Sean Sollenberger is an up-and-coming sports journalist, following in the footsteps of his great uncle Barry Sollenberger, who served as an Arizona high school sports historian and the AIA's Sports Information Director for decades.

The Team

Today, I’m going to tell you a ghost story. This isn’t your regular haunted house ghost story. This is a basketball ghost story.

This is the 1981 East High Longhorns basketball team. Following a 25-4 season in 1980, legendary coach Royce Youree certainly had to know his squad had potential. They had lost some guys, including first team all-staters John Cheatham and Bryan Williams. Cheatham, a 6-4 forward, accepted a scholarship to GCU, while Williams, a 6-3 guard/forward, went on to play at Houston. But they definitely still had major talent on their roster.

In the frontcourt, the Longhorns had 5-10 point guard Kenny Evans, who was known for his leadership on the floor and had over 400 career assists in his high school days. Then there was 6-1 shooting guard Bruce Barge, who was known for scoring and an incredible jumper that could come from anywhere. On the wings they had 6-3 Brock Brunkhorst, who could shoot, pass and defend. And 6-5 Bobby Jenkins was described as the missing piece that elevated an already great East roster. Rounding out the starting lineup was 6-6 Billy Jordan in the low post. Jordan was widely considered the star and was famous for his unbelievable athleticism and positionless playstyle. Even Youree noted that he could “touch the top of the backboard.” He was also known for his versatility. Even at his height, Jordan had unbelievable shooting talent, and he could also punish you inside while throwing down a nasty dunk or two.

The Coaching

Youree didn’t set players position-wise too much. His coaching style was based on athleticism. Basically speaking, if you were shorter than average or average height, you were a guard or a forward. While if you were taller than average, you were a mix between center and forward. This made these five starters Swiss army knives. The center could bring the ball up the court and the guard could go down and get rebounds, which is one of the reasons why they were so successful. But this was definitely a defense-first team. Youree said it himself, “If you can’t play defense, you can’t play for us.”

Their defense was centered on elite on-ball pressure. The athleticism of Barge and Jordan made them very hard to score on, since these were the guys that would badger opposing point guards all over the floor. Their mindset was a defense-to-offense playstyle, forcing turnovers and then getting on the fast break for easy buckets. Even Iowa coach Lute Olson, who had just taken the Hawkeyes to a Final Four in 1980, came down to Arizona to take notes on East’s defensive philosophy and strategy.

The Longhorns ran a transition style offense. Due to Youree’s defense-to-offense mindset and the “positionless” playstyle, it was a fast-paced offense which allowed anyone from the 5-10 Evans to the 6-6 Jordan to push the ball up the floor. They also worked very hard on free throws. Youree, being a record-setting free throw shooter at ASU, made this team even more clutch in late-game scenarios.

The Season

This was the school's last hoorah as it closed its doors in 1982. The team dominated basically every opponent, having an average margin of victory at 38.4 points, which continues to be one of the most dominant statistical performances in Arizona basketball history.

They finished with a perfect regular season record of 25-0 and earning a first-round bye for the postseason. The Longhorns played Pueblo in the quarterfinals. They had unbelievable defense and used the fast break against Pueblo without mercy, beating the Warriors 71-41. Next up was Phoenix Union where the Longhorns showed no sign of slowing down. This game was fueled by the interior presence of Jordan and the amazing outside shooting of Barge and Brunkhorst. They decimated the Coyotes 83-53, which was yet another game won by at least 30 points.

Finally, they played Chandler High School in the state championship. This game housed over 10,000 at ASU Activity Center (now Desert Financial Arena). The contest was a first half blitz by East, taking off with Evans leading the way to a 44-14 score at halftime. This trouncing continued as they beat the Wolves to win the 5A state championship by - you guessed it - 30 points at 68-38. Evans led the way with 15 points and Jordan helped by being a force on the inside. Brunkhorst and Barge had stellar shooting nights as well. This capped off Youree’s fifth and final state championship with East, and this team finished the season with a perfect 28-0 record and a ranking of eighth in the country.

If you shut down one Longhorn, another like Bruce Barge would make you pay. (East High Longhorns photo)

The Legacy

As for the legacy of this team, four out of the five starters were named first-team all-state, which were Evans, Barge, Brunkhorst and Jordan. MVP honors were shared by Jordan and Barge. This team scored 2,380 points and grabbed 1,493 rebounds in that stellar 1981 season, both numbers putting this squad in the top 20 in state history in its respective categories.

Youree went to become the head coach at Mesa Community College and then an assistant coach at the University of San Diego, a Division I school. He also coached the Arizona BCI team, which had legendary players like Mike Bibby and Lamont Long before transitioning to the pro level and being a scout for the Atlanta Hawks for seven seasons. He was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 before passing away in 2024.

As for the players, all four all-state performers went on to get scholarships and play for Division I schools. Evans eventually went on to have a successful 28-year career as a private businessman following college. He was inducted into the Phoenix Union District Sports Hall of Fame in 2019. He currently lives in Chandler with his wife Dedra and his three kids, Preston, Kasey and Shiron.

Barge went on to play at Washington before transferring to New Mexico State and having a decent career there. He continued to stay close to the game, coaching South Mountain Community College for many years. He now runs a counseling program for at-risk youth in the Phoenix Area. He is ranked the third best player to don the purple East uniform.

Moving on to Brunkhorst, he went on to have a solid career at Arizona. He was selected to a Pac-10 all-star team that toured throughout Russia and led the team in assists three times. Like most players, Brunkhorst stuck with the game, coaching at Camelback High School and then being hired to be assistant coach at the Unversity of Utah. After that, he went on to work construction for his father’s company.

Now Jenkins. Despite being the only starter not named an all-state player, he went on to have arguably the most successful career of the bunch while attending Northeast Louisiana University. He earned Southland Conference Player of the Year, honors averaging 19.4 points and 8.1 reboundsa a game, and he led that Indians team (now the University of Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks) to its second-ever NCAA Tournament bid, finishing with a 20-10 record. Jenkins was named to the conference's all-decade team, alongside NBA legends like Karl Malone at Louisiana Tech.

Finally, we have the leader of the team, Billy Jordan, who went on to play four years at Arizona State. After basketball, he worked for the Maricopa County Detention Center for 20 years before retiring. He still stayed in the game as a referee, occasionally officiating alongside his sister before passing away at the age of 60. Youree described him as “a good player, but an even better person.”

This East team was the last the school ever had. Even though the final buildings were demolished in 2002, the 1981 team’s legend still walks that area to this day.