2023 Rankings Update: Plenty to Prove
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Aliou Diallo Aliou Diallo 6'0" | CG Colorado Prep | 2023 CO – Colorado Prep An athletic guard with steady downhill acceleration, Diallo makes an emphasis on maximizing his quickness in passing lanes and fast breaks. Since he plays…
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Aliou Diallo Aliou Diallo 6'0" | CG Colorado Prep | 2023 CO – Colorado Prep
An athletic guard with steady downhill acceleration, Diallo makes an emphasis on maximizing his quickness in passing lanes and fast breaks. Since he plays on a packed Colorado Prep roster, he will need to earn his minutes by way of defensive intensity and consistent effort without the ball in his hands. Last season with Golden High School, Diallo put up 13.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game with splits of 45/24/70. When watching the 6’ guard prospect, remember that he has more in his offensive toolbox than he may initially advertise. Diallo has proven to be capable at pressuring the rim, often times from self-created live dribble moves. There is no doubt Diallo is very skilled, the next step will be how he can fit into the Colorado Prep framework for the near future.
Cole Records Cole Records 6'3" | SF Regis Jesuit | 2023 State CO – Regis Jesuit
Standing at 6’4, Records is a strong guard who does well maximizing his size on both ends. He showed self-created shot-making flashes in the mid-range and has potential as a scorer out of pick and roll situations. With Regis most likely playing a five-out offense, Records will be asked to significantly increase his three point attempts from last season, as he only averaged 4 points, 2.6 boards on splits 60/33/69, although on small sample size. One area that will be intriguing is Records’ rebounding stats, as there is no true center with Regis, he will have ample opportunities to showcase his strength and instincts on the glass.
Cai’Reis Curby Cai’Reis Curby 6'0" | SG Aurora Central | 2023 State CO – Aurora Central
The combo guard was one of the more efficient perimeter players in the class averaging 13.9 points per game in 18 minutes on average. Curby is capable of doing a little of everything on both ends, also posting 2.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.6 steals per game on high efficiency splits of 50/42/68. Over his 14 games in the 2020-21 season, his 42% three point clip is especially encouraging since he attempted over four threes per game. Curby could be a breakout guard to watch in the Colorado League.
Peyton Taylor Peyton Taylor 5'9" | PG Eaglecrest | 2023 State CO – Eaglecrest
Taylor is an intriguing backup guard set to make a jump with a larger role as a facilitator. Last season, Taylor had a balanced effort with 4.8 points, 2.9 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.2 steal on splits of 36/21/54. Taylor certainly has room to improve as shot-maker, but he understands his role as a high IQ team first creator. He can be a high level play orchestrator, however the next step will be improving his scoring gravity off the bounce and off the catch.
Grant Featherston Grant Featherston 6'5" | PF Air Academy | 2023 State CO – Air Academy
Coming into his third year with the varsity squad, Featherston is a 6’5/6’6 post-centric forward with a variety of pivot moves. His playstyle pays homage to the 1980s, rarely stepping out to the three point line while using his pivot moves to create scoring opportunities down low. Featherston is a dependable complementary forward, rarely forcing bad shots and doubling down on grabbing rebounds. This past season, Featherston averaged 10.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game on shooting splits of 49/18/58. While his shooting percentages must improve, his notable uptick in free throw attempts from year 1 (2.08 per game) to year 2 (2.5 per) are encouraging.