greg bryan / arizona daily star

Other articles by Tyler Hansen:

Locals get chance to swim in fast lane Grevers at home in Tucson pool Opinion by Tyler Hansen: The winner is... High schools' best Pusch Ridge seniors treat their beat feet after another feat Weldon's intense focus leads to a big celebrationMiraculous comeback lifts Lancers Surprising Ironwood Ridge is 'prepared' for its opportunity to capture a state title Cienega overcomes ejections, late-game mistakes to advance Opinion by Tyler Hansen : Some fearless predictions as 2008 state titles go on the line Opinion by Tyler Hansen : Quiet Hawk makes noise with stick

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Darnell Shumpert seemed unsure if he should believe the news at first.

Shumpert, the center on the Santa Rita basketball team, was told after his team's 73-48 victory over visiting Palo Verde that he had recorded a triple-double Tuesday night.

"Oh," Shumpert said, pausing briefly before letting out a big laugh. "That's good then."

Good is an understatement, but it makes sense that the 6-foot-8-inch senior would show a touch of humility — and feign surprise — amid such a superb performance.

When his teammate, sophomore megastar Terrell Stoglin, heard of Shumpert's statistical feat, he nodded casually as if to say, "Yeah, so? He does it all the time."

Palo Verde fans and other spectators, many of them there only to see Stoglin, whispered to one another and raved about Shumpert, who finished with 11 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks.

"Who is that kid?" they asked. "Which college is he going to?"

Welcome to the big stage, Darnell.

His recruitment is in its infant stages since he moved to Santa Rita in the off-season — after spending the last three years at then-3A school Sahuarita.

There, he was a good talent playing far from the spotlight. In two months as a starter for what many feel is the best Class 4A-II team in the state, Shumpert's name is now being circulated by college coaches from Gonzaga, Penn State and UC-Riverside, to name a few.

"He was the dominant player on the floor tonight," Santa Rita coach Jim Ferguson said. "I haven't had a lot of big post players, but he's the best I've had and, really, one of the best I've seen in Tucson."

Shumpert's fourth triple-double of the season came against a good Palo Verde team. The Titans (9-10, 2-2) have loads of talent, but after a tense first quarter, they never stood a chance.

"We knew how good they were. We hyped this game up for two, three weeks, and our attitude, our work ethic, was great," Titans coach David Gin said. "We had things in place to perform … but in the long run, they were too good."

Palo Verde's quickness often broke through Santa Rita's perimeter defense, but it was as if the Eagles weren't worried: Shumpert was between the ball and the hoop.

"They just kept bringing it inside, and all I had to do was block it," Shumpert said, laughing. "This was our biggest challenge so far and we did well."

The focus on Shumpert was somewhat of a welcome break for Stoglin, who missed five of his first six shots but finished 7 of 12 and scored a game-high 21.

Mark Simmons scored 16 for the Eagles (15-3, 5-0), aiding Stoglin in their mission to make people realize Santa Rita is the best team in Tucson.

"It's not about me or anybody else. If one of us is down, the rest of us pick up the slack. That's what great teams do," he said. "Every time we win, it helps prove we're the best."