Games of the Week: Week 5

Another slate of games where we pick the best games of the week. This is another week that matters as some teams are in conference but also some are trying to pick up those wins before they end their out of conference play. Here is who I picked as games of the week for their respective days. Monday Golden v. George Washington The Patriots began the season as a top-10 team with plenty of interesting underclassmen ready to take on a bigger role, but have hit a wall as of late. The Patriots have lost three straight games and are desperately looking to avoid four and it starts with getting their offense back flowing. The Patriots are now only at 50 points a game with their leading scorer Kendale Johnson averaging 12.2 points a game. Last season he was at 18.8 so he will have to get back in the flow. Junior guard Jarmell Johnson is at 10 points a game but is really a versatile scoring threat that is capable of exploding for big games every now and then. He will have to find a rhythm with scoring and attacking that he has not done in a few games to give the Patriots a chance. With X-factors in Eddie McPhee, Kijuan Thompson, and Garrett Brown this is a team that should pull it together and gets back to what they know and that is winning. Golden, on the other hand, is off to a great start at 8-3 on the season and are in the top-5 for 4A with a few key wins and their losses they do have are against good teams. The Demons are a well-coached and faster-paced team that have a two-headed scoring threat in Kevin Mulligan (12.2 ppg) and Alan Acevedo (12.1 ppg) that can pour it on but also have role players that understand how to win. Ben McLaughlin is a player you have to watch and Nathan Wiggins is a forward that can score and bang inside. Whoever’s role players step up most in this game will win the game but expect a close one. Tuesday Horizon v. Fairview I really wanted to go with Mead versus Frederick for the game of the day but when looking deeper into it the game of the day will be Fairview versus Horizon because while we know that Fairview is a very good team, we get to see just how good this Horizon team is as they are making some noise this season. Fairview is led by Greysen Carter who remains one of the biggest surprises on the season at 19.2 points and 5.8 rebounds and he literally does it all. He posts up smaller defenders, has nice shooting range and also gets inside to score but also have a true point guard in Mark O’Neill (11.0 ppg & 4.0 apg) that gets the team going and everyone involved an inside presence in Jalen Page who is at 12.3 points a game and also controls the boards and also underclassmen such as TJ Williams and Grant Page who are swiss army knives and do the little things. This is a team that understands how to win close games and has senior leadership to close teams out. Horizon is a more balanced team where they take the hot hand approach. Sophomore standout forward Brock Wisne is averaging a double-double of 16.6 points and 10.6 rebounds a game and having a dominant big with the size and skill to also put the ball on the floor and shoot the ball when needed make them a difficult team to prepare for as he is surrounded by players that can impact the game in various ways. Senior guard Daric Conkright(13.9 ppg) is a bucket, Xavier Harris is a crafty guard that can score in bunches and there are X-factors in Tabor Robison, Ambrose Montano and Coby Jiminez that are capable of giving good minutes and are capable of changing the game at any moment as well. This is a younger team that still has room to grow but they are ready to prove that they belong right now. Wednesday Arapahoe v. Eaglecrest Arapahoe is a team that is led by Korey Hess(17.8 ppg) and Bryson Stephens(19.4 ppg) as a dynamic duo but will have to find some help from others if they plan on competing in unarguably the most difficult conference in the state. Both of those players are capable of big games and we will see some but with the focus and game-plan being to slow those two down Derik Pranger, Ben Yagey and Jackson Adams must step up or they will continue to lose against these very good teams. Not saying to get out of their comfort zone but by starring in their role and providing some assistance will go a long way. Eaglecrest has put it all together and shown that they are one of the top-3 teams in the state. They are battle-tested, they can blow a team out and they can get up and down with the best of them and it all starts with their point guard Zion Ruckard. Ruckard has been one of the best guards in the state to begin the season at 17.9 points and 5.9 assists a game. He’s used his speed to get by players and also knock down shots as well. Junior wing Skylar Wilson has come on as he has been shooting the ball well and he also has the size to get inside and finish over players as well and Ty Robinson seems to be in a groove as he has been dunking over whoever is in the way as well as hitting his jump shot as well. Adrian Price is a player to know as he has been great to begin the season as the man in the middle. This is a group that is truly a contender and this is another game that they could prove it. Thursday Pine Creek v. Pueblo West Peyton Westfall, Kenny Pham, and Kedarian Maul are the names to know for Pine Creek and this is a team that quietly has put together an impressive start to the season. They are at 8-1 on the season with Westfall putting up 13.8 points, Pham is at 8.8 and is able to get going at any time and Maul is the man in the middle. This is a game that they will be tested and have to prove that they are a solid team no matter who they are up against. Pueblo West is a team with one of my personal favorite players in the state in Taylor Harris who is putting up an impressive 16.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists a game to lead the way and also have senior guard Jimmy Wardle who is putting up 13.3 points a game. They are going to give Pine Creek all that they could handle and this will be a solid guard battle where whoever’s big man stands out wins the game. Friday University v. Resurrection Christian This is a 3A matchup between two teams that are on a warpath. Let’s get it out of the way quickly, Resurrection Christian is the top team in 3A after defeating Lutheran a couple of weeks back and from seeing it live in person –they are good. They are led by two Seniors who play the right way and are bought in on both ends of the floor in Reece Johnson (18.4 ppg) and Isaac Jessup (16.6 ppg) who are elite two-way players and one of the best backcourt duos in the entire state but they also have players such as Jackson Romero who is one of the better point guards in 3A and controls the tempo of the team, Jude Howell who provides the spacing and defensive identity and Ethan Reeser and Drew Bobo who do all of the little things that make other players better. This is a team that will continue to win games as they are an unselfish bunch that plays for one another. University is 8-1 on the season and has gone a bit under the radar as a high scoring bunch that has a few blowout wins and some nail-biters, not really many in-betweens. They are a dangerous offensive bunch led by sophomore sensation Tayt Chacon who is an elite athlete that can get to the rim and score with ease but also shoots the ball exceptionally well. He is moving up into one of the top sophomores in the entire state and by the start of next season can easily be a top-15 player. Senior guard Jaden Humphrey is also in a unique rhythm and shooting 49% from the field as a two-way athlete that can explode at any given moment on offense and Andre Chacon is their senior leader and player who can calm the tide when the young players are sped up. This is a game that University can prove that they belong to be in the conversation. They do not even have to but going toe-to-toe with the top team in the state will prove doubters wrong.