Corey Hawkins, Estrella Foothills
Hawkins’ driving basket through a pair of Red Rock (Sedona, Ariz.) defenders late in the first quarter gave him 3,004 points for his career, eclipsing the old state record held by current NBA guard Mike Bibby, who scored 3,002 points from 1992-96 for Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.), before helping lead the University of Arizona to its only NCAA basketball championship in his freshman year.
Estrella Foothills (28-1) is the No. 1 seed in the Class 3A state tournament and already has advanced to the quarterfinals with a 111-51 rout of South Pointe (Phoenix, Ariz.). Given the fact that the Wolves haven’t lost to an Arizona team this season – and have whipped every 3A team they’ve played – it’s easy to envision Hawkins leaving one more, lasting image from his prep career: raising the schools’ third-straight state championship trophy Feb. 27 at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.
Other top storylines from the week
2. Don Petranovich is the winningest girls basketball coach in Arizona history. He's led Winslow (Winslow, Ariz.) to six state 3A titles since 1989, and the Bulldogs are the No. 4 seed in the state tournament as they take on No. 5 Monument Valley (Kayenta, Ariz.) in the quarterfinals Saturday. But the 69-year-old Petranovich’s next loss will be his last. He's retiring after 41 years of coaching. With three more wins he won’t have to taste that next loss – and an exemplary career of hard work and humility will end as it should.
3. Arizona has already crowned all of its state champions in soccer and some in wrestling. But no title was more impressive than Xavier College Prep's (Phoenix, Ariz.) Class 5A-I girls state championship. Why? Because with one more girls team champion to be crowned from the winter season, Xavier has won the team title in every sport, fall or winter, in which it entered a team. The titles have come in badminton, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming and volleyball. Think the basketball team is feeling a little pressure right now?
4. Corona del Sol's (Tempe, Ariz.) boys soccer team was the favorite through much of the season to win its first title since 1994. Chandler Hamilton put up a valiant effort, but Daniel Van Vleet’s goal late in the first overtime capped a remarkable season for the Aztecs (24-2-1) with the 5A-I title.
5. The state wrestling tournament crowned all of its individual champions over the past two weeks, as well as the team champions for Classes 3A, 2A and 1A. That leaves just the team championships for Classes 4A-II, 4A-I, 5A-II and 5A-I on the docket.
The Fab 5
1. Corey Hawkins, Goodyear Estrella Foothills, Sr., G: It’s two weeks old, but we were on vacation so we thought we should mention Hawkins’ 3A state record 65-point effort against Chino Valley in which he hit 23 of 30 field goal attempts, including all nine 2-pointers and 14 of 21 3-pointers.
2. Royce Woolridge, Phoenix Sunnyslope, Sr., G: The Kansas commit had 42 points on 14 of 27 shooting, and six rebounds in a win over Glendale Independence.
3. Jessica Fitzgerald, Phoenix Xavier, Sr., F: Fitzgerald scored both goals in the Gators’ 2-0, Class 5A-I state championship game victory over Tempe Corona del Sol.
4. Rasta Nashio, Whiteriver Alchesay, Sr., PG: Last week, we told you about the 5-7 guard’s dreams of leading his team to the state tournament and playing college ball. Nashio delivered on the first goal, scoring 49 points in the Falcons’ 3A East Region tournament victory over Payson, and helping Alchesay upset Eagar Round Valley for the region tournament title and a state berth.
5. Luke Goettl, Cottonwood Mingus, Sr., 140 lbs.; Ricky Ryan, Show Low, Sr., 130 lbs.: It’s impossible to mention all of the state wrestling champions who were crowned over the past two weeks, but it would irresponsible not to mention Goettl and Ryan. Goettl and Ryan were just two of the 56 champs crowned at the Class 4A-I, 4A-II, 3A and 1A-2A state individual wrestling tournament last week at Tim's Toyota Center in Prescott Valley. But they were the only duo to win four career titles – and just the 23rd and 24th in state history to accomplish the feat.
On deck
The team wrestling tournaments for Classes 4A-II, 4A-I, 5A-II and 5A-I kick off Saturday in dual-meet format at the sites of the higher seeds. The state basketball tournaments continue for Classes 4A-I, 4A-II, 3A, 2A and 1A, while the 5A-I and 5A-II tourneys open next week.
Recruiting news
The Arizona Republic reported that Texas became the 23rd major college to offer Chandler Hamilton junior offensive tackle Christian Westerman a football scholarship. Texas coach Mack Brown offered Westerman a scholarship on his Junior Day visit last week.
Colorado made an offer to Scottsdale Chaparral offensive lineman Andre Yruretagoyena.
Craig's cranium
Many high school administrators and coaches are calling for an end to region basketball tournaments and an expansion of the state tournament field.
The arguments are three-fold.
Under the power points system, region tournaments have little bearing on the state tournament field, players risk injury in these “meaningless” games, and the chance for a lowly team in a poor region to upset its way to the region title and earn an automatic state berth means better teams from better regions may be left out in the cold.
I don’t buy it.
The argument that players can get injured in region tournaments is poor logic. Players can get hurt at any point of the season, including in that extra round of the state tournament. It’s part of the risk of playing and should not impact this decision.
Second, region tournaments offer a means to further stoke the fires of rivalries. If you need proof, just look at the conference tournaments before the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Not only do they enhance the conference's image and rivalries, they provide the one-and-done training ground so vital to good performance in the state tournament.
As for the argument that undeserving teams may upset their way into the state field, I say any team that can win its region tournament is extremely deserving of a state berth – a belief also shared by the NCAA. What’s wrong with giving hope to every team come playoff time?
I don’t object to the idea of an expanded state field – if there is adequate time to make it happen – but there is nothing more entertaining than a Cinderella run. I’d hate to see those dreams crushed.
Craig Morgan is a freelance writer who has covered professional, college and high school sports in the Phoenix area for the past 18 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.
