Ben Hurley's phone chirped nonstop Feb. 27 with a cacophony of thank-yous and atta-boys from alumni and fans.
Former player Fernando Ayala called Hurley to congratulate his Amphitheater High School team for having won its first ever basketball title the day before.
Ayala also had a surprise.
He wanted to buy championship rings for the team.
"Caught me completely off-guard," Hurley said. "They can be pretty pricey."
The next day at lunch, the Panthers met with a ring representative and chose from among 20 examples.
Players put samples on their fingers and walked around like kings. Or rap stars. Or Joan Rivers on QVC.
Ten weeks and $6,000 later, the Panthers received their rings Tuesday. There was a pep rally and a banquet.
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"I was really just speechless," senior guard Domineik Banks said. "In shock that all the success would lead to that."
Friends ask if they can try the rings on.
"I'm not giving it to just anyone," senior guard Hakeem Johnson said.
Last week, teachers told Hurley one player said he couldn't write; his hand was cramping, he joked, from the giant ring with a Kelly-green paw on the top.
Another scratched the side of his face during class just to show off the bling.
"They were walking around on cloud nine," Hurley said.
Ayala, 27, hopes it was a fitting thank-you to Amphi, the program that ushered him into adulthood.
He was raised by a single mother, Ana Moreno, who worked as a cook and, on weekends, a house cleaner.
At Amphi from 2000 to 2003, Ayala played in tournaments and went to camps because the school allowed him to work at summer league games it hosted.
Without it, he wouldn't have been able to afford to improve his game. Amphi often helped players from low-income families, he said.
"I don't think another high school will do that for their kids," he said. "Amphi tries to find a way to help the parents out at the same time."
At Nova Home Loans, Ayala finds himself telling his employees the same maxims he heard from coach Pat Derksen: If you're not early, you're late. Hard work will never cheat you.
"Basically, that program was my college," he said. "The way I run my business right now was the way my practices were ran."
At first, Ayala, who played basketball at Pima College, figured he could recruit friends and coworkers to chip in. But because of the economy, he said, "not a lot of people were interested."
Ayala, who attended games this year with his two sons, arranged for the amount to be taken from his paycheck.
He paid about $300 apiece for 22 rings that are golden in color. They feature the school logo on the top above a bed of glittery stones, surrounded by the words "State Champions."
The receiver's name is on one side, the state of Arizona with a No. 1 over it on the other.
Without the donation, Hurley said, the team probably would have washed cars and found other ways to raise money.
"Very little, if any, of our kids could drop the money for that," Hurley said.
Banks plans to keep the ring "forever" but wear it "only on special occasions." Johnson wants to take his ring to college this fall "to show my roommate and friends - and tell them about the journey for the championship."
They've thanked Ayala already, giving him a plaque this week.
Ayala said he's just happy to touch a few lives.
"My reaction to them," he said, "is 'No, 'Thank you.'"
The Finley five: Five things we'll be talking about this week
Mike B!
1 One of the Arizona Wildcats' two remaining alumni in the NBA playoffs has maybe the nation's toughest assignment. The Heat's Mike Bibby will be asked to guard Derrick Rose, the league's MVP this season.
Golf
2 Starting Wednesday in College Station, Texas, the UA women's golf team will try to improve upon last year's No. 5 finish at the NCAA championships. That event was so impressive that it helped get Laura Ianello, then the interim coach, a full-time gig.
Road warriors
3 Andy Lopez's baseball team travels to Stanford Friday for the start of yet another road series. By the time the UA returns home to play Washington starting May 27, it will have played one conference home series in the last 19 games.
O-Dog!
4 San Diego Padres second baseman Orlando Hudson began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tucson on Sunday, and continues tonight. For D-backs fans, it marks a chance to see one of the franchise's most popular players in its history.
Softball
5With the UA seeded No. 8 in the NCAA softball tourney, how will the Wildcats react in the Tucson regional? Mike Candrea's team has lost eight of 12, and its mental struggles are almost unprecedented in the past decade.
Patrick Finley
