Thrown into the fire of 6A boys basketball since their early days at Valley Vista, now is the time for the experienced class of 2023 to start dishing out some lumps of its own.
Each of the last three seasons, the Monsoon reached the first round of the 6A playoffs only to run into a top contender on its home court — 2020 champion Phoenix Desert Vista, 2021 runner up Phoenix Mountain Pointe and 2022 semifinalist Phoenix Brophy College Prep.
Though ascending to the very top of the big school division will be very difficult, seniors-to-be Aadem Isai, CJ Werner, Dallas Marker and Dwane Jones have matured. The first two players mentioned will enter their fourth year of varsity play.
