Scoring duo gets Eagles to state
Mitchell, Esch light up the scoreboard
by Luke Hanagan                    

NORTH VALLEY – At the turn of this century, Valley basketball fans were abuzz about a hardwood duo dubbed “Backcourt 2000.” Seven years later, a pair of guards from Sandra Day O’Connor is producing on the high school level in a way their professional counterparts failed to deliver.

For former Suns’ guards Jason Kidd and Penny Hardaway, injuries and lack of chemistry doomed their pairing to only 45 games together and a boatload of missed expectations.

For the O’Connor Eagles’ Curtis Mitchell and Ethan Esch, however, chemistry is implicit. Together they are leading their team into the state tournament with their eyes on a 5A‑Division II title.

The two guards led the Eagles to a 23‑6 regular season record and an 11‑3 mark in the 5A Northwest Region. Coming off of a first‑round upset loss in last year’s state tourney, the pair knew early on that the 2006‑07 edition of the Eagles had potential.

“During summer ball and tryouts we said, ‘We are going to be good this year,’” Mitchell said. “Then we won our first tournament, and then we knew it.”

The team proved out the premonition by reeling off nine straight victories to start the season.

Both Esch and Mitchell are three‑year starters on a program that is only in its fourth year with a varsity squad. Both players first picked up the sport at age 4, and because they are veterans of traveling club teams, they are already used to pressure situations on the basketball court.

Their biggest accomplishment to date, however, has been helping turn a varsity team that won a single game in its first year to a 23‑win team this year–with back‑to‑back state tourney appearances to boot.

O’Connor head coach Will Jones knew he had something special in the duo early on.

“Ethan came in with a reputation as a scorer, and he made the adjustment to varsity pretty easily,” Jones said. “Curtis played freshman ball for us, so we got watch him for a year before we brought him up. Both of them were clearly ready at a young age–especially in a young program where we were looking for as many guys who could put the ball in the basket as we could.”

But what makes these Eagles unique is the remarkably consistent level of play that Mitchell and Esch maintain.

Rare is the game where one of the players has an off night. Instead, the stat lines are often within a few points, assists or rebounds of each other, even in dominating performances.

In a December game against South Mountain, the junior Esch finished a steal shy of a triple‑double with 30 points, 12 assists and nine steals. The senior Mitchell added a double‑double of his own with 37 points and 14 rebounds.

That consistency carried through the season as each player had 12 games scoring more than 20 points, with Esch scoring more than 30 four times and Mitchell crossing that mark twice. Often those outputs occurred in the same games.

The pair led the 5A‑Northwest in scoring with Mitchell pouring in 574 points to Esch’s 570, putting them at 11th and 12th in the state, respectively. Esch also led the region in steals with 70, and his 21.1‑point average was good for eighth statewide.

Jones said the Eagles will lean on the player with the hot hand, but because both players are adept at playing the run‑and‑gun style he employs, the coach doesn’t design the offense around them.

“They fit into the system we want to run very well,” Jones said. “We run a lot of really up‑tempo offenses and pressing defenses, and that fits their style of play. Ethan is exceptional at getting to the basket off the dribble, and Curtis is very good at spotting up and shooting, and he is also an outstanding defender.”

The players themselves can’t help but notice when one or the other, or both, are in the zone. Their shared desire to win and commitment to unselfish play keeps them from caring too much about individual achievements.

“You know those nights when you just put up a shot and everything is in and you’ll think, ‘I feel good this game,’” Esch said. “Things I always remember, though, is that turnover I made or the bad things.”

Esch and Mitchell will lead the high‑scoring and unselfish Eagles into the state tournament beginning tonight against Peoria. Both players are eager to continue their strong season, and intend to avoid another early exit.

“We were all thinking about the next game, and we just got beat,” Mitchell said of last year’s tourney loss to Ironwood. “It was a heartbreaker.”

“We made that mistake last year,” Esch added when asked about taking teams lightly. “We won’t be doing that again.”

Their body of work this season suggests the Eagles won’t go quietly. And with a pair of guards that come as advertised, it should be a fun ride for Valley basketball fans.