The midseason report on Class 4A and 5A girls and boys basketball.
Halfway through the Class 4A basketball season, both No. 1ranked teams in the classification have extra motivation after having their championship dreams derailed by coronavirus in 2020. The Mullen girls never got to play their title tilt against Holy Family when the tournament was canceled, while the Mead boys were left standing in the Final 4.
Here’s a look at Mead and Mullen at midseason, as well as other top teams in the classification to watch in the second half.
“Unfinished business”
At Mullen, coach Frank Cawley sang the praises of a six-player senior class that has never lost a playoff game. And, if the Mustangs have their way, they’ll graduate with that streak intact, too. Mullen has been to consecutive title games and won in 2019.
“On every practice plan — and this came from the day that we met on the day they canceled the state championship game — we put ‘unfinished business,’” Cawley said. “We have to finish this off this year right, because we have six seniors on this team who have been with us since jump street. They’ve paid their dues and developed phenomenal chemistry. They’re really committed to each other to finish that business.”
The Mustangs are paced in scoring by junior Gracie Gallegos, who Cawley said “can flat-out shoot it” as she’s averaging 15 points per game. Complementing her is senior point guard Megan Pohs, a Regis University commit who is also averaging double-digit scoring as the “straw that stirs the drink” of Mullen’s attack.
Add in junior forward Kilah Freelon, junior forward Imani Perez, senior forward Haley Van Horn and senior sixth man Alexa Dominguez, all of whom can play four of the five positions on the floor, and the result is a depth of talent that has “committed themselves to working that much harder to achieve that goal (of a title).”
The primary focal point for Mullen down the stretch is on the defensive end, where the Mustangs have held opponents to 25 points or less in five of six victories.
“We begin everything and end everything with our defense,” Cawley said. “Every practice, every talk I give — that’s really what we take a lot of pride in. And our numbers bear that out — defensively, we’re playing really well right now. But we need to continue that.”
Mead eyes history
Last year, the Mavericks were on the cusp of the program’s second title and first since 1957, and appear capable of rewriting history again this year with a largely different cast.
“We had a really good senior class, so we definitely lost some guys, but plenty of guys on our current roster experienced (that disappointment),” Mead head coach Darin Reese said. “The motivation has definitely carried over for us this year, even though it’s a brand new team. Even the guys we had from last year’s group are in different roles, different spots, and we’re certainly asking more of them.”
Mead’s young starting cast features junior post James Shiers (listed at 7 feet tall), plus junior guard Elijah Knudsen, junior forward Will Tenore, junior forward Corby Tecu and sophomore guard Nick Basson.
But in a Class 4A boys field underscored by parity, Mead knows it’s going to have to play its best basketball in the playoffs.
“There’s a bunch of teams that are going to have a say in this thing at the end,” Reese said.
Other top teams
On the girls side, No. 2 George Washington is explosive, and the Patriots are another title frontrunner despite their youth.
GW’s starting five is headlined by senior guard Maya Whiteside, a Long Island University commit and McDonald’s All-American nominee, as well as point guard Jaida Redwine, a Division I prospect. Rounding out the starting five are sophomore guards EmmaJo Locks and Mya Cotto, as well as freshman forward Gianna Whiteside, Maya’s sister.
Coach Keithan Lyons believes his team matches up well with Mullen as well as all the other top contenders in 4A.
“It’s not like (Mullen) is invincible or anything like that, or like they’ve got (Grandview star) Lauren Betts over there or something,” Lyons said. “They’re a good team but so are we. It’s going to be interesting between them, us, the Windsors, the Green Mountains, the Holy Familys, the Eries. The depth of 4A is way greater than 5A, and we’re definitely seeing that this year.”
On the boys side, the power is certainly concentrated outside the Denver metro area. Beyond Mead, No. 2 Windsor, No. 3 Longmont, No. 4 Lewis-Palmer, No. 5 Pueblo Central, No. 6 Evergreen, No. 7 Montrose, No. 8 Erie, No. 9 Pueblo South, No. 10 Centaurus and No. 11 Golden are all capable of deep tournament runs. Within the metro, No. 12 Aurora Central is also potent, as the Trojans are paced by sophomore Khafre Garrett-Mills, who ranks third in the classification at 23.0 points per game