Almost two years ago, Glendale Junior College, led by our 2019-2020 ACCAC Co-Coach of the Year Ken Carrillo, won the Division-II Region Championship in the conference with a big championship victory over rival Pima Junior College on their home floor (105-96). Glendale got hot late in the season - winning their last (6) games on the season and picking up a nice head of steam heading into the NJCAA Division-II National Tournament. But Glendale would never get the opportunity to travel to the national tournament held @ Mary Miller Center in Danville, IL. Instead, the COVID-19 pandemic would take the nation by storm, and the remainder of the junior college season would be cancelled - ending Glendale Junior College's chances of winning it all.
Glendale JC would have had a great chance to win it all also, as they were playing their best basketball of the season, and were led by the play of a serious guard talent - explosive 5-foot-7 sophomore guard Josh Johnson (Arkansas-Pine Bluff signee). Johnson was the conference's most unstoppable force at the time, and was coming off a tremendous 37-point performance in Glendale's win over Pima. Instead, Johnson would move on to the collegiate ranks, and would miss out on loads of college recruitment that he would have received by being in the National Tournament, and the Glendale team would simply miss out.
Last season, after the cancellation of the National Division-II Tournament, the ACCAC would also elect to cancel the junior college season for all Maricopa County college programs. Glendale JC has not played in more than a year and has not had the opportunity to defend their previous Conference Title or repeat as Champions. They will look to defend it now, more than a year later.
Another top-rated prospect that would surely miss out on the previous National Tournament experience would be now 6-foot-9 sophomore forward Adam Hamilton (Pictured left). Among the ACCAC's top overall prospects then, and now the top returning sophomore prospect in the conference, Hamilton has developed immensely since his Buckeye High School days, where he was an integral part of a dominant high school team (2018-2019). Now, almost (3) years later since graduating from Buckeye, Hamilton has grown several inches and is entering his sophomore season. Already an academic qualifier out of high school, Hamilton is still only a mere 19 years of age, as he entered college extremely young as a college prospect. The year off last season has helped Hamilton, which gave him another year or so to mature physically, and catch up (in age) to his older competition in the ACCAC.
As a result of missing out on competition, Hamilton has soared well below the recruiting radar, and currently possesses two offers for himself from Florida International and Northern Arizona. His college recruitment should absolutely explode this junior college season, as he is a superb prospect that has excellent size and length to go with a nice overall skillset. The time off from competition in the ACCAC has definitely cost Hamilton loads of recruitment and exposure, but he is primed and ready to have a big sophomore campaign.
"I think we have are going to have a good team this year - a good squad," said Hamilton. "We have a lot of good guys - we only have three returners from last season. It is going to be a completely different feel."
Joining Hamilton this season will be two other top performers from Glendale's previous Championship team, sophomores Tyreese Eugene (pictured middle) and Greg Butler (pictured right). Both players will be integral pieces to this season's title hopes, and look to both pick up where they left off two seasons ago as well.
"These three young men are the best that I have worked with," said Glendale JC Head Coach Ken Carrillo. "I would do anything for each of them. I mean that."
Ken Carrillo took over the program just before the start to the 2019-2020 junior college season, and he was terrific in leading a talented group of performers throughout the season to numerous big wins. After sitting out last season, Carrillo will look to do it again with a new group, that includes Mesa High School's gifted 2021 guard prospect Steven Cervantes. Carrillo has been a college coach for a long time, and was a long-time Division-I assistant coach. His attention to detail and hard-nosed defensive minded approach to the game matches his love for his players. He gets the very best out of his players and provides excellent leadership for them, on and off the floor.
I am just as excited to see this year's Glendale JC team take the floor again, as I am to simply have back ACCAC basketball on Wednesday's and Saturdays. I have been covering the conference since 1995, and have never missed it more. Good luck to this Glendale group, as they look to get back to the basketball court and get back to life as we remember it in the ACCAC this season.
