The fact his team won a state title last season has long since sunk in for Eaton head coach Dean Grable. The fact he gets to coach Seth Lobato is still a little hard to believe.
“I keep thinking that I’ve got two more years with this kid, and that’s really hard to believe after the year he had last year,” Grable said. “He knows he can take over a game.”
Lobato, who capped the Reds’ championship run with an MVP-like performance in the title game against Kent Denver, is back along with point guard Lance Korell and fellow post presence Cody Ball. That trio is enough for Grable’s crew to begin the season atop The Denver Post’s Class 3A poll.
“The way I see it, everyone is going to bring their best game to play us,” said Grable, a schoolboy standout at Horizon in the early 1990s. “We have a lot of guys back, and every game is going to be a battle.”
Eight of the Reds who were on the playoff roster in March are back. But Korell, Lobato and Ball are the keys, and Grable, unlike some coaches who just look game to game, is taking it a step further and putting an emphasis on possession to possession.
“Last year, we won 24 out of 27 games and at the end of the year, luckily, we were on top,” he said. “Every single possession needs to have that attitude.”
Eaton definitely will be playoff-tested after the regular season. A rough-and-tumble run in the Patriot League’s Eastern Division will have the Reds ready.
Platte Valley (Tate Mekelburg), and Yuma (6-foot-8 Justin Coughlin, who has already committed to the University of Denver) start the season in the top 10. Valley (Jared Huwa) and Roosevelt are always tough and figure to be in the mix as well.
Down south, Colorado Springs Christian broke onto the Class 3A scene with a vengeance two seasons ago led by a sophomore group that has now matured, but still has nothing to show for it.
The Lions, on paper, might be the classification’s most talented team, with seniors Taylor Broekhuis, Matt Baarts and Mike Shugart. The same could be said last year, and coach Alan Karg knows that the bridesmaid dress will eventually be a wedding gown.
“Two years ago that team was so young, and to get what we got out of them was a little unexpected,” Karg said. “To come up short last season is something that truly drives them.”
Shugart, who injured his knee in the state semifinals, has rehabilitated back to full strength and Baarts and Broekhuis have bulked up in the weight room.
Just like the Patriot, the strength of the Tri-Peaks League appears to be in one division. It will be a story of how the West was won with Peyton (Brian Green), Manitou Springs and Buena Vista all challenging C.S. Christian for the honor.
The Metropolitan League will again have its fair share of contenders, led by No. 3 Faith Christian (Jobi Wall and Nick Gill). Kent Denver (Ben Stewart) will start the season at No. 10, and will need to find a way to replace dynamic guard Kyle Lewis.
Denver Christian coach Dick Katte enters his 44th season as Crusaders coach (48th overall) and stands just 13 wins away from 800 for his career.
Aspen’s Cory Parker might be the best player in the state you’ve never heard of. The 6-7 star, who can score from anywhere, according to coach Steve Ketchum, is joined by 6-8 Michael Taylor on the front line.
The Skiers will have to find a way to break the stranglehold that coach Roger Walters and his Roaring Fork Rams (Torrey Udall) have on the Western Slope.
Pagosa Springs (Taylor Shaffer) should be the team to beat in the Intermountain League. Clear Creek (6-7 Charles Christensen) and Bennett (Porter Wilson) will lead the way in the Frontier League.
The Denver Post/9News poll
1. Eaton
2. Colorado Springs Christian
3. Faith Christian
4. Roaring Fork
5. Pagosa Springs
6. Peyton
7. Platte Valley
8. Yuma
9. Aspen
10. Kent Denver
Class 3A players to watch
Matt Baarts, C.S. Christian, Sr., 6-6
Taylor Broekhuis, C.S. Christian, Sr., 6-9
Justin Coughlin, Yuma, Sr., 6-8
Nick Gill, Faith Christian, Sr., 6-2
Jared Huwa, Valley, Sr., 6-6
Brett Green, Peyton, Jr., 6-3
David Jones, Colorado Academy, Jr., 6-6
Lance Korell, Eaton, Sr., 6-0
John Lenderink, Denver Christian, Sr., 6-0
Seth Lobato, Eaton, Jr., 6-6
Tate Mekelburg, Platte Valley, Jr., 6-2
Cameron Nicholl, Gunnison, Sr., 6-0
Luke Northam, Classical Acad., Sr., 6-0
Cory Parker, Aspen, Sr., 6-7
Taylor Shaffer, Pagosa Springs, So., 6-3
Mike Shugart, C.S. Christian, Sr., 5-11
Ben Stewart, Kent Denver, Sr., 6-7
Michael Taylor, Aspen, Sr., 6-8
Jordan Thompson-Elmore, The Academy, Sr., 6-0
Torrey Udall, Roaring Fork, Sr., 6-8
Jobi Wall, Faith Christian, Sr., 6-6
Trevor Williams, Den. Lutheran, Jr., 6-11
Porter Wilson, Bennett, Sr., 6-3
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
