5A Playoff Preview: Chancey Billups Region
Before the season started I stated that this year was a year that was wide open as no team stood head and shoulders above the rest. Well, with no undefeated teams, close league play battles and surprise league champions it’s safe to say that this is one of the most wide-open state tournaments we have in quite some time—I can’t wait! As a result, we’ll be taking a look at each region as who we believe will win it and who else might surprise us.
Chauncey Billups Region:
Who is in it:
Chaparral, Mountain Range, Vista Ridge, Chatfield, Grandview, Cherokee Trail, Boulder, Rampart, Far Northeast Warriors, Legacy
Who will win it?
This region is as wide open as it gets, with teams like Rampart and Cherokee Trail you could very well see them surprising a higher seeded team but I think it comes down to Chaparral or Grandview. I’m siding with Chaparral as they have one of the best five players in the state this year in junior standout Ronnie DeGray III. Chaparral gets back Joseph Dalton who is regarded as one of the top shooting guards in the state with Kobe Sanders playing some of his best basketball and Bryce Matthews also showing what he has. This team is great from top to bottom and can run any team out of the gym with their guard play. With Ronnie manning the middle it complicates things that much more and their fans also travel so it doesn’t matter if they’re in the confines of their own home gym or taking it to the Coliseum. This is one of the teams to beat and you’ll have to be near perfect to beat them I Chap to dominate right on until the Sweet 16. From there it should be a matchup against Grandview and that one should be one of the best games in the state playoffs.
Surprise team?
Grandview is a team that matches up with literally every team in the state as they have the ability to play fast, but the personnel to slow it down and play big and that’s what has me keeping an eye on them. They played in the toughest league in the state that came down to the wire so we know they’re a team that’s faced every type of team the state has to offer–maybe twice. Caleb Mcgill and Dayne Prim manned the middle for this unit and kept teams honest in the paint, forcing plenty of outside shots and Ben Boone, Tyler Unger and Davon Walker got them going on the offensive end. This is a team that causes fits as they’re disciplined and pass it around until they get the shot that they want, they aren’t a selfish group and their rotation is contagious that cause teams to have to adjust as the game continues. This is a team to watch as they can make it to the Great 8 with strong all-around play from each player on their team. They also have a controversial buzzer beating loss last year that I’m sure left a bad taste in their mouth.
Key Game in the First Round with a prediction:
Chatfield versus Vista Ridge
This is a game that can honestly go anyway. Even though Chatfield is the No. 46 seeded team in the state their senior class of Isaiah Reed, Keland Rumsey and Liam Mann makes it difficult for many teams to key in on one guy. Any given night it can be another player that hurts you and add in juniors Christian Holmes and Luke Carlson and you have a dynamic five that it’s difficult to prepare for. No. 19 Vista Ridge on the other hand appears to be a team ready to prove themselves. They’re on a five-game winning streak and are ready for whatever stands in their way. They’re led by Raymon Harper, Tristan Pratt and Micah Hilts and those three attack the glass as aggressive as any trio in the state. They’re the three top rebounders as well as scorers on the team and add in Julius Dowell and the entire production runs through them. They aren’t a team that gets out and runs so this will be a close fought, low scoring battle that I believe will be one of the upsets in the first round that has Chatfield on top.
Key players to watch for out of this region:
Ronnie DeGray III, Kobe Sanders, Joseph Dalton, Ben Boone, Dayne Prim, Caleb Mcgill, Raymon Harper, Liam Mann, Deondre Barfield, Xavier Johnson, Dawson Carper, Josh Kavalec, Sindou Cisse, Malik Fofana