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The Cougars (17-5, 1-0 4A Kino) face Mica Mountain (14-5, 0-1 4A Kino) at 6 p.m. in the seventh of eight high school games at the MLK Basketball Classic at McKale Center on Monday.

Among his coaching staff is his daughter, Alyssa Botkin, a 2019 Sahuaro graduate.

Every year, the 2022 Pima County Sports Hall of Fame inductee “kinda� considers retiring.

“I’ve always said if I’m tired and too tired to do it, I won’t do it if I’m not having fun anymore,â€� Botkin said. “And then my daughter — who has been my assistant for four years and played for me for four years — was living in Spokane, and she moved back to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. Having her and her energy is fun and I just have a tremendous coaching staff. We’ve been together for a long time, and it’s hard to leave them.

“I’ve been doing it since I was 18 years old, so it’s what I know, and it’s just hard (laughs) one of these days I’m gonna have to take that step, but not right now.�

A varsity basketball coach for almost 30 years, Botkin started at Rincon/University in 1995.

Then, in 2001, he went to his alma mater. He led more girls basketball games than anyone in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, earning Coach of the Year honors from the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Citizen.

“We were like ‘you’re not we’re not going anywhere’ because we’re not done winning, so we were very excited to get him back,� said Sahuaro senior guard Carly Coolidge.

Botkin became the Cougars’ athletic director in 2017. He played football at Sahuaro, graduating in 1986.

“It’s truly an honor to play for coach Botkin because he’s got so many recognitions as a coach and everything and I think we have a very good relationship, communicating with each other and he’s a good coach,� Coolidge said.

Coolidge said they started the season a little slow but have since won 12 in a row and are 12th in the latest 4A rankings.

Sahuaro is coming off a 61-50 win at Walden Grove on Friday night.

Coolidge led the way with 19 points, while senior forward Biale Sika had 12 points for the Cougars. Walden Grove junior guard/forward Ariana Gamillo scored 17 points.

Last year, Botkin pulled the team into his office to let them know they would be playing at McKale this season as part of the MLK Basketball Classic.

“Oh, I’m so excited,� Coolidge said. “We’ve been talking about it since we found out we were playing in it last year, so we’re very excited.�

Although the Cougars played in the MLK Basketball Classic in 2023, Coolidge didn’t get to.

“I had torn my ACL sophomore year when we played, so I was on the bench, but I’ve never actually played on the court before,� Coolidge said.

Sahuaro’s band and cheerleaders are coming to the game at McKale, too.

No. 7 Mica Mountain will come hoping to recover from its 72-30 home loss to No. 1 Salpointe Catholic on Friday. With Sahuaro, Mica Mountain, Salpointe and Ironwood Ridge, every 4A Kino school is in the top 15 of Friday’s rankings.

“We were just talking about how much fun that is,� Botkin said about playing at McKale. “I want them to have the whole experience of the locker room and going down through the tunnels and stuff like that, it’s gonna be super fun.

“They’re really excited about it and I think Mica is gonna be a tough, tough game and so it should be a lot of fun.�

Coaches for Charity, which hosts the MLK Basketball Classic, raises money for things like elementary school sports equipment and scholarships. A link to their donation site can be found at .

Tickets for this year’s event will be available at the door — $10 for adults and $6 for kids — and cover admission for all of the games.

Other teams featured this year at the MLK Basketball Classic are St. Augustine, Desert Christian, Buena, Rincon/University, Pueblo and Catalina Foothills girls and the Santa Rita, Bisbee, Coolidge, The Gregory School, Palo Verde, Sabino, Salpointe and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ High boys.

“I’m on the committee, it’s run by TUSD, so we try to incorporate as many TUSD schools, but it’s kind of cool because coaches will start emailing me now for next year and we try to hand select and we don’t have the same team playing two years in a row, obviously,� Botkin said. “So we try to load it with some TUSD schools, but also bring in some out-of-town schools. The whole idea is this is an opportunity for these kids, and I know some people say, ‘well, this game may not be great …’ all game are great matchups because the kids have an opportunity to play at McKale, and they’ll remember that for the rest of their lives.

“So for me, it’s just so fun and it’s a win/win, you know?�

Playing in a college arena could help later in the season. The Salpointe girls have had the experience, having played at the Phoenix Suns’ Footprint Arena on Jan. 6, beating Phoenix St. Mary’s 81-17. The championship game for the Open and 4A tournaments are at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where the Suns used to play.

“Absolutely, we talked about the baskets — the ones that hang are so different with that background and stuff and having those mobile baskets,� Botkin said. “Obviously it’s tough to get there, I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve only got to the championship game a couple of times, so it’s tough to get there, but if we if we’re lucky enough and playing well enough to get there, I think playing at McKale certainly does help playing in the big arena.�