Feature Photo By: Vincent Tran – Elijah Blake fires up the crowd at a home basketball game. Blake is now playing basketball for the University of Denver
As the high school basketball postseason kicks off today in Colorado, here’s a look at some of the best boys basketball players in the storied history of Rangeview hoops.
- Trey Boykin (Left in 2009)
Trey Boykin only played at Rangeview for one season. He played as a freshman, and as a freshman, he averaged a staggering 18.6 points per game. He didn’t play at Rangeview after that, but his one year here was impressive.
“He wasn’t on a very good team, but he shattered the Colorado freshman 3 point record that year,” Shawn Palmer, the coach at Rangeview remembers the fantastic talent of Boykin, and how he hit 90 threes in his freshman season. This record still stands to this day.
- James Wilson (Graduated in 1985)
Mclemore shoots a jumper. (Courtesy of Carleton College)
James Wilson was an All Conference selection during his time at Rangeview High School. He was also an All State player at Rangeview during the 1985 season. He played at the University of Hawaii after his time at Rangeview.
- Kellan Mclemore (Graduated in 2008)
Kellan Mclemore was Honorable Mention All-State in 2007 and 2008. He averaged 12.8 points per game in his last season at Rangeview. After High School, he went on to play at Carleton College.
- Ryan Ongala (Graduates in 2018)
Ryan Ongala is the only current player on this list. He is a 6’6” center with a 7’2” wingspan. He is currently averaging 9.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game. He is also the all time leader in blocks at Rangeview He has started for the last two years at Rangeview, and he will be on his way to Emporia State in Kansas after this year at RHS.
I asked current freshman teammate Jayden Foster what made Ongala so good. He said, “Playing against him at practice has definitely made me and his teammates not just better players, but better people. He is always challenging others to make it hard to try to take his spot.”
- Marcus Holt (Graduated in 2011)
Marcus Holt holds the record for blocks in a game, with 10 blocks. He only played at Rangeview for one year, and in his senior season, he averaged 13.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 3.3 blocks per game. He went on to play at Colorado State University, and also played overseas in Switzerland.
- C.J. Littlejohn (Graduated in 2005)
Littlejohn averaged about 22 points per game as a senior at Rangeview. He was a very gifted scorer at RHS. He went on to play at Bethany College after his high school basketball career ended at Rangeview.
- Andy Gurzick ( Graduated in 1998)
Andy Gurzick was an All-State player in 1998. He was a very good passer at Rangeview. He played at Western State University in college.
- Curtis Cotton ( Graduated in 2004)
The flyer for the Curtis Cotton memorial tournament.
Curtis Cotton was a very good scorer here at Rangeview High School. He is most remembered for the 3on3 tournament that is held for him every year. It is a memorial tournament, and many gather to remember him after his death.
- Yoshio Allen ( Graduated in 2009)
Yoshio Allen was a powerful bigman at Rangeview. In his senior year, he averaged 12.2 points per game, and 4.9 rebounds per game in his senior year. He went on to play at Black Hills State after playing at Rangeview, and was very successful there.Yoshio Allen
- Marvin Jones (Graduated in 1994)
Marvin Jones was an All-State player in 1994. He was on the All-State Tourney Team in 1993. He went on to play at the University of Northern Colorado.
- Trey Bridges ( Graduated in 2014)
Bridges is second in career assists at RHS. He was a rotation player on the final four team of 2012. He was one of the best pure point guards to ever play to Rangeview High School. He was Honorable Mention All-State in 2013.
- Larry Bridges ( Graduated in 2013)
Bridges was a 4 year varsity player at RHS. He was on the 2012 Final Four team, and was one of the best players on that team. As a senior, Bridges averaged 14.6 points per game, and 3.8 rebounds per game.
- Matthew Johnson (Graduated in 2017)
Matthew Johnson was a very gifted scorer at Rangeview High School. He was a rotation player on the 2016 Final Four team, and was the best player on the team during the 2016-17 season. During that season, he averaged 21.8 points per game. He is currently playing at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
Christopher Speller remembers his short time playing with Matthew, “I think he deserves to be on the list because he was a good scorer and because he average over 20 points per game.”
- Lawson Williams (Graduated in 1991)
Lawson Williams was a All-Conference selection, and First Team All-State in 1990 at Rangeview High School.
- Elijah Reed (Graduated in 2016)
Even though Elijah Reed was a great football player at Rangeview and went on to play Division 1 College football, he was also one of the top basketball players to ever play at RHS.
Reed was in the conversation for being the best player on the 2016 Final Four team at Rangeview. He started his junior and senior years, and played varsity for three straight years. In his senior season, he averaged 16.1 points per game, and 7.7 rebounds per game.
- Elijah Blake (Graduated in 2017)
Blake runs down the court. (Vincent Tran)
Elijah Blake was on the 2016 Final Four team his junior year. He won Conference Player of the Year that year. He started his sophomore and junior seasons at RHS, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to play his senior season, due to injury.
He is currently playing at the University of Denver as a Freshman.
- Jamal Wright (Graduated in 2011)
As a senior at Rangeview, Jamal Wright averaged 17.5 points per game. He is most well known at Rangeview for hitting two game winning buzzer beating shots in the same season, both being against Rangeview’s biggest rival, Gateway High School.
- Gabe Solarin (Graduated in 2012)
Solarin holds the record for steals in a single game with 13 steals. He was arguably the best player on the 2012 Final Four team at Rangeview, and in his senior season, he averaged 16.5 points per game and 3.3 steals per game. Solarin was a gifted scorer and 3 point shooter, and one of the best to go to RHS.
Gabe went on to play at Fresno State University, and was a very successful player there.
- Lorenzo Phillips ( Graduated in 1988)
Lorenzo Phillips was an All Conference selection, as well as an All State selection in the year 1988. He went on to play at Fort Lewis in college.
- Lars Vanetten (Graduated in 1989)
Lars Vanetten was an All State selection as a Rangeview basketball player from the years 1987-1989. He went on to play at the University of Denver after his high school career was over.
- Jeffrey Solarin (Graduated in 2011)
Solarin looks to score. (Courtesy of Idaho State University)
Jeffrey holds the record at Rangeview for rebounds in a season, rebounds in a game, and rebounds in a career. Jeffrey averaged 18.7 points per game, 14.2 rebounds per game, and 2.1 blocks per game. He was Honorable Mention All-State in 2010, and 2nd Team All-State in 2011.
He successfully played at Idaho State University, and is currently playing professionally in Spain.
- Tyrei Randall (Graduated in 2016)
Tyrei Randall was the leading scorer on the Final Four team in 2016. He played varsity for three straight years at
Rangeview, and was one of the best scorers to ever play at Rangeview. He was a great shooter with a nice handle, and was also a really good defensive player. In his senior season at Rangeview, he averaged 16.6 points per game, and led his team to the Final Four in 2016. He was First Team All-State in his senior year at Rangeview. He is currently playing at Rider University.
- Reggie Evans ( Graduated in 2008)
Reggie Evans is the all time leader in points in a playoff game at Rangeview high school. Evans was First Team All-State in 2008, while avering 24.2 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, and 2 steals per game. He led his team to the Elite Eight during his senior year in high school.
Evans also has had one of the most successful college careers of anyone who has ever played at Rangeview. He went to Metro State University, and was the best player on a team that advanced all the way to the Elite Eight in the NCAA National Championships. Evans also went on to play in a very competitive league in Luxembourg.
- Terry Taylor (Graduated in 1985)
Terry Taylor was the best player on the only championship team in Rangeview high school’s history. He was a great point guard back in his day. He was an All State player in 1984 at Rangeview.
He went on to play at Stanford University and was a successful player there after high school. He almost caught up to Steve Kerr for the season record for three pointers made by a Pac-10 player.
- Jeremiah Paige (Graduated in 2014)
Paige dunks. (Courtesy of Aurora Sentinel)
Paige has many reasons to be number 1. Starting all four years at Rangeview, being the all-time leading scorer, holding the single game scoring record, and many things more make him number 1. Paige was dominant on both ends of the floor during his time at Rangeview. His offensive dominance showed night in and night out, especially on the night he scored a school record of 52 points, and also getting a school record 13 threes made.
Paige is the all time leader in points, free throws, blocks, steals, and three-pointers at Rangeview, while he is second in assists, and fourth in rebounds.
Paige has been one of the most successful players at the college level from RHS as well. He is currently a junior at Colorado State University, and has been the starting point guard there for the past two years.
