Santa Fe hoops star’s drive is seen in success of his daughter
Former Santa Fe High star Gonzales has built ideal life around basketball, and daughter’s success proves it
From his vantage point on the cracked concrete court at Piñon Elementary, a bright-eyed Josh Gonzales would pause his dribble long enough to imagine a couple of college scouts hiding among the piñon trees that line the school’s property.
They’d marvel at his skills, taking notes on his exceptional range and ability to move his feet in ways few others could.
“This Santa Fe kid,” he’d imagine them thinking, “is exactly what we need.”
At times in class, Gonzales’ mind would drift. He’d find himself doodling, diagraming his ideal house, which would, of course, include a basketball court so he could live out his passion for playing ball yearround.
“Just a little kid from Santa Fe dreaming the biggest dream ever,” Gonzales said. “My friends, my family, they’d all want to do other stuff like ride bikes or go to the park. All I wanted to do was play
basketball. It’s all I ever talked about. All these years later I can’t really believe it’s happening.”
As the father of five basketball-loving kids and the husband of an Arizona hoops legend, Gonzales is living his best life in the valley of the sun.
His oldest child, Shaylee, wrapped up a stellar college career Sunday as she and the powerhouse University of Texas women’s team were beaten in the Regional 4 title game in Portland, Ore. Gonzales was held scoreless for just the second time this season, fouling out with two minutes remaining in a 76-66 loss to North Carolina State.
What a run it was: Gonzales scored more than 2,300 points in her collegiate career, including at her previou stop of BYU. She started all 38 of Texas’ games this year, establishing herself as a 3-point sniper who averaged 9.5 points and 3.4 rebounds for a team that finished 33-5.
In no small way, Shaylee’s story began in the 80s when her dad began laying the foundation for a life that’s all about hoops. He parlayed a trip to a national tournament in Tennessee as a kid into a standout career a Santa Fe High, where he graduated in 1992.
At 5-foot-11, Gonzales wasn’t highly recruited — not that it mattered. He worked his way through four years of college on the talent honed on the courts at the Santa Fe Boys Club and those early days at Piñon Elementary. He played two years at a junior college in Phoenix and two final seasons at Grand Canyon.
He met his wife, Candice, at GCU and, together, the two have raised five children in the Phoenix area. Candice is one of the best women’s players in GCU history and has crafted a hall of fame résumé as a coach at Mesquite High School in Gilbert, Ariz.
All five of the couple’s kids play — and excel — on the court. Each, Josh said, has his or her own flair for the game. The common denominator is the love for just being out there.
“Everything you see with us, from our home to how we spend our time, is the manifestation of a lifetime’s worth of dreams and goals,” he said. “I’ve been coaching long enough to know when a kid has it or doesn’t. A kid can have talent, but the really successful players are the kids who play with heart and do all the little things.”
Shaylee has always had the ‘it’ factor. She was a star on her mom’s teams at Mesquite, then played three years at Brigham Young. She averaged 17 points a game as a freshman, then sat out a year after blowing out her right knee.
She returned to become the West Coast Conference player of the year each of the next two seasons. She still wears a brace but is stronger and faster than ever.
“Who tears apart a knee and comes back to win MVP of the conference two years in a row?” Josh said. “That’s what I’m talking about, the players who don’t let things get in their way. She never stopped. She only got better.”
A coaching change at BYU led Shaylee to the transfer portal. Despite being offered a hefty six-figure NIL deal to stay with the Cougars — not to mention a personal plea from BYU legend Danny Ainge — Shaylee hit the open market looking for an ideal fit for her final two years. She narrowed her search to Oregon State, North Carolina State and Texas, three teams that were in this weekend’s Elite 8.
Her time as a Longhorn has been nothing short of epic. Josh said he and Candice attended a recent game where Kevin Durant sat just a few feet away, that superstars like Ja Morant and Drake have visited with the team and had conversations with his daughter.
With the WNBA draft just two weeks away, the Shaylee’s future is as open as it gets. Only about one-third of all WNBA picks actually make their team’s roster. Coupled with the league’s supermax salary cap of $241,984, current college stars like Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese making seven-figures in NIL and endorsement deals that dwarf a pro team’s contract. Gonzales is in the same boat at Texas.
Josh said his daughter’s social media footprint includes more than half a million followers. She’s earning income through endorsements with a number of national brands like AT&T, Raising Cane’s and Keurig, to name a few.
“I think back to all those days when I’d be out with my friends playing at the Boys Club,” Josh said. “I mean, how many times did I imagine hitting the game-winning shot and being with my team when we won a championship? I’ve watched my wife cut down nets, my daughter cut down nets, my other kids win big games. All this from a kid who grew up in Santa Fe thinking about basketball.”
As for that dream home, the Gonzales’ recently added an indoor basketball court that’s much like the one Josh designed decades ago. He and his wife have also crafted a club team that is regarded as one of premier developmental squads in the Southwest.
“Everything we do has something to do with basketball,” he said, “and that’s exactly the way I dreamed it as a kid.”