Thanksgiving tournaments tip off Monday
No. 1 Gilbert Perry opens against Mesa Eastmark
The Arizona high school boys basketball season starts to ramp up Monday with the start of Thanksgiving tournaments. Here is a look at where to go, who to see, the teams and players to watch.
Welcome to the Jungle
Top-ranked Gilbert Perry, one of the top 25 teams in the nation by MaxPreps, will start its season on Monday at 3:30 p.m., against Mesa Eastmark at Gilbert High. Five-star recruits Cody Williams (2023) and Koa Peat (2025) lead the Pumas who return the nucleus of last year’s team that won the school’s first boys basketball 6A state championship.
Other teams: Chandler, Gilbert, Casteel, Valley Vista, Desert Ridge, Corona del Sol.
Notable: Before host Gilbert takes on Chandler at 6:45 p.m. Monday, the school will be honoring the 2022-23 state championship Gilbert team that was coached by Tom Bennett. Current Gilbert head coach Jay Caserio was an assistant on that team 20 years ago.
Times, days: The games will be played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with games starting at 3:30 the first three days and at 12:30 on Friday. The championship game is Friday at 5 p.m.
Nike Showdown
This is Goodyear Millennium’s tournament at its new state-of-the art gym, which opened this year as one of the crowned jewels in the Valley. And Millennium
has a talented team, led by coach Ty Amundsen, who has a young but loaded roster with 6-foot-5 freshman Cameron Holmes leading the way. Millennium plays Tuesday at 7 p.m., against Trivium Prep.
Other teams: Verrado, Sunrise Mountain, Peoria, Mountain Pointe.
Days/times: This runs Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. There is no championship game. There are three games each day starting at 4 p.m. Verrado plays Sunrise Mountain at 4, followed by rebuilt Mountain Pointe against Peoria and star guard Andrew Camacho at 5:30.
Dick McConnell Thanksgiving Classic
Tucson Sahuaro, the school at which the late, great Coach McConnell coached
for most of his 776 wins and his four state titles, is the host school. But the games will be played at Pima Community College.
The 16 teams playing: Palo Verde Magnet, Flowing Wells, Nogales, Sahuaro, Salpointe Catholic, Catalina Foothills, Youngker, Cholla, Amphitheater, Cienega, Canyon Del Oro, Desert View, Dobson, Tanque Verde, Ironwood Ridge, Mica Mountain.
Days/times: Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. each day and continuing into the afternoon and night. Championship game is Saturday at 6 p.m.
Phoenix Union High School District Coyote Classic
This is the biggest holiday tournament with 28 teams being held at three venues,
Central, South Mountain and North.
Days/times: It’s being played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday with the championship at 7 p.m. at Central.
Teams playing: Salpointe Catholic, Maryvale, Shadow Ridge, Washington, Buckeye Union, Horizon, Cibola, Arcadia, Canyon View, South Mountain, Sandra Day O’Connor, Alhambra, Skyline, Copper Canyon, Dobson, Central, Maricopa, Camelback, Basha, Trevor G. Browne, Marcos de Niza, Cesar Chavez, Metro Tech, North, Betty H. Fairfax, Carl Hayden, West Point.
Fear the Hop
This is the 19th annual tournament held at Mesa High School, featuring 16 teams. Mesa and Desert Mountain are expected to meet in the final. Mesa is led by point guard Kota Benson, who averaged 13 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists last season when he was the 6A East Valley Region Player of the Year.
Desert Mountain got a boost with freshman Kalek and Kaden, 6-foot-3 dynamic guards, enrolling out of eighth grade.
Estrella Foothills has 7-foot-1, 240pound senior Noah Amenhauser (signed with Grand Canyon) back after he missed almost all of last season with an injury.
Other teams: Tolleson, Campo Verde, Estrella Foothills, Westwood, Desert Vista, Buena, Hamilton, American Leadership Gilbert North, Cienega, Paradise Valley, Westview, Mesquite, McClintock, Dysart.
Days/times: It runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, starting at 1:30 p.m. The championship is Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Mesa plays American Leadership Gilbert North at 1:30 on Monday to open the tournament.