Rivalry game turns into family night for Millennium basketball

By Richard Smith
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When Canyon View and Millennium boys basketball appeared in the same bracket, their likely second round meeting took on extra meaning - since the district rivals did not play this year after Millennium moved to 6A.

But by tipoff Friday night, the Tigers had much more on their minds than the school down the road and the loud, near-capacity crowd in their large gym. Their coach was in the stands instead of the sidelines, and that - combined with a 9-3 Canyon View run to start the game - fueled Millennium to play its best in an 89-50 Open Division rout.

Tigers coach Ty Amundsen said he pushed through warning signs for five years. Tuesday Amundsen called 911, was taken by ambulance to Abrazo West Campus in Goodyear, and was given a CT scan that found a blockage and determined he had suffered a heart attack.

“I would get pains or I would get tingles in my hands and my neck would start hurting. I’d get really scared and then I’d be like, ‘I’ve got it. I’m good,’ and things would go away,” Amundsen said. “What happened to me on Tuesday morning had already happened once, three weeks prior to that. And I thought, ‘I’ve got to see what the hell this is.’ I was going to drive myself to the ER, but I didn’t want to wait.”

By Friday he said he was feeling much better and wanted to share a message with men - don't ignore your body when it is not feeling right.

He was on court with the team during player introductions, then went up in the stands a couple rows behind the bench. Amundsen resisted the urge to walk down to the court most of the night.

“Within 40 minutes, they put a stent in. When I tell you it was instantaneous, the feeling in my body ... I felt so great. I’m so grateful to them and what they did. I was out of there in a day and a half,” Amundsen said. “I got cleared today, but my wife told me, ‘You’re not coaching tonight.’ So I sat in the stands. Jay Shelley and Martin Camacho did a good job. They kind of shared those duties.”

On the court, his closest knit team in eight years at Millennium were taking up for the coach like extended family. Which they all are - except for the immediate family starting at guard and bombing away on threes.

Senior JT Amundsen finished with 18 points, hitting five treys in the first three quarters before the running clock started. As he said, he has played with fellow seniros Darius Alegria and Damian Castro since third grade.

Star junior wing Cameron Holmes joined the group soon after. And senior guard Quincy Everson and forward Kingston Tosi came on board in junior high.

That familiarity, non-verbal communication, ball movement and team defense was near its peak Friday night, and Amundsen's dad did not have to worry much.

“He trusts us to take care of business and we trust each other,” JT Amundsen said.

Holmes was transcendent after the Jaguars took the quick lead, scoring at all three levels and finishing with 31 points in three quarters, he also blocked six shots, and Canyon View became increasingly reluctant to drive to the basket.

“The coaches told us to stay motivated and play defense, and that’s what we did,” Holmes said. “Always help each other, that’s what coach has taught us.”

Canyon View came in on a 24-came winning streak following at opening loss at #4 Chandler Basha.

Most of the team, including star senior guard Denali McNeal, was back from the 23=24 squad, and their best game against the Tigers was their last. Open Division runner up Millennium beat Canyon View 75-71 in Goodyear last February.

“Them being our rival school and not getting to play them all year, anticipation builds up even more,” JT Amundsen said.

It was the second Open Division game in three days that saw the Tigers force a running clock in the first. #3 Millennium beat #30 Tucson Catalina Foothills 81-47 Wednesday.

Canyon View was the #14 seed in the Open, and now drops back to the 5A bracket as the #2 seed with a bye on Wednesday. Millennium is locked into the Open and will play its final home game of the season at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in a quarterfinal against #6 Scottsdale Notre Dame Prep.

“It means something in the district, and Canyon View is a good team. I just think that we’re that good,” Ty Amundsen said.

The Tigers' 19-7 record is deceiving. #2 Phoenix Sunnyslope and #5 O'Connor dished out the in-state losses.

But 11 of those games were against out-of-state competition, including several of the best high school teams in the country.

“We’re playing our best because of those games. When you play tough teams, you’re battle tested. We don’t get phased anymore. We just hold our ground and play ball,” Holmes said.

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.