Columnist Adam Candee: Cheyenne, Centennial no surprise in polls

Adam Candee

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2003 | 10:02 a.m.

Adam Candee covers high school sports for the Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4085 or by e-mail at candee@lasvegassun.com.

Today marks the return of the Sun prep basketball rankings, and they come with very little surprise: Southern Nevada dominates the boys choices, while the North controls most of the girls spots.

Stop us if you have heard this story before, but it holds true again as conference play swings into action this weekend.

Let's take a closer look at the initial rankings of the season, and what to watch for as the next few weeks leading up to region tournaments play out.

Centennial transfer forward Chris Fuller is the most important player on the floor for the Shields, as his consistently strong all-around game paces everyone else. When smooth off guard Lorrenzo Wade chooses to play, he is arguably the city's best player, but his tendency to disappear for long stretches is concerning. We have seen only a glimpse of center Kenny Crockett this year as well.

Regardless, Cheyenne, ranked No. 19 in the National Fab 50 poll, has lost only to Oak Hill Academy (Va.), the nation's second-ranked squad. When they all come to play on the same night, the Desert Shields cannot be stopped.

The top two contenders to knock off Cheyenne are Bishop Gorman and Green Valley, who claim our next two spots. At Gorman, forward Mark Hill is becoming one of the city's better players and guard Robert Porter is contributing offensive help. The development of young Kashif Watson will be key in determining how far the Gaels go.

At Green Valley, the alpha and omega are one in 6-foot-10 center Mitch Platt, far and away the city's most improved player. One-on-one, no team in the South has an answer for the Oregon-bound post, who put up 28 points and 14 rebounds in a tight loss to Cheyenne in the Las Vegas Prep Championship title game. That contest proved the Gators can contend when they hit some outside shots to complement Platt, as they did early but failed to late.

Reno is the North's only 4A threat this year because Kansas-bound center David Padgett is the state's best player. Through 11 games, Padgett averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds -- yikes.

Our first look at fifth-ranked Palo Verde left us impressed, as the Panthers scrapped back from 19 points down to win at Foothill. There is no individual star at Palo Verde, but this team can make some noise with the type of grit it displayed in the final 16 minutes against the Falcons.

The mystery team so far is No. 6 Durango. No one should be surprised to see Al LaRocque's team in contention, but outside expectations of the Blazers were not high going into this season. Staying in the South, eighth-slotted Centennial is contending with help from a handful of key players. On a fringe team like the Bulldogs, a player like Fuller makes all the difference.

The 10th spot belongs to Foothill for now, as the Falcons got off to a hot start. It remains to be seen how this team will adjust to losing Harvey Perry Jr., its star on offense, but Monday's loss to Palo Verde was a hard one to swallow. Point guard Jamaal Smith and forwards Chris Cochran and Marques Ramos are now responsible for picking up the slack.

Just missing the poll and a favorite to make an entry sometime soon is Desert Pines, whose pass for bringing along football players who started the season late is now expired. It's time for Shyon Clark, Tony Williams and the boys to do their thing.

Only sixth-ranked Bishop Gorman and 10th-slotted Western have shown Centennial a challenge locally, although the Bulldogs did drop a game in the Phoenix Tournament of Champions. It does not play well in the North, but this is Centennial's state title to lose in 2002-03, and it is up to teams like No. 2 Reno and No. 3 Fallon to do the dirty work.

A number of North teams sprinted to good starts, but the proof is beginning to show through a bit as conference play begins and the heavy hitters slug it out with one another. Reference Reno's win over No. 4 Douglas, last year's state runner-up, and Fallon's victories over No. 7 McQueen and No. 9 Galena to understand how that shakedown is, well, shaking down.

So what needs to happen if another South team is to emerge from the pack? No other Valley entry appears to have the horses to match Centennial's depth, so it appears that a big individual effort on a given night might be the only ticket. That responsibility falls to players such as Gorman's Breona Gray and Western's Lamesha Walker.

Bonanza and Green Valley sit just on the outside of the poll this week. The Bengals have a big size problem inside that most Southern teams cannot expose, but Northern teams certainly can. Frenetic sophomore guard Jabrenta Hubbard powers the Gators, and this team's fortunes rest on her creative playmaking.