Denver Prep League Preview: Predicted Order of Finish

As our season preview series rolls on, we begin our preview of the Denver Prep League. Tonight: Predicting the order of finish in one of the state’s top leagues. Tomorrow: Preseason All-League Teams.1. George Washington The Patriots, even with such a young team, won the league title with a perfect 8-0 record. After starting the season 2-4 while playing an extremely tough schedule, GW finished 15-10 before losing 63-59 in double overtime in the 5A Sweet 16 to an older group from Legend. The reason this team is ranked No. 1 preseason in the DPL, by the slimmest of margins over Denver East who will be extremely talented as well, is because they return four Division I prospects at guard in Jervay Green, Daylen Kountz, and the Fugett brothers, Calvin and Jon’il. The Patriots will be as gifted in the backcourt as anyone in Colorado. In our estimation, they are a Final Four contender. 2. Denver East The Angels graduated Brian Carey, a 5-foot-8 dynamo who earned Gatorade Colorado Player of the Year Honors and signed with Texas Southern. Jordan Willis, an absolute monster on the glass, and freakish athlete Ben Potts have also used up their eligibility after helping to lead East to their third consecutive Final Four appearance. But, with Jack Buckmelter, Deron Harrell, Samba Dioum, and Joe Abiakam back, with the addition of 6-foot-8 versatile transfer Daytone Jennings, East is a Final Four contender again. Legendary coach Rudy Carey, with nine state titles to his name, will figure out how to gel his new weapons with his returners. The Denver Prep League crown could be an absolute dogfight between the Patriots and the Angels. 3. Abraham Lincoln Lincoln will be without the services of two wonderful scorers, Michael Sparks (over 20 ppg in back-to-back seasons) and Jose Arenas (19.2 ppg), as both players were seniors. Nonetheless, we actually think this team might be better a season after going 15-10, 4-4 in the DPL and losing in the second round of the 5A tournament to Dakota Ridge. Vince Valdez, who resigned as coach last year after winning two 4A state titles in 2007 and 2008 and leading a wonderfully successful program for a number of years, is having the reigns taken over by one of his best players, Dre Calloway. Calloway should enjoy having a great inside-out tandem of Umar Jalloh and Jamison Washington. Rene Melendez is also a very good player. Lincoln looks like a Sweet 16 contender. 4. Far Northeast The Warriors, for the second straight year, will probably be the tallest team in Colorado. 6-foot-9 twin towers Relando Rogers and Mau Ayuel lead the way for a team that will have several other 6-foot-5 or taller players. Far Northeast, formerly called Montbello, will also have bruising 6-foot-4 guard Sekou Cisse and athletic 6-foot-3 guard Aaris Bond in the lineup. The Warriors will be crazy tall and crazy athletic, but would benefit from knocking down more perimeter shots and being multi-dimensional this season. Either way, the Warriors have the look of a potential Sweet 16 team with plenty of upside. 5. Denver South In a conference that seems like it could be extremely close from 3-6, South could be a Final Four contender in 4A. They did finish 6-2 in the DPL last year and feature one of the classification’s best players in Chudier Bile, a potential Division I recruit. The Rebels, who lost in the Sweet 16 to Lewis-Palmer last year and in the state title game to Pueblo East two years ago, could finish much higher than 5th, but the Denver Prep League is going to be pretty loaded at the top. Nothing will come easy and the Rebels graduated three starters. Nonetheless, Connor Nelson returns with his great shooting stroke, Rayshawn Kennedy is a solid forward, and Courtney Dean is our No. 13 ranked prospect in 2018. South will be in the mix. 6. Thomas Jefferson A top 10 program in 4A, TJ will be replacing two talented 6-foot-5 wings in Josh McNair (17.7 ppg, 9 rpg, 3 spg, 1.7 bpg) and Jalen Rose (10.3 ppg), along with point guard Sergio Garcia (8.5 ppg, 4.6 apg). The Spartans do feature Ravel Moody, a 6-foot-4 wing who has been on a mission in recent months after recovering from a broken hand in June. The junior has seen his stock rise as he’s developed his left hand much more and possesses the tools to play point guard, if needed. He’s an outstanding prospect. Henry Cooper is a lock-down defender at guard and Xavier Cooper, Breon Harper, and Jodaun Dotson are some of the best young guards in the state. TJ, as usual, will be a factor in the DPL and in 4A. 7. Denver West The Cowboys struggled in finishing 5-18 and 1-7 in the DPL last year, but 5-foot-9 guard Malik Kohokassa is back after averaging 15.6 points, 5.3 steals, 4 assists, and 3.3 rebounds a game. Oh, and he was only a sophomore. Kohokassa led 4A in steals and three-pointers made with 84. Marcus Alvarez, the team’s second leading scorer, also returns after a productive junior season of 13.3 points and 2.5 steals per contest. 6-foot-5 Roman Sandoval (8.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg) will man the middle for a Denver West team that should be improved, but will likely have problems against the power six teams in the DPL. 8. Denver North The Vikings went 10-5 in non-conference play last season, but 0-8 in the DPL. Although their schedule was pretty weak against non-city teams, North did pick up their most amount of wins since going 15-10 during the 2008-09 season. They are making progress. And, with Michael De Leon (15.5 ppg) and Akicita Irving (9.3 ppg) still in the lineup, the Vikings might continue a bit of an upward trend. 9. John F. Kennedy The Commanders, 5-18 and 2-6 in the DPL during the 2014-15 campaign, graduated their top five scorers and have a new coach in Adam Hooker. They did have a freshman point guard, Dominic Maestas, earn varsity minutes and show some potential. Beyond that, very little is known about this team, so we are in wait-and-see mode right now.