Everybody likes a winner, especially in sports. It’s
why we watch the sports we do, but when it’s high school sports it can be a
little different. Students who play sports in high school are playing their
respective sports because they enjoy it, for the love of the game, and it’s a
way for that athlete to make their mark in high school. There is always a
chance that these athletes can take their talents to the collegiate level or
even higher, but for most athletes, high school is where it ends for them, so
these young men and young women play their hearts out for their respective
school.
In Mesa, Arizona there is a high school that embodies
what is so right with high school basketball. The Mesa High Jackrabbits are a
team in every sense of the word. From the coaches, to the players, to the
manager of the team nobody is bigger than the next guy. They look out for each
other, they encourage each other when things don’t go the way the team
envisioned, and most importantly, they hold each other accountable on the court
and outside the court.
“You take care of the little things, big things will
happen for us.” Said Head Coach Shane Burcar during a recent practice.
Is that “coach speak”? Absolutely, but the way Burcar
coaches his players, they understand the message behind it. The Jackrabbits are
beginning their quest for the Arizona State Championship at the Division One
level.
The Jackrabbits have hovered in the top three in the
whole state the whole season at the biggest division level in the state of
Arizona and are looking for another state title to hang in their well cluttered
gymnasium of banners.
When you think of a team you follow winning a
championship there are many things that probably come to mind about that team.
The team has good offensive players, plays excellent defense, or has such good
chemistry that it can overcome most problems that come the team’s way during
the march to a title.
This year’s version of the Mesa High Jackrabbits
remind me of several teams in college basketballs gloried past. The Jackrabbits
are a team with no big time division one type of players where you can sit
there and say to yourself “that’s the guy that will rescue the team if needed.”
Nope, what you have is a team like the Villanova basketball team that has a
collection of guys that play as a team and have each other’s back in tough
times.
That Villanova team played a highly daunted team in
the Georgetown Hoyas in 1985, where the Hoyas were the overwhelming favorite
and they were the team that everybody hated with a passion. Before that game,
Nova Head Coach Rollie Massimino said some things to his players before they
took the floor.
“One, do not play to lose. Play to win. Two, you are
good enough to win. You can beat anybody in the country. Believe it.” Coach
Massimino told his players in 1985.
These are the same thoughts that Head Coach Shane
Burcar impresses upon his players on an everyday basis. Burcar is tough on his
players, but the Mesa players understand the reason behind his madness. Like Massimino,
Coach Burcar never wants his players to doubt themselves when it comes to their
opponents even though the talent level may not be what it has been in the past
for the team.
In the last three games in the state tournament, the
Jackrabbits have what Arizona Wildcats have in terms of not having one true ace
in the hole type of player, but a team full of guys who know their role on the
team and UNDERSTAND their role for the betterment of the team. The Wildcats
lost a lot of talent to the NBA and graduation and to replace that talent takes
a massive effort on the recruiting trail. However, has that slowed down the
Cats at all? Not really. Do they have a few more losses than last season? Yes,
but they are still going to NCAA Tournament and have a great chance to win the
Pac-12.
Coach Burcar tells his team at every practice and game
that they are no different from the other team.
“You guys will take it to Basha tonight. Take no
prisoners!” Coach Burcar yelled enthusiastically at his players before they
took floor in the state semi-final game.
The Jackrabbits certainly took it to Basha High School
who had a bunch of AAU type of players who were good athletes, but lacked
fundamental basketball skills. It was apparent from the start of that
semi-final game that if Mesa could get up on them and frustrate them a little
bit, then Basha would crumble. That is exactly what happened. Mesa had more
hustle for loose balls, timely shot making, good free throw shooting, and most
importantly big plays/stops on the defensive end of the floor.
Mesa High locks their opponents down on the defensive
end and creates an atmosphere of frustration for their opponent. Once this
frustration sets in for the opposition, Mesa has their opponent exactly where
they want them. In this case, it is very much like the Arkansas Razorbacks back
in the 1990’s coached by Nolan Richardson where it was termed “40 minutes of
hell”.
The Razorbacks would press the heck out of any team
they played, they would play the passing lanes, and make life miserable for the
other team. Like I said, Mesa gets their opposition frustrated with a
relentless attack defensively and you soon see players from the other teams
complaining to the refs, complaining to their teammates, and just flustered to
the point of giving up.
A mark of a championship team is their ability to go
out and impose their will on their opponent. On Monday night, the Mesa High
Jackrabbits went out took the championship from their opponent. Like the Duke
teams of the past, where Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, and Grant Hill took
any momentum in the arena, the Jackrabbits grabbed all the momentum from
Sunnyslope High School right before halftime.
Drew Hatch hit a Steph Curry type of three-pointer at
the halftime buzzer to pull Mesa within four. The halftime was 27-23 and the
throng of Mesa fans went nuts. From there, the Jackrabbits had all the momentum
to come out in second half gradually take the lead from Sunnyslope.
The pressure defense that had been Mesa’s trademark
all tournament long, and probably all season long shut down the oppositions players
who were known for bombing three-pointers. Mesa wasn’t going to let them get
any clean looks at a three ball and from there the frustration on the opponents
face was increasingly becoming apparent.
In the end, Mesa did what they needed to do to win the
Arizona State Championship 51-48 and put themselves into the storied history of
Mesa High athletics. Fear the Hop Mesa players and coaches, you are the champs
and nobody, absolutely nobody can EVER take that from you. Carry On!
