Colorado 5A Final Four Preview: ThunderRidge vs. George Washington
In a wonderfully unpredictable season at the top classifications in Colorado high school basketball, it seems only appropriate that you can picture any of the four teams still playing in 5A can win the title.
When ThunderRidge meets George Washington and Rock Canyon faces Eaglecrest, each team will enter Friday night’s action justifiably believing that they have what it takes to finish remarkable seasons with a title.
The teams will also enter the games at Denver Coliseum possessing strong familiarity with their opponents, as each of the semifinal games is a rematch of a game from earlier this season.
Let’s take a closer look at what we can learn from those earlier games and what they could tell us about what could happen Friday night:
No. 2 ThunderRidge (24-2) vs. No. 3 George Washington (24-2), 7 p.m.
Previous Game: A 71-61 ThunderRidge victory on Jan. 6.
How It Happened: After a layoff of two weeks, George Washington was held to its lowest scoring output of the season. The Patriots shot 53 percent from the floor while ThunderRidge shot just 39 percent, but the Grizzlies dominated the glass by a 41-21 margin, creating a massive gap in second chance points.
ThunderRidge did what few teams have been able to do all season, and that’s limit the Patriots to one shot. Guards Jervay Green and Jon’il and Calvin Fugett tortured teams all season with their penetration, confident in attacking the basket while knowing that players like Mohammed Diallo, Tray Pierce, Shaheem Speer and others are running the court with them to clean up misses.
By limiting the second chances, the Grizzlies were able to put the brakes on perhaps the most explosive team in the state. On the offensive end, the Patriots had no answer for senior Corey Seng. The 6-4 guard poured in 30 points and 10 rebounds, one of the many highlights in a player-of-the-year type season.
What To Expect Friday: Jervay Green, the 6-4 senior guard, is playing some of the best basketball of his career, and he’s been a monster on offense, including a 60-point game earlier this year. But Green has probably been even better on the defensive end, where, when he’s engaged, he can be a terror.
Green and the Fugett brothers will be determined to win their backcourt matchup against Seng, talented junior Kaison Hammonds (30 points in the Elite Eight win over Chatfield ) and Justin McCaw, but can the Patriots play disciplined enough to limit the Grizzlies to one shot and make up the ground on the glass?
And can ThunderRidge take care of the basketball under pressure and prevent the Patriots from getting out and running?
The answers to these questions should determine which of these teams plays for the title Saturday night.
Prediction: George Washington in a barn burner.