Class 4A Great 8 Preview and Predictions

It's hard to believe, but there are only two weekends left in the 2015-16 Colorado high school basketball season. Went by in flash, didn't it? Still, there are big games with big stakes left on the table. And that is certainly true of the Class 4A Great 8, which commences on Saturday night with four big matchups. Below we take a closer look at the four quarterfinal games and offer our predictions. <strong>Mead (20-5) at Longmont (24-1), 6 p.m.</strong> This is a matchup of two teams who should have strong familiarity with one another. Many of the Mavericks and Titans have spent summers together as teammates with the Colorado Titans. So this game should be an exciting one to watch for Titans director Rick Jimenez, whose program is built on a defensive intensity both of the teams in this game love to employ. Plus, these two teams played in the season opener on Dec. 4, with Longmont winning 52-46, so there won't be too many surprises on either side. It will be interesting to see how Mead chooses to handle the versatile Justinian Jessup, the 6-foot-5 future Boise State Bronco who has perhaps the best ability of any player in the state to affect the game in multiple ways. He handle the ball, post up, run off screens, spot up and do anything else asked of him to help create plays for the Trojans. He had 23 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in the first meeting. Mead could have a player with the athleticism to at least make Jessup work very hard for his opportunities, and that's Walker Korell, a 6-3 unsigned senior guard who is averaging 16.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this year. Korell is one of the state's top unsigned players in the 2016 class, and he continues to evolve into an all-around talent. Both teams also feature great guard play. Michael Ward is a 6-1 rising junior who is a great on-ball defender. He creates a lot of pressure and that has often turned into quick offense for the Mavericks this season. He's joined in the backcourt by James Maher, a steady senior who is strong with the ball and knows how to distribute. Longmont's Kolton Bachman is one of the most improved players in 4A, another unsigned senior who is averaging 13 points per game and has a knack for getting to the basket and collapsing defenses. It's unlikely this will be a high-scoring game. Both teams take good care of the ball and like to work for quality shots. Don't be surprised if this comes down to a few possessions at the end. <strong>Prediction:</strong> Longmont <strong>Windsor (19-6) at Valor Christian (23-2), 7 p.m.</strong> Both of these teams are trying to add to the football state championships their schools won this past fall -- Windsor in 4A, Valor Christian in 5A. Windsor, which features a number of players from that football team, are one of the best long-range shooting teams in the state. It's Wizards' bread-and-butter, and it has allowed them to score in bunches in a hurry. As a team, the Tri-Valley League co-champs have knocked down nearly NINE 3-pointers per game, and they shoot 40 percent from long range overall. Seniors Colton McLean, Jimmy Mitchell and Noah Baldwin have all hit 40 or more shots from behind the arc this season. Will they still be able to find openings on the perimeter against Valor's length? The Eagles have one of the best juniors in the state in 6-5 wing Jalen Sanders, who fills a stat sheet similarly to Longmont's Jessup. He is the team's leading scorer (16.4) and also has the ability to harass on the perimeter. As does 6-4 forward Dylan McCaffrey, a junior who will play quarterback at Michigan and is averaging 10.3 points per game. Valor's length extends to the post, where 6-6 junior Kayle Knuckles (13.8 points, 7.4 rebounds) has been a huge boost for the Eagles with his ability to score efficiently in the post and protect the rim. <strong>Prediction:</strong> Valor Christian <strong>Denver South (19-6) at Pueblo West (22-3), 7 p.m.</strong> South is two games away from returning to the championship game it played in -- and lost -- two years ago. The Rebels rode to that title game behind a hustling, rebounding, shot-blocking force named Ibrahim Sylla, who is now playing at Northern Colorado. This season, South again has a hustling, rebounding, shot-blocking force and he has the Rebels thinking title. Chudier Bile has been a dominant force for South this season. The 6-6 forward scored 23 points and had eight rebounds in South's Sweet 16 rout of Vista PEAK and he hit four 3-pointers. That has been the most notable improvement for one of the best players in 4A. Bile, an unsigned senior still weighing his options, can really knock it down from the outside. South also has other perimeter weapons in Tucker Cargile, Conner Nelson and Jamison Jendrusch, the Rebel point guard who runs the show for one of the classification's most efficient offenses. Still, for all South's firepower, they will still be in for a stiff challenge against a Pueblo West team that hasn't lost since in a month. The Cyclones are led by dynamically talented junior guard David Simental, who is as good as anyone in the state at creating shots from distance, whether that's off his own dribble or working off the ball. Look for lengthy and athletic sophomore Cortney Dean to spend some time on Simental. Unsigned 6-5 senior forward Kenneth Tack (13.5 points per game) provides another great scoring punch for the Cyclones, and his play inside will be vital against Bile. <strong>Prediction:</strong> Denver South <strong>Vista Ridge (19-6) at Lewis-Palmer (24-1), 7 p.m.</strong> If recent history is any indication, this one will certainly be a grind. These two teams have met twice this season. Lewis-Palmer won both, but they didn't come easy. The Mustangs won the first meeting in a slugfest, 39-36 on Jan. 8. Hunter Maldonado, a 6-5 wing who is a top-10 player in the 2017 class, scored a game-high 16 points, but 13 turnovers in a one-possession game doomed the Mustangs. The pace picked up in the second meeting, with Lewis-Palmer using a 46-point second half to emerge with a 79-69 win. Maldonado was nearly unstoppable, scoring 27 points and hitting 4-of-9 3-pointers. The Rangers have allowed Maldonado to get his while limiting other players. That could put a big spotlight on 5-10 junior guard Noah Beatty, who played well in Ridge's first two victories of the postseason. Lewis-Palmer, led by the strong and long senior trio of  6-4 Jonathan Scott (17.9 points per game), 6-4 Charlie Hovasse (13.2) and 6-5 Joe Decoud (9.6), hasn't lost since its second game of the season, a 63-59 loss to Pueblo South on Dec. 3. That's three months without a loss. Sounds like some serious momentum. <strong>Prediction:</strong> Lewis-Palmer &nbsp;