All-American Traivar Jackson leads otherwise new-look Pima into 2022-23 season

Of course, it’s a pretty important player: All-American forward Traivar Jackson.

“We had an OK year last year,” said Pima coach Brian Peabody, whose team opens the 2022-23 season Saturday against Skyline Prep at the West Campus Gym. “I just kinda cleaned house. The only guy we brought back is Traivar Jackson and he was an All-American, first team all-conference, and then I just recruited a bunch of high-character guys around him.

“So we’ve got some really good local kids this year.”

Jackson averaged 19.9 points per game, figures that ranked first in the ACCAC, while adding 9.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.8 blocks per game. The Alaska native is again expected to be among the region’s top players.

“Last year was fun for me,” he said. But “basketball-wise, I feel like I could have done better, that the team could have done better. I thought we could have potentially gone to (the national tournament) last year but things didn’t work out.”

Peabody said the load should be lighter for Jackson this season, since, the coach says, the Aztecs are better at every position.

Last season PCC went 17-13, making it to the Region I, Division II Semifinals and competing in its ninth straight postseason. On paper, the season appeared to be a success. Behind the scenes, however, Peabody didn’t like what he saw.

“I mean it was good, but it was a team full of not-high-character guys, not very interested in academics,” Peabody said. “It was not a fun year for me. I’m getting older and I want to have fun when I do this.”

A house-cleaning followed, which explains why this year’s team has just three sophomores: Jackson and guards Cesar Saenz and Pablo Gutierrez, both former Sabino High School standouts.

Saenz said he’s a lot more comfortable back in Tucson after spending last season at Phoenix College.

“It’s fun, fun, competitive I like it all around,” Saenz said. “I just think I really enjoy being here, to be honest.”

Pima’s freshmen include guard Dillan Baker, who was the Class 4A Kino Region Co-Player of the Year while at Salpointe Catholic. Baker said playing in college is “really fun.”

“Coach Peabody likes to play fast, we like to play fast, get the ball up the court and it’s a race to 100 points, he said”

Peabody said the ACCAC is “better this year than it has been in that last four or five years.” Cochise College is ranked No. 20 in the Division I poll, and both Pima and Arizona Western College received votes.

Jackson, who was second team NJCAA Division II All-American, is the sixth Aztec under Peabody to earn All-American honors.

The Anchorage native is another Aztec from the Last Frontier. Freshman forward Zach Williamson is also from Anchorage.

“We’ve had a really good Alaska connection,” Peabody said. “The first guy I got was Kwintin Williams, who went to UConn, then we had Jeremiah Bailey, he went to Pacific, so a friend of mine coaches up there and Alaska-Anchorage and kinda gives me a heads-up on good kids from Alaska.”

Jackson said it’s “been fun playing in Tucson.”

“I heard it was a basketball town,” he said, “so they get quite a crowd.”