The ball is ready to go up in 2024 as the prep boys basketball season resumes around Aurora after Colorado’s mandatory holiday break.
There is a lot to build on and plenty to correct for local teams in the new year.
Vista PEAK Prep led Aurora teams with eight wins before winter break last season and the Bison also have the best win percentage going into the hiatus this season at 7-2.
Coach Keenon Clement’s Bison sit No. 7 in MaxPreps’ Class 5A rankings after a start that saw two losses to two top-eight teams by a combined 14 points. Senior Alante Monroe-Elazier has paced Vista PEAK Prep in scoring at 16 points per game, while senior Kyree Polk has been dominant in the paint with an average
With a roster mixed with holdovers from last season’s Class 6A Great 8 run along with some players who have improved significantly, Smoky Hill is 7-3 at the break, though just three games (all wins) have come in Colorado.
Coach Anthony Hardin’s team went 1-2 at a Shoot The Rock event in Arizona and finished 3-1 at the Hardwood Invite in Oregon prior to break. Senior Kevin Sylla (13.8 ppg), junior Kaylen Graham (12.7 ppg) and sophomore Carter Basquez (11.6 ppg) have set the tone.
Eaglecrest got off to a 7-0 start to the season, then dropped its last three before break. Coach Jarris Krapcha’s Raptors — ranked eighth in MaxPreps’ Class 6A Colorado standings — lost in the championship game of the Curtis Winter Classic in Washington, then fell to a pair of 6A top-six teams before break.
Junior LaDavian King leads three players who average in double figures for the Raptors with an average of 19.4 points per game.
Overland is off to a promising 6-3 start, as coach Danny Fisher’s team went through a rigorous opening schedule against Colorado teams and then a 3-1 performance at the Dwan Hurt Holiday Classic in California. The Trailblazers’ win total includes significant wins against defending 6A state champion Denver East as well as Rock Canyon, while all four of their losses came by single digits.
Juniors Siraaj Ali (18.7 points per game) and Isreal Littleton (11.0 ppg) have set the tone for Overland.
Regis Jesuit enters the new year looking to build on a 6-3 start that has come against quality competition. Coach Ken Shaw’s Raiders won their first five games in impressive fashion, then dropped three of their last four, including an overtime defeat at Grandview in the final game before break.
Sophomore Eric Fiedler has been a force in the early going, as he has averaged an Aurora-best 20.4 points per game, while senior Damarius Taylor has poured in 18.4 per contest and junior Alec Roumph 11.9.
Cherokee Trail has made significant progress in the second season under Brandon Brown.
The Cougars were 1-5 at winter break last season, but went into the hiatus this season at 4-3 with two of three losses coming by eight or fewer points. Senior guard Braylen Thomas has been a catalyst.
Gateway is 4-6 at the break, just one game off the pace it was at last season in a 14-win campaign. The Olys — the first season under Nicholas Dixon — have been bolstered by a double-digit scoring duo of Hayden Von Boeckman (18 ppg) and Oriel Bailey (14.1 ppg), while last season’s leading scorer, Maximus Matthews, returned the lineup two games before break after missing time due to injury.
Aurora Central is 3-4 after seven games — a two-game improvement in the win column at the break from last season — with balance as the hallmark. Coach Marcus Shelton’s team has five players that average 9.3 points or better so far.
Grandview entered break at 3-8, but coach Michael Rogers’ team went out on a high note with an overtime home victory over Regis Jesuit. Junior Breven Anderson has been the Wolves’ most effective offensive player with an average of 10.3 points.
Rangeview opened 2-2 before it dropped five straight going into winter break. Coach Shawn Palmer’s Raiders dropped three games at the Cherry Creek Christmas Classic by six points or less and then lost to two teams in MaxPreps’ 6A top six in Ralston Valley and Rock Canyon. Impact freshman Archie Weatherspoon V has averaged 11.5 points per game.
Coach Tommy Verner’s Hinkley team remains in the search for its first win of the season after an 0-6 start.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
