Greg Hansen's top 10 high school boys basketball players in Tucson history
- Updated
Cholla High School's Sean Elliott tops the list.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Editor’s note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today’s list: The top 10 boys basketball players from Tucson:
By the time Pat McAndrew graduated from Flowing Wells High School, he established four Tucson scoring records:
Points in a career: 1,390.
Points in a season: 551.
Scoring average in a season: 29.1.
Scoring average in a career: 20.2.
That’s the Big Four, for sure.
The 6-foot shooting guard was ahead of his time as a distance shooter; many of his baskets at Flowing Wells would’ve been 3-pointers today. He scored 46 points in a game, which equaled Tucson’s scoring record.
As a high school player, he might’ve been the best to that time in Tucson. He accepted a scholarship from Arizona but his basketball career ebbed; McAndrew an honor student in Political Science, scored just 48 points in two UA seasons, averaging two points.
After basketball, McAndrew’s career blossomed. He became an accomplished singer and guitar player, part of well-known Tucson groups Garfield Smelter and the Statesboro Blues Band, opening for, among other acts, the Animals, Buffalo Springfield and the Doors. (He also taught at University High School).
He died as a relatively young man, 61, in 2008 after a heart attack.
His place among the 10 leading high school basketball players in Tucson was set in stone in the ’60s. It is one of the most difficult lists of any top 10 ranking we’ve published this summer. Here’s our group of 10:Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
His scoring average of 31.3 as a senior in 1985 was the highest in Arizona since 1960. Elliott remains the only Tucson basketball player to make the McDonald’s All-American list.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
While leading the Warriors to a 28-0 state championship in 1978, Lever nearly averaged a triple-double: 20.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 9.6 assists. He also led Pueblo to the ’77 state title. He later made two NBA All-Star teams.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
His final game was the 2010 state championship, capping a wonderful career in which the 5-11 guard scored a city-record 2,911 points with 96 victories as a four-year starter. He later led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring at Maryland.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Until Stoglin came along, Overton set the Tucson record with 2,530 points from 1989-92, capping his career in a state championship victory.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The Badgers’ undefeated 1962 state title keyed on the 6-11 center who would start at Stanford. Kosanke averaged 23 points, which included a state-record 46 points against Amphitheater.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
As a four-year starter for the Lancers, Flannery scored 2,332 points and had yearly scoring averages of 19, 21, 27 and 23, making the Star’s All-City first team four times.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The 7-foot brothers from Canyon del Oro both played in state championship games. Brian, the oldest, broke the city scoring record with 1,688 points in 1975. Mark averaged 28.3 in 1978 as CDO won it all. His 53 point against Nogales broke the city record. Mark played at Arizona and Northwestern; Brian played at Arizona and Colorado State.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
In addition to his career scoring records, McAndrew led the city in scoring as a junior in 1963.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
Part of a 23-4 team in 1989, the lefty wing forward scored a then-city record 2,169 points before playing in 68 career games at Arizona.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
On a 23-1 team that won the 1969 state title, Ball and Price were so good it’s too close to put one ahead of the other. Ball and Price both averaged 21, with Price the club’s assist leader and Ball the top rebounder at 14 per game.Â
- Greg Hansen
- Updated
The next four is a strong group: Santa Rita’s 6-9 center Dave Feitl, a future NBA center, averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds, finishing with 1,376 points for the Eagles’ early ’80s state title contenders; Rincon’s 1970s powerhouses included Dave Henson and Gary Allen, both two-time All-City players; Amphitheater’s Tim Derksen was the state’s 2011 player of the year, leading the Panthers to the state championship.
More like this...
- Greg Hansen
Editor’s note: This summer, Star columnist Greg Hansen is counting down the top 10 of just about everything related to Tucson sports.
Today’s list: The top 10 boys basketball players from Tucson:
By the time Pat McAndrew graduated from Flowing Wells High School, he established four Tucson scoring records:
Points in a career: 1,390.
Points in a season: 551.
Scoring average in a season: 29.1.
Scoring average in a career: 20.2.
That’s the Big Four, for sure.
The 6-foot shooting guard was ahead of his time as a distance shooter; many of his baskets at Flowing Wells would’ve been 3-pointers today. He scored 46 points in a game, which equaled Tucson’s scoring record.
As a high school player, he might’ve been the best to that time in Tucson. He accepted a scholarship from Arizona but his basketball career ebbed; McAndrew an honor student in Political Science, scored just 48 points in two UA seasons, averaging two points.
After basketball, McAndrew’s career blossomed. He became an accomplished singer and guitar player, part of well-known Tucson groups Garfield Smelter and the Statesboro Blues Band, opening for, among other acts, the Animals, Buffalo Springfield and the Doors. (He also taught at University High School).
He died as a relatively young man, 61, in 2008 after a heart attack.
His place among the 10 leading high school basketball players in Tucson was set in stone in the ’60s. It is one of the most difficult lists of any top 10 ranking we’ve published this summer. Here’s our group of 10:Â
- Greg Hansen
While leading the Warriors to a 28-0 state championship in 1978, Lever nearly averaged a triple-double: 20.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 9.6 assists. He also led Pueblo to the ’77 state title. He later made two NBA All-Star teams.Â
- Greg Hansen
His final game was the 2010 state championship, capping a wonderful career in which the 5-11 guard scored a city-record 2,911 points with 96 victories as a four-year starter. He later led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring at Maryland.Â
- Greg Hansen
The 7-foot brothers from Canyon del Oro both played in state championship games. Brian, the oldest, broke the city scoring record with 1,688 points in 1975. Mark averaged 28.3 in 1978 as CDO won it all. His 53 point against Nogales broke the city record. Mark played at Arizona and Northwestern; Brian played at Arizona and Colorado State.Â
- Greg Hansen
On a 23-1 team that won the 1969 state title, Ball and Price were so good it’s too close to put one ahead of the other. Ball and Price both averaged 21, with Price the club’s assist leader and Ball the top rebounder at 14 per game.Â
- Greg Hansen
The next four is a strong group: Santa Rita’s 6-9 center Dave Feitl, a future NBA center, averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds, finishing with 1,376 points for the Eagles’ early ’80s state title contenders; Rincon’s 1970s powerhouses included Dave Henson and Gary Allen, both two-time All-City players; Amphitheater’s Tim Derksen was the state’s 2011 player of the year, leading the Panthers to the state championship.
Vacant Tucson stores could transform into new housing
