5A Contender: Millennium

Usually the Tigers would be the prohibited favorite to win the 5A title.  After all they have dominated 5A since moving down from 6A two years ago.  Millennium hasn’t lost a 5A Power Point game in their two years in the Conference. Winning Back to Back titles where they didn't have a playoff game that wasn’t a running clock in 2020.  Their lone defeat came at the hands of 6A champ Valley Vista. They won the 2019 Title game against Gilbert who had 3 Division 1 players by 26, and won the 2020 Title game vs Sunrise Mountain by 29 points.  However, this year Millennium might come back to the pack. 

Millennium has had a couple of huge changes.  It began with 11-year Head Coach Corey Rojeck resigning and moving to his home town of Cleveland Ohio, in order to be closer to family.  Next came the departure of Amoret Maxwell and Treyanna Crisp to play for a Prep School. Crisp holds multiple offers from Division 1 college including ASU, Maxwell is a lights out shooter that hit 3 shots from behind the arch in the 20 title game.  After graduation and transfers Millennium needs to replace 84% of their scoring from a year ago. 

If the Tigers are to 3 peat, they will lean on Senior Kassidy Dixon.  One of the most athletic guards in the state, Dixon has the ability to get in the lane and force turnovers on defense.  Her length and top end speed make her an elite player in the open court. She plays at or above rim level, soaring for rebounds and getting easy put backs on the offensive end. She should be able to up her scoring to the mid teens level in her Senior year  

In addition to Dixon, Millennium brings back budding guard Mia Amundsen.  Amundsen didn’t see many significant minutes in the 2020 playoffs, but when she did she showed the ability to hit from deep.  She will be asked to hit open looks off of Dixon’s penetration for the Tigers to be successful. Being the daughter of a Coach (her father is the Head Coach of the boys team), gives her a unique perspective on the court. She will be asked to be a floor general more this season than was needed in the past. 

The two other returners for the Tigers are a pair of sisters named Grimsley.  Senior Reese will be asked to patrol the paint and guard the other team’s posts.  She has the ability to rebound and finish around the hoop.  He ability to set screens and roll to the paint will be a key in ‘21.  Junior Reagan is a long guard that has shown the ability to slash into the lane and guard elite guards on the defensive end. Her defense will be needed if the Tigers are able to defend at the level they have in the past. 

The man tasked to fill the shoes of Rojeck this season, is Kevin Thomas.  He is a first-time head coach, without experience in girls’ basketball.  He cut his teeth as an assistant in Indiana on the boys’ side, before moving to Arizona to be a History Teacher.

The big questions for the Tigers are centered around replacement and continuing success.  Can Millennium defend at the Championship level that brought them to Back to Back titles?  Will the Tigers find enough scoring to replace the 58 points a game that walked out the door at graduation and transfer?  Will the team be able to execute in close games as they have had so few in 5A? 

The good news for Millennium is that they have a crop of young talent coming in as the Freshman team was undefeated and the JV had one lone loss making the program an astonishing 75-2 in Arizona games last season.  That talent will be needed if Millennium is going to continue their dominance in 5A.