Chatfield’s boys basketball coach Stephen Schimpeler directs a morning practice during the Thanksgiving Break. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LITTLETON — By no means is Chatfield’s boys basketball team resting on its laurels after a run to the Class 5A state semifinals last season.
“That’s kind of wiped away,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said during an early morning practice for the Chargers over Thanksgiving Break. “We enjoyed it. It’s part of our history and our experience, but you can’t live on that. We are moving ahead.”
Taking a quick look back to Chatfield’s impressive 24-3 record last season, the Chargers will miss the likes of leading scorer Cameron Pearson, starting point guard Riley Welch and big man Josh Frenette who all graduated. However, don’t sleep on this version of the Chargers.
Chatfield returns an extremely deep senior class this year. Joe Miks, Mike Vrabel, Alex Beckley, Titus Reed, Lucas St. Germain and Landon Rogers have the reins now for the defending 5A Jeffco League champions that rolled to an undefeated 14-0 conference record last year.
Chatfield senior Joe Miks, left, looks for an open teammate during practice. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“We expect to do it again this year,” Reed said. “We definitely learned some things and are way more experienced this year. We lost some key guys, but I think we’ll still be a pretty good team.”
Reed, 6-foot-4, isn’t the biggest post player by any means, but his athletic ability and skill set will present plenty of match-up problems for opponents. He wasn’t asked to score much last year, but Reed knows he will be counted on this year on both ends of the floor.
“The pressure is definitely on,” Reed said. “I know I need to step up. I’ve got some big shoes to fill.”
Filling the shoes of the starting point guard will be Beckley. While the speedy guard has had to deal with a foot injury early on, Schimpeler was encouraged with Beckley last summer.
“Beckley is a huge key for us. This summer, teams couldn’t stop him. He was so quick. He is going to make us go,” Schimpeler said. “He is the one driving the sports car. We are going to play faster then we have ever played.”
Pearson carried the scoring load at times, especially during the postseason last season that ended with a semifinal loss to eventual two-time defending state champion Overland. Chatfield returns plenty of shooters with Miks, Vrabel and St. Germain at the forefront.
Miks, who averaged more than 13 points per game as a sophomore and junior, said he is even surprised about entering his final season of his prep basketball career.
Chatfield senior Titus Reed, middle, will be key to the Chargers’ success this season. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
“I’m still wearing the same practice jersey I wore freshman year,” Miks said. “It’s kind of surreal. Everyone says it goes by fast. They’re right.”
Miks is confident the Chargers will have a strong offensive punch. Chatfield averaged 67.7 points per game last season. St. Germain is someone who can step up to carry the Chargers offensively.
St. Germain came down with pneumonia during winter break last year that set him back for much of the season. Don’t be surprised if the sharp-shooting guard has a strong senior campaign.
“As long as we move the ball (on offense) and play great defense I don’t see why we can’t be as good as we were last year,” Miks said.
The Chargers, just outside the top 10 of the CHSAANow.com 5A boys basketball preseason poll, starts the season against last year’s 5A state runner-up Eaglecrest. The preseason No. 1 in the rankings hosts Chatfield at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2.
“We are trying to send a message with that game,” Reed said of facing Eaglecrest. “We want to get people talking about us again.”
Chatfield has home games against Monarch (Dec. 6) and Far Northeast (Dec. 13) before winter break.
“We’ve scheduled tough for that purpose to see where we are at,” Schimpeler said of the Chargers’ non-league schedule. “I think that’s important. You don’t want cupcakes. Part of the high school experience is playing in those tough games that are exciting. We want to give our guys the best experience while they are here.”
The biggest threat to dethrone Chatfield from atop 5A Jeffco appears to be Lakewood. The Tigers are led by one of the premier scorers in the state — Kolton Peterson.
Chatfield travels to Lakewood on Saturday, Jan. 7, in the first of two meetings between the conference favorites.
Defending that league title and having another deep postseason run is clearly essential for the Chargers.
“As a senior you are trying to leave a legacy, that’s your year,” Schimpeler said. “I think that is important to these guys.”
Chatfield opens its season on the road against preseason No. 1 Eaglecrest on Friday, Dec. 2. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)