Eaglecrest is up to No. 3 in this week’s 5A poll. (Brock Laue)
The Centennial League is perhaps the strongest Class 5A boys basketball conference in the state. This week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball poll continues to reflect that.
A poll-best four Centennial teams are ranked in the top-10 this week, led by Eaglecrest. The Raptors moved up to No. 3 following their fourth-consecutive win.
Cherry Creek is No. 6, Overland is No. 7 and Arapahoe is No. 8. Grandview, another Centennial team, also received votes.
"I’ve seen all of the teams in our league now," Arapahoe coach Dan Snyder said as Centennial League play was getting underway in early January, "and I can unequivocally say, without a doubt, this is the strongest the league has been — top-to-bottom — since I’ve been coaching at Arapahoe."
Still, the Continental has something to say when it comes to the strongest league this year. That league has three teams in this week’s 5A poll, led by No. 4 Mountain Vista. No. 5 Regis Jesuit and No. 10 Highlands Ranch — a newcomer this week — also hail from the Continental. So does Legend, which received votes this week.
Denver East stayed atop the 5A ranking, just ahead of No. 2 Fossil Ridge. The Angels got 12 first-place votes to Fossil’s eight.
Likewise, the other No. 1 teams also stayed put: Valor Christian in 4A, as well as Holy Family (3A), Ignacio (2A) and Caliche (1A).
Golden joined the 4A ranking at No. 10, while 3A added two new teams in No. 9 Moffat County and No. 10 St. Mary’s.
The 2A poll added Denver Christian (No. 9), and 1A added South Baca (No. 7).
DENVER — Denver East coach Rudy Carey doesn’t typically run plays for the reigning Gatorade player of the year, Dominique Collier.
“I don’t draw up a lot of plays for (Collier),” Carey said. “It’s just instinctive for him. We just let him go. He has the latitude to get into his own rhythm — and goes when he feels like going.”
Collier scored 32 points for Denver East (12-3, 2-0 in league) in a 91-62 win over Thomas Jefferson (10-5, 1-1) on Friday. He shot 5-of-8 from 3-point, and 9-of-16 from the field while adding seven rebounds and three assists.
This season, Collier has averaged 23.7 points per game. In the last five games, averaged 32.4 points.
“With (Collier) on,” guard Brian Carey said, “it’s almost impossible to stop him,”
Thomas Jefferson couldn’t handle the combination of Carey and Collier. The two combined for 50 points. Collier had a stellar first quarter by netting a quick 10 points, and Carey added 11 of his own in the second quarter.
Denver East started the second half up 73-45, and Thomas Jefferson failed to slow down East’s offense. Collier added another 13 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Halfway through the final quarter, coach Carey put his bench into the game.
“When I’m feeling it, I try to get to the basket or take threes — but I really like to get my teammates involved before I get hot,” Collier said.
Denver East is ranked No. 1 in the latest CHSAANow.com 5A poll. Seven games stand between now and the tournament. They take on Denver West (7-6) next Tuesday.
Denver East has won 10 state titles in its program’s history, the last in 2008-09.
“It adds motivation for us,” Brian Carey said. “We know we have the No. 1 ranking, but it could be gone just like that. We need to keep working hard and playing unselfishly.”
Nuggets players Miller, Faried and Foye join East High athletes for ‘You Can Play, Colorado!’ contest promotion
AURORA — The Colorado High School Activities Association today released a video from the Denver Nuggets as part of its “You Can Play, Colorado!” contest—a program focused on stopping bullying and delivering messages of inclusion and acceptance for all students participating in high school activities such as sports, speech, music and student leadership.
“You Can Play, Colorado!” is part of the “We Are CHSAA” positive leadership campaign, an educational experience—in partnership with the Positive Coaching Alliance, You Can Play and the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado—dedicated to ensuring that all students are encouraged to participate and be accepted for what they bring to a team or activity, and not excluded for what some might see as differences.
Nuggets forwards Quincy Miller and Kenneth Faried and guard Randy Foye are featured in the newest video, alongside student athletes from Denver’s East High School, talking about respecting the game and teammates.
“In order to respect the game,” says Miller in the video, “you have to respect your teammates—all of them.” Continued Faried, “No matter their race, religion or whether they are straight or gay—this is about helping your team win.”
The “You Can Play, Colorado!” contest is focused on student video contributions. The contest, which runs through February, challenges students, teams and groups to explain how and why they welcome everyone based on heart, talent and commitment without excluding students because of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or other perceived differences.
The top “You Can Play, Colorado!” videos will win cash prizes for the students’ school. And the winning videos will be shown at the State Basketball Championships on March 15. Denver East High School has already posted a video that demonstrates the power these visual messages can provide for a school.
To learn more about the “You Can Play, Colorado!” contest and to view videos, including the recent Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche videos, please visit YouCanPlayColorado.com.
Stay tuned for an upcoming “You Can Play Colorado!” video from Mayor Hancock, a former officer in the CHSAA’s student leadership program. CHSAA will also share many of the videos submitted by students across Colorado.
Denver East is back in 5A’s No. 1 spot this week. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Denver East is back on top of CHSAANow.com’s 5A boys basketball ranking. The Angels overtook Fossil Ridge by one overall point to reclaim their spot.
Fossil Ridge, which remained unbeaten by going 2-0 last week, had a one-week stay atop the poll. Denver East got 11 first-place votes to Fossil Ridge’s nine.
Denver East beat Denver North 94-31 in its lone game last week.
Dakota Ridge joined this week’s 5A boys basketball ranking. (Dennis Pleuss)
Regis Jesuit remained in the No. 3 spot and Cherry Creek in No. 4. Eaglecrest bumped up one place to round up the top 5.
Mountain Vista moved up two places to sit in sixth this week. Arapahoe is No. 7 and Overland fell three spots to No. 8.
Dakota Ridge is the lone newcomer to this week’s 5A ranking. The Eagles (9-2) have won eight of nine games, and are No. 9 this week.
Monarch fell one place to No. 10.
The poll’s other No. 1 teams — Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Ignacio (2A) and Caliche (1A) — all stayed the same, as they have since the preseason.
The 3A ranking added Centauri (No. 9) and Bishop Machebeuf (No. 10), while 1A added Briggsdale (No. 10).
There were no newcomers in either the 4A or 2A polls. However, Pueblo South made a big jump in 4A, going from seventh to fourth.
Fossil Ridge is the new No. 1 team in 5A. (Courtesy of Matt Johannsen)
Fossil Ridge, unbeaten and with a number of impressive wins under its belt thus far, is the new No. 1 team in this week’s CHSAANow.com Class 5A boys basketball poll.
The SaberCats, off to a 10-0 start, edged Denver East — which had held the No. 1 spot since the preseason — despite having one fewer first-place vote. The Angels are No. 2 this week.
Regis Jesuit moved up one spot to No. 3, while Cherry Creek made the week’s biggest gain by going from No. 10 to No. 4. Overland rounds out the top 5.
Eaglecrest is sixth and is followed by Arapahoe, Mountain Vista, Monarch and Grandview.
The 4A ranking continued to be led by Valor Christian and added two new teams: No. 7 Pueblo South and No. 10 Denver South.
3A added Aspen (No. 8), while 2A got a new No. 1 team in unbeaten Ignacio. The 1A ranking added Primero (No. 10).
As the 2013-14 basketball season emerges from its annual winter break on Thursday, we take a look at where things stand:
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Boys
Fossil Ridge started the preseason ranked No. 6 in 5A, so it’s not as though the SaberCats weren’t on anyone’s radar. Still, at the break, Fossil Ridge (8-0) has perhaps the most impressive resume of any big-school basketball team.
Among the wins? Defending champion Eaglecrest, at the time ranked No. 3; Grandview, which has since won five in a row and is now ranked No. 8; then-No. 5 Highlands Ranch; and Thompson Valley, at the time 4A’s No. 2 team.
The start has been so impressive that the SaberCats got eight of 19 first-place votes in the most recent CHSAANow.com poll. They still sit No. 2, behind everyone’s presumptive favorite, Denver East, but are at this point a serious contender.
The SaberCats have three players averaging double figures, all seniors: Brandon Bodnar (13.4 points), Evan Smith (12.8) and Alex Semadeni (11.3). As a team, their 69.8 points per game rank sixth in 5A.
Surprise team: Mountain Vista.
The Golden Eagles are unbeaten (8-0) and opened at No. 8 in the preseason, but not many people are talking about them. Here’s the surprise: The No. 5 Golden Eagles lead the state in scoring (85.1 points) and assists (22.1), and also lead 5A in rebounding (36.1) and steals (15.4), and rank third in blocks (5.8) and free-throws made (129). This is a complete team which should also be counted as a serious contender in 5A.
Jake Pemberton (19.1 points, 7.1 assists) is a dynamic player who led Mountain Vista to the final four for the first time in school history a season ago.
Looking ahead: Denver East remains the favorite in 5A, and the early-season performance against a tough schedule has reinforced the talent the Angels have.
Already, East has been to two out-of-state tournaments and played national-caliber competition. They are 7-2, but both losses came in Florida just prior to the winter break. (The Angels are 3-0 in Colorado, with wins over Cherokee Trail, Cherry Creek and Eaglecrest.)
CU recruit Dominique Collier again looks like a player of the year candidate (21.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.3 steals per game) and his supporting cast is among the best with seniors Ronnie Harrell and Jevon Griffin and junior Brian Carey.
It’s early, but there seem to be clear-cut favorites in the other classes, as well. None of the No. 1 teams have changed since the preseason.
Valor Christian, in search of its first boys basketball championship in 4A, already owns six wins over 5A teams.
Holy Family, 7-0 in 3A, is outscoring its opponents by an average of 34 points per game this season.
The 5A girls field is extremely deep this year. Everyone knows about top-ranked Regis Jesuit and its impressive college-bound talent, but Highlands Ranch, ThunderRidge and others should make this a fun stretch run.
Consider that at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix just prior to the break Highlands Ranch, Castle View and Cherry Creek all won their divisions. Grandview and Rock Canyon played in the title games. That tournament draws top teams from around the country.
Defending champion Regis Jesuit remains the favorite. But the list of challengers seems to grow by the day. Among them are teams like Fossil Ridge and Lakewood — both off to surprising 8-0 starts — or Ralston Valley, which joined the most recent CHSAANow.com ranking at No. 10.
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Surprise team: Lakewood.
The Tigers did get 18 votes in the preseason poll, but ultimately went unranked until Dec. 13. Now No. 6 with wins over Mountain Vista and Chaparral under its belt, Lakewood has a real opportunity to show it belongs in the top-5. It plays Ralston Valley on Jan. 4, and also has a looming date with Castle View.
Sophomore Mackenzie Forrest has been a star thus far, averaging 20.9 points, 5.4 steals and 3.3 assists per game. Along with senior Jessica Brooks’ 12.1 points per game, Forrest paces a Tigers attack which is averaging a state-best 75.1 points per game this season.
Lakewood also leads 5A in steals (25.0), is second in assists (15.9) and fourth in rebounding (37.6).
Looking ahead: Regis Jesuit has six seniors bound for Division I basketball: Diani Akigbogun (Texas), Justin Hall (Purdue), Kelsi Lidge (Drexel), Neffie Lockley (Howard), Jordan Molyneaux (Seton Hall) and Anna Ptasinski (Lafayette).
The Raiders won last season’s championship. They are ranked No. 6 in the most recent national rankings put out by MaxPreps. They’ve beat in-state opponents by an average of 40 points thus far, going 4-0.
Broomfield is the favorite in 4A. (Pam Wagner)
So, yes, Regis is the team to beat.
Things look pretty clear-cut so far in 4A, too. Broomfield (6-0) has handled everything in its path thus far, and has a average margin of victory of 31.7 points per game.
The Eagles own wins over Sand Creek, at the time ranked No. 6 in 4A, as well as 5A teams Legacy, Ralston Valley and Fairview. They’ve also topped rival Holy Family, which occupies 3A’s top spot.
