Cheat sheet for the Semifinals

Right now Brophy (20-7) is red-hot and on a season-best six game winning streak after upsetting No. 3 North High in the quarterfinals. Read about that game here. In the first round, head coach Mr. Tony Fuller achieved his first career playoff victory against No. 11 Cesar Chavez. Read about that game here. Fuller is on the verge of guiding the Broncos to their first ever state championship in basketball. The last time Brophy made it to the semifinal round it was 2004, and they lost to Mesa.

The No. 2 Mesa Jackrabbits (21-5), who won the Fiesta Region, defeated the Broncos twice during the regular season. In fact, the last time Brophy lost, it was Jan. 28 at Mesa. On the path to the semifinal, Mesa defeated No. 15 Tuscon and No. 7 Mountain Pointe in a couple of close games.

The winner of this game will play the winner of No. 1 Buena (Sierra Vista, AZ) and Mesa Mountain View at 8PM Friday at Jobing.com arena. I would of preferred not to have back-to-back games, but the AIA is probably trying to cut travel costs. Buena has not gotten respect all season long because they are isolated from most of Arizona and they haven't played many 5A-I teams. Not too long ago the Toros three-peated. From 2005 to 2007, Mesa Mountain view won all three championships.

Key Player to Watch: This one's fairly obvious, it's 5'10 170 PG Jahii Carson. Carson is regarded as the top high school player in Arizona. Carson leads 5A-I with 30.7 points/game, which is almost half of their team's total. In the quarterfinals Carson defeated his former team, Mountain Pointe. He has signed to play basketball at Arizona State and can dunk fairly easily despite the fact that he's 5'10.