The effects of the epic 2015-16 boys basketball season in Aurora continue to linger and give the 2016-17 season a definite boost on buzz.
Two Aurora schools played for last season’s Class 5A state championship — Overland defeated Eaglecrest for its second straight state title — Rangeview made it three teams in the final four and the rest of the playoffs were chock-full of city teams making their mark.
The new campaign will be missing the faces that have come to represent Aurora basketball in recent years such as Overland’s De’Ron Davis (now at Indiana University), but a new guard has risen and the city should be just as much of a factor in the state title race. An Aurora team has won the 5A boys state title in six of the past eight seasons.
Eaglecrest has the potential to extend the city’s streak, as coach John Olander returns the majority of the roster of a team that lost to Overland in an all-Aurora championship showdown in March and finished 25-3. The Raptors come into the season as the title favorite and have readied themselves to take a target on their backs into every gym they enter this season.
Leading the way is reigning Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year Colbey Ross, a Pepperdine signee.
Ross averaged 18.6 points per game a year ago and has upped his game for his senior season, but he’s surrounded by a roster of players he trusts such as seniors Ikenna Ozor, Austin Forsberg and Josh Walton, juniors Victor Garnes, Nate Bokol, Xaiv’ion Jackson and others.
Overland will not let its title streak end without a battle, as coach Danny Fisher has built a sustainable culture off success. A large cast of talented regulars for the past four years graduated, so the Trailblazers will reload.
The team got stunning word that senior Nick Holmes would miss the season after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, leaving the team to rally around him. Senior Asad Yousuf, juniors Daijon Smith, Goy Wang and Tucson Redding and sophomore Stephen Hayes will take central roles for a team Fisher believes might take some hard knocks early, but be ready to really compete when Centennial League play arrives.
Rangeview, a semifinal team last year, also got dealt a blow in the offseason when senior guard Elijah Blake had to undergo surgery for a torn ACL. Coupled with the graduation of a large part of the roster, the Raiders have seen in the preseason that teams appear to be expecting them to fall off. Coach Shawn Palmer has established a program that adapts and succeeds, especially with heady players such as seniors Matthew Johnson and Donyvan Jackson running things.
Coach Morgan Gregory’s Cherokee Trail team has one of the state’s top talents back in senior guard Jaizec Lottie, who is still deciding between numerous Division I offers. With players such as seniors Ian Kelly and KJ Sapp (who will miss a significant portion of the season due to injury) and juniors Deon Barfield and Tyson Rodgers, Lottie should have more room to operate and expects to work without the ball in his hands more often.
Regis Jesuit begins the season on the smallish side — with 6-7 transfer Matt Wheelock sitting out half the season and 6-11 sophomore Samba Kane not a certainty to be able to play this season — but coach Ken Shaw’s Raiders can shoot as always and have a nice chemistry going with a lot of games they’ve played together in the offseason.
Led by the dynamic duo of center Gaige Prim and guard LeChaun Duhart, Grandview is going to be a major factor in the Centennial League. Coach Michael Rogers’ group has shooters and plenty of toughness on the roster.
Smoky Hill is hoping that health helps it take a big leap from last season’s five-win campaign. Will Becker and John Harge, a pair of 6-8 juniors, open the new season at full strength after missing much time last year, and team with sophomore Kenny Foster on a formidable front line. A talented freshman guard Quinten Rock has added to the mix for coach Anthony Hardin, who also has bench depth that could be hard for many teams to match.
Vista PEAK joins the EMAC coming off an outstanding season that saw coach Gary Childress’ team reach the 4A Sweet 16. An athletic roster featuring Tre Early, Marquise Johnson and Quincy Sanders should help the Bison make their mark right away.
Rob Harrison has assumed the head coaching duties at Aurora Central after a successful career at Sunnyvale High School in Arizona. He inherits a program coming off an 18-win season under former coach Ian Calvert, but has just one player with significant varsity experience in senior Larry Thomas.
Talented guards in Michkaleke Baker, Gebriel Eldursi and Kevin Traylor Jr. will stir the drink for new-look Gateway, while senior Jayquawn Thompson is ready to lead Hinkley.
Note: The second A-Town All-Star Game is scheduled for March 18, 2017, at Cherokee Trail High School. More details, here.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2016-17 AURORA BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH
Michkaleke Baker, jr., Gateway; Sam Bannec, jr., Regis Jesuit; Deondre Barfield, jr., Cherokee Trail; Will Becker, jr., Smoky Hill; Elijah Blake, sr., Rangeview (injured); Nate Bokol, jr., Eaglecrest; Ben Boone, jr., Grandview; DeWayne Carter, jr., Hinkley; Lechaun Duhart, sr., Grandview; Tre Early, sr., Vista PEAK; Payton Egloff, soph., Regis Jesuit; Gebriel Eldursi, sr., Gateway; Austin Forsberg, sr., Eaglecrest; Kenny Foster, soph., Smoky Hill; Victor Garnes, jr., Eaglecrest; John Harge, jr., Smoky Hill; Stephen Hayes, 6-3, F, soph., Overland; Connor Hobbs, G, sr., Regis Jesuit; Nick Holmes, sr., Overland (injured); Dylan Holt, sr., Vista PEAK; Donyvan Jackson, sr., Rangeview; Xaiv’ion Jackson, jr., Eaglecrest; Marquise Johnson, sr., Vista PEAK; Matthew Johnson, sr., Rangeview; Te’Rae Johnson, jr., Vista PEAK; Ian Kelly, sr., Cherokee Trail; Justin Lamb, jr., Regis Jesuit; Jaizec Lottie, sr., Cherokee Trail; Elijah Martinez, jr., Regis Jesuit; Mue Muwwakkil, G, jr., Smoky Hill; Ryan Ongala, jr., Rangeview; Ikenna Ozor, sr.; Jahwan Phillips, jr., Smoky Hill; Gaige Prim, sr., Grandview; Tucson Redding, jr., Overland; Eugene Rivers, jr., Smoky Hill; Jayden Robinson, soph., Aurora Central; Quinten Rock, fr., Smoky Hill; Tyson Rodgers, jr., Cherokee Trail; Colbey Ross, sr., Eaglecrest; Quincy Sanders, sr., Vista PEAK; KJ Sapp, sr., Cherokee Trail (injured); Jamil Safieddine, soph., Regis Jesuit; Daijon Smith, jr., Overland; Larry Thomas, sr., Aurora Central; Jayquawn Thompson, Hinkley, sr.; Kevin Traylor Jr., jr., Gateway; Joshua Walton, sr., Eaglecrest; Omari Walker, Hinkley, sr.; Goy Wang, jr., Overland; Matt Wheelock, soph., Regis Jesuit; Asad Yousuf, sr., Overland
