With the glut of holiday basketball tournaments now over and region play under way, Mesa still hopes to be the cream of the crop in the boys 5A-I ranks, but the Jackrabbits sorely missed 6-foot-9 forward Blondy Baruti while going 2-3 against some of the nation's best at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in San Diego.
Baruti had to sit out a year because of transfer issues, but the athletic Tulsa-bound forward has been practicing with the Jackrabbits (11-3) and should return to action on Friday.
The Jackrabbits already know what they have in point guard Jahii Carson, who was the most dominant player in the MaxPreps Tournament, averaging 24.4 points a game (which is also his season average). When Baruti rounds into game shape, this team has a chance to dominate the big schools. 
Kyler Fackrell, Mesa
File photo by Todd Shurtleff
Other top storylines from the week
2. On the other hand: Phoenix North already fell to Mesa in a much-anticipated battle earlier this season, but the Mustangs don’t look ready to roll over. North stunned a partisan, standing-room-only crowd in Hobbs, N.M. by beating the home team 71-54 for the title of the 52-year-old tournament.
It was just the sixth time in the history of the tournament that an out-of-state team beat Hobbs, which came in 11-0. North did it with balance. Arizona-bound Daniel Bejarano had 16 points, Robert Arvizu had 15, Alan Williams had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Kwame Dailey added 12 points.
3. Chip off the old block: Goodyear Estrella Foothills senior Corey Hawkins, the son of former NBA guard Hersey Hawkins, staked his claim as the best player in Arizona with 46 points and 10 rebounds in a 79-76 victory over Phoenix St. Mary’s. Hawkins, a 6-foot-3 guard who signed to play for Herb Sendek at Arizona State, made 17 of 28 shots and 7 of 13 from 3-point range.
4. Not so fast: Heading into Tuesday's game against Mesa Mountain View, Gilbert Mesquite had won 13 straight following a season-opening loss to Chandler Hamilton. In that stretch, the Wildcats had beaten teams from six states with a break-neck style that brought back memories of the Mike D’Antoni-coached Phoenix Suns. But the Toros (10-2) reminded everyone why they should never be taken lightly, beating Mesquite 59-58. Mountain View got 19 points from Asaad Woods to hold off a furious fourth-quarter rally. Toros coach Gary Ernst has won seven state championships for a reason.
5. Money performance: The Mesa Dobson girls won the Centennial Tournament in Las Vegas and 5-foot-5 point guard Andrea Jones was named the tournament MVP. The reward? Now the Mustangs get down to business in the brutal 5A Central Region, which features state powers Gilbert, Mesa Mountain View and Gilbert Highland. All four teams are at least six games above .500 and all own at least 10 wins.
The Fab 5
1. Corey Hawkins, Goodyear Estrella Foothills, Sr., G: We hate to repeat ourselves, but Hawkins’ 42 points and 10 rebounds against Phoenix St. Mary’s deserve a second mention.
2. Jahii Carson, Mesa, Jr., PG: 31 points and six assists in a 73-71 win over Franklin (Seattle) in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in San Diego.
3. Royce Woolridge, Phoenix Sunnyslope, Sr., G: 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting in a 78-66 win over Gilbert Highland.
4. Michael Perez, Tucson Pueblo, Sr., G: 45 points (11-of-11 free throws) in a 78-65 win over Phoenix Moon Valley.
5. Daniel Bejarano, Phoenix North, Sr., G/F: 25 points in an 88-75 win over Laveen Cesar Chavez for the Phoenix Union High School District Boys Basketball Tournament title.
On deck
Simone Westbrook leads the top-ranked Phoenix Desert Vista girls into a huge power-points game Friday night at No. 7 Phoenix St. Mary's, averaging 17 points and five steals a game. Westbrook is the sister of University of Minnesota guard Lawrence Westbrook, who tied a single-season state record by averaging 40.1 points a game his junior season at Chandler High in 2004-05.
Games to watch in the boys ranks include Phoenix St. Mary’s at Phoenix Desert Vista, Mesa Dobson at Chandler Basha and Scottsdale Horizon at Chandler Hamilton.
There are also three wrestling tournaments this week: the Apache Junction Invitational, the Aztec Duals at Tempe Corona del Sol and the Peoria Invitational. All three tournaments begin Friday and end Saturday evening.
Recruiting news
Chandler Valley Christian coach Bill Morgan told The Arizona Republic that his son Jordan Morgan, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior who plays quarterback, safety, punter and kick returner, is leaning toward Stanford. UCLA, Arizona and a pair of Ivy League schools have also shown interest in the state champion.
Craig's cranium
I’ve never been a proponent of combining classifications for a winner-take-all state championship. While too many classifications can water down the competition, as we saw in the early years of Arizona’s Division I and Division II format in 5A and 4A, it’s nice for more kids to experience the thrill of a state title.
That said, events over the holidays have me thinking that a "Hoosiers"-style championship sure would spice things up in Arizona. And there’s little doubt now that the smaller schools can hang after 3A Goodyear Estrella Foothills knocked off a very athletic 5A-I Phoenix St. Mary’s team, 5A-I power Chandler Basha needed overtime to beat 4A-II Chandler Seton Catholic for the (Tempe) McClintock Shootout title and the Class 1A Gilbert Christian boys won the 2A Phoenix Country Day tournament with six victories in two days.
"It proves we can compete with anybody," Hawkins told The Arizona Republic. "All of the doubters, everybody saying we're not good enough to compete, look who we just beat. They don't really have a reason to talk now."
Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 17 years. He currently serves as the Phoenix correspondent for CBSSports.com, covering the Arizona Cardinals, Phoenix Suns and other pro and college teams in Arizona. He also writes a weekly column and other features for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him at craig@thewordsmithonline.com.
