League Lookout: Centennial League
Colorado is nicknamed the “Centennial State,” so is it really any surprise that the Centennial League features some of the best teams in the Rocky Mountain region? Through four league games, competition has been fierce. Eaglecrest (12-0 overall) is 4-0…
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Continue ReadingColorado is nicknamed the “Centennial State,” so is it really any surprise that the Centennial League features some of the best teams in the Rocky Mountain region?
Through four league games, competition has been fierce. Eaglecrest (12-0 overall) is 4-0 overall with three teams — Cherokee Trail, defending state champ Overland and upstart Grandview — right behind at 3-1. Cherry Creek is 2-2, Arapahoe at 1-3 and Smoky Hill and Mullen still hunting their first league victories at 0-4.
Below is a look at some of the trends and players making noise in the highly competitive league as the season nears the midway point.
Raptors soaring
Eaglecrest has been perhaps the state’s most surprising team. Yes, the Raptors marched all the way to the Final Four last season. But, as has been well-documented, they lost three double-digit scorers from that team.
What Eaglecrest didn’t lose was Colbey Ross, perhaps the state’s best point guard, who has lifted the team with his play on both ends of the court this season. Ross is averaging 19.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, and seeing the attention from mid-major Division I programs pick up in the process.
But as special as Ross has been this season, Eaglecrest couldn’t be 12-0 without a supporting cast that has been consistently efficient all year long. Six-foot sophomore guard Victor Garnes has established himself as a go-to force, averaging 10.5 points and 2.9 rebounds, making winning plays with his energy and aggressiveness. Juniors Ikenna Ozor and Nate Bokol, senior Elijah Wilson and sophomore Xai’Vion Jackson have been among the team’s other top contributors.
Overland will be fine
It was a similar scenario last season. Overland suffers an in-state defeat at the hands of Regis Jesuit, registers it as a wake-up call and gets back to dominating. The Trailblazers have won three of four games since the loss to Regis, with the victories coming by an average of 28.7 points. The lone loss, to Eaglecrest, came with De’Ron Davis on the sideline after amassing two technical fouls the previous game.
Davis has dealt with more defensive attention than ever. But while he’s still able to put up big numbers in the face of triple-teams, Overland is well-equipped to get contributions from other sources. None has been a bigger force than Jervae Robinson, the team’s leading scorer at 15 points per game, who has established himself as one of the state’s top handful of unsigned 2016 prospects. Robinson is a highly athletic attacking guard, whose relentless ability to attack the basket puts constant pressure on defenses. He is a Division I-caliber guard and gives the Trailblazers the state’s best guard-big man duo.
Wolves howling
Grandview is another team that has taken people by surprise with its consistency. LeChaun Duhart has led the way for the 9-4 Wolves with 19.9 points per game, third best in the Centennial. He is coming off a dynamic week in which he helped the Wolves go 2-1 with victories over Smoky Hill and Highlands Ranch.
Coach Michael Rogers has done a great job gelling together this current Grandview team, which also has impressive wins this season over a number of talented teams, including Cherry Creek, Arapahoe, Dakota Ridge and Palmer.
Foster lives up to billing
The league’s leading scorer still won’t be able to get a driver’s license for another year. Kenny Foster, Smoky Hill’s superlative freshman, has lived up the considerable hype that accompanied the start of his high school career — and then some.
Foster has already tallied multiple 30-point games. He scored 29 in his season debut, against a talented and experienced Arvada West team. Yes, the young Buffaloes have endured growing pains this season, but Foster, who is averaging 21 points per game this season, has been consistent in his role as young team leader, scoring in varying ways each night and displaying the intangible that make him a leader beyond his years. Against Grandview last week, which won on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, Foster got to the line 20 times, converting 18 of them.
Nathan Davis returns
As we tweeted earlier today, Mullen’s 6-6 senior wing Nathan Davis has played strong in his return from a torn ACL he suffered last spring. Davis is averaging 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in four games since his return. We are happy to see Davis back on the court. Suffering injuries like that late in your career can be as tough mentally as physically, but Davis has handled it well and has a bright basketball future ahead of him.
Under-The-Radar Risers
Names like Foster, Davis, Ross, Lottie and are well-known. This is a look at some other players who might not have had much notoriety heading into the season but are helping their teams in big ways.
Gage Prim, 6-6 junior center, Grandview
Prim has been a force in the middle for the Wolves. He is the Cetennial’s leading rebounder at 9.4 boards per game. He’s also eighth in scoring at 15.8 per game. His toughness has helped the Wolves carry an edge with them this season.
Matteo Busnardo, 6-1 junior guard, Mullen
With Davis gone for the first part of the season, Busnardo picked up the scoring slack and hasn’t slowed down. He has scored at least 21 points in three out of his last four games, getting to the basket and shooting 14-of-16 from the line in that span.
Will Haflon, 6-1 senior guard, Cherry Creek
At 19.4 points per game, Haflon has upped his scoring average nearly six full points per game this season. He his a great facilitator for the Bruins, whose two league losses have come by a combined six points. Haflon has also been a knock-down 3-point shooter at 47 percent (34-of-72) this season.
Joseph Kleeman, 6-1 senior guard, Arapahoe
An under-the-radar component for the tough Warriors, Kleeman has done a little bit of everything during Arapahoe’s 7-6 start. He’s averaging 10.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.9 steals per game. In an example of how hotly contested the Centennial League has been, the Warriors have also had two of their losses come by a combined six points. Arapahoe has also had strong contributions from seniors Ryan King and James Walsh.
Ian Kelly, 6-5 junior, Cherokee Trail
Kelly has added a strong post presence to go along with David Thornton for the Cougars, adding a strong dose of a toughness for the top-10 team.
This Week’s Matchups
Wednesday
Cherry Creek at Overland, 7 p.m.
Eaglecrest at Cherokee Trail, 7 p.m.
Grandview at Mullen, 7 p.m.
Arapahoe at Smoky Hill, 7 p.m.
Friday
Eaglecrest at Grandview, 7 p.m.
Mullen at Smoky Hill, 7 p.m.
Arapahoe at Cherry Creek, 7 p.m.
Overland at Cherokee Trail, 7 p.m.