Colorado Winter in Review: 5A Jeffco League

<p>Now that we are a month removed from the winter basketball season, let’s put a bow on it by looking back at how things shook out in each of Colorado’s conferences. Here’s a snapshot of the past season’s action in the 5A Jefferson County League.</p> <p><u>How it all shook out</u></p> <p>With a perfect 8-0 conference record, Columbine (17-7, 8-0) and CU-bound junior Luke O’Brien (21.6 ppg) won the Jeffco title. But it wasn’t easy, as five of the Rebels’ eight league wins game by single-digit margins. Arvada West (17-7, 6-2), Ralston Valley (17-7, 6-2) and Valor Christian (11-13, 6-2) weren’t too far behind in one of the tightest league races that played out across Colorado this past winter.</p> <p><u>Who made it the farthest</u></p> <p>Six Jeffco teams – Columbine, Arvada West, Ralston Valley, Valor Christian, Bear Creek and Pomona – made the 5A state tournament but surprisingly none of them advanced past the second round. Senior Josh Rogers (20.6 ppg) and Arvada West, Jordan Stratch (15.6) and Ralston Valley and Columbine each received a first-round bye, and thus, none of the Jeffco teams even won a playoff game.</p> <p><u>Several more who stood out</u></p> <p><strong>Trevor Baskin, 6-7, G/W, Pomona, 2020:</strong> One of Colorado’s biggest stock-risers over the past couple seasons, he averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 3.0 steals and 4.3 blocks as a junior.</p> <p><strong>Pierce Holley, 6-3, G, Lakewood, 2019: </strong>Possibly the premier multi-sport athlete (basketball, football, lacrosse, track) at his school, he spent the past winter putting up 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game for the Tigers.  </p> <p><strong>Grant Karger, 6-0, G, Bear Creek, 2019:</strong> He was exceptional in helping carry the Bears to the postseason, averaging 13.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.</p> <p><strong>Jackson Lamb, 5-11, PG/SG, Dakota Ridge, 2019:</strong> It was a good senior campaign for Lamb, who averaged 15.2 points a night over his final season with the Eagles.</p> <p><strong>Roger Rosengarten, 6-7, F/C, Valor Christian, 2019:</strong> His play in the paint was critical for the Eagles in 2018-19, and he averaged 15.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 blocks a night.</p> <p><u>An underclassman to watch</u></p> <p><strong>Dylan Carter, 5-8, G, Chatfield, 2021:</strong> Averaging 10.7 points a game, he was the fourth leading scorer on a Chatfield team that spread the ball around effectively. The three seniors ahead of him are graduating so Carter will have some big shoes to fill in 2019-20.</p> <p><u>A quick, way-to-early look to 2019-20</u></p> <p>O’Brien was the primary reason Columbine was able to pull away from a tight back in this past season’s Jeffco and he’ll be back next winter, which gives the Rebels the early edge. O’Brien will have plenty of support in 2019-20, as well, in the form of 2020 grad Justin Lohrenz (8.8 ppg) and 2021 grad Treyvaughn Williams (7.0). Of course, Pomona, Valor Christian and others also have plenty of returning talent so next year’s league title race could be interesting yet again.</p>