Josh Scott tops deep Colorado basketball class

MONUMENT - Colorado high school boys basketball historically has not registered much on the national radar.

Sure, the state has had its share of top recruits and future standouts over the years - Chauncey Billups, Tom Chambers, Pat Garrity, Mark Randall and Joe Barry Carroll, to name a few - but the number of Division I commitments in any given season usually can be counted on one hand.

This year shapes up differently, though, as 10 players already have committed to play at the top level at the next level. Included among those signing letters-of-intent Wednesday was Colorado's consensus top player, Lewis-Palmer's Josh Scott. (Garrity also played at Lewis-Palmer before a 10-year NBA career).

Ranked as the No. 85 recruit nationally by MaxPreps and in the top 50 by some recruiting sites, Scott put his signature to official papers at the school in front of assorted family, friends, classmates and local TV cameras.

Scott will stay at home and play for the University of Colorado. Also signing with the Buffaloes Wednesday were Sierra's Wesley Gordon, a 6-foot-7 forward, and Sterling point guard Xavier Talton.
 
Scott averaged 21.5 points last season in leading the Rangers to the state semifinals, where they sustained a one-point loss to eventual champion Sterling.

"I'm very happy to have this done," said Scott, who should surpass the career 2,000-point mark this season. "I'm just most excited to get up there and play and get off to a good start."

In Scott, Colorado will have a power forward who registered 10.7 rebounds, 4.1 blocks and 2.6 steals an outing last season. Those numbers should continue to improve as he adds inches and pounds to his 6-foot-9 and 215-pound frame.

"For a nearly 6-10 kid, he has tremendous open-court skills, runs the floor very well, has soft hands and has a high basketball IQ," Lewis-Palmer coach Russ McKinstry said. "His upside at the collegiate level is tremendous. He someday has the potential to play for money because he gets it done in the most adverse circumstances."

The focus this season for Scott individually will be on improving his strength and perimeter game to prepare for the rigors of Pac-12 play. Scott is thrilled Colorado changed its conference allegiance from the Big 12.

"I'm very excited about the Pac-12 and going to California and the warm weather when it's freezing cold here during the winter," he said. "And for me, obviously like every other high school player, I need to get stronger and just keep improving my skills. I always work on my inside game, but I continue to work to improve my jump shot."

Scott said it was a concerted decision by the Colorado trio to play for the Buffaloes. He's looking forward to be lining up with Gordon, who also plays in the Class 4A Colorado Springs Metro League, and Talton instead of battling them as rivals.

"Me and (Gordon) joke about that all the time; we don't have to beat up on each other anymore," Scott said. As for his decision to remain in-state, "I just really felt like if Colorado was going to be able to challenge in basketball, then the top in-state talent needed to stay. Hopefully, we can usher that in."

McKinstry is in his 25th year of coaching, most of it in Colorado, and knows this season's number of Division I recruits is special.

"This is a very good class, and what I'm really proud of is that it's a lot of 4A players. They are not just coming from (Class) 5A," McKinstry said. "It's a very good year. I'm not sure next year will be as good, so let's enjoy this one."

In addition to Scott, Gordon and Talton, also signing were Chaparral guards Josh Adams (Wyoming) and Cory Calvert (BYU), Nate Engesser (Denver) of Colorado Springs Christian, Highlands Ranch's Austin Haldorson (Wyoming), ThunderRidge's Kaileb Rodriguez (California) and Tanner Samson (Elon) of Regis Jesuit.

Also, Canyon Barry, a 6-4 guard from Cheyenne Mountain, committed recently to play at College of Charleston. According to The Gazette, Barry will be the fifth family member to play Division I basketball. He is the son of NBA legend Rick Barry.

About his son's signing, the elder Barry told Fox Sports Florida, "My son is in a situation where he's a project. He's going to redshirt (his first year in college) . . . There's no doubt he has very good basketball skills. His skills at this age are superior to my other boys at that age."

The number of Division I recruits on the girls basketball side typically registers well into double digits, but so far only nine players have made their intentions known.

Regis Jesuit teammates Marquelle Dent and Katie Heckman are headed to Wyoming and Duke, respectively, while Sand Creek's Taylor Proctor signed with San Francisco on Wednesday. Also signing was Ande Lampert of Boulder (Pacific).

The other five are staying home: Colorado will welcome Heritage's Lauren Huggins, and high-scoring Deer Trail guard Bay'lee Purdy will play at Northern Colorado with Bishop Machebeuf's Rebecca Howell. Kailey Edwards of Legacy signed with Denver, while Ashton Davis of Monarch committed to the Air Force Academy.

Colorado College Signings
(The list was provided by state athletic directors)

Acrobatics & Tumbling
Arapahoe: Paris Duhamel, Oregon.

Baseball
Arapahoe: Kirby Schwein, Regis.
Dakota Ridge: Steven Wilson, Santa Clara.
Grandview: Payton Soicher, Cal State-Monterrey Bay.
Legend: Tyler Honahan, Stony Brook; Jake Jenkins, Pacific.
Liberty: Brent Williams, Oklahoma State.
Mullen: Sam Haggerty, New Mexico.
Pine Creek: Ryan Warner, North Carolina State.
Ponderosa: Matt Loutzenhiser, Northern Colorado.
Pueblo East: Corey Laughlin, Colorado State-Pueblo.

Boys Basketball
Arapahoe: Shane Jensen, Fort Lewis College.
Chaparral: Josh Adams, Wyoming; Cory Calvert, BYU.
Cheyenne Mountain: Canyon Barry, College of Charleston.
Lewis-Palmer: Josh Scott, Colorado
Pomona: Alex Welsh, Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Sierra: Wesley Gordon, Colorado.
Standley Lake: Brandon Applehans, Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Sterling: Xavier Talton, Colorado.

Girls Basketball
Bishop Machebeuf: Rebecca Howell, Northern Colorado.
Boulder: Ande Lampert, Pacific.
Chaparral: Courtney Martin, Colorado School of Mines.
Golden: Kylie Santos, Fort Lewis College.
Heritage: Lauren Huggins, Colorado.
Legacy: Kailey Edwards, Denver.
Lewis-Palmer: Kai Brown, Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Monarch: Ashton Davis, Air Force Academy.
Regis Jesuit: Marquelle Dent, Wyoming; Katie Heckman, Duke; Jamie Revels, William & Mary.
Sand Creek: Taylor Proctor, San Francisco.

Crew
Mullen: Kendall Chase, California.

Football
Chaparral: Shane Callahan, Auburn.

Golf
Ponderosa: Billy Hoff, Northern Colorado.
Regis Jesuit: Kathleen Kershisnik, Wyoming.

Boys Lacrosse
Arapahoe: Jack Bobzien, Hartford; Bryce Parietti, High Point.
Erie: Dylan Brooks, Adams State.
Kent Denver: Matt Florence, Virginia; Collins Gantz, Bryant University; Bailey Tills, Brown; James Rassenfoss, Holy Cross.

Girls Lacrosse
Fairview: Emma Lazaroff, Duke
Kent Denver: Molly Coates, California; Lucy Dikeou, Stanford; Lucy Mower, Vermont; Elizabeth Strazza, Florida.
Mullen: Molly Erdle, Boston College; Madison Khanna, John Hopkins.
Ponderosa: Kasey Griese, Coastal Carolina.
Poudre: Maggie Mawhinney, Southern California.
Regis Jesuit: Emi Smith, Penn State.

Soccer:
Grandview: Meagan Wilson, Hastings College.

Softball:
Erie: Makayla Kovac, Mesa State; Lauren Murphy-Payne, Adams State.
Evergreen: Breeze Phillips, Chadron State.
Fountain-Fort Carson: Lauryn Chase, Fort Hays State; Adara Manzanarez-Erickson, Fort Hays State.
Grandview: Marina Quimby, Washburn.
Legacy: Jessica Ball, Northern Colorado; Kelsey Dempsey, Stevens Institute of Technology; Rainey Gaffin, Tennessee
Legend: Natalie Gardner, Colorado Christian.
Liberty: Kristen Bagley, Augusta State.

Swimming & Diving
Columbine: Ashley Horodyski, Iowa.
Fairview: Kourtney Fosse, Wisconsin.
Lewis-Palmer: Ryan Arata, Stanford; Laura Day, Liberty; Chandler Marshall, San Diego State (diving).
Mullen: Louis Geist, Southern Connecticut.
Regis Jesuit: Lauren Stoeckle, Missouri.

Tennis
Loveland: Jennifer Weissmann, Colorado State.

Volleyball
Boulder: Tyler Graham, DePaul.
Chaparral: Elizabeth Campbell, Duke; Nicole Dalton, Texas.
Cheyenne Mountain: Emma Barkley, Presbyterian (S.C.) College; Hannah Huffman, Wingate; McKenzie Kessel, Bowdoin College; Janae Vander Ploeg, Northern Arizona.
Eagle Valley: Alex Lassa, Rutgers.
Fairview: Kendall LaVine, West Virginia.
Grandview: Courtney Shaw, Marist.
Legacy: Natasha Fomina, Texas State University.
Liberty: Tammy King, Metro State.
Lutheran: Taylor Sturms, Colorado Christian.
Norwood: Lindsey Stindt, Adams State College.
Pine Creek: Halle McCullough, Gonzaga; Alex Winkler, Colorado State-Pueblo.
Poudre: Canace Finley, Oregon.
Pueblo West: Mikayla Shippy, Southeastern Louisiana.
Regis Jesuit: Janae Hall, Kansas; Sarah Schmid, Rutgers; Eli Svisco, Montana State.

Wrestling
Arvada: Dwight Howes, Hofstra; Marcos Peralta, American.