at live practices and games how post players will show a target hand, and their teammate will just throw the ball to the center of their body, making it more likely to get knocked away. They show a target for a reason. We would teach every player on our team these techniques of passing and catching in the post, as I found through the years that guards are often not good post defenders. At GCU, I was only given permission to work with the bigs, however, which was only half the picture. But, it was better than just standing around.

As with the defense, it takes time to work on post skills and time to learn them. I started sitting with the bigs during games down towards the end of the bench, so that I could talk to them about how they were being played and what they might consider doing. That also got me away from where Scott and the other coaches sat, which was more pleasant and free. Scott was of the opinion that his main function was to work the referees continually and the other coaches picked up on that which made it fairly noisy at that end of the bench. Eventually, he felt a little insecure about where I was sitting and asked me to stop working with the big guys. He made them commit to one move only- an over the right shoulder turn and jump shot. If they couldn’t get that shot, they were instructed to kick the ball out to the perimeter. Of course, if you only have one move, the defense will fairly quickly take that away, thus our bigs became much less effective offensively. So from about half the season on, I really had no function on the court, except adding encouragement during drills. I still sat with the big guys on the bench the rest of the way, offering encouragement as best I could. This season would have been a one and done at GCU for me regardless of what awaited in the future. Mesa Community College would soon be a viable option.

A side note here to all head coaches- always include assistants in team meetings. Scott came in one day and instead of having practice, he decided to have a team meeting in the locker room. We all started going in, and he stopped the assistant coaches. He said he was like a father to them, which meant that we must be the uncles that show up for Thanksgiving. He told us to just wait out in the gym. The meeting lasted for a good two hours and we sat out there the whole time- not knowing what the meeting was about, or what was being said. The assistants who had been there longer than me started into a session of picking Scott apart, and it went on pretty much the whole length of the meeting. It was pretty shocking to hear, and although I had never had a meeting that excluded any assistant coaches and never would, it brought into focus exactly why. Teams are families, and coaches are a huge part of the family. And like any family, it hurts to be left on the outside, and these coaches manifested that hurt.

Next up: GCU (part 2)

Now that the Mesa Community College chapter of my life has closed, I want to put some things out there that are straight from the source. Even though there was no season in 2020-21, I was still employed full time at MCC, thus making 17 the total number of years that I coached in junior college. Two of those were as an assistant- one with Dave Brown at Yavapai College in 1982-83, and one with Rob Babcock at Phoenix College in 1986-87. I coached for 23 years in high school, which included three as an assistant- one with Bill Farrell at Paradise Valley High School in 1985-86, and two with Royce Youree at East High School in 1981-82, and Camelback High School in 1989-90. I spent one year as an assistant at GCU in 2007-08, when the Antelopes were NCAA Division II. That’s 41 years in the business, 35 as a head coach at Judson High School, Camelback High School, Mountain Pointe High School, Yavapai College, and Mesa Community College. I don’t know if my resignation at MCC puts an end to the career or not, but I am definitely a lifer, an outlier.

How did I get to MCC in the first place? After stepping down as head boys coach at Mountain Pointe High School in 2007, I was pretty much feeling the same then as I feel now. It was time to move on and try something else. I wasn’t sure what the next thing was going to be, but I wanted it to be in college. In 2007, that didn’t leave a lot of options in the Phoenix metro area. There was Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, and the Valley juco’s- that was pretty much it. ASU was coached by Herb Sendek, with whom I had absolutely no relationship. I had limited experience with the Maricopa juco’s, having been Rob Babcock’s assistant in 1986-87 at Phoenix College. It was apparent back then that the administrations of these colleges had a high school mentality when it came to paying coaches- meaning there was little money in it. So, I was teaching at Paradise Valley High School, coaching at Phoenix College, working in their fitness center at night, and working on my Masters degree at ASU. Another bit of experience I had with the Maricopa juco’s happened in 1995. By then, I had my Masters degree, and the head coaching position had opened up at South Mountain CC. Doug Ferguson, the Athletic Director at SMCC, wanted to talk to me about the job and meet the college president. So, I got dressed up and went over to South one day to meet with both men. Doug took me to the president’s office, we shook hands, and basically the first thing he said was that it was not a full time position and there was no guarantee it would ever be. I appreciated the fact that he did not beat around the bush, so I didn’t beat around the bush either. I said that head coaches should be on the campus full time, stood up and said it was nice meeting with him and walked out. Total meeting time- about three minutes. Doug chased me down the hallway and said that I just needed to be patient- that it would be a full time job soon. As of this writing in 2022, it is still not a full time position. Dan Nichols coaches there, but works at Grand Canyon University. Coaching juco, then, did not seem possible in 2007.

That left GCU. I knew the head coach, Scott Mossman, through the recruitment of some of our Mountain Pointe players. I made a shot-in-the-dark phone call to Scott and asked him if he needed another assistant. As luck would have it, they did have an assistant who was leaving. One thing led to another and I went to GCU, albeit as a volunteer, which meant that I would have to keep my teaching job at Mountain Pointe. Picture that drive everyday, if you will. The two institutions are basically on opposite sides of the Metro area- a good 20+ miles from each other. You have to be a lifer. Scott Mossman was married, but his family lived in Riverside, California, so he lived in Phoenix alone and preferred to practice at night, which worked out for me- although it meant that I would hardly ever be home. A lot of coaches know what I am talking about.

Next time: GCU

What do you guys think?

Do you like the new set up of 8 schools per level (6A-4A) and then 8 wildcards?

Curious to get your thoughts...

ArizonaVarsity Preseason Top 10 Rankings, 2A-3A

Link:

Earlier today the AIA Executive Board motioned for the Huskies football program to be placed on Probation. With this decision the Huskies are now ineligible for the playoffs this season but have a week to appeal their decision to the executive board. I’d like to hear what everyone’s thoughts and opinions on the decision are…

With the Chandler Unified School District Starting classes today I figured I'd ask, how everyone's district was set up growing up?
For instance NYC public schools would finish between June 20 and June 25. Classes resumed the day after labor day. There was no fall break to speak of, maybe a 3 day weekend for Columbus day. Dec 23rd would be the last day of school and resume again January 2nd. There was a week off in February for presidents day observance with no more holidays until memorial day weekend.

As we have all probably heard, the Open and the 6A title game will be aired live this year and at least through 2024. Is their a downside at all? I think this is a great thing. People have been wanting live TV games for a long time. Twitter of course has a variety of opinions. "The big schools get enough coverage. I'm disappointed...the AIA could do better". This is from a freshman coach at a school in Buckeye.

Anyone have any information on the results of this tourney? Final Four?

Via @Jacob.Seliga

Post your HS summer tournaments in this thread...

I’ve tried to figure out the answer but I’m still not sure.
how important are 7s for teams?

Obviously it’s a chance for competition and it is fun and you need that, but it’s so different than actual football.

So, for the scouts and coaches and everyone else, what do the kids really gain from it? Seems like everyone has a different opinion

For those that don’t know, during the HS basketball season I created a list known as the “40 in 40” which was me going around the valley and seeing 40 teams across 40 days in December/January. I exceeded that number and then some and expanded the list to include player rankings, team breakdowns, and playoff predictions. Once the basketball season ended I found myself searching for what to do with baseball, and below is a taste of what I did after the state championship games. I’m total this baseball season I saw 32 different programs between 6A/5A mostly incognito for my own fun. I wanted to be able to go to a game and not look at it from just a media point of view but as someone who’s a fan of the game. As someone who loves the game and enjoys watching it. Below is my top 16 teams in each conference including my semifinal, title game, and champion predictions for each conference as well as players for each team who I think deserve love.
I’ll release 5A tomorrow and update this with the official playoff bracket after the play-in games.

6A
The Contenders
1. Hamilton (17-1)
Gavin Turley at the plate and Logan Saloman on the mound have been the two leaders for a Husky program that has been in national rankings all season long. Arguably the deepest lineup in the state with each hitter 1-9 able to drive the ball deep with good pop and excellent plate vision. A disciplined team fielding who rarely makes errors.

2. Alhambra (19-0)
The team of last season has proven that their run to the title game was no fluke. The Lions have steamrolled everyone in their path scoring an average of 13 runs a game while defeating teams such as Brophy Prep, Mountain Ridge, and Mountain View. This is a lineup that can attack any pitching staff with four batters that finished the regular season with 35 or more RBI’s.
Players to Watch:INF Eddie Cotto, P/INF Marco Pacheco

3. Mountain Ridge (14-4)
Outside of the Covid shortened season of 2020 this is Mountain Ridge’s best team since the 2018 squad that lost to O’Connor in the 6A championship game. The best example of this was a home matchup in March after falling to two out of state opponents at the Boras Classic, Mountain Ridge went toe to toe with Hamilton falling behind 15-1 after two innings before exploding for 13 straight runs just falling short in the end 15-14. This is a team that just fights until the end. For a long time the issue with Ridge was that they could pitch but didn’t have enough quality hitters. Now it seems the roles have reversed and their power could carry them to the first ring in school history behind former MLB pitcher and Ridge alum first year coach Eddie Bonine.

Players to watch: INF Cooper Neville, INF AJ Singer.

4. Sandra Day O’Connor (12-6)
The Eagles in North Phoenix have become accustomed to being near the top of the 6A food chain. Just four years removed from a state championship win, the young Eagles team started the season bumpy falling to Perry and Hamilton before kicking it into high gear and winning 10 straight in the month of March. Outside of sweeps by Mountain Ridge and Chaparral, O’Connor looks poised and is taking the next step as such an inexperienced team who could surprise their way to the semifinals

Players to watch: P/OF Hustyn Wheeler, C/INF Preston Lucas

5. Red Mountain (15-3)
The Mountain Lions after being upset by Alhambra last postseason entered this season with the expectation of making it to the championship game and after game two of the regular season it looked as if that may become a reality. Hamilton was pushed to the brink by Red Mountain before pulling away 5-4 in extra innings. But after that game, the Mountain Lions struggled with playoff caliber teams. They split a series with Mountain View, lost to O’Connor as well as Tucson and Mountain Ridge in tournament play. But their pitching staff does have what it takes to keep them in these types of games and will be key if the Mountain Lions are to go far this postseason.

Players to watch: P Mason Kelley, INF Mitch Namie

6. Chaparral (11-7)
After a 3-3 start where it felt as if the Firebirds could gain no momentum, Chaparral entered region play with a chip on its shoulder that it would not let go. The Firebirds swept Liberty, Boulder Creek, and O’Connor and knocked off Mountain Ridge near the end of the regular season. Chaparral is the biggest wild card of the teams in the top eight. On one side you have the Firebird team that struggled mostly against top competition and against lowly teams such as Arcadia who finished near the bottom in 5A. On the other side you have the Firebird team that finished the season rolling behind its talented offense that had six games this season with 14 or more runs. Whichever Chaparral team shows up will determine just how deep the Firebirds can go.

Players to Watch: OF Jackson Estes, OF Ethan Hott

7. Queen Creek (15-3)
Something is different about this baseball program in the southeast valley. Each season there’s a team that just rolls through the regular season and continues their success in the postseason. Last season it was Alhambra, this season I think it could be Queen Creek. When the Bulldogs play their first playoff game Saturday it’ll be almost a whole month since their last loss, a 4-3 defeat by Perry. This is a team that gets to the plate and is one of the most clutch teams in the 6A conference when it comes to hitting. They have what it takes to hit their way to Tempe Diablo and their young lineup will keep them as a contender for years to come.

Players to watch: OF/P Sebastian Tomerlin, Ryker Waite

8. Chandler (13-5)
The Wolves are one of the most battle tested teams entering the postseason. Their region of Perry, Brophy, Hamilton, and Basha is a full of playoff caliber teams who can make a run and each of those teams prepared the Wolves for this playoff run. With a 4-2 record in one run games, the Wolves have showed that they have the ability to close out teams if the game is close. If the wrong higher seed finds itself in a close game late, Chandler may be able to pounce and force an upset with its late pitching.

Players to watch: OF Tate Scott, P/INF Daniel Hutchison

The Best of the rest
9. Tucson (14-4)
10. Brophy (9-9)
11. Perry (9-9)
12. Basha (9-9)
13. Corona Del Sol (11-7)
14. Desert Vista (9-9)
15. Mountain View (12-6)
16. Liberty (9-10)

Play-in teams
17. San Luis
18. Pinnacle
19. Cibola
20. Sunnyslope
21. Westwood
22. Tolleson
23. Boulder Creek
24. Mountain Pointe

State Semifinals:
1. Hamilton vs 4. O’Connor
2. Alhambra vs 3. Mountain Ridge

Title game 1. Hamilton vs 3. Mountain Ridge

Champ: Mountain Ridge
This is it, this is the year. This Mountain Ridge team is different, after asking different people who covered their 2018 and 2016 teams who made it to the title game they say that this team is on that level. Now they don’t have an MLB prospect like those two teams had (2018 first round pick Matthew Liberatore) but they have an experienced lineup that has been together since the torrid 2020 start where the Mountain Lions only had one loss prior to the season ending. Whether it’s Oregon State commit Carson McEntire, GCU commit Cooper Neville or anyone else in the talented lineup, they have the experience to rally and win. This is the season that they get over the hump and win the first baseball championship in school history while getting revenge over Hamilton in the process.

The playoff dates are finally set

This is my list of my top teams in 4A-6A as we get closer to spring ball/showcase season. These teams are listed in no specific order but have caught my eye as potential noise makers this upcoming season for different reasons (favorable schedule, returning talent, great coaching staff). If there’s a team you think I missed, let me know who below.

4A
Glendale
ALA Gilbert-North
Yuma Catholic
Snowflake
Apache Junction
Lake Havasu
Buckeye
Deer Valley
Ben Franklin
Sierra Linda


5A:
Desert Edge
Sunrise Mountain
Apollo
Millennium
Desert Mountain
Higley
Central
Horizon
Notre Dame Prep
Verrado

6A:
Basha
Chandler
Hamilton
Saguaro
Liberty
Brophy Prep
Red Mountain
Centennial
Mountain Ridge
Highland
Queen Creek

I tweeted this out..

Curious to get some thoughts...

Ja Morant or Anthony Edwards the next 10 years??

Who you got?

It's a week away. What former Arizona High School players will be selected?

Is the portal better for more competition in D1, but in return truly hurting the HS seniors who are lower mid majors (or low majors)?

Curious to get your thoughts...