Fairview, for example, started out the season in the ThunderRidge/Heritage Tip-Off Classic, where the Knights finished a surprising second, to Chatfield. Then the Knights swung into their own event, the Fairview Festival, without a break. That resulted in another runner-up finish, to defending Class 5A state champion Regis Jesuit.
Fairview is now readying for its third tourney, Cherry Creek’s Holiday Classic. The Knights haven’t had any warm-up games to start out, or recovery games between those tournaments.
Knights coach Frank Lee has two reasons for such an aggressive schedule. First, he’s looking to have some team-bonding experiences early. Fairview also plays 11 Front Range League games, so the Knights must fill out their slate, preferably against good teams.
Cherry Creek also has been busy. The Bruins opened their season with three games in the same geographic area, but it was a tournament-style experience rather than an actual tournament. Cherry Creek lost to Durango, Foothill and Canyon Springs, three Nevada teams, located either in or around Las Vegas. Bruins coach Mike Brookhart, who also coaches the football team, agreed with Lee that teams will benefit and bond tighter when kept together continually on the road.
"(It’s) getting away and getting away from distractions," Brookhart said. "You can get together without those distractions at home."
One potential distraction for coaches and players is missing classes. Brookhart doesn’t think that’s a problem for his team.
"You certainly never want them to lose class time," he said. "But our teachers are very good about giving assignments ahead of time. Our kids are very highly academically motivated. Some of them were studying on the plane trip home. Our GPA for our basketball team is unbelievable."
More tournaments
This week has the Lee Rosa Tournament, hosted by Aurora Central, which has Eaglecrest and Westminster. Several teams will be heading out of state this week to compete, including perennial power Denver East. The Angels will compete in the Amar’e Stoudemire-sponsored Each One Teach One National Invitational, which will be competed in Las Vegas from Dec. 19-23. Denver East opens against Centennial (Las Vegas).
Next week has the Holiday Classic at Cherry Creek, and Pool B is loaded with Arapahoe, Fairview and Gateway. Pool A has the host Bruins, Columbine and Highlands Ranch. The out-of-state entrants are Madison Ridgeland, a Mississippi team, and Putnam City, from Oklahoma City.
There are four games each on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday has an all-day extravaganza, starting at 9 a.m. with the championship game scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Rivalry and the blemish
Besides winning the Fairview Festival, top-ranked Regis got another goal accomplished by beating rival Mullen 77-63 on Monday. That game was played at Metro State College’s gym at Auraria, by the way. The Raiders haven’t survived without a loss, though. The defeat came on the road against a non-Colorado team and, yes, it was in a tournament. Loyola, a Los Angeles team, beat Regis 97-91 in the Friar Barry Christmas Classic.
Top performances
Joey Ptasinski scored 29 points for Regis in that Loyola loss. In a 62-53 home win over previously undefeated Mountain Range last week, Aurora Central’s 6-foot-7 center Dese Lee scored 26 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked eight shots. Also, Skyview sophomore Steven Shannon tied Colorado’s all-time scoring record for a half with 36 points in a 93-34 rout of Arrupe Jesuit on Monday night. Shannon finished with 42 points, only six more in the second half, as the Wolverines had a 55-21 lead at halftime.
