The most popular story line at the beginning of Class 5A 2006-07 boys basketball was the following: None of us was to be overly surprised which program would be crowned champion in Boulder on March 10.
It still stands.
If play that began Nov. 30 has shown anything, it’s that a sure thing isn’t there, including Aurora Central, which is entering its third consecutive big-school postseason bracket undefeated and determined to dispel charges of a lighter Skyline League schedule as the bane of its existence.
Overall parity and mediocrity, a thinner senior class and younger players still figuring out the varsity level will do that.
Two of the more intriguing stories heading into today’s elimination rounds involve Montbello, a once- proud city program climbing out of the depths of mediocrity, and ThunderRidge, a suburban power seeking to maintain its prowess under completely different circumstances.
Montbello, which competes in the Denver Prep League and teamed with the Colorado Springs Metro to easily have the most depth among eight big-school leagues, may be on the verge of revisiting its glory days, which started when the Warriors created a city program in what used to be a stand-alone suburban area in the 1980s, turned out teams serious about contending for more than a decade and struck fear in opponents with an array of spit and polish.
This is a team that previously suited stars such as Craig Jackson and Tremayne Anchrum, and it was a given the Warriors were overwhelming on defense, rebounding and getting into transition.
“That’s my recollection of it,” said Warriors coach David Carey, a versatile all-state guard at Manual and East in the early 1990s. “You had to bring your ‘A’ game when you played them, and they were mentally tough.”
Not coincidentally, two of Carey’s assistants, Ron Bush and Nate Nelson, are former Warriors who were there at Montbello’s beginning.
“It’s something we focus on. We constantly remind the kids of the history and they’re starting to embrace it,” Carey said.
Montbello said hello to some of it the past weekend, when it turned in its best performance under Carey, an 82-79 double-overtime victory over perennial city power East, which is coached by Carey’s father, Rudy. It gave the Warriors their first piece of a city title – they tied with East and 4A Abraham Lincoln – in 16 long years.
“It was important to the school and the community,” Carey said.
He’s adamant. A fallout in the early 1990s sparked a wave of new coaches. Assorted area talent opted for other schools. Generally, Montbello was listless, disorganized and badly in need of someone in firm command.
Consider the Sweet 16 appearance in Carey’s debut season in 2005-06 as the proverbial statement, ditto for the share of the beloved city crown, which remains a measure of status within Denver.
With team members gradually accepting their roles, Anthony Porch (bound for the University of Denver), Quincy Hairston, David Jordan, Josh Littlejohn, and Nate Nelson Jr., who led a final-week sweep of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and East, realize looking beyond immediate surroundings isn’t a reach.
“We’ve got a bigger goal,” Carey said.
So does ThunderRidge, which has been quite the opposite, having won two championships in a row and played in three consecutive finals earlier in the decade, and made the quarterfinals in six of the past seven seasons (the Grizzlies fell in the 2005-06 Sweet 16).
Even as a beginning 4A program over two years, ThunderRidge won a league title.
“We haven’t had a terrible year,” coach Joe Ortiz said. “Hopefully, we won’t.”
However, this isn’t a program that can sneak up on the big boys as it did in 2001-02. The Grizzlies entered the season without anyone resembling a star and were as inexperienced as they have been – their only returning starter was Zach Tiedgen, a forward who had been a sophomore role player.
“We’ve been different,” Ortiz said.
Good things have included enough athleticism and savvy for another Continental crown (19-4 overall), various degrees of versatility and size, and upholding a tradition that set like Readymix; the not-so-good has been an overall lack of speed and, foremost, firepower.
Ortiz continues to wonder about his eight-man rotation: “Who is the scorer?”
To date, it has been by committee, sort of a take-your-turn thing within the flow of various tempos, most of them slower.
“We knew we were unknown,” Ortiz said.
Like everyone else in the 5A bracket.
On tap
BASKETBALL
BOYS 5A-1A POSTSEASON
Hot, cold Bruins bear watching
Elimination basketball is here. Save for a few district situations on lower levels for seeding into regional rounds, it’s one loss and done for the season. The state’s 5A-4A levels will go through two rounds by Saturday; 3A, which will have district play into the weekend, will announce its 32-team bracket Sunday; 2A-1A will complete district play by Saturday, then be placed Sunday into regionals. Of the most interesting early rounds, Cherry Creek (senior Taylor Montgomery), which has been up and down in recent outings, will host tonight’s Dakota Ridge-Gateway winner (7 p.m.) in Greenwood Village on Saturday, 7 p.m., in 5A’s second round.
GIRLS 5A-1A POSTSEASON
Powers poised for progression
There will be plenty of girl power on display. Under the same postseason implementation as boys, take your pick from either of the following in early rounds locally: Regis, top-seeded in its first year in 5A after finishing second in 4A by a point in 2006, will host the Rampart in Aurora on Friday, 7 p.m.; defending 4A champion Mullen will welcome Pueblo South at the same date and time. Qualification for the 3A tournament should prove academic for the likes of a top-heavy Metropolitan League as well as Cedaredge, Colorado Springs Christian and Roosevelt; 2A-1A heavyweights, such as Sangre de Cristo and Eads, respectively, head lower district-qualifying levels.
ICE HOCKEY
FROZEN FOUR
Cheyenne Mountain in familiar role
With girls swimming, boys and girls skiing, and wrestling turning last weekend into a whirlwind of championships, it’s ice hockey’s turn this weekend at the Denver Coliseum, which will have its first pucks action since the 1970s. Friday’s semifinal winners of Ralston Valley-Cheyenne Mountain (Alex Lofthus), 5 p.m., and Aspen-Air Academy, 7:30 p.m., will return for the Saturday finale at 5 p.m. Of note, Cheyenne Mountain’s Indians have won 14 championships since the sport was sanctioned in 1976.
SPRING
THIRD OF THREE SEASONS
Spring has sprung
In case you missed it Tuesday, and it was easy because most hopefuls had to stay indoors, Colorado’s seven spring sports officially began practice. To say the least, current conditions as well as the region’s snowiest month due in another week have the potential to make Spring 2007 the most interesting campaign in memory. Preseason practice, which will include shoveling, sweeping, raking and playing ball inside, will last for another two weeks. Officially, competition will begin for baseball, boys and girls lacrosse, girls golf, girls soccer, boys swimming and diving, girl tennis and boys and girls track and field March 8. It’s a mess. Be patient.
Staff writer Neil H. Devlin can be reached at 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com.
