The
team, which is now ranked
19th in the country, finished
second in pool play for
the national‑level,
NCAA‑certified tournament.
Playing
for the team in this year’s
tournament were Alec Savage,
Quentin Hughes, Coner Farquharson,
Eddie Ellis, Judah St. Armand,
Mark White and Tony Fabiano.
Brian Fabiano coached the
team. Three other team members–Jake
Cipolletti, Nate Shindel
and Tyler Guy–were unable
to attend the tournament.
The
Red Shirts are unique in
that the players pick the
team each year, not the
coaches. Each potential
new player is invited to
three practices and the
team members vote for or
against the new addition
based on that players’ attitude
and integrity as well as
their athletic aptitude.
“You
don’t see that very often
in a national‑level
competitive team,” parent
Jeff Savage said. “For most
of these stacked powerhouse
clubs at this level, the
kids are hand‑picked
as superstars and they know
they can just as easily
be swapped out if they don’t
play well.”
The
Red Shirts, whose members
live and attend school throughout
the Valley, also benefit
off the court from the exposure
of the wide range of lifestyles,
cultures and family socio‑economic
levels of their team members.
Each
year, hundreds of college
recruiters swarm the Main
Event tournament. Coach
Fabiano said the tourney
is an excellent opportunity
for his players to gain
critical exposure to recruiters
the players might not otherwise
receive.
“If
your son is 6 feet, 10 inches,
the (NCAA) Division I programs
will come to recruit in
your living room,” Fabiano
said. “But if you are not
at that place but are an
exceptional player, there
are literally thousands
of good college programs
out there that just don’t
have the resources to scout
out players in every city
and state.”
Fabiano
said recruiters are looking
for four things: skill level,
speed, size and a players’
desire.
“The
good news is that the two
things you can’t change–speed
and heart–they already have,”
Fabiano said. “The other
two are size and skill.
They are in the 90th percentile
in skill level ... but Arizona
players are 20 to 25 percent
undersized. At the top level,
that doesn’t just mean height,
it is as much about muscle
strength and power. Throughout
this tournament, our kids
could see how hard they
have to work in the weight
room and on the court to
get to the level they need
to get to a college scholarship.”
At
the start of the tournament,
players were required to
view an eligibility requirement
video and criteria for staying
eligible for college athletics.
“As
a father and a coach it
gives me chills to see our
boys learning about the
NCAA recruitment rules and
understand they are actually
in the place they have been
dreaming about and have
worked so hard to get to,”
Fabiano said.
