AURORA | Just when you think a prep basketball season in Aurora can’t get any better, it does.
For all the success the city has seen over the past few years — including last season when the Eaglecrest boys and Grandview girls swept Class 5A state titles — it went up even another notch in the recently completed 2017-18 season.
Three of the four teams on display March 10 in the 5A state championship games at the Denver Coliseum hailed from Aurora, including the first-ever all-city matchup in a girls state final when Grandview and Regis Jesuit squared off.
Denver’s George Washington in the 5A boys final was the only interloper in Aurora’s championship party and the Patriots left without one when the Grandview boys won their first state crown to match the one won early by the girls.
Needless to say, both championship-winning Grandview teams and the Regis Jesuit girls runner-up squad are well represented in the 2018 A-Town All-Star Games — presented by The Sentinel — which celebrate another season of top-notch hardwood talent around the city.
Rangeview High School is the scene of this season’s event, which includes the third edition of the A-Town All-Stars boys game, the second A-Town All-Stars girls game in addition to the debut of a slam dunk contest (scheduled for in between the 5 p.m. girls game and 7 p.m. boys game).
All 11 Aurora 5A & 4A programs had at least one player selected through nominations and balloting of all city coaches, though a few selections are unable to play due to injury or prior commitments.
The boys game will be a senior-laden affair, as 16 of the 20 participants — including all 10 Team West players — are set to graduate in 2018. Three juniors and a sophomore round out the rosters.
Centennial League champion and Great 8 playoff qualifier Overland is the most represented with four players in the game, all seniors, in Tucson Redding and Goy Wang (Team West) and Daijon Smith and Laolu Oke (Team East).
Smoky Hill, another Great 8 team, had four selections, but three will play in junior Kenny Foster — now a three-time A-Town All-Star Game selection — senior John Harge and sophomore Quinten Rock.
Continental League power Regis Jesuit has a trio of particpants as well in seniors Sam Bannec and Elijah Martinez plus junior Jamil Safieddine.
State champion Grandview — which thrived more as a collective than as individuals — is one of three schools with a pair of players in the game, as it is represented by senior Ben Boone and junior Dayne Prim, whose performances in the state championship game were crucial.
Host Rangeview (seniors Ryan Ongala and Devin Collins) and Eaglecrest (seniors Branden Bunn and XaiV’ion Jackson) also have a pair in, while Vista PEAK (three-time pick Te’Rae Johnson, Aurora’s scoring average leader at 18.9 points per game), Gateway (Michkaleke Baker), Cherokee Trail (Deon Barfield) and Aurora Central (Tylor Williams) have one apiece, all seniors.
The girls game has a only seven seniors, plus 10 juniors, two sophomores and a freshman.
State champion Grandview and runner-up Regis Jesuit each have four participants. The Wolves will be represented by a pair of seniors in Leilah Vigil and Jaiden Galloway (Team East), while juniors Alisha Davis and Allyah Marlett appear on Team West.
Runner-up Regis Jesuit also has four participants in the game in returnees Noelle Cahill and Fran Belibi, plus first-time selections Jasmine Gaines and Avery Vansickle, the lone freshman.
Vista PEAK (EMAC Player of the Year and Aurora leading scorer Denali Hughes and Kaya Evans), Overland (seniors Lyric Thompson and Kia Gelinas), Cherokee Trail (Destinee Paulk and Abbie Sparks) and Eaglecrest (Raquel Turner and Hidaya Thornton) have a pair of participants, while Rangeview (Angel Broadus), Hinkley (Macenzie Clayton), Gateway (Taylor Bender) and Smoky Hill (Andrea Ekiko) have one player each.
Coaches are Michael Rogers of state champion Grandview and Morgan Gregory, who recently stepped down after seven seasons at Cherokee Trail in the boys game and Overland’s Robert Dennis and Tammi Traylor-Statewright, who just finished an eight-year stint at Gateway in the girls game.
The inaugural slam dunk contest includes Gateway’s Michkaleke Baker, Eaglecrest’s Morgan Brown, Vista PEAK’s Jaquan Roberts, Rangeview’s Eric Jackson and Ayden Clayton, Overland’s Daijon Smith and maybe a few others.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Sentinel Prep Sports