Brevan Branscum is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover ALA Gilbert North for AZPreps365.com

This is the moment ALA Gilbert North has been waiting a year for.

Coming off an early exit in the 3A State Tournament a year prior, the Eagles made the jump to 4A and were welcomed with a brutal schedule filled with bigger schools and powerhouses from 5A and 6A. They responded by going undefeated in AIA play and reaching the number two spot in the Open State rankings. 

Pretty good for a debut. 

ALA Gilbert North boys basketball are 10-0 in 4A East Sky play and 17-0 in conference play, being 18-0 overall. They rolled through their tough schedule and they sit atop the 4A rankings in their first season in the conference. They will enter the Open State Tournament on an 11-game win streak. 

The Eagles announced their status by beating highly-ranked schools Mesa and Desert Mountain in the season opening tournament. They haven’t looked back since. 

“We’ve been told that we can’t compete with these teams, but I believe we can,” said senior McGuire Andrus, the team’s second leading scorer. “We’ve already shown that we can beat them.”

Andrus referenced games like their double-digit win over Peoria, who is a spot behind them in the Open rankings at third, as already having prepared them for the teams they’ll face in the tournament.

Even with some players being unable to participate early in the season due to fall sports – junior forward Brandon Phelps recently committed to the University of Arizona football team – they brought “a lot of energy” according to Andrus, and the team didn’t miss a beat. 

Despite its flawless AIA record, ALA Gilbert North does have a loss on the season. It lost to Sahuaro, another team in the current field of 32, in a midseason tournament.

“We kinda were down a little bit,” Andrus said. “But I was impressed with how we picked it up, and we haven’t lost since.”

The team losing gave them newfound determination to never lose again, something they’ve held up since. 

This determination started during the offseason. The continuity from last season gave the Eagles confidence heading into this year. Head coach Dave Novak has been able to work with a team with very little turnover, as the top five leading scorers from the previous team all returned. A solid core had already existed going into the season. Alongside the emergence of junior Owen Bell, it’s been that core that has powered the top-ranked team.

“We were all locked in over the summer and we already knew what the team was gonna be,” sophomore Connor Morris said. “We’re just a tight group off the court.”

Morris said that the continuity allowed them to work on “all defense over the summer,” mentioning that side of the ball being key to a championship team. The team unofficially averages 8.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. 

ALA Gilbert North is the No. 2 team in the Open State Tournament bracket. It will host Gilbert in the opening round of the tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 8. 

“I’m very confident in our team,” Owen Bell said. “I think we can go really far.”

Not to be outdone, the senior leader, Andrus, one upped his teammate’s confidence.

“I think we can win it all.”