Season Recap: Tri-Valley League (5A/4A)

<p>The boys’ basketball season in Colorado didn’t end on the court or with a champion — it ended late at night when the state’s athletic body cancelled the remainder of the tournaments due to the spread of the coronavirus.</p> <p><em>Not the satisfying end anyone desired. </em></p> <p>But in a period where it feels like your favorite show just got cancelled in favor of Netflix’s latest roll out of characters who shouldn’t be allowed in society, there was still plenty to look back on from the 2019-20 season. </p> <p>So, let’s continue our flashback to league play, and the players and moments that made up a season that won’t soon be forgotten. Since we already touched on the 5A Front Range League and the 4A Northern League, today we’ll hit the 5A/4A Tri-Valley League.</p> <p><strong>Who won league in ’19-20</strong></p> <p>Mead’s dominant run through the season included a perfect league record and a trip to the 4A Final Four before things were shut down.</p> <p>Windsor and Skyline finished second in the standings, both four games back of the Mavs at 12-4. Erie was 11-5 followed by Frederick (8-8), Holy Family (6-10), Berthoud (4-12), Roosevelt (2-14) and Fort Morgan (1-15).</p> <p><strong>Five players who shined in league in ’19-20</strong></p> <p><strong>Joe Cartelli, 2020, G, Frederick</strong></p> <p>Cartelli seems undervalued, even at No. 61 on the Prep Hoops top 100 rankings of seniors in the state. The sure-handed guard has a little Chris Paul-playmaker in him, a little Kemba Walker finding his own shot. Perhaps his best ability for the Warriors, though, may have been his leadership, helping lift a program that won just a single game two years ago into a 14-10 squad as a senior.</p> <p><strong>Garrett Green, 2020, F/G, Holy Family</strong></p> <p>Green averaged 18.9 points, best among the league, and helped lead the Tigers to the second round of the postseason alongside veteran point guard [player_tooltip player_id="915319" first="Dominic" last="Nellis"]. The senior came into the season known for his top-tier defensive abilities but proved a multi-faceted scorer quickly. He was unranked on the latest 2020 Prep Hoops list. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="916987" first="Ben" last="Hageman"], 2021, PF, Windsor</strong></p> <p>The 6-3 forward was sensational in his junior season, averaging 15.9 points on 58 percent shooting and 8.1 rebounds. He saw a steady increase in production and efficiency coming off an eyebrow-raising sophomore campaign, where he scored 11.7 points on 54 percent shooting with five boards. Hageman is currently ranked 32^nd among juniors in the state by Prep Hoops.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="915339" first="Will" last="Maher"], 2020, G, Mead</strong></p> <p>As far as a pure marksman …? Name a better one from the ’19-20 season in Colorado. Maher shot 55 percent from 3-point range, hitting 73 of his 133 attempts. The mark put him 11^th in state history among players with at least 40 attempts and his 133 attempts were more than any of the 10 players ahead of him. On top of that, the senior is an excellent decision maker with the ball in his hands. Even in the mad rush that seemed to be the Mavs’ offense, he was calm, showed high IQ and strong vision. He is ranked 78^th on the Prep Hoops 2020 list.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="915302" first="Trey" last="Ward"], 2020, G, Mead</strong></p> <p>The time it takes Ward to go from the ground to hanging off the rim is a wonder. College coaches would’ve hated it, but a recruiting highlight reel of him hanging on the rim over defenders could have been feature length. (He is playing football for Colorado State-Pueblo next year). Anyway, Ward was the emotional force behind the Mavericks’ run to near gold. Leaping, dunking, diving, he did whatever it took to put his team in winning spots. His coach, Darin Reese, said Ward “impacted the game in every way possible and was our top playmaker.” Ward is ranked 36^th on the PH 2020 list.</p> <p><strong>Who was all-conference in ’19-20</strong></p> <p><strong>First team</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="915339" first="Will" last="Maher"], Mead<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="916987" first="Ben" last="Hageman"], Windsor<br /> Garrett Green, Holy Family<br /> Austin Robison, Skyline<br /> Joe Cartelli, Frederick<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="915302" first="Trey" last="Ward"], Mead<br /> LaDorian Havard, Erie<br /> Gage Robertson, Skyline<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="915380" first="Nick" last="Jacobs"], Mead<br /> Jacob Bartholomew, Mead<br /> Lance McGinnis, Windsor</p>