Basketball this summer?

May 4, 2020 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Basketball last June in a summer event hosted by Monarch Sports AZ and Mesquite High School. A sight such as this would surely be welcomed. (AzPreps365 photo)

There are an array of summer events for boys and girls basketball coming up. June and July are normally heavy months for those so here's a look at their feasibility.

Monarch Sports AZ owner Marc Beasley has put on June boys and girls high school basketball events for the better part of a decade. They tend to showcase Arizona high school teams likely to among the best for the coming athletic season. June is iffy at present given COVID-19.

Beasley has at least a trio of plans for when those events will take place. Plan A is top see them go off as scheduled - Lady X is the girls event slated for June 5-6 at Mesquite HS. Competing schools are 6A Hamilton, 5A Millennium, 4A Mesquite, 6A Sandra Day O'Connor, 6A Perry, 6A Pinnacle, 4A Seton and 6A Valley Vista. All eight teams were at least quarterfinalists in their respective state tournaments with Valley Vista, Millennium and Seton winning state titles. PrimeTime is the boys event scheduled the following weekend June 12-13 at a site to be determined. Brophy Prep was the intended venue, but the school announced its facility will be closed for the summer.

If the all clear is given, Plan A is to compete as the above. Plan B would be a July date, again predicated on facilities being open. Plan C would be fall - perhaps October. The high school season kicks in shortly thereafter and would be a good lead in for the 2020-2021 season.

A large event situated in Arizona last year was the District 7 Team Camp, featuring high schools from up to 10 state in the west and a few from the southeast, Florida and Lousiana, for example. It's sanctioned by the AIA. AIA executive director David Hines said the decision to go or cancel could come in the next week to two weeks. This year's event is slated for June 19-21 at State Farm Stadium, the Arizona Cardinals home. Entry deadlines have been extended through mid-May, but several states are currently not allowing their schools to travel and will not attend. That would reduce the number of schools, a little over 200. Most of the entires are boys teams. Girls entries have expanded to 16. 

High school teams also play games in summer leagues at gyms, many located in the East Valley. Those are also in limbo awaiting guidance from school districts who normally house those games in June.

BOYS HOOPS COACHING VACANCIES: Several boys basketball coaching vacancies could be filled as soon as this week. Skyline (replacing James Capriotti), Seton Catholic (replacing Commander King) and Notre Dame Prep (replacing Kyle Diemer) are close to wrapping up their searches. Diemer has since been hired at San Tan Foothills HS and Capriotti has signed on at Powerhouse Prep. Some of these schools are waiting on a choice to confirm, others notifying unsuccessful candiates and/or waiting for district approval.