Perseverance lifts Sabino’s Rhodes to honor
It took one year for Jamaal Rhodes and Sabino to navigate the road to redemption of its girls basketball program’s image following the 2018-19 season.
The Arizona Interscholastic Association slapped him and the Sabercats with an unsettling accusation of a “prior contact” recruiting violation, which resulted in a forfeiture of its run to the 3A semifinals.
However, perseverance through that heartbreak drew Rhodes, his coaching staff and roster closer and led Sabino to a 28-4 record and its first girls basketball state title since 1990.
“This season was a testament to the parents, players and administration at Sabino,” Rhodes said.
And he knows that championship drought could have been extended much longer per that violation’s stigma possibly causing his coaches and players some trepidation about returning to his roster.
“All those involved had the opportunity to go in a different direction given what happened last season,” Rhodes said. “But they thought we were worthy enough to keep around and it felt great to see the joy of everyone experiencing the championship run, something that hadn’t happened for the school in 30 years.”
As the Coach of the Year, he knows that the hardest part was living up to expectations with his talented stockpile of players, led by The Republic’s All-Arizona Best of the Rest selection Kamryn Doty and Kiya Dorroh.
Plus, Sabino was marred by several key players injuries early in the season.
“The most difficult part of it all was actually doing what everyone expected us to do,” Rhodes said. “Even through the injuries, the road block of the Nike Tournament of Champions and getting new pieces acclimated to our system, our kids stayed focused on the goal and took care of business.
“Many kids would have folded under the pressure, but our kids embraced it.”
Rhodes also credits his righthand man on his sideline’s bench for the team’s success, which is a testament to his virtues of hard work and humility.
“One person that doesn’t seem to get much credit in all of this is my partner, Jeremy Daniels,” Rhodes said. “Although I have the title as head coach, he makes a lot of the decisions when it comes to substitution patterns and game adjustments. He has a great relationship with the kids and a special basketball mind.
“We believed that we could be a part of something special in southern Arizona basketball since we’ve gotten together nearly seven years ago.”