Look out 5A-I, Mesa Jackrabbits
hopping back
By Kyle Odegard, East Valley Tribune (01/25/08)
Welcome back, Mesa. It’s safe to say, however, that Gilbert
Highland, Phoenix Desert Vista and the rest of the contenders in
5A-I boys basketball would have been plenty happy without you.
 The
Jackrabbits nabbed the No. 2 spot in the Tribune’s preseason
rankings, and the Mesa coaching staff saw the potential this squad
would have as far back as region play last season.
But Mesa lost four of its first six games and dropped out of the
rankings entirely two weeks into the season, the most ominous defeat
a 28-point beating at the hands of Gilbert on Nov. 27.
A five-game winning streak brought the team back to respectability,
but three losses at an out-of-town tournament — albeit against some
of the best teams from Nevada and Colorado — put the Jackrabbits at
7-7 more than halfway through the season.
“It could have been a mess in a hurry,” Mesa coach Shane Burcar
said.
But even with a two-week layoff after that tournament, Burcar said
his team never wavered.
“We were a work in progress,” Burcar said, “but we never pressed the
panic button and our players stuck together.”
And eventually, it turned.
Mesa throttled three-time defending champion Mesa Mountain View on
Jan. 8 and has followed that with four straight wins, including a
victory over 5A-II’s top-ranked team, Phoenix Pinnacle, in the MLK
Basketball Classic.
Aaron Fuller has been the dominant force inside, averaging 24 points
and 11 rebounds per game, while steady point guard Donte Medder
averages 14 points per game and leads the team in assists and
steals. The addition of Ryan Salcedo, academically ineligible for
the first 14 games, has given Mesa another scoring weapon.
|
|
DATE |
LOCATION |
OPPONENT |
RECORD |
|
11/20 |
Tourney |
North Canyon
(W 91-49) |
1-0 |
|
11/21 |
Tourney |
Corona del Sol
(W 62-48) |
2-0 |
|
11/24 |
Tourney |
Desert Vista
(L 40-48) |
2-1 |
|
11/27 |
Road |
Gilbert (L
37- 65) |
2-2 |
|
11/29 |
Home |
Desert Ridge
(L 59-62) |
2-3 |
|
12/04 |
Road |
North (L
56-58) |
2-4 |
|
12/06 |
Home |
Trevor Browne
(W 55-39) |
3-4 |
|
12/11 |
Road |
Hamilton (W
64-62) |
4-4 |
|
12/13 |
Home |
Sunrise Mountain
(W 75-41) |
5-4 |
|
12/17 |
Road |
Camelback (W
79-47) |
6-4 |
|
12/19 |
Tourney |
Las Vegas Tourney
(W 60-31) |
- |
|
12/20 |
Tourney |
Las Vegas Tourney
(L 54-67) |
- |
|
12/21 |
Tourney |
Las Vegas Tourney
(L 53-59) |
- |
|
12/22 |
Tourney |
Las Vegas Tourney
(L 55-70) |
- |
|
1/08 |
Road |
Mountain View
(W 66-50) |
7-4 |
|
1/10 |
Home |
Mountain Pointe
(W 64-50) |
8-4 |
|
1/15 |
Home |
Westwood (W
75-49) |
9-4 |
|
1/21 |
ASU |
Pinnacle - MLK
(W 70-58) |
10-4 |
|
1/23 |
Road |
Dobson (W
71-59) |
11-4 |
|
1/24 |
Road |
Yuma (W
63-40) |
12-4 |
|
1/29 |
Home |
Mountain View (W
63-62) |
13-4 |
|
1/31 |
Home |
Red Mountain (W
79-66) |
14-4 |
|
2/01 |
Road |
Westwood (L
56-66) |
14-5 |
|
2/05 |
Road |
Red Mountain (L
75-82) |
14-6 |
|
2/07 |
Home |
Dobson (W
56-53) |
15-6 |
GAME
RECAPS HERE
 |
