Colorado Miners 14U win Mile High Classic
LAKEWOOD — One of the best games of the Mile High Classic was played five miles down the road from Gold Crown Field House, at Lakewood High School on Sunday.
That’s where the championship game of the 14U Division took place, ending in an exciting, 81-76 victory for the Colorado Miners over the Colorado Hawks, a game full of intriguing and talented players who will begin their high school careers as freshman in the fall.
In the end, it was the twin duo of Christian and Christopher Speller who took over in the extra session to help the Miners pull away in the closely contested title game. The Spellers, who both already stand 6-2, have a mix of strength, size, athleticism and basketball IQ that make them pretty unique for their age. The Spellers, who will attend Rangeview High School next school year, not displayed advanced body control, able to smoothly stop, start and accelerate and then finish at the rim.
Another highly impressive player for the Miners was Taylor Harris, a 6-2 combo guard out of Pueblo. Much like the twins, Harris shows a high understanding of the game and how to move for his shots. His slashing drive through two defenders late in regulation tied the game and helped force overtime. Harris has a strong motor and competed throughout the game on both ends. His ball-handling and touch were impressive, and it will be very interesting to see where he gets size-wise.
Jaden Gale, a 6-3 wing, demonstrated a smooth long-range shot, and his length and athleticism can cause problems for opponents when he’s locked in.
The Hawks certainly had their fair share of head-turning performances as well. The first player that stood out was Hezekiah Swanson, a point guard standing about 5-10. Simply put, Swanson can go. He’s an impressive ball-handler who changes speed and direction well. What makes that change-of-speed ability more dangerous is the fact that his top speed is Camaro quick. He’s hard to stay in front of, and he really set the tone for the Hawks in transition early. Swanson is set to attend Overland next year.
Another Hawks standout was Kemani Dickerson, a long guard who sees the court well and is an impressive playmaker. He had a beautiful pass from the perimeter corner inside to cutting teammate Kaleb Chaney late in the game that was highly impressive, met with an equally impressive spinning finish off the glass by Chaney He’s got a good motor and really grinds on the glass. That was one of the more impressive parts of the Hawks performance Sunday. Though quite a bit smaller than their counterparts, they really rebounded well.
It was fun to get an early look at some of the players who are about to start their high school careers. They are names you can expect to hear a lot soon.