Wrapping up the championships
It was a great ride to the finish, filled with thrillers, big-time shots, and dominant performances.
The Arizona Republic takes a look back at the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s historic season that had the long overdue 35-second shot clock for the first time and the first 32-team Open Division state tournament that involved top teams from the three big conferences.
What we learned
Nobody occupied the same planet as Gilbert Perry’s boys team. And Phoenix Desert Vista’s girls team, for that matter. Both Open championship games ended up being predictable blowouts. A paid crowd of 5,093 watched, as Perry unleashed why it is a top-15 team in the nation that should get an invited to the GEICO Nationals, led by a pair of 6foot-8 5-stars in sophomore Koa Peat and senior Cody Williams. Williams, who is headed to Colorado to play in college, this week was elevated by recruiting service On3.com as the No. 1 basketball player in the 2023 class. Williams had a strong game, shutting down Sunnyslope freshman guard John Mattingly, the team’s leading scorer, in the 16point championship win. He had 15 points. But Peat was the most dominant player on the floor. He had 35 points and four blocked shots. Somebody had to try to guard him, and he was basically unguardable in the state final.
Most memorable final
Gilbert Highland’s double-overtime 63-61 win over Phoenix Brophy Prep in the 6A boys championship game was the prelude to the girls and boys Open finals. But it could have ended there after that game. Nothing topped that at Veterans Memorial Coliseum among all of the state finals played there. You had Highland guards Noah Peterson and Brock Knollmiller each scoring 14 points in the first half for all 28 of Highland’s points. You had Arman Madi’s little brother Ayden slicing into Highland’s lead with his sharpshooting from 3. You had Brophy guard Braeden Speed picking up the slack on a rare off day from Arman Madi with his tenacious play down the stretch on offense and defense.
Peterson and Knollmiller ended ups scoring 49 of Highland’s 63 points. But it was Hayden Winegar’s dagger that will be most remembered. Knollmiller found a wall of Brophy defenders as he drove toward the basket in the second overtime, and found Winegar hanging out beyond the arc. Winegar fired away from 3. Swish. Highland led 63-61 with three seconds left and Brophy couldn’t hit a 3 at the other end, and Highland had its first state basketball title, following the school’s football team, which won its second straight 6A state title in the fall.
Brightest smile
Desert Vista freshman sensation Jerzy Robinson lights up a room with her smile. She was all smiles through most of the Thunder’s 63-37 rout of Goodyear Millennium in the Open championship game. She had 21 points, nine rebounds and three steals. It was how she defended, clamped off the paint, asserted her will to score and defend and help teammates score that showed why she might already be the best female basketball player to play in Arizona high schools, even better than former Mountain Pointe great and WNBA player Nicole Powell. She’s still only 14, and she bathed in the spotlight during and after it was over, showing joy after every basket and a teammate’s big basket.
Biggest crowd
The 3A girls and boys finals at the Coliseum drew a paid crowd of 9,347, according to AIA Executive Director David Hines. It was the biggest among all of the state championships in the last two weeks. The main reason for 3A drawing the most was the fans coming in from faraway places in Arizona, in remote lands off the reservation, from the Navajo Nation to see Kayenta Monument Valley boys, and the Fort Apache Indian Reservation to see the Whiteriver Alchesay girls play.
Alchesay took home the gold ball with fans chanting “AL-CHE-SEY!” throughout the game. The Falcons lost four games in a row in late January and early February but peaked at the start of the playoffs, finishing with a dominant 52-35 win over Show Low.
Monument Valley in the quarterfinals shocked the 3A boys field with a blowout win over Coolidge, the only Arizona team to beat Valley Christian. But it had no answer for Luke Shaw and Valley Christian in the 3A state championship game with Shaw putting on a clinic that even outdid what his older brother Caleb did in last year’s title game that Valley Christian won.
The Open’s future
Most people seemed happy about the Open, the excitement it generated, pitting No. 32 against No. 1 and so on and so on to start.
Unless there is a push by coaches to restructure it, I believe the Open is here to stay. Coaches especially like the fact that teams that lose in the first two rounds get a second life in the conference state tournaments. Peoria boys took full advantage of that, capturing its first 4A title since 2011. So did Highland in 6A and Gilbert Campo Verde in 5A. Because of the Open, Highland and Campo Verde both won their first state titles in basketball. Teams that reach the final eight of the Open should be commended. One coach recommended a banner given to those schools documenting they made the Open Elite Eight.