Aurora hoops season extended with premier A-Town All-Stars game March 26
COLBEY ROSS
School: Eaglecrest
Year: Junior
Height: 6-foot-1
2015-16 averages: 18.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assist, 1.6 steals
Season highlights: With the graduation of some top talent from a team that made the Class 5A state semifinals in 2014-15, coach John Olander hoped coming into the season that his Raptors would make it as far as the Great 8. Eaglecrest matched and well-surpassed that hope by going undefeated through its first 17 games, sharing the Centennial League championship with Overland and navigating a very difficult bracket in the 5A state playoffs to make it all the way to the state championship game before falling to the rival Trailblazers. Juniors Colbey Ross and Ikenna Ozor proved to be the two top finishers on a team that thrived with uncommon depth, athleticism and teamwork. Ross’ leadership was off the charts on his team’s run to the state final and supplmented his ability to impact the game in many ways that showed up tangibly on the stat sheet. Ross averaged 18.6 points per game in a season in which he poured in 20 or more points 10 times and went over 30 twice, including a season-high 38 — the top effort for any player from an Aurora school on the season — in a monster 69-56 win over Denver East on Jan. 25. He scored 27 points for Eaglecrest in its 66-56 loss to Overland in the 5A state championship game and averaged 23.3 points per game in three contests against a Trailblazers’ team considered the best in the state defensively. For his efforts, Ross was selected as the Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year for the 2015-16 season, joining Ben Baum (1983) as Eaglecrest’s winners of the previous award and just the third all-time in Aurora (Regis Jesuit’s Bud Thomas is the other). Ross will play for Team East in the A-Town All-Stars Game.
Ross vs. Aurora teams: Overland (27 points, 8 rebounds & 5 assists, 16 points, 27 points & 7 rebounds); Smoky Hill (17 points, 20 points & 5 steals); Cherokee Trail (12 points, 19 points); Grandview (17 points, 7 points & 7 assists); Rangeview (12 points); Regis Jesuit (14 points)
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
