Jones scores an All-State date

Once a college-level instructor of future NBA ’ballers Chauncey Billups and Chris Copeland during his lengthy stretch as a University of Colorado assistant, Terry Dunn surely savored the flavor of his fifth season at Colorado Springs’ Sierra High School ending with a Class 4A ‘Final Four’ appearance inside CU’s Coors Events Center back in March.

And though SHS’ season then ended there with a seven-point loss to eventual State Championships runner-up Longmont, Dunn’s Stallions, which went 23-4 overall this winter, might not have advanced as far if not for guard Tevion Thompson’s 16.6 points-per-game production.

2A Rye’s Jim Hale and 3A Buena Vista’s Scott Crites will hope to benefit as well, in their shared opportunity to count the six-foot senior amongst a one-off company also including Ignacio’s now-graduated Adison Jones on Saturday, June 13, at Adams State University in Alamosa.

“He’s a tough player, he’s an All-State player,” IHS head coach Chris Valdez emphatically predicted for the senior forward after the Bobcats’ 23-3 campaign and third-place finish at the 2A State Championships in Pueblo.

“We’re losing ten rebounds a game, eighteen points a game,” he noted, in reference to what Commencement 2015 was going to take from the program. “The biggest thing … is we’re going to have to figure out how to rebound the ball. And of course, make up for those points!”

Chosen to hoop at the 59^th Annual Colorado High School Coaches Association All-State Games, Jones will join Thompson on a roster heavy on talent from CHSAA’s small-school ranks, with 4A Colorado Springs The Classical Academy’s Will Ball the only other participant from its upper divisions.

McClave’s T.J. Trujillo registered per-game averages of 18.5 points and nearly seven rebounds during the 2014-15 season, and Genoa-Hugo/Karval’s Wyatt Vick put up 14 and almost eight an outing, but the 1A representative sure to score the most applause will be Mosca Sangre de Cristo’s Ethan Caton.

The now-graduated 6-foot 3-inch senior helped Wade Mortensen’s Thunderbirds go 25-1 overall in 14-15, and third place finish at the 1A State Championships held at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.

BV’s Kenneth Schell will provide Crites with a known go-to option, while 2A Akron’s Jared Clarkson, 2A Byers’ Jacob Imber and 2A Swink’s Josh Rocha complete the crew.

The boys’ semifinals will be played on the Saturday June 13 at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. at nearby Ortega Middle School, before third-place (slated for 2:30 p.m.) and first-place battle commence inside ASU’s Plachy Hall.

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