Did Valley Christian basketball violate AIA bylaw with star Luke Shaw playing in Italy?

Chandler Valley Christian senior basketball player Luke Shaw's Italy trip in December has come under scrutiny from an anonymous group that, on Monday night, sent a mass email to 3A coaches and athletic directors alleging that an Arizona Interscholastic Association bylaw was broken.

The Arizona Republic obtained a copy of the email, written by "a group of concerned individuals," which alleges that Shaw played in four club games for Olimpia Milano in Milan, Italy.

AIA bylaw 14.4.1.1 states that an AIA member student-athlete shall not practice or compete with any group outside of his AIA team during the season. But exceptions are made for those trying out for a national team.

AIA Executive Director David Hines said Tuesday he is in the process of collecting information as it begins an investigation. He has spoken with Valley Christian coach Greg Haagsma, who got clearance from the AIA before the season to give Shaw a chance to try out for Italy's Under 19 national team.

"We've been following up with that (the information received from the group making the bylaw infraction allegation)," Hines said. "It's still early on in the investigation."

Casey Shaw, Luke's father, an assistant basketball coach at Grand Canyon University who last played pro basketball in Italy in 2005, also received the email making the allegation.

He said that he received a letter Tuesday from the Italian National Basketball Federation, showing that they wanted to see Luke play from an "evaluation standpoint, a tryout standpoint."

"That's what was communicated to Dana (Casey's wife) and I, and that was our assumption all along," Casey said. "The crazy thing is, Luke's going to go to college. I'm not trying to get him a job. Why would he go over there to try out for a club team?

"But if he can play in July in international competition, that helps him with his recruitment, with his development. And to play for a national team, that's a dream for any kid. He has an Italian passport."

Putting a stop to Valley Christian's dominant season?

Luke Shaw, a 6-foot-3 combo guard, is one of the state's top players for the top 3A team in the state. That team having been ranked most of the season in the Republic's Super 10 for top teams in the state, regardless of conference. Many believe Valley Christian could make a run in this year's 32-team Open state tournament if 3A schools were eligible to participate.

The Trojans (21-2), who have won the past two 3A titles, are ranked No. 1 by the AIA in 3A, beating everybody at that level by double figures this season, even without Shaw, who has only played five games since his return from Italy due to a foot injury that is shutting him down until the 3A tournament begins.

The group making the allegation believes Valley Christian should have to forfeit the games Shaw played in after his return from Italy and that he should be ineligible the rest of the season.

Haagsma said on Jan. 3 someone began directing the allegation against Valley Christian over Shaw playing in Italy. He said Shaw cleared this trip to Italy with the AIA before Shaw left in December.

"I asked the AIA prior to when Luke left," Haagsma said. "The reality is how they do U-19 tryouts in Europe, than how they do it here. It's still a national tryout, so it's perfectly legal by AIA bylaws. The reality is Luke was trying out with seven to 10 other naturalized Italian citizens who live in Canada, Belgium, the Congo, the United States. All of them were trying out together to try to make the national team this summer."

Casey Shaw said the AIA asked him to deliver a letter from the Italian national federation to prove the intention for the trip was to try out for the country's U-19 team.

Luke went to Italy with his mom Dana from Dec. 19-29 to be evaluated. Casey couldn't go because of GCU's season, and he wouldn't be able to go in the spring due to college recruiting. He said his wife Dana also couldn't go in the spring for Luke to be observed.

Casey said that longtime national coach in Italy, Stefano Sacripanti, contacted him in the fall.

Interest from the Italian national team

"The whole point of it is, for FIBA Euro Cup in July, they're building a roster," Casey said. "Milan has five kids on the team that are on the U-20 team. All I have to say is I have a letter right now from the federation that clearly shows they wanted to see him from a tryout standpoint."

Casey, who played pro basketball for 12 years overseas, finishing up in Italy in 2005, said he tried in past years to give his older sons Isaiah and Caleb, who now play for GCU, the same opportunities that Luke got in December.

Casey Shaw said he first found out about the Italian national team when he was recruiting former Pinnacle star Nico Mannion to try to get him to come to Northwestern, where he was an assistant under Bryce Drew.

While recruiting Mannion, Pace Mannion -- Nico's father -- told Casey about the Italian national team opportunities through a passport. Nico played for Italy's national team the summer before his final year at Pinnacle.

"They weren't developed so they didn't think Isaiah and Caleb were good enough at the time," Casey said about the Italian national team. "But the way the national team has seen how Isaiah and Caleb have developed and seen how they've grown, it was like, let's not miss it with Luke. Isaiah and Caleb are too old to play on that team now. I've been talking about this for years. I think it's amazing if you can play in international competition with a national team, there's nothing like that."

Casey said that without high school sports in Italy, basketball is much different with the structure for high school and college kids than it is in America.

"When a national team says, 'Hey, we want to look at Luke,' or, 'We want to look at this kid from Canada or Romania,' they bring them over,'" Casey said. "They say, 'We'll throw him on this team because there are four or five others kids there, and we'll observe and watch the games.''

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AIA looking into allegation of Valley Christian basketball violation