Wildcats Basketball: Chance Comanche at the Center of His Teams CIF Championship!

Arizona Basketball: After 46 years, the Beverly Hills Normans win the CIF (California) SS Championship with their current center and Arizona’s future center Chance Comanche.

Photo by Shereen Rayan 3/6/2015

As they say, there was a nervous electricity in the air in the basketball arena at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa California. We were about to watch a future Arizona Wildcat Chance Comanche and his high school basketball team do what no past team at Beverly Hills High had done for 46 years, win a championship!

Chance was about to win his fourth championship.  The pressure was on, but you couldn’t tell from looking at Comanche, cool as a cucumber, at least on the outside. You wouldn’t have guessed he was going to end up at the “bottom” of a champion celebration pile up at center court, but he did. Here is some amateur video taken by yours truly to give you a sense of the post game pandemonium:

The Normans won for the first time since 1969, the final score was 55-47 in a hard fought battle against the Corona Del Mar High School Sea Kings. Chance scored 10 points, had four blocks (almost five but a foul was called on him instead), and five rebounds. Some of the most exciting moments were when Chance had two huge dunks, and of course each and every block.

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Chance was not hard to find, he stood a full head above any player, coach or referee there at 6’11” wearing the number 21.  The first half the Sea Kings could not miss a shot, and it seemed the referee’s were calling the smallest, almost non-foul fouls, but did not blow their whistle for the hard calls.  Case in point, in the beginning of the first half one of the Sea Kings was literally hanging on Comanche, swinging from his neck literally using him like a gym apparatus. No call.  It was clear early on that the Normans were not going to catch many breaks, but the team kept their cool and they played on.

Coach Jarvis Turner continued to stress that they play hard defense, while Assistant Coach Neil Hyams reminded them to talk on the court.  Comanche is really good at talking on the court; you find him continually calming down his team and directing them throughout the game.

In the second half, it seemed the Sea Kings, who couldn’t miss a shot in the first half went stone cold in the second half. I don’t have the stats, but Chance must have played the entire game, save about seven or eight seconds.The Sea Kings came within 5 points with under two minutes left to the game.

The Beverly Hills High School Norman student section was rocking! They shouted chants of “MVP” for his teammate Denzel Holt who shot and made eight free throws in the last minute or so of the game to seal the championship for the Normans.

Photo taken by Shereen Rayan 3/6/15

Fox Sports RahShaun Haylock interviewed Comanche after the big win and the sentiment of the big man was that he kept his team calm by telling them to play the game like it was a regular game. He also reported that Chance had just won his 4th CIF championship (Stanley Johnson had won four upper-division state championships at Mater Dei High School in California):

"He won a CIF Southern Section championship at St. Bernard as a freshman. He won the LA City Section championship at View Park in his sophomore and junior seasons. And now this."

I was pleasantly surprised by seeing my dear friend and basketball fundamental guru Neil Hyams on the other side of the glass where the coaches register and enter the arena while standing in line to buy my ticket.  It came as no surprise to me that Coach Hyams (Normans Assistant coach for 4 years) was a part of this road to the championship for the Normans.  

My children and Mira Costa High School players, as well as all the local adults he taught and coached all benefited from his wisdom and his workouts.  He knows every little technical thing about form, how to play the game, being supportive, giving excellent feedback, he’s just impressive.  As soon as I saw Assistant Coach Hyams, I knew Chance was in good hands, along with his head coach Jarvis Turner who is a former Pac-12 USC Trojan player and has coached the Normans since 2010.

Photo taken by Shereen Rayan 3/6/2015 Azusa Pacific University

To view highlights and a coach Turner interview check out the article “Boys’ basketball: Beverly Hills wins first title since 1969” on the Los Angeles Times website.  Prep Sports Reporter Eric Sondheimer columnist covered the event.

I really hope the Norman’s next game is close enough for me to drive to, I really don’t want to miss it.  I know Chance will finish strong as he gets ready to move to the desert and wear his Wildcat red, white and blue! BEARDOWN CHANCE!

Next: Want to know more about future Wildcat Chance Comanche? Click here!