No one expected Michaela Neuhaus and the Highlands Ranch girls basketball team to be here today. Not in the final four, not after graduating four senior starters off a championship team.
Not after a rough start — 2-2 in an out-of-state tournament. And not after an early season 17-point loss to Legacy — Highlands Ranch’s opponent tonight in the Class 5A semifinals.
“I think people underestimated us for a long time because of everything we lost (after) last year,” Neuhaus, a 5-foot-7 point guard, said this week. “It was a whole new team.”
Already tightly knit, losing the seniors drew Neuhaus and Falcons coach Caryn Jarocki even closer. Before the season, they would meet often to “commiserate” — Jarocki’s word — in graduating the group that included Katelyn McDaniel, the All-Colorado player of the year.
They saw that Highlands Ranch returned an inexperienced roster. Jayln Yates is the team’s only other senior, but she didn’t have a prominent role last season.
“Together, we came up with a plan of how we were going to bring the younger kids along,” Jarocki said. “(Neuhaus) has totally made this happen, with a bunch of younger kids that had no idea what they were doing. And I’m so proud of her.”
At this point, Jarocki looks up and wipes away a tear that’s started to form. It’s not your typical player-coach relationship.
“This is special, because she was the only one left and she’s the point guard,” Jarocki said. “And we really did not think we’d be in the final four at the beginning. As we kept going along, we kept getting more and more confidence, and we were like, ‘OK, we’re going to do this.’ She has led the way.”
The irony isn’t lost when Neuhaus, describing Highlands Ranch’s program, says “there really aren’t any superstars” — because Neuhaus has developed into a player of the year candidate. She leads Class 5A in scoring with an average of 23 points, but Neuhaus attributes it to “how our team plays and what we’re looking to do on offense.”
The Falcons play an up-tempo style and make swift passes.
If there’s an open shot, they will take it. But nothing is forced in Jarocki’s offense.
“I never really try to (score in bunches) or look to do anything like that,” Neuhaus said.
“(Scoring) is not her sole purpose in life; it’s just her sole purpose to win,” Jarocki said.
Neuhaus is nearly there. Again. Motivated by booking a return trip to the final four — check, but “not our end goal,” Jarocki said — Neuhaus has become a complete player. She was named to The Show, the state’s annual postseason all-star game at the Pepsi Center.
College programs took notice. Neuhaus signed with the University of Denver, Jarocki’s alma mater, last November.
“She’s my first kid to go to DU, so that’s a proud moment for me,” Jarocki said. “I’m pretty excited that I get to see her play, because I really miss the kids when they leave.”
Ryan Casey: 303-954-1983 or rcasey@denverpost.com
Girls 5A, 4A semifinals
Today at CU’s Coors Events Center
Class 4A
(1) Air Academy (24-2) vs. (1) Pueblo West (23-3), 4 p.m.
(1) Pueblo South (26-0) vs. (1) D’Evelyn (22-3), 5:30 p.m.
Class 5A
(1) Highlands Ranch (22-4) vs. (1) Legacy (22-4), 7 p.m.
(1) Regis Jesuit (22-4) vs. (1) Monarch (21-5), 8:30 p.m.
