Desert Baller: Gavin Edwards

Sometimes, ex-Arizona high school and college sports stars get lost. We lose track of where these kids have gone, or might not be familiar with some of them in the first place. The ladder is something you might say about today’s Desert Baller Gavin Edwards.

Where is He Now?: Gavin Edwards is currently a Junior on the University of Connecticut basketball team. He is a main bench role player, mainly subbing in for Hasheem Thabeet whenever the big man needs a breather. You can see him in the Final Four against Michigan State.

Where Did He Come From?: Edwards kind of slipped through the cracks here in Arizona. He went to high school at Mesquite High School in Gilbert. Edwards is a prime example of why many people believe high school teams are becoming less relevant and AAU teams are what it is all about. After limited playing time in his junior year at Mesquite, Edwards thought he was headed for prep school after his high school career was over. This all changed during the Spring of his senior year in 2006. Edwards played on the traveling team, Arizona Magic Blue, and helped them to a 23-3 record. Edwards was credited for leading them with his inside presence. Combine that with the 17.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks from his senior year, and that is enough to get Coach Jim Calhoun to come calling. Edwards also had over 100 blocks his senior year, which not only set the single season record, but was enough to set his high school’s career shot block record at the same time.

What Can We Expect From Him: If you look at his numbers, then you would probably not think that he is very valuable. Numbers do not tell the whole story with Edwards though. He adds a toughness that any bench could use, especially if you have to replace a 7’3″ All American. He averaged just under 12 minutes this season, and his best game came against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Seattle. He had 14 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes. Next year, Edwards will be looked at once again for his toughness and his veteran leadership, especially if Thabeet opts for the NBA Draft.

Gavin Edwards may not have the star power and stats of other recent Arizona high schoolers such as Jerryd Bayless and Lee Cummard, but his work for the UConn Huskies has not gone unnoticed. Keep an eye on this Desert Baller next season.

This is How a Rivarly Ends?

St. Mary's versus Brophy is a longstanding Arizona rivalry

Ever wonder how a rivalry ends? In professional sports it ends when the teams stop competing at a high level. The same is true in the amateur ranks, unless the rivalry is so old it can never have an end. If the rivalry is so old, so ingrained in the culture of the two schools and/or teams, then how does one ever end? When one of the schools/teams decides not to play in it anymore. This is exactly what Arizona’s 5-A football powerhouse Brophy is trying to do against their decades long rival St. Mary’s.

St. Mary’s and Brophy have been playing for years, the schools have long been the state’s premier football rivalry. St. Mary’s was once the state’s best program, but they have long been an average to below average football team (ironically it started right around the time I started to attend). Brophy has become the state’s best team now, and they routinely kill St. Mary’s in these games. St. Mary’s is much smaller than other schools in 5-A, so they are moving to 5-A’s second division so they can play more schools that are their size. With this move St. Mary’s and Brophy are no longer required to play each other every year, but of course St. Mary’s wants to do everything in their power to keep the rivalry going, even if they are getting slaughtered in it ever year. Brophy? They want to end the rivalry, they don’t care to play St. Mary’s anymore. Brophy wants to play better teams and a tougher schedule. For the last few years St. Mary’s has been a cakewalk for them and they would rather play a team like Peoria Centennial out of the 5A-II conference.

I find this sickening. Rivalry’s and programs have ebbs and flows. Schools are going to have great stretches of play and terrible stretches of play. St. Mary’s once won 16 of these games in a row in the 80s and 90s, there was never any talk about ending the rivalry. Brophy has won six in a row and they want to end this historic rivalry? Are you freaking kidding me? As I have mentioned before, I went to St. Mary’s. I know this rivalry from the inside. Students, staff, faculty and alumni on both campuses live and die for this football game. It is ingrained in their culture. This has every bit the passion of Duke/North Carolina or Michigan/Ohio State, just on a smaller scale. How Brophy could want to end it, or even have the nerve to suggest it, is beyond me. It would kill tradition and in today’s day and age we need all the tradition we can get. I will never like Brophy because of where I went to school, but if they pull this off I will no longer respect them.