Cherry Creek Holiday Classic Tournament: Preview

With the holiday season approaching we take a look into one of the top tournaments going this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The Cherry Creek Holiday Classic Tournament hosted at Cherry Creek High School will get underway tomorrow afternoon with some of the top teams in the state competing in it. Below we will outline the schedule as well as some of the top names for each team to be on the lookout for. Here is a list of the teams participating in the tournament this year: Cherry Creek, Vista Ridge, Legend, Lincoln, Cherokee Trail, Fairview, Mountain Vista, and Thomas Jefferson. Thursday's Games: 3:00 - Mountain Vista Vs. Thomas Jefferson 4:30 - Cherokee Trail Vs. Fairview 6:00 - Legend Vs. Lincoln 7:30 - Cherry Creek Vs. Vista Ridge Players on each team to be on the lookout for: Mountain Vista (3-1) - Senior, Reece Kelly leads the way for Mountain Vista this year, he is averaging 18.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 2.3 APG. He leads the team in three point attempts, shooting (9/22) for forty-one percent during four games. Ben Bowen, a junior, is second on the team in scoring through four games, averaging 13.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.0 APG. Both of these guards do a great job of making teams pay from the foul-line, Kelly is (25/30) for eighty-three percent and Bowen is (19/23) for eighty-three percent as well and as a team they shoot eighty-five percent from the line. Mountain Vista also has a number of different player who contribute on a nightly basis. Thomas Jefferson (3-2) - TJ is led by senior guard, Darius Hornbuckle who is averaging 19.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.8 APG through five games for the spartans. He is shooting forty-eight percent from three-point range so far on the season. Junior, Ryan Moe joins him in the backcourt, he is averaging: 7.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 2.4 SPG. Ryan is a smart guard with only six turnovers on the season so far and does a nice job hitting the open shot. Another bright spot for TJ so far this season has been the play of sophomore, Said Mobasher who is averaging, 8.4 PPG. Cherokee Trail (1-4) - CT is a senior led team that goes as Tre Titus and Isaac Tesfaye allow. They are currently averaging just under forty points a game. Tre has been off to a hot start to the season, he is a guard that can create from all three levels on offense. He is (15/33) for forty-five percent from three-point range so far on the season, his 20.2 PPG leads the team. Isaac is right behind, averaging 19.3 PPG and a team leading 7.5 RPG. At 6'6, he does most of his damage in the paint and around the rim, but he also has a great mid-range game. CT has also got strong play out of junior, Jermaine Vincent II, who is averaging: 9.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.4 APG. Fairview (4-2) - The Knights have a number of different players who can have a big impact on any given night. They have four players averaging double-digits in scoring so far, led behind junior Greysen Carter at 16.2 PPG and Mark O'Neil who has only played in three of the games but is putting up 14.3 PPG. Jalen Page, is averaging 11.4 PPG and TJ Williams is in double-digits averaging 11.2 PPG so far for the Knights. Fairview has played a tough schedule so far with their two losses coming against Overland and Eagelcrest. They were however able to beat Chaparral on the road to open up their season. Legend (5-1) - Legend is led by senior guard Cam Le Van who is currently averaging 15 points per game for them in three games. The Titans also have two solid juniors in Tanner Lamb and Garrett Siebert who are both averaging double-digits in scoring for them. Tanner is shooting over fifty percent from three-point range so far on the year, connecting on (17/32) attempts. Garrett has good size at 6'6 and is able to stretch the floor, but he does the majority of his damage from inside the paint. Lincoln (3-3) - Lincoln is led by their two star seniors in Tijani Bamba and Ty Foster who combine for more than thirty-five points a game for Lincoln. Ty is a dynamic guard that does just about everything on the floor. He is currently averaging: 15.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 4.3 SPG. He leads the team in rebounding and is able to push the pace as soon as he grabs the board, he's a downhill attacking guard that is crafty around the rim. He is also one of the top defensive guards in the state and allows pressure on the ball nonstop. TJ is averaging: 23.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG, the Washington State University signee can impact the game in many ways. Cherry Creek (3-2) - The Bruins just returned a large part of their roster from the football team who is coming off a championship less than two weeks ago. Cherry Creek has a talented backcourt in, Myles Purchase, Julian Hammond, and Sebastian Cole but they also have a number of different players around them that can impact the game. Senior, Thomas Hawley has been a bright spot for the Bruins so far, he is averaging 12 points a game. He also leads the team in made three-pointers so far this season. Chance Hausman, also has the opportunity to have a major impact for the Bruins this year, he is leading the team in rebounding at nine boards a game, and is currently averaging 6.4 PPG. He has a good sense for the game and is able to knock down the mid and long range shot. Arden Walker and Gunnar Helm are the other big men for the Bruins who will surely have an impact for them this year. Vista Ridge (2-4) - Vista Ridge is led by seniors, Trey Fowler who is averaging 14.7 PPG and 9.5 RPG as well as Jabez Hasberry who is averaging: 10.3 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.7 SPG. Vista Ridge has a young roster with seven underclassman on it, six sophomores and one freshmen, all of whom see minutes. Sophomore, Caden Monson is averaging 7.2 PPG while shooting forty-one percent from three-point range. Andrew Johnson is another sophomore who is impacting the game for Vista Ridge, he is averaging: 6.5 PPG and 2.8 APG while also shooting over forty percent from long distance. It will be fun to see how this team grows throughout the year.