Rangeview looking for perfect season
Long before Rangeview positioned itself to become the first undefeated Class 5A boys basketball champion in 15 years, a peewee rec team by the same name was leaving omens on courts all over Aurora.
Those little Raiders were also led by Shawn Palmer, now in his 17th year as the Rangeview head coach. Steamrolling its competition, the team featured the majority of the primary contributors to this year’s Raiders, who are 26-0 heading into Friday’s Final Four at Denver Coliseum.
“I’ve been involved with these boys and their families’ lives since they were in first grade, so it’s pretty cool to see them grow up and be where they are right now,” Palmer said. “After the rec team we started Top Flight, a club team, the next season. The kids played together there, then together on the (Rangeview) feeder team.”
Christian and Christopher Speller headlined the Raiders’ roster then like they do now, as the faces of a basketball school looking to defend its crown. The senior guards are fraternal twins, with 6-foot-3 Christian (Metro State commit) and 6-5 Christoper (Colorado Mesa) leading the Raiders into the semifinal against No. 5 Grandview.
It’s a rematch of a closely contested game from early in the season, when the Raiders edged the Wolves 38-37 on Dec. 6 in Aurora. It’s also a showdown between the past two 5A champions — Grandview was the surprise winner of the 2018 title as a No. 6 seed — and a rematch of last year’s Final Four game won 49-39 by Rangeview.
Palmer called the Wolves “one of the top defensive teams in the state, with a lot of toughness inside and out.”
“Grandview has two of the best players in the state in Caleb McGill and Lian Ramiro, who have been giving everyone fits and matchup problems.” Palmer said. “We’ve got our hands full guarding those guys and making sure we play good team defense to make things difficult for them.”
The Raiders were also 26-0 heading into the 2016 Final Four, but lost to eventual champion Eaglecrest, 58-55, that season.
Jalen Guidry was the senior point guard on that team, and he has served as a varsity assistant for Rangeview this season. He believes these Raiders are ready for the final, pressurized push of a perfect season.
“When stuff starts to hit the fan — it will in that environment — or you’re not getting calls, or if you’re down, they know that’s the perfect time to come together as a team,” Guidry said. “These guys have been playing together for so long. This pressure ain’t nothing new to them.”
Beyond the Spellers, senior guard Obi Agbim, junior guard Cade Palmer and junior forward Jayden Foster round out the starting lineup. Agbim is Rangeview’s leading scorer at 13.3 points per game, while the Spellers and the coach’s son are also averaging in double digits. Seniors Isaiah Jamison, Ronnie Hatch and Jovaughn Wright are usually the first ones off the bench.
Rangeview is attempting to become the first undefeated Class 5A champion since coach Rudy Carey led Denver East to 24-0 and the gold ball in 2004.
“It’s cool to be talked about in conversations with that 2004 East team, and the Palmer team that went undefeated (in 2000), but we definitely have our work cut out for us,” Palmer said. “That’s all we’re talking about right now.”
The Raiders are in position to make history despite facing zero resistance within their own league. The perennial East Metro champions haven’t lost in league play since 2013, but if their 4-0 performance at this season’s nationally prestigious Tarkanian Classic is any indication, Rangeview is ready for Colorado’s best.
“They’ve got a quality team, quality kids, quality coaching — they’ve beat some good teams outside their league, so if they finish off the undefeated season, it’s a great accomplishment,” Carey said.