Is Denver East the team to beat in boys basketball this season? Class 5A coaches unanimously say yes.
The Angels, who return nearly every major piece from a Sweet 16 team from last season, sit atop the preseason Denver Post coaches poll.
Leading the team is junior Dominique Collier, who averaged 19.1 points and 4.5 assists as a sophomore. Fellow junior Tyre Robinson (8.8 points, 6.2 rebounds) is also back.
Grandview, led by senior guard Eric Garcia, a Wofford commit, is No. 2 in the poll. Aurora Central and CSU commit Carlton Hurst are third, while Regis Jesuit and Josh Perkins are fourth. Cherokee Trail rounds out the top five.
Rangeview is sixth, followed by Mountain Vista, Fossil Ridge and Highlands Ranch. Arapahoe, the runner-up a year ago, is tenth, while defending champion Chaparral isn’t ranked.
In 4A, defending champion Lewis-Palmer leads the field. Broomfield is second and Valor Christian is third. D’Evelyn (No. 4) and Valor Christian round out the top five.
Faith Christian, the five-time reigning champion in 3A, heads that class’s preseason poll.
Limon is the preseason favorite in 2A, while defending champion Denver Christian is fourth.
Caliche is the preseason No. 1 in 1A. The school has won four straight titles.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
Denver Post coaches poll
<!–Powered by .–> First place votes in parentheses.
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| Class 5A | |||||
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Doherty (7) | 14-0 | 70 | 1 | 1-0 |
| 2 | Cherry Creek | 13-1 | 63 | 2 | 2-0 |
| 3 | Chaparral | 13-2 | 54 | 4 | 2-0 |
| 4 | Eaglecrest | 10-3 | 47 | 3 | 1-1 |
| 5 | Grandview | 10-4 | 38 | 8 | 2-0 |
| 6 | Mountain Vista | 11-4 | 32 | 9 | 2-0 |
| 7 | Highlands Ranch | 11-4 | 24 | 5 | 1-1 |
| 8 | Heritage | 11-4 | 20 | 7 | 1-1 |
| 9 | Cherokee Trail | 13-5 | 17 | 6 | 1-1 |
| 10 | Legend | 9-4 | 8 | – | 2-0 |
| Others receiving votes | |||||
| Pine Creek 5, Chatfield 3, Fossil Ridge 2, Lakewood 2. | |||||
| Dropped from ranking | |||||
| (10) Bear Creek. | |||||
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| Class 5A | |||||
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Denver East (10) | 0-0 | 100 | – | – |
| 2 | Grandview | 0-0 | 79 | – | – |
| 3 | Aurora Central | 0-0 | 63 | – | – |
| 4 | Regis Jesuit | 0-0 | 60 | – | – |
| 5 | Cherokee Trail | 0-0 | 54 | – | – |
| 6 | Rangeview | 0-0 | 46 | – | – |
| 7 | Mountain Vista | 0-0 | 31 | – | – |
| 8 | Fossil Ridge | 0-0 | 24 | – | – |
| 9 | Highlands Ranch | 0-0 | 23 | – | – |
| 10 | Arapahoe | 0-0 | 19 | – | – |
| Others receiving votes | |||||
| Legend 18, ThunderRidge 12, Overland 10, Columbine 5, Eaglecrest 2, Fairview 2, Abraham Lincoln 1, Chaparral 1. | |||||
| Dropped from ranking | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 4A | |||||
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Lewis-Palmer (6) | 0-0 | 70 | – | – |
| 2 | Broomfield (2) | 0-0 | 63 | – | – |
| 3 | Valor Christian | 0-0 | 59 | – | – |
| 4 | D’Evelyn | 0-0 | 50 | – | – |
| 5 | Pueblo East | 0-0 | 36 | – | – |
| 6 | Sierra | 0-0 | 32 | – | – |
| 7 | Kennedy | 0-0 | 25 | – | – |
| 8 | Thomas Jefferson | 0-0 | 24 | – | – |
| 9 | Cheyenne Mountain | 0-0 | 18 | – | – |
| 10 | Windsor | 0-0 | 15 | – | – |
| Others receiving votes | |||||
| Thompson Valley 9, Pueblo Central 8, Sand Creek 8, Frederick 5, Falcon 4, Golden 4, Pueblo West 3, Wasson 3, Longmont 2, Elizabeth 1, Evergreen 1. | |||||
| Dropped from ranking | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 3A | |||||
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Faith Christian (5) | 0-0 | 65 | – | – |
| 2 | Kent Denver (2) | 0-0 | 56 | – | – |
| 3 | Holy Family | 0-0 | 48 | – | – |
| 4 | Jefferson Academy | 0-0 | 43 | – | – |
| 5 | Colorado Springs Christian | 0-0 | 40 | – | – |
| 6 | Eaton | 0-0 | 32 | – | – |
| 7 | The Pinnacle | 0-0 | 19 | – | – |
| 8 | Pagosa Springs | 0-0 | 14 | – | – |
| 9 | Sterling | 0-0 | 13 | – | – |
| 10 | Roaring Fork | 0-0 | 11 | – | – |
| Others receiving votes | |||||
| Bishop Machebeuf 9, Manual 8, Classical Academy 5, Denver Science & Tech 5, Valley 5, Aspen 4, Manitou Springs 4, The Academy 2, University 2. | |||||
| Dropped from ranking | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 2A | |||||
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | PVS | LW |
| 1 | Limon (3) | 0-0 | 53 | – | – |
| 2 | Lutheran | 0-0 | 51 | – | – |
| 3 | Resurrection Christian | 0-0 | 44 | – | – |
| 4 | Denver Christian (1) | 0-0 | 35 | – | – |
| 5 | Peyton (2) | 0-0 | 34 | – | – |
| 6 | Sanford | 0-0 | 33 | – | – |
| 7 | Akron | 0-0 | 22 | – | – |
| 8 | Sierra Grande | 0-0 | 11 | – | – |
| 9 | Paonia | 0-0 | 10 | – | – |
| 10 | Sargent | 0-0 | 8 | – | – |
| Others receiving votes | |||||
| Byers 6, Wiggins 6, Rye 5, Custer County 4, Ignacio 2, Meeker 2, Rocky Ford 2, Heritage Christian 1, Kiowa 1. | |||||
| Dropped from ranking | |||||
| None. | |||||
| Class 1A | |||||||
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | PVS | LW | ||
| 1 | Caliche (4) | 0-0 | 47 | – | – | ||
| 2 | McClave (1) | 0-0 | 40 | – | – | ||
| 3 | Pawnee | 0-0 | 36 | – | – | ||
| 4 | Hi-Plains | 0-0 | 31 | – | – | ||
| 5 | Shining Mountain | 0-0 | 28 | – | – | ||
| 6 | Elbert | 0-0 | 19 | – | – | ||
| 7 | Fleming | 0-0 | 17 | – | – | ||
| 8 | Stratton | 0-0 | 11 | – | – | ||
| 9 | Springfield | 0-0 | 9 | – | – | ||
| 10 | Cheyenne Wells | 0-0 | 8 | – | – | ||
| Others receiving votes | |||||||
| Eads 6, Jim Elliot 5, Walsh 5, Granada 4, Otis 4, Holly 3, Norwood 2. | |||||||
| Dropped from ranking | |||||||
| None. | |||||||
