Updated 2017 Colorado Rankings: Breakdown
Today we released a new version of the Prep Hoops Colorado player rankings for the 2017 class. Below we take a closer look at some trends in a class that we are guessing will produce somewhere between 12 to 15…
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Continue ReadingToday we released a new version of the Prep Hoops Colorado player rankings for the 2017 class.
Below we take a closer look at some trends in a class that we are guessing will produce somewhere between 12 to 15 Division I players, but one that has a chance to produce more strong Division II talent than any class from the state in some time.
Point Guard Talent Strong
Today’s point guard is asked to do a lot. Score, defend, distribute and be a team leader, it’s a tall order. But the 2017 class features a handful of players who show strong promise at the position. It starts with defending the Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year in Colbey Ross (No. 2), who has demonstrated since the start of his sophomore year an innate ability to will his team to victory, whether by scoring or getting teammates involved. Jaizec Lottie (No. 4) is as good a distributor as you’ll find regionally, CJ Jennings (No. 6) is involving into a complete player who can score at all three levels and Elijah Blake (No. 10) has the size, speed and athleticism to make D-I schools take notice. And that’s just in the top 10.
The top 20 is filled with players at that position who are likely to earn scholarships playing the sport at some level. Players like David Simental (No. 13), Calvin Fugett Jr. (No. 14), LeChaun Duhart (No. 15), Brevin Brimble (No. 16) all had great arguments for the top 10. This is a fun class to watch at the point guard spot.
Schwartz Stays Firm At No. 1
Though there wasn’t any change in the top five of the class, that doesn’t mean those spots weren’t hotly debated. There were a number of contenders for those spots that could’ve gone either way. In the end, that group ended up where we felt it belonged. One decision that was not difficult was the decision to leave 6-6 Sand Creek small forward D’Shawn Schwartz in the top spot. Schwartz has been playing some of the best basketball of his career over the past several weeks with KC Run GMC on the Under Armour circuit, and there’s no doubt his hunger to get better has only increased as the Division I offers have rolled in.
Debuts In The Rankings
Tre Early, 6-0 guard, Vista PEAK (No. 31)
Will Willis, 6-5 forward, Lutheran (No. 59)
Gunner Rigsby, 5-11 guard, Grand Valley (No. 67)
Peter Chopra, 6-5 forward, Boulder (No. 77)
Keisan Crosby, 5-11 guard, Valor Christian (No. 96)
Austin Anguilm, 5-11 guard, Lutheran (No. 106)