a chance to shine

Two former University of Azrizona and St. Mary's H.S. (Phoenix) basketball players are getting an opportunity to step forward on the court in the first-round playoff series between the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trailblazers.

The Blazers stole a 105-100 victory at Phoenix last night despite missing leading scorer Brandon Roy, who is out for the series, at least, with a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Channing Frye, the Suns' 6'11" center in his 5th season, played two years with the Knicks, followed by two with the Blazers, before coming back to the Valley of the Sun to play for Phoenix.

We've seen in the past that the Suns' Steve Nash seems to have an incredible affect on a player's ability to shoot the "3." Frye is shooting a career-best 43.9% from 3-point land. He and the Suns have turned out to be a great fit.

Frye played at St. Mary's with Justin Bayless, the older brother of Portland's Jerryd Bayless, when the younger Bayless was in the 6th grade. Jerryd Bayless became another in the line of St. Mary's stars, and was also one of the best players in Arizona high school history.

Bayless, the 6'3" guard in his 2nd year, hasn't been seeing a lot of playing time for the Blazers, but he'll see more action due to Roy's injury.

In last night's game, Frye finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Bayless scored 18 points, including 10 in the 4th quarter, but almost went from being the hero to being the goat. He went to the free-throw line following a Steve Nash foul with about 12 seconds to go and the Blazers up by three points. Bayless bricked both free throws. But Nash was unable to convert a three-point shot, and the Blazers' Andre Miller pulled down the rebound, then hit two free throws to secure the victory.

For both players, this playoff series is a chance to shine, and it's even nicer that they'll both be on the court, doing it in Phoenix, just a few miles away from from where they both played high school ball.