Former Eaglecrest High School basketball star Colbey Ross is currently in Las Vegas playing in the NBA Summer League for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Ross — who won a Class 5A state championship with Eaglecrest before he departed for a stellar career at Pepperdine University and also played professionally overseas with ERA Nymburk of the Czech National Basketball League — made the 14-player roster for the Summer League, which began July 5 and continues through July 17.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Ross has appeared in all four of the team’s games thus far and logged 15-plus minutes Thursday in Portland’s 85-77 win over the Houston Rockets. In the contest, Ross did a little bit of everything as he finished with seven points (helped by getting to the free throw line nine times to lead the team) to go with three rebounds and two assists.
Ross opened Summer League play with six points and four assists in Portland’s opening loss to the Detroit Pistons, while he then turned in an eight-point performance and the New Orleans Pelicans and had four points and four rebounds against the New York Knicks.
The Trail Blazers moved to 3-1 and will play in the Summer League championship game at 1 p.m. July 17 against the New York Knicks in a game to be broadcast on ESPN.
Portland’s Summer League team has another player with Colorado ties in former University of Colorado star Jabari Walker, who just signed a contract with the team.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 13: The Grandview High School girls swim team proved just as competitive in the classroom as in the pool itself during the 2021-22 season. Coach Karen Ammon’s Wolves — who finished sixth at the Class 5A girls state swim meet — continued a long tradition of academic excellence as it garnered another national Scholar Award from the National Interscholastic Coaches Association (NISCA). The Wolves had a 3.712 GPA, which ranked 97th nationally. Full story, here.
TUESDAY, JULY 12: Hog Wars, the annual strength and teamwork competition for Aurora-area prep linemen started by Rangeview High School, has been canceled this summer.
New Raiders head coach Chris Dixon had been set to pick up the tradition, but said that a lack of teams committed to participate forced the cancellation.
Hog Wars returned in the summer of 2021 after it was lost in 2020 due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Eaglecrest won the event — which is made up of a handful of strength-based competitions — for the first time last season when seven city programs were involved.
Gateway (2011), Overland (2012), Cherokee Trail (2013), Vista PEAK (2019) and Eaglecrest (2021) have been able to claim titles at the event, which has been won by Rangeview on the other 11 occasions since the event started in 2005.
MONDAY, JULY 11: Athletes in the Centennial League — especially in football and girls volleyball — will get a lot more screen time coming up in the new prep athletic season.
Media company FanVu announced an agreement with the league — which is comprised of Aurora-area programs in Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, Grandview, Overland and Smoky Hill in addition to nearby Arapahoe, Cherry Creek and Mullen — to broadcast 80 games/contests in the fall and winter of the 2022-23 sports season.
“Anything to promote our sport and high school sports in Colorado — specifically the Centennial League — is an awesome thing,” Grandview football coach Tom Doherty said in a statement announcing the schedule.
Added Eaglecrest girls volleyball coach Morgan Garrow: “I’m very honored to hear Eaglecrest volleyball will be part of the Centennial League Network. I think it’s a great opportunity to promote Colorado volleyball. And promote our league — because it is, in my perspective, one of the top leagues in the state with really good players and coaches.”
In terms of girls volleyball, two Centennial League teams played for the Class 5A state championship last year as Cherry Creek defeated Grandview (which has appeared in the last two state title matches), while the Cherry Creek football team also took the state title.
Live viewing of game broadcasts is free, while FanVu announced that on-demand viewing can be accessed via daily or monthly subscriptions ranging from $3.99 to $9.99.
— Sports Editor Courtney Oakes