Preseason boys basketball rankings announced to kick off 2015-16 season
Overland, Longmont, Colorado Springs Christian, Sanford and Fleming lead CHSAANow.com’s preseason 2015-16 boys basketball rankings.
Of the group, Overland, Colorado Springs Christian and Sanford won championships last season. Longmont and Fleming finished as a runner-up.
Overland was the lone unanimous selection as the No. 1 team, and the Trailblazers lead the Class 5A poll with all 15 first-place votes. They return probably the top player in the state in senior De’Ron Davis, who recently committed to Indiana.
Overland went 23-5 last season in winning 5A over ThunderRidge. Davis was the 5A player of the year last season.
Behind Overland is Legend, a team which reached the Great 8 last season. The Titans return their top six scorers, who were all juniors last season.
In the preseason No. 3 spot, by the narrowest of margins, is ThunderRidge. Last season’s runner-up, who spent a significant time in the No. 1 5A spot during the regular season, figure to be led by Wyoming commit Austin Mueller.
George Washington is No. 4, and Rangeview rounds out the top-5. Regis Jesuit, Denver East, Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest and Dakota Ridge comprise the rest of the 5A preseason top-10.
In 4A, Longmont received 14 of the 19 first-place votes to lead that classification’s preseason ranking. The Trojans return reigning 4A player of the year Justinian Jessup, a Boise State commit.
Valor Christian, under the guidance of new coach Troy Pachner, is second, and got two first-place votes. Lewis-Palmer also received a first-place vote, and is third. Pueblo Central, and it’s two Division I commits, is No. 4. Golden rounds out the top-5.
Defending champion Air Academy received two first-place votes and is No. 7 to begin the year.
Colorado Springs Christian leads the 3A ranking with nine of the 13 first-place votes. Colorado Academy and Harvard commit Justin Bassey, the reigning 3A player of the year, are second with four first-place votes.
In 2A, defending champion Sanford leads the way with nine of the 10 first-place votes. Their roster includes reigning 2A player of the year Miles Caldon. Resurrection Christian, runner-up a season ago, is second, and got the other first-place vote.
The 1A preseason poll is led by Fleming, which received six first-place votes. Defending champion Holly is second, and received two first-place votes.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Complete rankings 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.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
| Class 5A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS |
| 1 | Overland (15) | 0-0 | 150 |
| 2 | Legend | 0-0 | 114 |
| 3 | ThunderRidge | 0-0 | 113 |
| 4 | George Washington | 0-0 | 87 |
| 5 | Rangeview | 0-0 | 75 |
| 6 | Regis Jesuit | 0-0 | 62 |
| 7 | Denver East | 0-0 | 44 |
| 8 | Cherokee Trail | 0-0 | 43 |
| 9 | Eaglecrest | 0-0 | 28 |
| 10 | Dakota Ridge | 0-0 | 20 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Rampart 13, Fossil Ridge 12, Mountain Vista 12, Rock Canyon 12, Arvada West 11, Boulder 8, Doherty 8, Cherry Creek 5, Abraham Lincoln 3, Aurora Central 3, Greeley West 1, FNE Warriors 1. | |||
| Class 4A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS |
| 1 | Longmont (14) | 0-0 | 185 |
| 2 | Valor Christian (2) | 0-0 | 135 |
| 3 | Lewis-Palmer (1) | 0-0 | 128 |
| 4 | Pueblo Central | 0-0 | 90 |
| 5 | Golden | 0-0 | 65 |
| 6 | Sand Creek | 0-0 | 64 |
| 7 | Air Academy (2) | 0-0 | 58 |
| 8 | Denver South | 0-0 | 47 |
| 9 | Pueblo West | 0-0 | 46 |
| 10 | Pueblo South | 0-0 | 38 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Sierra 30, Windsor 30, Thomas Jefferson 27, D’Evelyn 26, Holy Family 19, Mead 17, Vista Ridge 8, Evergreen 7, Vista Peak 7, Cheyenne Mountain 5, Ponderosa 4, Pueblo East 3, Mesa Ridge 2, Mountain View 2, Durango 1, Falcon 1, Green Mountain 1. | |||
| Class 3A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS |
| 1 | Colorado Springs Christian (9) | 0-0 | 126 |
| 2 | Colorado Academy (4) | 0-0 | 111 |
| 3 | Faith Christian | 0-0 | 88 |
| 4 | Sterling | 0-0 | 49 |
| 5 | Alamosa | 0-0 | 47 |
| 6 | Kent Denver | 0-0 | 44 |
| 7 | Jefferson Academy | 0-0 | 40 |
| 8 | Lutheran | 0-0 | 38 |
| 9 | St. Mary’s | 0-0 | 36 |
| 10 | Brush | 0-0 | 34 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Pagosa Springs 15, Bayfield 14, The Pinnacle 12, Bennett 10, Buena Vista 10, Eaton 9, Machebeuf 9, Manitou Springs 8, Grand Valley 5, Manual 5, Moffat County 5. | |||
| Class 2A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS |
| 1 | Sanford (9) | 0-0 | 99 |
| 2 | Resurrection Christian (1) | 0-0 | 90 |
| 3 | Ignacio | 0-0 | 79 |
| 4 | Rye | 0-0 | 52 |
| 5 | Holyoke | 0-0 | 44 |
| 6 | Burlington | 0-0 | 41 |
| 7 | Meeker | 0-0 | 36 |
| 8 | Sedgwick County | 0-0 | 31 |
| 9 | Simla | 0-0 | 22 |
| 10 | Paonia | 0-0 | 14 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Akron 9, Highland 7, Rocky Ford 5, Merino 4, Yuma 4, Center 3, Crowley County 3, Swink 3, Ellicott 2, Mancos 1, Peyton 1. | |||
| Class 1A | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RK | TEAM | W-L | PTS |
| 1 | Fleming (6) | 0-0 | 74 |
| 2 | Holly (2) | 0-0 | 68 |
| 3 | Sangre De Cristo | 0-0 | 48 |
| 4 | Kit Carson | 0-0 | 43 |
| 5 | South Baca | 0-0 | 42 |
| 6 | Ouray | 0-0 | 32 |
| 7 | Arickaree/Woodlin | 0-0 | 24 |
| 8 | Norwood | 0-0 | 16 |
| 9 | Heritage Christian | 0-0 | 12 |
| 10 | Jim Elliot | 0-0 | 11 |
| Others receiving votes: | |||
| Denver Waldorf 10, Granada 10, Primero 10, Shining Mountain 8, Wiley 8, Genoa-Hugo/Karval 6, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 6, Sierra Grande 6, Springfield 6, Prairie 4. | |||
