Prep Hoops Spring Kickoff Preview: 15U Division
We have already previewed the top level of our upcoming Prep Hoops Spring Kickoff, a 17U field that will be absolutely loaded with the best talent in Colorado.
You can read Part I of the 17U preview here. Read Part II here. And check out the full schedule of the tournament here.
Of course, talent flows at the younger levels as well. We take a look at some of that group now with a preview of our 15U Division:
Colorado Hawks: The Hawks feature a load of players who played on their varsity teams, and many who made big impacts. It begins with great size up front in 7-footer Assane Diouf, who joined the Denver East program this season and played well before suffering a few minor injuries. He’s healthy and ready for his first grassroots season with the Hawks, who also have 6-7 Rock Canyon big Matt Wheelock to do damage down low. The Hawks have two great distributors who can run the offense in Regis Jesuit’s Payton Egloff and East’s Kwane Marble. Off the ball, the Hawks have Overland’s Stephen Hayes, Castle View’s Chase Hettinger and Regis Jesuit’s Jamil Safieddine and Levi Dombro who have all shown they can score the basketball and defend the perimeter. This team has options and, importantly, knows how to share the ball.
Colorado Hawks 14U: The Hawks’ group that will be high school freshmen this coming fall is eager to make an early impression, playing up a division. The team has a solid backcourt, with a trio of guards in Kaleb Chaney, Kemani Dickerson and Hezekiah Swanson. Up front, bigs Ayo Fadeyi Jr. and Hosea Hill II bring versatile skill sets to the table. On top of that, the group has a strong, deep bench that allows it to play at the attacking tempo it wants to dictate.
Billups Elite: This is a team that also featured big-time varsity contributors, featuring the Chaparral 2019 trio of Bryce Matthews, Ronnie DeGray III and Joseph Dalton, all of whom are 6-4 and were named to a Prep Hoops Colorado All-Freshman teams this season. And this group has a great distributor running the point in JoVon Nelson, who was a key cog for the Far Northeast Warriors’ Class 5A playoff run. They also have a talented shooting guard in 6-3 Caleb Tamminga, who saw some varsity action this season for Legend.
Colorado Chaos: Chaos has a promising young player in Alec Pell, who will be playing for Cherry Creek next year after transferring in from the Dallas area. They also have a versatile good-sized forward in Bailey Verk, who has good toughness and can score in multiple ways. Ricky Stimac is a promising guard out of Monarch the staff is excited about, along with Legend’s Justin Babb.
Colorado Titans Gold: This squad boasts one of the top players in Colorado’s 2019 class in 6-3, 200-pound guard Kyle Helbig, who averaged 9.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists as a freshman this season for a talented Holy Family. Tanner Baird, a 6-1 guard, also made big contributions for Holy Family’s varsity squad this season as a freshman.
The Titans will also be entering their 15U Black and and White teams as well as their top 14U Gold squad and their 14U Black team into the 15U Division, with promising young players across north of Denver aiming to show their stuff.
The Force: Marshal Ehrlin is a promising 2019 player who is already 6-3 and nearly averaged a double-double for Rampart’s junior varsity this season while shooting 52 percent from the field. The group also gets nice size from 6-4 Doherty freshman Alijah Bates.
ABA Elite: The Aspen Basketball Academy squad features a number of players in the pipeline of Ponderosa High School. Coach Steve Ketchum, who has coached at nearly every level, took over the Ponderosa program this year and helped the Mustangs take big strides, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a young group of fundamentally sound players taking the court this weekend.
303 Elite: This team features our No. 2 class of 2019 player in Jaedon Bowles, a 6-5 wing who helped lead Manual all the way to the Class 3A state semifinals. He’s an athletic, quick and strong player who also possesses the basketball IQ that allows him to flourish at multiple positions. He averaged 18 points per game during his freshman season.
Iowa Elite: The lone out-of-state program coming to the Spring Kickoff is a strong one. Iowa Elite has two 15 squads competing, Cavil and Duke. The top squad, Duke, as won the Iowa State AAU tournament five straight seasons and features players from several of the state’s top high schools. Hosea Treadwell, a 5-11 guard out of Des Moines’ Hoover High, is the 23rd-ranked player in the state’s 2019 class, according to Prep Hoops Iowa. And 6-4 guard/forward The squad also has 6-4 guard Grant Garwood from Urbandale, the No. 27 player, according to PHI. The Cavil squad includes Dylan Jones, a talented and versatile 6-7 forward who can put the ball on the floor, shoot from long range and protect the rim.
Colorado Anarchy: The Anarchy features three standouts from the elite Longmont High program, which has made two straight state semifinal appearances. Oakley Dehning is a 6-0 freshman who swung for some varsity playing time as a freshman. He’s a strong floor leader with a strong motor and court awareness. He’s joined by a solid 6-2 shooting guard in Beck Page, who can knock it down from deep. And David Wilhelm is a 6-3 stretch four who gives Anarchy some versatility on defense with his length and athleticism.