Eagles go one step further
O’Connor boys nearly advance to Final Four
by Jason Stone                        

NORTH VALLEY – Sandra Day O’Connor boys basketball coach Will Jones said his  team was disappointed not to reach this year’s Final Four at Jobing.com Arena.

But with the way the program has progressed in four short years, it could be only a matter of time before Jones leads the Eagles to the promised land.

O’Connor completed its best season ever Feb. 24 when it lost to North 95‑89 in the quarterfinals of the 5A‑Division II state tournament. The team finished a season in which the Eagles advanced at state one round further than they did a year ago, and the team was ranked among the top four teams in the state all year.

With four of the top five scorers returning next year, combined with a move down to the 4A Conference, Jones is hoping the success continues on an upward path.

“Getting to the Glendale (Jobing.com) Arena was our goal from the start of the season ... but we are very satisfied with how the season as a whole played out,” Jones said. “Next year, we should be competitive in the 4A. We know that we are in a very tough region that includes three‑time state champion Apollo, but we are looking forward to the challenge of playing in a new region and establishing new rivalries.”

Thanks to the scoring explosion of senior Curtis Mitchell and junior Ethan Esch, the Eagles established themselves on the state basketball map in 2006‑07.

The two All‑Northwest Region first‑team selections both averaged around 20 points a game and broke school scoring and 3‑point shooting records  during the season. Each player finished with single‑game scoring highs of 37 to tie for the school’s all‑time mark.

Esch’s 37 came in the state quarterfinal loss to North. The junior could have had more but fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

He’ll be back next year, however, to try to better that mark. Among the team’s top players, only Mitchell is graduating. All‑Northwest Region second‑team pick Tyler Kolstedt, the team’s steady point guard, is also expected back for his senior season.

Honorable‑mention guard Skyler Johnson, who Jones called a “deadly” 3‑point shooter, will likely return as well. However, Ryan Anderson, who was also an honorable‑mention pick, is a senior.

O’Connor accomplished many firsts this season. The Eagles won the championship of the Arrowhead Classic Basketball Tournament in November, then took the consolation title of the Great Desert Shootout Tournament at Cactus Shadows after Christmas.

The Eagles also set a school record for most points in a game when they dropped 110 on South Mountain in early December.

“I was very pleased with the progress of the varsity team this season,” Jones said. “Before the season, I wasn’t sure how a team that would play up to four players who were under 6‑foot tall would fare against taller competition. We needed to make sure that the tempo of the games was played at a pace that would allow us to take advantage of our strengths–running, pressing and shooting 3‑point shots.”

The rise toward the top has been swift for the Eagles under Jones. In the program’s second varsity year in 2004‑05, the Eagles won only five games all year. That became a distant memory a year ago when O’Connor finished with its first winning record and made it to the 5A‑Division II state playoffs for the first time.

This year’s 83‑73 victory over Peoria in the first round was the school’s first state playoff win.