Valley Christian basketball could be best small-school team in Arizona history behind Grier twins, Luke Shaw
Chandler Valley Christian's boys basketball team, some believe, could make a serious run in the Open Division state tournament — if it were eligible.
Because the Arizona Interscholastic Association takes only 6A, 5A and 4A teams for the 32-team Open field, Valley Christian will just have to make any statement in the 3A tournament next month.
The Trojans are 20-2, with those two losses coming in the Visit Mesa Basketball Challenge in late December when their best player, 6-foot-3 senior guard Luke Shaw, was in Italy playing for their Under-19 national team.
One of those losses came against Clovis West of Fresno, California, 67-64. Clovis West has won 19 games this season and won 30 last year.
Their other loss came against 6A Anthem Boulder Creek, 73-66. Boulder Creek just beat The Arizona Republic's latest No. 1 team in the Super 10 (all conferences combined), Phoenix Sunnyslope, 71-64, on Tuesday.
The Trojans have won seven straight since then, with nobody coming within single digits of them. In fact, of their 20 wins, 18 of them have been by double digits with two out-of-state teams — Smoky Hill (13-3 in Colorado) and Timpview (11-5 in Utah) — losing to the Trojans by eight and one point respectively.
Shaw, one of the best players in the state and the son of Grand Canyon University assistant coach Casey Shaw and brother of GCU players Isaiah and Caleb, is out now until the start of the state tournament with inflammation in his foot.
When Valley Christian was beating some big-school powers in June and July, people were taking notice of the defending 3A champions, a team that returned all of its key players.
"We've had a lot of really good teams here," coach Greg Haagsma said. "We know that there are other schools that had some really good teams.
"It's hard to compare eras. We've just kind of said, 'This will be the first one to three-peat for us. If they three-peat, I have a hard time saying they're not the best."
Stacking titles
Valley Christian won back-to-back titles under Haagsma in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons at the 2A level when they went a combined 67-2. The Trojans did it again winning state at the 3A level the past two seasons, going 28-3 and 30-2. The thing those recent teams have in common? They had a Shaw brother leading the way.
Caleb Shaw was All-Arizona in the 2021-22 season. Luke was All-Arizona last season for the Trojans. Now he can be part of three state titles. This team runs through him.
But the Trojans found out more about themselves and Shaw learned more about himself while he was in Italy over the Christmas break. The play in Italy taught him how to be a better point guard.
During his absence, Valley Christian had to rely on others to get through and go 2-2 at Visit Mesa.
The Grier twins — 6-7 junior point guard Carson and 6-4 junior forward Kyle — along with seniors Austin Wallace and Grant Woods came to the forefront.
Wallace had 15 points, Woods 14 and Carson Grier 13 to go with 10 rebounds in the 63-62 win over Timpview. In a 72-39 rout of California's Mission College Prep, Kyle Grier had 22 points, making six of seven 3-pointers, and Wallace had 18. Carson Grier had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists.
"Carson and Kyle are very key players for us," Haagsma said. "We feel like each of the guys in our starting lineup are hard to replace in certain ways. They're leading rebounders for us. Kyle is our best 3-point shooter. Carson does so many things. He's a good defender. He's a phenomenal rebounder. He leads us in assists. A 6-7 point guard is pretty hard to come by for a high school. We like to have those."
Carson and Kyle have great chemistry, which makes a difference on the court.
"We've been playing together our whole lives, so we know a lot of things we're going to do," Kyle said.
"I think we would be top 10 if we were able to play in the Open," Carson added. "We have the talent. But we also play really well together."
Read more: The Republic's high school boys basketball rankings through Jan. 22, 2024
Shaw's scoring ability, clutch play lifts program
Luke Shaw had a hard act to follow after his brother Caleb graduated. He's not as big and doesn't jump as high. But he can fill it up. He averages 27 points, averaging 24 minutes in 15 games. He also averages 5.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.5 steals.
When he's on, there is little anybody can do to stop the Trojans from going on devastating runs that have the outcomes decided by halftime.
Right now, he's making sure his foot is ready for state, where the Trojans will be a heavy favorite with maybe Gilbert Christian having the closest shot at pulling the upset.
When he was in Italy, he learned he didn't have to score all the time to have an impact.
"I knew it was an incredible chance," Shaw said about playing in Italy, where he could play for national teams there in the future because he has dual citizenship. "I wanted to stay with my teammates and play but it was a chance I couldn't let go.
"Over there, seeing in person, the European style of play, and honestly that is how I want to play as a point guard. Be crafty and finishing. It was great to see up close."
Shaw isn't ready to say what his college direction is, whether he would follow his brothers to GCU.
Right now, he's hoping to play a major role in Valley Christian's run to a third straight 3A title.
"We're not in it (the Open), so we have to make the most of what God has blessed us with and that's the state tournament," Shaw said. "We'll see what we can do."
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Valley Christian could be best small-school HS team in Arizona history
