The 2014-15 boys basketball players of the year, by class. From left: Miles Caldon, Sanford (2A); Justin Bassey, Colorado Academy (3A); De’Ron Davis, Overland (5A); Justinian Jessup, Longmont (4A); Bryan Ortiz, Holly (1A).
The 2014-15 all-state boys basketball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues, and then a week-long vote of coaches.
A specific player of the year vote was held in each class, as was a vote for coach of the year.
Use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
LOVELAND — No. 3 seed Jim Elliot Christian had an obvious advantage against No. 6 South Baca in the Class 1A boys basketball state tournament.
The Warriors had a few inches on the Patriots at every position, allowing them to pass over the top, dominate the glass, protect their own rim, and cruise to the 1A state semifinals with a 67-55 Great 8 victory at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.
Tanner Smith of Jim Elliot Christian boys basketball. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
The Patriots struggled with matchups, but then again, who hasn’t struggled guarding Tanner Smith this season?
The 6-foot-1 senior guard, the only 1A player to be named to Colorado’s all-star game, The Show, was a magician with the ball while throwing fancy passes to his post players and getting into the lane at will to score.
The captain of the Warriors, Smith was averaging 18.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4.1 steals, and 2.5 blocks entering Thursday. He stuffed the stat sheet again on the biggest stage, much to the delight of a large Jim Elliot fan section who made the drive north from Englewood, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Of course, in a game Jim Elliot led throughout and mostly controlled, Smith got plenty of help from thick forwards Connor Bogner (23 points) and Brennan Moore (18).
Built more like football players, sophomore Bogner and his senior brother Matt, along with senior Moore, look poised to battle in the trenches.
“We’re a lot more physical this year, especially Connor and Brennan Moore,” Smith said. “They are deceptive. They aren’t super athletic guys or super tall or anything, but they just get the ball inside, take their time, they are strong with it, and they finish their layups. That’s what you need to do.”
Jim Elliot, which opened its doors in 1999, is enjoying a dream season. They set a program record with 21 wins, with a now 22-2 mark, and they reached the state tournament for the first time after coming close in recent years.
“We had been to regionals the two years before,” Smith said. “We wanted to get here and enjoy it.”
The Warriors get the chance to continue their best run ever with a Final 4 showdown scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Friday evening.
South Baca (18-4) was led by Matthew Crane’s 16 points.
[divider]
(1) Sangre de Cristo 63 (8) Peetz 27
The Thunderbirds cruised to a 24-0 record by handling the Bulldogs in a game that was never close.
They won it all in 2001, their lone state championship in boys hoops.
[divider]
(2) Holly 64 (7) Prairie 50
The Wildcats scorched the nets early and won easily over the Mustangs as Yaniel Vidal scored 24 points. Bryan Ortiz and Tristan Nelson chipped in 10 each.
This is Holly’s third straight appearance in the state tournament, but first in the Final 4 in recent years.
[divider]
(5) Fleming 54 (4) Ouray 31
The Wildcats handled the Trojans thanks to a balanced scoring effort from Alex Vandenbark (10 points), Joey Stahley (9), Blake Meredith (8), and Cameron Henry (7).
ThunderRidge took down No. 1 Regis Jesuit last week, and took over the top spot in the Class 5A boys basketball poll this week.
The Grizzlies received 21 of the 22 first-place votes and amassed 219 total points in rising to the top of CHSAANow.com’s ranking. They beat Regis Jesuit 59-36 on Tuesday.
Regis dropped to No. 2. Behind them, Overand (No. 3) and Eaglecrest (No. 4) held steady while Rock Canyon moved up to No. 5.
Rangeview jumped up four places to No. 6, Dakota Ridge fell to No. 7 and two newcomers were next — eighth-ranked Mountain Vista and No. 9 Cherokee Trail. Chaparral rounds out the 5A ranking.
There was little change to 4A, where Longmont continued to be a unanimous No. 1 selection.
In 3A, Grand Valley joined at No. 9. Faith Christian remained atop that poll.
Likewise, the No. 1 teams in 2A (Resurrection Christian) and 1A (Sangre de Cristo) also stayed the same.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. These will be the final polls of the regular season.
There are three new teams in the Class 4A girls basketball rankings this week.
No. 7 Pueblo South, No. 8 Silver Creek and No. 10 Palisade were all unranked a week ago, but garnered enough votes to break into CHSAANow.com’s poll.
All five No. 1 teams stayed the same this week: ThunderRidge (5A), Canon City (4A), Sterling (3A), Peyton (2A) and Kit Carson (1A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. These will be the final polls of the regular season.
Arapahoe 23, Fossil Ridge 20, Grand Junction 10, Castle View 3, Fort Collins 3, Rocky Mountain 2, Loveland 1.
Dropped out
Grand Junction (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Canon City (13)
21-0
174
1
2-0
2
Valor Christian (4)
20-2
164
2
3-0
3
Pueblo West (1)
17-4
128
3
2-0
4
Holy Family
17-4
115
4
2-0
5
D’Evelyn
16-5
95
6
2-0
6
Sand Creek
17-3
69
9
3-0
7
Pueblo South
16-5
57
–
3-0
8
Silver Creek
17-4
44
–
2-0
9
Montrose
15-4
37
5
1-1
10
Palisade
18-2
29
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Evergreen 26, Pueblo East 26, Glenwood Springs 6, Mullen 6, Mesa Ridge 3, Windsor 3, Durango 2, Longmont 2, Weld Central 2, Thomas Jefferson 1, Thompson Valley 1.
Dropped out
Pueblo East (7), Evergreen (8), Glenwood Springs (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sterling (9)
19-0
159
1
2-0
2
Pagosa Springs (7)
17-0
151
2
3-0
3
Lutheran
17-1
136
3
1-0
4
Manitou Springs (1)
16-2
112
5
1-0
5
St. Mary’s
17-1
102
4
1-0
6
Eaton
16-2
82
6
2-0
7
Olathe
16-1
61
7
2-0
8
La Junta
14-4
44
8
2-0
9
Centauri
12-5
22
9
1-1
10
Liberty Common
13-3
17
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 12, Platte Valley 8, Lamar 7, Machebeuf 7, Kent Denver 5, Colorado Academy 3, The Vanguard 3, Bennett 2, Salida 1, Trinidad 1.
Dropped out
Platte Valley (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Peyton (9)
17-0
99
1
2-0
2
Hoehne (1)
18-0
83
3
2-0
3
Akron
16-2
78
5
2-0
4
Caliche
16-1
72
4
2-0
5
Yuma
14-3
65
2
0-1
6
Cedaredge
16-1
51
6
1-0
7
Paonia
14-4
37
7
2-0
8
Meeker
13-4
21
8
3-0
9
Ellicott
13-4
14
9
2-0
10
Highland
14-4
9
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Sanford 4, Byers 3, Ignacio 3, Clear Creek 2, Del Norte 2, Rye 2, Sargent 2, Soroco 2, Wray 1.
Dropped out
Del Norte (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kit Carson (8)
18-0
98
1
2-0
2
Norwood (2)
15-0
88
2
2-0
3
Sangre De Cristo
15-1
75
3
2-0
4
South Baca
15-2
59
6
2-0
5
Idalia
14-2
58
4
1-0
6
Genoa-Hugo
15-2
46
5
1-1
7
Rocky Mountain Lutheran
15-2
42
8
2-0
8
Briggsdale
13-4
22
9
1-0
9
La Veta
15-3
18
–
3-0
10
Flagler
10-4
10
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Fleming 9, Eads 7, Jim Elliot 6, Cheraw 5, Shining Mountain 5, Antonito 1, Plateau Valley 1.
Rangeview is No. 10 in this week’s 5A boys basketball rankings. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Rangeview has joined this week’s Class 5A boys basketball ranking at No. 10.
The Raiders, who are riding an eight-game winning streak, totaled 18 points to crack CHSAANow.com’s ranking.
The 5A poll continued to be led by Regis Jesuit, which got 18 of the 20 first-place votes in the classification. ThunderRidge, which got the other two first-place votes, stayed put at No. 2. Those two teams play on Tuesday.
Overland bumped up one spot to No. 3, leaping Eaglecrest. Chaparral rounds out the top 5.
Also ranked this week in 5A: No. 6 Dakota Ridge, No. 7 Rock Canyon, No. 8 Denver East and No. 9 Fossil Ridge.
In 4A, Longmont extended its stay atop the poll. The Trojans are a unanimous pick with all 20 first-place votes following their one-point win over then-No. 2 Holy Family.
Golden returned to the No. 2 spot in 4A this week, just ahead of Holy Family, which fell to No. 3.
The 4A poll added Air Academy (No. 9) and Pueblo South (No. 10) this week.
Faith Christian makes a return after garnering nine of the 15 first-place votes. Colorado Springs Christian, another former No. 1, got the other six first-place votes and is No. 2 this week. Lutheran dropped to No. 3, while Jefferson Academy is No. 4.
That ranking added Alamosa (No. 10) this week.
Elsewhere, Resurrection Christian (2A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A) both stayed atop their respective rankings.
The 2A poll added Sedgwick County. 1A added Kit Carson. Both are ranked tenth this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Cherry Creek 10, Boulder 7, Legend 5, Monarch 2, Aurora Central 1, Cherokee Trail 1, Horizon 1.
Dropped out
Monarch (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Longmont (20)
19-0
200
1
3-0
2
Golden
16-3
152
3
2-0
3
Holy Family
16-3
135
2
2-1
4
Sierra
16-3
131
5
2-0
5
Valor Christian
13-5
106
6
2-0
6
Pueblo Central
15-4
81
4
1-1
7
Pueblo West
15-4
71
9
2-0
8
D’Evelyn
14-5
64
8
2-0
9
Air Academy
15-4
37
–
2-0
10
Pueblo South
12-6
35
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Denver South 34, Lewis-Palmer 12, Sand Creek 8, Pueblo Centennial 7, Glenwood Springs 5, Niwot 5, Widefield 5, Vista Peak 4, Windsor 3, Steamboat Springs 2, Fort Morgan 1, Northridge 1, Thompson Valley 1.
Dropped out
Sand Creek (7), Lewis-Palmer (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Faith Christian (9)
14-2
140
2
1-0
2
Colorado Springs Christian (6)
16-1
130
3
3-0
3
Lutheran
14-2
113
1
1-1
4
Jefferson Academy
13-3
100
5
1-0
5
Colorado Academy
11-5
86
4
2-0
6
Sterling
15-2
62
6
2-0
7
St. Mary’s
11-4
57
7
2-0
8
Moffat County
12-3
38
9
2-0
9
The Pinnacle
12-3
35
10
2-0
10
Alamosa
12-4
22
–
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Grand Valley 15, Kent Denver 13, Bennett 11, Eaton 2, Ridgeview Academy 1.
Sand Creek has joined the Class 4A girls basketball rankings at No. 9 this week.
The Scorpions, now 14-3, have won 10 games in a row. They totalled 33 points to break into CHSAANow.com’s rankings.
Each of the five No. 1 teams stayed atop their respective rankings. Those are ThunderRidge (5A), Canon City (4A), Sterling (3A), Peyton (2A) and Kit Carson (1A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Lutheran is now No. 1 in the 3A poll. (Courtesy of Lutheran HS)
For the second straight week, there’s a new team atop the Class 3A boys basketball rankings.
Lutheran knocked off Faith Christian, last week’s No. 1, with a 65-55 win on Saturday. Monday, the Lions received eight of the 14 first-place votes and totaled 128 points in taking over atop that poll.
Faith Christian dropped to second, just ahead of Colorado Springs Christian, which occupied the top spot prior to Faith. Colorado Academy, the preseason No. 1 team in 3A, is fourth this week and Jefferson Academy rounds out the top five.
With Lutheran, Faith, CA and Jefferson Academy all hailing from the 3A Metro, it means that league currently has four of the top five teams in 3A. No. 8 Kent Denver gives the league five ranked teams.
In 5A, Regis Jesuit remained a unanimous No. 1 pick. ThunderRidge (No. 2) and Eaglecrest (No. 3) continued to follow the raiders.
Overland bumped up one spot to No. 4, and Rock Canyon moved up to No. 5.
Chaparral also moved up, to No. 6, while Dakota Ridge fell to No. 7 following its first loss.
Denver East is up to No. 8, Fossil Ridge is now No. 9 and Monarch joined the poll at No. 10.
The 4A poll continued to be led by Longmont. That ranking added No. 8 D’Evelyn and No. 10 Lewis-Palmer this week.
Resurrection Christian (2A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A) held firm atop their respective polls.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Horizon 15, Lakewood 13, Arapahoe 12, Regis Jesuit 5, Fossil Ridge 4, Legacy 4, Pine Creek 3, Rocky Mountain 3.
Dropped out
Horizon (6).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Canon City (12)
17-0
163
2
3-0
2
Valor Christian (4)
15-2
149
1
2-1
3
Holy Family (1)
13-3
122
3
2-0
4
Pueblo West
13-4
103
4
2-0
5
D’Evelyn
13-4
87
7
3-0
6
Montrose
12-3
69
6
2-0
7
Pueblo East
13-4
56
8
2-0
8
Glenwood Springs
13-2
44
5
2-0
9
Pueblo South
11-4
40
9
1-1
10
Evergreen
14-3
36
10
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Silver Creek 15, Mullen 11, Palisade 10, Eagle Valley 8, Sand Creek 8, Greeley Central 7, Longmont 2, Mesa Ridge 2, Air Academy 1, Mead 1, Weld Central 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sterling (9)
15-0
143
1
2-0
2
Manitou Springs (3)
13-1
126
2
2-0
3
Pagosa Springs (4)
12-0
121
3
2-0
4
Lutheran
14-1
111
4
2-0
5
St. Mary’s
15-0
108
5
1-0
6
Eaton
12-2
69
6
1-0
7
Olathe
11-1
59
7
2-0
8
Platte Valley
11-3
31
10
2-0
9
La Junta
11-4
29
8
1-1
10
Centauri
9-4
16
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Machebeuf 15, Liberty Common 14, Faith Christian 8, Salida 7, Kent Denver 6, Trinidad 6, Lamar 5, The Vanguard 3, Colorado Academy 2, Valley 1.
Faith Christian is now the No. 1 team in Class 3A. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Faith Christian has taken over as the new No. 1 team in the Class 3A boys basketball rankings, while Resurrection Christian is now atop the 2A poll.
Faith (12-1) received 11 of the 14 first-place votes in 3A to leap over former No. 1 Colorado Springs Christian in the CHSAANow.com poll. The Eagles totalled 128 points to CSCS’s 124. CSCS is No. 2 this week.
The 3A poll added No. 8 St. Mary’s, which knocked off Colorado Springs Christian last week, and No. 10 Moffat County.
Resurrection Christian (12-0) got seven of the 10 first-place votes in 2A to jump Sanford. Voters were apparently impressed by the way the Cougars handled then-No. 3 Highland on Friday, moving them up over Sanford, which is also unbeaten (11-0).
2A added Yuma at No. 9 this week.
The other No. 1 teams stayed put: Regis Jesuit (5A), Longmont (4A) and Sangre de Cristo (1A).
The 5A ranking added Fossil Ridge at No. 10, Denver South joined 4A at No. 9, and 1A added Sierra Grande (No. 9).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Monarch 14, Legend 11, Cherry Creek 7, Montbello 7, Mountain Range 3, Rampart 3, Boulder 2, Cherokee Trail 2, Rangeview 2, Arvada West 1.
Dropped out
Montbello (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Longmont (19)
14-0
208
1
2-0
2
Golden (2)
12-2
188
2
2-0
3
Holy Family
12-2
120
5
3-0
4
Sand Creek
10-3
112
3
0-0
5
Pueblo Central
12-3
96
10
2-0
6
Pueblo West
12-3
87
8
1-0
7
Valor Christian
9-4
82
6
2-0
8
Sierra
11-3
67
9
2-0
9
Denver South
10-5
32
–
2-0
10
Pueblo South
9-5
31
4
1-2
Others receiving votes:
Air Academy 27, Widefield 27, D’Evelyn 23, Vista Peak 13, Conifer 8, Pueblo Centennial 7, Northridge 6, Glenwood Springs 5, Lewis-Palmer 5, Thompson Valley 4, Windsor 4, Silver Creek 3.
Dropped out
Air Academy (7).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Faith Christian (11)
12-1
128
2
2-0
2
Colorado Springs Christian (3)
11-1
124
1
1-1
3
Lutheran
11-1
97
3
1-0
4
Jefferson Academy
11-2
90
4
1-0
5
Colorado Academy
8-5
76
5
0-1
6
Sterling
11-2
49
8
2-0
7
Kent Denver
8-3
45
7
1-1
8
St. Mary’s
8-4
34
–
2-0
9
Grand Valley
9-2
29
6
1-1
10
Moffat County
8-3
24
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
The Pinnacle 21, Alamosa 13, Liberty Common 10, Estes Park 9, Bennett 7, Manitou Springs 7, Buena Vista 3, Bayfield 2, Eaton 1, Roaring Fork 1.
Dropped out
Bayfield (9), Manitou Springs (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Resurrection Christian (7)
12-0
97
2
2-0
2
Sanford (3)
11-0
92
1
2-0
3
Ignacio
9-2
74
5
1-0
4
Highland
12-1
61
3
1-1
5
Meeker
10-0
57
6
2-0
6
Ellicott
9-1
45
9
2-0
7
Simla
10-1
34
4
1-1
8
Caliche
11-1
22
10
2-0
9
Yuma
9-3
18
–
2-0
10
Rye
9-3
16
7
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Akron 14, Swink 13, Paonia 5, Crowley County 2.
Dropped out
Akron (8).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sangre De Cristo (9)
12-0
90
1
2-0
2
Springfield
11-2
70
2
2-0
3
Jim Elliot
11-1
64
3
2-0
4
Arickaree/Woodlin
12-0
62
4
3-0
5
South Baca
11-2
46
7
3-0
6
Holly
11-2
44
6
2-0
7
Fleming
9-2
42
8
3-0
8
Ouray
11-1
41
5
1-0
9
Sierra Grande
8-3
11
–
2-0
10
Wiley
9-2
8
9
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Peetz 4, Primero 4, Shining Mountain 4, Community Christian 3, Kit Carson 1, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 1.
Rampart girls basketball is ranked No. 10 in Class 5A. (Courtesy of Robin Cook)
Rampart has joined this week’s Class 5A girls basketball rankings this week.
The Rams (11-4) are riding a five-game winning streak. They are ranked No. 10 by CHSAANow.com’s panel of voters.
Elsewhere in 5A, ThunderRidge continued to lead the poll, and got 15 of the 16 first-place votes. Broomfield remained at No. 2, while Grandview moved up one place to No. 3. Monarch also moved up one spot to No. 4.
Monarch rounds up 5A’s top 5 teams.
Each of the four other No. 1 teams also remained the same. Those are Valor Christian (4A), Sterling (3A), Peyton (2A) and Kit Carson (1A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Cherry Creek 8, Lakewood 8, Fossil Ridge 5, Regis Jesuit 4, Arapahoe 3, Pine Creek 2, Rocky Mountain 2.
Dropped out
Lakewood (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Valor Christian (14)
13-1
176
1
2-0
2
Canon City (4)
14-0
163
2
1-0
3
Holy Family
11-3
110
3
2-1
4
Pueblo West
11-4
105
4
1-0
5
Glenwood Springs
11-2
66
10
2-0
6
Montrose
10-3
60
5
2-1
7
D’Evelyn
10-4
58
9
2-0
8
Pueblo East
11-4
56
8
2-0
9
Pueblo South
10-3
55
7
2-0
10
Evergreen
11-3
31
6
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Greeley Central 21, Longmont 17, Mesa Ridge 14, Sand Creek 14, Durango 13, Air Academy 6, Eagle Valley 6, Mullen 6, Palisade 5, Falcon 3, Thomas Jefferson 3, Littleton 1, Mead 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sterling (10)
13-0
150
1
2-0
2
Manitou Springs (3)
11-1
139
3
2-0
3
Pagosa Springs (4)
10-0
133
2
2-0
4
Lutheran
12-1
123
4
2-0
5
St. Mary’s
14-0
111
5
3-0
6
Eaton
11-2
69
6
1-1
7
Olathe
9-1
51
8
1-0
8
La Junta
10-3
28
7
1-1
9
Machebeuf
9-3
27
–
2-0
10
Platte Valley
9-3
20
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 16, Centauri 14, Salida 11, Lamar 10, Liberty Common 9, Kent Denver 7, Trinidad 6, The Vanguard 4, Valley 4, Colorado Academy 2, Alamosa 1.
Dropped out
Faith Christian (9), Centauri (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Peyton (7)
10-0
96
1
2-0
2
Hoehne (2)
12-0
84
2
2-0
3
Caliche (1)
12-0
83
3
2-0
4
Yuma
10-2
69
6
2-0
5
Cedaredge
13-0
63
5
2-0
6
Akron
10-2
56
4
1-1
7
Meeker
8-2
31
7
2-0
8
Highland
9-3
18
10
2-0
9
Paonia
8-4
17
8
0-1
10
Del Norte
10-3
7
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Sargent 5, Ellicott 4, Ignacio 4, Wray 4, Sanford 3, Soroco 3, Sedgwick County 2, Kiowa 1, West Grand 1.
Dropped out
Sedgwick County (9).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kit Carson (5)
10-0
76
1
1-0
2
Sangre De Cristo (3)
10-0
74
2
2-0
3
Idalia
10-1
61
3
2-0
4
Norwood
10-0
59
4
1-0
5
Genoa-Hugo
11-1
46
6
2-0
6
Briggsdale
9-3
37
5
2-1
7
South Baca
11-2
31
7
3-0
8
Cheraw
8-3
19
–
1-0
9
Rocky Mountain Lutheran
9-2
10
–
1-0
10
Heritage Christian
9-3
9
9
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Fleming 6, La Veta 5, Eads 2, Prairie 2, Hi-Plains 1, Jim Elliot 1, Shining Mountain 1.
