Great seeing the crew--we missed Ralph--thats it

Crazy atmosphere--the JV game was arguably the best game I've ever seen(for JV)--that competitive and the crowd was live and nuts!!

Chilly and I sat next to this Dad that was almost thrown out 2 times lol
Fun stuff

DG will be at most of the game tonight and then he is back out on the road.

If I have time tom at lunch I'll throw out my updated list.

PV FR won by about 30---little kid from PV--about 5'9"ish outscored the entire team--Aidyn Parrish--he had 36!!!
Shadow scored 35.

But a nice looking kid from SM named Marvin Lee--6'5"ish F--scored 20--talented kid--needs to be coached a little--
Watching JV now---not many prospects to talk about. Maybe 1 PV 2018--not a very good "scout" game..

Huge VARSITY GAME tonight--should be fun

Ok, I have to vent. I have a son on the Boulder Creek team and have coached/watched most of these kids since they were very little. I cannot figure out what has happened to this team. they started the season off 7-1 and won the PV Thanksgiving tourney. SInce then they are now 3-8.

Last night we were up 6 vs. Mt. Ridge (#3) with 5 to go. We call timeout and come out in the 4 corner stall. Ridge goes on 10-2 run and ends up winning on a last second shot. Nick Johnson had 10 in first half, zero in second. Brauns had 16 through 3, zero in fourth. Matt Downey had 8 in third, zero in fourth.

Last Thursday vs. Gilbert (#5) we up 4 with 4 to go and we call timeout and go into stall. End up losing on last second tip in.

Previous Friday we up 10 vs. Saint Marys end of third. We stall entire fourth quarter, as they go on 16-4 run to win the game in last minute.

BC has two guards in Nick Johnson and Matt Downey who are both in the top 10 in the state at their position. They have Justin Braun who has really become a quality wing this year. Yet they refuse to go to them or ride them to victories. They run the flex offense for three quarters then delay/stall. Not fun for the players, fans, or anyone involved. This has become one of the most frustrating seasons I've ever seen.

Pinnacle FR lead MR 27-17 at the half.
The twins lead the way as usual with 10 points each! 20 of the 27 total.

MR has a nice looking lefty freshman--maybe 6'3"ish shooter-solid passer. He has 9 w 2 assists.

Who I went to see:

I went to see some talented seniors on both teams plus check out the teams younger prospects. Gilbert looks to have some nice 2019s and Boulder Creek has some talented 2018’s.

Notes from the varsity game: Gilbert 46 Boulder Creek 44

The game was in Gilbert’s favor the whole entire game until late into the fourth quarter when Matt Downey and Justin Braun got hot from deep. Gilbert held on in the end with an amazing tip-in as time expired by 2017 6-foot-5 F CJ Waters.

Standout Varsity Performance:
2016 6-foot-7 SF Chris Bowling from Gilbert scored 18 points 10 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Bowling was active tonight and didn’t rely solely on his sweet shooting stroke. He still hit three 3’s, but worked hard on both ends of the floor cleaning the glass plus using his length to disrupt the BC players from scoring. Bowling has been more vocal recently and is slowly turning into a well-rounded prospect. Bowling has offers from NAU, Tex-Rio Grande Valley, Sam Houston State and Idaho State and is hearing from Weber State, Southern Utah and Hawaii.

2016 6-foot-5 SF Jacob Nicolds from Gilbert scored 12 points with one 3pt shot made. Nicolds is a tough hard-nosed forward with improved skill level. He always seems to be in the middle of a scuffle, taking charges and throwing his body around to just make a play for his team to succeed. He can handle the ball fairly well and plays with a high-motored edge. Nicolds is hearing from many D2 schools.

2016 6-foot-2 PG Matt Downey from Boulder Creek is becoming the quiet leader for this team. He sets the table well and loves getting his teammates involved but when a play is needed, he steps up and wants to take and make the important plays. His 3pt shooting has vastly improved and his all-around game has grown arguably more then any senior in state. Downey is clearly under the radar and should be receiving more looks from D2-D3 schools.

2016 6-foot-4 SF Justin Braun from Boulder Creek is another late bloomer with a tough mindset. He loves attacking the basket with his stronger build and he also has improved his perimeter play in the last year or so. His handle needs to get tighter but he plays with a high motor and good passion for the game.

2018 6-foot-4 SF Tristen D’Angelo from Boulder Creek is the sixth man and gives BC energy plus he can shoot it from deep. He has a good body and he can rebound in his area. He is one of the talented sophs BC has in their program.

Freshman Game: Gilbert 51 Boulder Creek 47
Who stood out from the freshman game:
2019 5-foot-10 PG Noah Self from Gilbert scored 17 points with five assists. Self is a diminutive PG but he’s electric in the open court. He reminds me a little of Saben Lee when Lee was on the freshman team at CDS blowing by players and dishing it off. Lee, of course, grew to 6-foot-2 and if Self can continue to grow himself, he can be another special guard in the 2019 class from AZ.

2019 6-foot-3 PF Jaques Barrow from Gilbert scored 12 points and 10 rebounds efficiently. Barrow is a long, lean and muscular forward. He can hit shots from the elbow and in but he is ultra effective near the hoop. He also scored seven points on JV game in only two quarters. He uses his length to grab rebounds in and out of his area and can block shots plus collect steals with his reach. If Barrow continues to grow, he will be a terror locally.

JV Game: Gilbert 52 Boulder Creek 49
Who stood out from the junior varsity game:
2018 6-foot-5 PF Evan Schirm from Boulder Creek scored 17 points with four perimeter jumpers including one 3pt shot. Schirm is a thick skilled shooter. He can put the ball on the floor some plus rebounds well in his area. He will need to become quicker and lean out to get more explosive for the higher levels. Schirm will give you buckets with his smooth jumper.

2018 6-foot-2 W Jackson Roberts from Boulder Creek scored 8 points with two assists and one steal. Roberts is a long wing forward who loves to attack the basket. He uses his length well to play the passing lanes and is another talented soph on the horizon.

What I went to see:

I attended the 2016 CAA MLK Basketball Classic at Leading Edge Academy to watch four teams play including two of the best teams in D3, which is the highest level of the CAA.

I also wanted to see the development of D1 prospects Brock Gardner and Nigel Shadd.

Notes from West Phoenix 66 vs Desert Heights Prep 54:

D2 powerhouse Desert Heights was currently undefeated but facing a D3 team that was currently 7th place out of the 14 teams in D3. West Phoenix took control early and led by almost 20 points behind hot shooting from Vicente Lujan and never fully recovered.

Standout Player Performance:
2016 6-foot-2 SG Vicente Lujan from West Phoenix scored 27 points in impressive fashion. He hit seven 3’s and made one breakaway dunk on his eight FG makes. He was an efficient (8-14) from the field. He has long arms, thin and has some decent bounce. He needs to fill out and make more of an effort on the defensive end. The local Jucos would be wise to take a look at the shooter.

2018 6-foot-5 PF Deontae McInnis scored 10 points with 18 rebounds and one block. He is thick, strong four man with wide shoulders. He has only been playing basketball for one year but he has the body, length and frame for the next level. He is outstanding rebounding the ball in and out of his area, but the lefty is clearly limited as a scorer at this point. He can only score inside the paint and his shot is very flat with no arc. McInnis seems to have a good attitude and upside.

2017 6-foot-3 SF Brandon Haldiman from Desert Heights Prep scored 20 points with one 3 made plus a few mid-range jumpers. He has good length and a motor plus has potential to play at the next level. He has to improve his handle and strength but he’s a solid shooter and plays hard.


Notes from Tri-City Christian Academy 47 vs Student Choice Prep 44:

The matchup was two of the best teams in the CAA and the game lived up to the billing. It was a low scoring affair with only three players in double figures. Student Choice had a slim lead most of the way. Motley put his team on his back, but in the end TC found a way to win led by their talented duo.

Standout Player Performance:
2017 6-foot-9 C Nigel Shadd from Tri-City scored 14 points with 10 rebounds and seven blocks. Shadd was a terror on defense with many altered and blocked shots plus deflections. He grabs rebounds with two hands and gets off the floor quickly. He made a few nice drop step moves and one hook but he still needs to utilize his tools more on offense. He doesn’t fight hard enough inside and watches too often. He needs to gain upper body strength to move players around more. He also has to start extending his range outside the paint. That all being said, Shadd is arguably the top shot blocker in the state for his class with his huge 7-foot-2 wingspan and has one of the highest upsides.

2016 6-foot-7 SF Brock Gardner from Tri-City scored 23 points 10 rebounds, three steals and three blocks. Gardner was good not great, but played well when the team needed him. With Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay sitting court side, Brock came through down the stretch with drives to the basket, since they were trying to take away his deep shooting. Brock was super active doing all the little things from steals, blocks and being aggressive on the glass. He has improved his lateral quickness and his handle seems a little tighter. He still can continue to work on those skills to continue his journey. His jumper has become super smooth and in the four years covering him, he has become a more all-around player.

2016 6-foot SG Tyler Motley from Student Choice Prep scored 24 of the 44 total points plus had four steals. Motley is a physical two guard who attacks the basket at will. He does have range from 15-feet, but does most of his damage inside the paint. He loves and seeks contact and can score easily getting bumped. He also plays physical defense and is a no-brainer Juco stud. Motley moved in recently from Texas and he is a 5th year senior, which is allowed in the CAA as long as you are not older then 19.

Quotable:

“It was an ugly street fight type of game. Not sure how we won, but our guys found a way.”

--James Brown, Assistant Coach of Tri-City

So what's the word with power or should I say powerhouse? What happened and how did it happen? Is powerhouse a desperate org. Or just new name?

My guess is they lost their 'money man' and now are like every other club? Not that it is a bad thing.

The ArizonaVarsity.com Senior All Star Games sponsored by the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association is in the works.

I had a great meeting with Art Hall to kick things off - and in a few weeks the members of our committee will organize and get started again for another great Senior All Star event.

Here is a link to last year's event, which was off the hook great:
https://www.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1128&CID=1748585

The one change we are making to this year's All Star format is that D3 and D4 will be blended together to have a North D3/D4 team take on the South D3/D4 team.

D1 vs. D2 will be a doozie once again.

More info to come, and ballots will be sent to the coaches.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...e-chris-wright-lifting-higley-hoops/78558454/

Congratulations Grandson , you guys play as a team....A lesson for every player in the valley as studies show basketball is the one major sport where team work can beat a great individual player almost every time. Your team proved that last night as everyone contributed.

Keep working Hard

Love You

Papa Wright

Argie Rhymes

I spent a lot of time at the Sunnyslope Summer League last decade and probably my favorite perch was right behind Carl Hayden's bench where I could hear every word that Argie Rhymes said. He'd coach those summer league games as hard as the regular season. Richard Obert does a nice job with his article on the legendary Argie....see link above. Argie's life-calling was to be a high school basketball coach and the kids that were lucky enough to play for the man are truly blessed.

I'm at Pinnacle vs Chaparral

Overall a tough day 1 for the AZ teams in the Visit Mesa although a couple teams showed well. There were two AZ vs AZ matchups. Here is a quick rundown from the games. Picked up some stat sheets along the way on a few games as well.

Gilbert vs Perry was a knock down, drag out fight per usual. Both teams had to work for every shot. Both teams had to shoot under 40%. Game was in the 40s and Perry won like 46-41. Only caught the end of the game. VanHaren (14 pts) and Schlangen (13 pts) led the way for Perry. Bowling scored 16 of Gilbert's 41 but had 0 assists with 5 turnovers. No other consistent scoring option for Gilbert makes it tough for them to score when teams are constantly running guys at Chris.

The other AZ vs AZ saw Desert Vista put the smack down to Chaparral, 71-44. The Thunder dominated. Shut down Colten Kresl who shot 1-12 from the field. JT Thoman scored 16 but he was the only bright spot for Chaparral. Tarik Cool played well for DV scoring 19. Caleb Simmons had a nice all around game with 14 pts, 2 boards, 3 assists, 4 turnovers. No Jymil Toney for the Thunder but no problem with their depth.

Maybe the biggest shocker of the day was Federal Way handling undefeated Basha 57-41. They completely shut down Devin Kirby who didn't hit a field goal and finished with 2 points in his 26 minutes. Gabe McGlothan led Basha with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Terrell Brown scored 7 but had 0 assists with 6 turnovers. Ball security was a struggle all day for many of the teams. Federal Way may be the best team in the event. Guess we will see the next few days.

Mountain Ridge was one AZ team that won in the morning behind the Green brothers as they beat Loyola Academy 61-53. Jay scored 27 points on 9-10 from the field, 5-10 from the FT line. Josh scored 19 points. Those two took 26 of the teams 41 total field goal attempts in the game which didn't leave much for the other guys. Jared Rodriguez scored 3 pts in his 25 minutes and Saikou Gueye scored 5 after fouling out in 17 minutes.

Was excited to see American Fork and their star Brendan Bailey back in AZ to play Corona. Brendan's sister plays for ASU volleyball as well as Brock Gardner's sister. Brendan and Brock have had some fun one on one battles while the family visits AZ. Brendan recently committed to Marquette and played well tonight against Corona scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 boards. AF also got 21 points from #32, forgot his name. Corona's 3 guards all scored as they took nearly every shot in the entire game for Corona. Saben led with 25 points but struggled with 5 turnovers. Barcello had an off shooting night going 6-17 but still scoring 18 and Tyrell also scored 18 with 8 rebounds. American Fork shot 55% from the field as a team as they won 74-62 over the Aztecs.

Mountain View capped the night hosting Archbishop Wood from Pennsylvania. Man that is serious travel for a HS squad. Archbishop won 56-51. The game was decided by turnovers as the Toros had 18 in the game, led by Kuhse's 9 turnovers. Tommy was all over the court per usual. He had 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists but the turnovers were too much to overcome. Archbishop only had 8 turnovers in the game which led to 12 more shot attempts for the game. Curtis Hodges played well for Mtn View making all 3 of his shots which led to 6 points and 7 rebounds in his 16 minutes of action.

Have to love holiday hoop action. Good luck to the AZ teams as they are back at it tomorrow.

The bills for this family are going to be gigantic, along with all the other expenses they will need help with.

In the spirit of the new year please make a kind contribution - any amount will be greatly appreciated.

You can read this link for an update and history of Myles, and make your contribution.

https://www.gofundme.com/xjhpshb8

Just saw this score posted......is that right? Hamilton made it to the championship game in the Desert Edge event against AB Miller from California. It looks like AB Miller won the game 24-23. Anybody at that game? What happened?

Tempe 69
Arcadia 55

Dobson 87
Campo Verde 75

Marcos de Niza 68
Westview 65

Sunrise Mountain 48
Cienega 46

Apollo 64
Boulder Creek 42

Mesa 75
Brophy 56

Desert Mountain 82
McClintock 72

Desert Ridge 82
Chandler 62

TUESDAY 12/29 GAMES

10 AM
Arcadia (GUEST)
vs.
Campo Verde (HOME)

1130 AM
Westview (GUEST)
vs.
Cienega (HOME)

1 PM
Sunrise Mountain (GUEST)
vs.
Marcos de Niza (HOME)

230 PM
Dobson (GUEST)
vs.
Tempe (HOME)

4 PM
Brophy (GUEST)
vs.
Boulder Creek (HOME)

530 PM
Chandler (GUEST)
vs.
McClintock (HOME)

7 PM
Desert Mountain (GUEST)
vs.
Desert Ridge (HOME)

830 PM
Apollo (GUEST)
vs.
Mesa (HOME)

Alright, I'll probably get trouble but I'm ready to start complaining about AIA basketball officiating. It seems there is literally no consistency whatsoever from one game to the next. One game players are allowed to hand check and push and shove, and the next every little touch is a foul. What is even worse is when it changes from quarter to quarter.

I've watched the better part of two days of the McClintock tourney. It is mind blowing what is allowed (and what isn't). I've played and coached my whole life and even reffed for a long tie while in college. I know they aren't perfect. But I see it as a huge issue when the AIA cannot produce quality officials for big time games.

Two things: if you are a referee please be consistent. People don't complain if you are consistent the entire game for both teams. #2, please be in shape. During the BC-Apollo game yesterday those two poor guys had no hope of running the floor and keeping up. Oh and one more thing, it doesn't look good when you spend the whole game making small talk with a so called star player (Boo Boo Woods) or his dad sitting in the front row. No offense to the Woods family as this appears to be a theme, the refs want to be "buddys" with some players more so than an official.

Just my observations.

December 28-30- a time when the East Valley is the basketball hub of the nation. The 2015 edition of the best holiday junior college basketball tournament in the nation is set with Division 1 teams from across the country. This year's field includes the opening game on December 28th at 2PM featuring the Salt Lake City Community College Bruins against the Baltimore City (MD) Community College Panthers. At 4PM, there is the South Plains College (TX) Texans against the Williston State College (ND) Tetons. At 6PM, the Big Bend Community College (WA) Vikings will take on the host Mesa Community College Thunderbirds. At 8PM, the Lee College (TX) Rebels will line up against the Snow College (UT) Badgers. The tournament is held annually at Heap Gymnasium on the campus of Mesa Community College, 1833 W Southern Avenue in Mesa. Many of these players that you will see up close next week you will also see on television in the future. This is the sixth edition of the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout, with host Mesa having won the event twice, Salt Lake City having won twice, and last year San Bernardino Valley College (CA) was the champion.http://mesatbirdsports.com/sports/mbkb/fb_page
http://mesatbirdsports.com/sports/mbkb/fb_page

DAY 1 SCORES:

Dobson 70
Boulder Creek 74

Campo Verde 57
Apollo 77

Arcadia 58
Brophy 79

Tempe 48
Mesa 66

Cienega 60
Desert Mountain 74

Sunrise Mountain 49
McClintock 54

Marcos de Niza 73
Chandler 83

Westview 66
Desert Ridge 75



Mondays Games (12/28)

10 AM
Arcadia (guest)
vs.
Tempe (home)

1130 AM
Dobson (guest)
vs.
Campo Verde (home)

1 PM
Marcos de Niza (guest)
vs.
Westview (home)

230 PM
Cienega (guest)
vs.
Sunrise Mountain

4 PM
Boulder Creek (guest)
vs.
Apollo (home)

530 PM
Brophy (guest)
vs.
Mesa (home)

7 PM
Desert Mountain (guest)
vs.
McClintock (home)

830 PM
Chandler (guest)
vs.
Desert Ridge (home)

Ralph and Erin's baby girl is in very serious condition in the hospital.

Thoughts and Prayers go out to them.

Starts up by the AIA on Friday. Should be very interesting.

Did anyone watch this game? I expected a more balanced attack from the Aztecs - but they were a one-man band. Rough few days for Aztec fan.

Hello Coaches,

I hope your season is off to a great start.
FYI, I will be stepping down as of December 31, 2015, as your Excective Director of the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association. It has been my pleasure to serve in this capacity for the last several years. I feel it is time for a change. If you know of anyone that would be interested in this position, please let me know. Thank you. And I wish you all the best of luck this season. I will continue to send out emails for you all, if you so desire.

Art Hall
Executive Director
Arizona Basketball Coaches Association

Huge division one game tonight as Boulder Creek travels to Mesa. Mesa is #3 and BC #6. Mesa knocked out BC from the state tourney last year, so there is some payback to be had!!! Should be a great matchup as both teams have almost everyone back from last years teams. I can't wait to watch the Drew Hatch vs. Nick Johnson matchup.

Both teams are also coming off tough losses earlier in the week, so I'm sure both are not in the greatest of moods.