The annual A-Town All-Star Games for Aurora’s best and brightest boys and girls basketball players — presented by Sentinel Colorado — returns this season and is scheduled to be played on Saturday, March 18, at Eaglecrest High School.
The 20-player rosters for the girls and boys games — as selected by the Sentinel based on the nominations/voting of all city coaches from the recently completed 2022-23 season — have been finalized. Rosters are comprised of players from Aurora’s 11 largest high schools (Aurora Central, Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, Gateway, Grandview, Hinkley, Overland, Rangeview, Regis Jesuit, Smoky Hill and Vista PEAK) and every school will be represented.
Doors will open at 10:15 a.m. and ticket prices will be $6 for both games (purchase available online and onsite, but no cash sales), with the girls scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., followed by the boys at approximately 1 p.m.
TICKETS FOR THE A-TOWN ALL-STAR GAME CAN BE PURCHASED HERE
The A-Town All-Star boys game began eight years ago and was played for the first time at Aurora Central in 2016, followed by Cherokee Trail (2017), Rangeview (2018), Smoky Hill (2019) and Gateway in 2021 following a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic and it was canceled last season. The A-Town All-Star girls game made its debut in 2017.
The rosters include a number of players who ended their season at the Denver Coliseum as part or programs that reached the Great 8 round of the Class 6A playoffs and in some cases went further.
The Grandview girls basketball team went on a run to the 6A state championship — the second straight for the program and fourth all-time (story, here) — and will be represented by its top two scorers in sophomore Sienna Betts and senior Sydnie McClain. Betts is also the recently crowned Gatorade Player of the Year for Colorado in girls hoops (story, here).
The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team got to the Final Four of the state tournament for the first time in more than a decade and its top three scorers — seniors TaRea Fulcher and Joe Dorais and junior Damarius Taylor — will team up again in the boys game.
The Smoky Hill boys basketball team’s first trip to the Great 8 since 2019 was fueled by a mix of experience and new talent and three Buffaloes are scheduled to participate, including Aurora’s leading scorer in senior Rickey Mitchell plus freshman phenom Kai McGrew and junior Ray Gasaway.
The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team, which made it to the Great 8 as well and lost there to eventual 6A runner-up Monarch, will be represented by junior Coryn Watts, while junior Hana Belibi and sophomore Iliana Greene were selected, but are unable to participate.
Selected but unable to play in the boys game are Grandview freshmen twins Gallagher and Gavin Placide, Eaglecrest sophomores LaDavian King and Garrett Barger, Overland sophomore Siraaj Ali, Smoky Hill junior Ray Gasaway and Vista PEAK senior Nasir Mills, while the girls game selections that are unable to participate besides Belibi and Greene are Eaglecrest seniors Nia McKenzie and Laci Roffle, Vista PEAK sophomore Eianna Jackson, who was the Class 4A/5A City League Player of the Year, and senior Ashlyn Stapleton and Rangeview senior Zane Bullock.
Coaches in the boys game will be Aurora Central’s Marcus Shelton (who shared Colorado League Coach of the Year honors) with Team West and first-year Cherokee Trail coach Brandon Brown with Team East. Howard Payne of Vista PEAK will coach Team West in the girls game, while the Smoky Hill staff will coach Team East.
Full rosters and expanded profiles of all selections here.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 A-TOWN ALL-STAR BOYS & GIRLS BASKETBALL GAMES
• WHEN: Saturday, March 18 — Doors open, 10:15 a.m., 11 a.m. (girls game), 1 p.m. (boys game)
• WHERE: Eaglecrest High School, 5100 S. Picadilly St.
• TICKETS: $6 per person, available online here (no cash sales on site)
• MORE INFO: Player profiles and more game information at www.AtownAllStars.com
•SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @aurorasports on Twitter for ingame updates, photos, stats and game stories