Denver East leads preseason 5A boys basketball poll
Denver East, Valor Christian, Holy Family, Sanford and Caliche are the preseason boys basketball favorites in their respective classifications.
Those teams were the No. 1 picks in the 5A through 1A CHSAANow.com rankings released Monday morning.
Denver East received 19 of 20 first-place votes in the 5A poll. The Angels return their top five scorers from last season’s runner-up squad, including University of Colorado commit Dominique Collier and his 20.1 points per game.
Overland is No. 2 in the 5A ranking, and is following by defending champion Eaglecrest at No. 3. Highlands Ranch is fourth, and Rangeview rounds out the top 5.
Fossil Ridge is sixth in the 5A poll, Regis Jesuit is seventh, Mountain Vista is eighth, Chaparral is ninth and Legend is tenth. Monarch narrowly missed the top-10.
A total of 23 teams appeared on preseason ballots in the 5A ranking.
Another runner-up from a season ago, Valor Christian, heads the 4A preseason ranking. The Eagles return their top eight scorers from last season. That includes Chase Foster, who averaged 20.0 points per game last season.
Pueblo East is second in the 4A ranking, and is followed by No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain, No. 4 Denver South and No. 5 Thomas Jefferson. Two-time defending champion Lewis-Palmer is ranked 10th to begin the 2013-14 season.
Holy Family heads the 3A poll, though No. 2 Brush received an equal amount of first-place votes (five). The Tigers reached the Great 8 last season.
Defending 3A champion Pagosa Springs is unranked to begin the year.
In 2A, Sanford is the No. 1 pick. The Indians reached the Final 4 last season. Denver Christian, last season’s champion, is ranked third.
Caliche heads the preseason 1A poll. The Buffaloes were in last season’s semifinals. Defending champion McClave is ranked fifth.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
| Class 5A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | ||
| 1 | Denver East (19) | 0-0 | 199 | ||
| 2 | Overland | 0-0 | 148 | ||
| 3 | Eaglecrest (1) | 0-0 | 106 | ||
| 4 | Highlands Ranch | 0-0 | 100 | ||
| 5 | Rangeview | 0-0 | 87 | ||
| 6 | Fossil Ridge | 0-0 | 79 | ||
| 7 | Regis Jesuit | 0-0 | 72 | ||
| 8 | Mountain Vista | 0-0 | 52 | ||
| 9 | Chaparral | 0-0 | 51 | ||
| 10 | Legend | 0-0 | 44 | ||
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Monarch 41, Chatfield 22, Fort Collins 19, Cherokee Trail 17, ThunderRidge 11, Montbello 10, Abraham Lincoln 9, Grandview 9, Fairview 7, Cherry Creek 6, Dakota Ridge 5, Grand Junction 5, Arapahoe 1. | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | ||
| 1 | Valor Christian (12) | 0-0 | 151 | ||
| 2 | Pueblo East | 0-0 | 101 | ||
| 3 | Cheyenne Mountain (2) | 0-0 | 100 | ||
| 4 | Denver South (1) | 0-0 | 87 | ||
| 5 | Thomas Jefferson | 0-0 | 84 | ||
| 6 | D’Evelyn | 0-0 | 63 | ||
| 7 | Longmont | 0-0 | 59 | ||
| 8 | Thompson Valley | 0-0 | 58 | ||
| 9 | Sand Creek (1) | 0-0 | 48 | ||
| 10 | Lewis-Palmer | 0-0 | 32 | ||
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Broomfield 25, Falcon 13, Ponderosa 9, Windsor 9, Mesa Ridge 8, Elizabeth 6, Sierra 5, Durango 4, Frederick 4, Pueblo West 4, Greeley Central 3, Pueblo South 3, Green Mountain 1, Kennedy 1, Palisade 1, Widefield 1. | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | ||
| 1 | Holy Family (5) | 0-0 | 100 | ||
| 2 | Brush (5) | 0-0 | 85 | ||
| 3 | Colorado Academy (1) | 0-0 | 84 | ||
| 4 | Faith Christian | 0-0 | 66 | ||
| 5 | Colorado Springs Christian | 0-0 | 54 | ||
| 6 | Kent Denver | 0-0 | 32 | ||
| 7 | Moffat County | 0-0 | 31 | ||
| 8 | Eaton | 0-0 | 28 | ||
| 9 | Jefferson Academy | 0-0 | 27 | ||
| 10 | Aspen | 0-1 | 21 | ||
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Sterling 14, Denver Science & Tech 12, Manitou Springs 12, Pagosa Springs 12, The Pinnacle 12, Bishop Machebeuf 5, Centauri 5, Fort Lupton 2, Alamosa 1, Frontier Academy 1, Roaring Fork 1. | |||||
| Class 2A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | ||
| 1 | Sanford (8) | 0-0 | 130 | ||
| 2 | Lutheran (1) | 0-0 | 124 | ||
| 3 | Denver Christian (3) | 0-0 | 110 | ||
| 4 | Resurrection Christian (1) | 0-0 | 77 | ||
| 5 | Yuma (1) | 0-0 | 74 | ||
| 6 | Ignacio | 0-0 | 69 | ||
| 7 | Akron (1) | 0-0 | 59 | ||
| 8 | Limon | 0-0 | 50 | ||
| 9 | Simla | 0-0 | 34 | ||
| 10 | Swink | 0-0 | 30 | ||
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Peyton 18, Paonia 9, Crowley County 6, Rocky Ford 6, Meeker 5, Rye 5, Byers 4, Hayden 4, Sierra Grande 4, Haxtun 3, Heritage Christian 3, Sangre de Cristo 1. | |||||
| Class 1A | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS | ||
| 1 | Caliche (3) | 0-0 | 48 | ||
| 2 | Hi-Plains (1) | 0-0 | 39 | ||
| 3 | Norwood | 0-0 | 34 | ||
| 4 | Shining Mountain | 0-0 | 30 | ||
| 5 | McClave (2) | 0-0 | 26 | ||
| 6 | Holly | 0-0 | 25 | ||
| 7 | Fleming | 0-0 | 23 | ||
| 8 | Vail Christian | 0-0 | 22 | ||
| 9 | Otis | 0-0 | 19 | ||
| 10 | Granada | 0-0 | 18 | ||
| Others receiving votes: | |||||
| Prairie 8, Denver Jewish Day 6, Pawnee 6, Elbert 5, Primero 5, Jim Elliot Christian 4, La Veta 4, Bethune 3, Stratton 3, Deer Trail 2. | |||||
