New Colorado 2017 Player Rankings
We continue the unveiling of our Prep Hoops Colorado player rankings today with the debut of our new 2017 class list.
We spent hours poring over this very talented class, discussing evaluations of each player on the list, examining statistics and comparing them all as we went down spot by spot.
There were several big jumps in the class, including a new entrance into the top three, and multiple new entries into the top 10.
Putting together this list has us thrilled for the spring AAU season, when these players will represent the 17U squads of some outstanding club teams in Colorado, many of them debuting at our Spring Kickoff from April 8-10 at Legacy and Thornton High Schools. The entire list proved difficult to put together, but that was especially true of the talent within the top 10.
A few reminders: These lists evolve. Don’t like your spot? Use at as fuel. Also, if you dropped a couple spots, it doesn’t mean your game declined. It simply means another player made a big jump. The simple math of rankings suggests that not everyone can rise.
A quick breakdown of the top five:
1. D’Shawn Schwartz. The strong, versatile 6-6 swingman has attracted a wealth of high-major Division I attention, in large part because of his talent to affect the game in so many ways.
2. Colbey Ross. The 6-foot point guard has been perhaps the state’s top floor general this season, leading Eaglecrest to an 18-1 mark. He’s greatly enhanced his long-range shooting ability and has become a stout defender. Ross is also the kind of leader who will inject life into a program.
3. Braxton Bertolette. The 6-2 Fossil Ridge sharpshooter is the leading scorer in Class 5A this season at better than 24 points per game. Few players in the state have had a bigger rise this season than Bertolette, who has proven that he is an elite level shooter, thus garnering Power 5 Conference attention.
4. Jaizec Lottie. A true point guard, Lottie has also made huge strides from his sophomore season, averaging better than 16 points per game for top-10 Cherokee Trail, efficiently running the team in every facet. His athleticism, vision and poise give him a high ceiling.
5. Jalen Sanders. The 6-5 Valor Christian standout is one of the state’s best two-way players. He has great length and athleticism he uses to swarm on the defensive end and create opportunities for himself and others on offense.
Subscribers, check out the rest of the 2017 class below.
Prep Hoops Colorado 2017 Rankings