Season Recap: Northern League (4A)

<p>The boys' basketball season seemed to pick up and move out in the middle of the night, leaving questions about how things <em>could</em> have ended if not for the advance of the coronavirus in the U.S.</p> <p>It was a gut-punch, but all was not lost. There was still plenty of intrigue throughout the state, lots of new standout players that took their seat at the elite table. It happened. And it's worth looking back.  </p> <p>In this series, we are revisiting league play from around Colorado in the '19-20 season — evaluating a few of its top players and shining moments.  We started with the 5A Front Range League last week, and today we move onto the 4A Northern League.</p> <p><strong>Who won league in '19-20</strong></p> <p>Longmont had its 36-game winning streak inside league play snapped but held on to claim a third straight Northern League crown. Even after the Trojans had to revamp their roster after losing all but two varsity players from its runner-up finish a season ago, longtime coach Jeff Kloster pulled out another award-worthy coaching job in '19-20.</p> <p>His team went 13-1 inside the conference. Silver Creek, which ended the Trojans' unbeaten streak in early February, finished second at 12-2.  Centaurus was 10-4, Niwot — under first-year coach Clay Wittrock — went 8-6, Thompson Valley 6-8, Mountain View 4-10, Greeley Central 2-12 and Northridge 1-13.</p> <p><strong>Five players who shined in the winter</strong></p> <p><strong>Andrew Duquette, 2020, PG/SG, Silver Creek</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_911545" align="alignright" width="300"] Andrew Duquette[/caption] <p>Duquette was the 4A Northern League Player of the Year. His basketball stock should skyrocket this offseason after the kind of '19-20 he had.</p> <p>With a look, the guard is a fascinating mix of uber talent and brains. He pulls off the spectacular, the ‘How did he do that?' variety. Other times, he just takes the easy basket or makes the simple, smart play.</p> <p>Duquette can shoot from deep and spin by you for an easy layup. He's a nightmare if you're a defender, and if not for Silver Creek's seemingly rough landing at the 16 seed in the bracket, he'd likely have been one of the top players at the Denver Coliseum.</p> <p>The Raptors lost to No. 1 Mead in the Sweet 16 on a night Duquette's mastery (17 points on 55 percent shooting) wasn't quite enough.</p> <p><strong>Dallas Dye, 2020, PF, Longmont</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_651301" align="alignright" width="300"] Dallas Dye[/caption] <p>Dye is everything Longmont encompasses — sound technically, not super flashy, does the little things right … Kind of like the Spurs. Or the desired resumé for your next surgeon.</p> <p>Above all, Dye is a lockdown defender and a surehanded scorer. He averaged 14.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in leading Longmont to the Great Eight this past year. Wherever he plays next, they should expect to get a high IQ player who is unselfish and solid in all phases of the game.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="770338" first="Owen" last="Koonce"], 2020, F, Centaurus</strong></p> <p>The 6-5 senior helped lead the Warriors to new heights a year ago when they ran all the way to the 4A Great Eight. This year, they didn't go as far, but perhaps just as impressive was Koonce's ability to lead a young and inexperienced roster into the second round.</p> <p>Koonce averaged 19.2 points per game on 56 percent shooting. He's lethal with his jump shot</p> [caption id="attachment_683408" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="770338" first="Owen" last="Koonce"][/caption] <p>and dangerous when he drives into the paint. His points total soared (1,265 in his career) even though his attempts never did (averaged 13 over 25 games in '19-20). In fact, he put up 17 or more shots just four times —and when he did, he went for 27, 30, 36 and 24.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="965739" first="Eddie" last="Kurjak"], 2021, PF, Longmont</strong></p> <p>For one, you can't teach being 6-foot-8. And Kurjak, well he's 6-8.</p> <p>Beyond that, he's a strong finisher at the glass and is just about the last thing a ballhandler wants to see awaiting him in the lane.</p> <p>The overhead announcer at Longmont games calls Kurjak “Eddie the Eagle”. Probably because he soars above the rim like the majestic bird, but he also dunks over defenders and swats away attempts in the paint.</p> <p>The junior should be among the favorites to win the league's player of the year honors next year as a senior. He finished his junior campaign averaging 14.2 points on 69 percent shooting with 6.6 rebounds and three blocks.</p> [caption id="attachment_939965" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="965739" first="Eddie" last="Kurjak"][/caption] <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="918928" first="Andrew" last="Scott"], 2022, SG/SF, Silver Creek</strong></p> <p>Scott is going to be a star in the conference for the next two seasons — and he could wind up being among the league's top scorers, too.</p> <p>This past year, the sophomore wasn't looked upon to be the leading scorer with league POY Duquette leading the way. Yet here's a taste of what he can do: Dropped 30 on 13-of-19 shooting against Centaurus, then, without Duquette, put up 21 against Longmont in the next game.</p> <p>Give him a few more tries at it and it's a good bet more of those games are on the way.</p> <p><strong>Who made all-conference in '19-20</strong></p> <p><strong>First team</strong></p> [caption id="attachment_911546" align="alignright" width="300"] [player_tooltip player_id="918928" first="Andrew" last="Scott"][/caption] <p>Andrew Duquette, Silver Creek<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="770338" first="Owen" last="Koonce"], Centaurus<br /> Dallas Dye, Longmont<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="965739" first="Eddie" last="Kurjak"], Longmont<br /> Jaromy Morgan, Thompson Valley<br /> Ryan Schneider, Longmont<br /> Cooper Sheldon, Niwot<br /> Alex Hurr, Mountain View<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="918928" first="Andrew" last="Scott"], Silver Creek<br /> Mario Everett, Centaurus</p>