Basketball Season Preview: A New Dawn

There are some sports at Denver Academy where a cursory glance at the schedule before the season tells a good story of what to expect for the coming games. Take baseball, for instance. On paper, the last two seasons for the high school varsity team were eerily similar, with six wins in both seasons and a similar spot in the final rankings. Basketball tells a different story, though. High School Boys Varsity Basketball at DA can range anywhere from 12 wins a year to last year's two wins. 

That was last year, though. Coupled with a new coach at the helm of this team and one of the strongest freshman classes in years, there is a lot of optimism for what could happen this season. If you ask someone what they think about the basketball team this year, the answer is almost always the same, “Bro, we’re gonna dominate this season.” Not often is there so much optimism in a clubhouse, especially less than two weeks into preseason practice.

Opening on Wednesday, December 6 versus Denver Waldorf at home, the Denver Academy Mustangs have a demanding schedule of 18 games, including two versus Cripple Creek, often a favorite game for the players. The toughest test for the Mustangs comes in late January with four games in a one-week span. All of these games will be held against top-tier opponents: Dayspring Christian, Dawson, Denver Christian, and Heritage Christian.

A blend of up-and-coming youth mixed with veteran talent makes up this year's DA basketball team with seniors Nolan Monasch and DJ Harris leading the new freshmen talents such as Luc Stanley and Riley Allen. Stanley and Allen led the Middle School Mustangs team to a district championship last year and hope to bring that level of competitiveness to the high school team with a need for new blood. 

Meanwhile, Harris and Monasch were highlights for the Mustangs at the high school level last season with Nolan Monasch averaging 18.5 points a game, which was third-best in the Mile High League, and scoring a total of 259 points for the Mustangs. Harris had a 50% three-point percentage and was consistently out-hustling the rest of the team.

Looking at the High School Boys Varsity team this season, there is already a sense of camaraderie that wasn’t in the mix last season. You can tell that this is a TEAM. They respect each other and seem to like each other, as well as have one of the most important things that any team can ask for, chemistry. And the season has just begun! Even watching this team practice, the optimism and excitement for opening day is evident, and that optimism seems well-founded.

The first game for all three of the High School Mustangs Basketball Teams (Boys JV, Varsity, and Girls) is at home on Wednesday, December 6 in DA’s James E. Loan Athletic Center, so make sure to come down and cheer on your basketball teams!

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