After falling in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs last season, ThunderRidge returned its entire lineup, including the state’s top recruit in four-star senior point guard and CU commit Andrew Crawford.

In other words: Watch out for the Grizzlies again, the four-time state champs and eight-time finalists who last raised the trophy two years ago.

ThunderRidge (11-2) has yet to be beaten in-state and is ranked No. 3 in the latest CHSAA poll. The Grizzlies already have a number of quality wins on their resume ahead of the start of Continental League play on Friday against Legend, including victories over No. 2 Valor Christian, Arapahoe and Cherry Creek.

“Even though we brought everybody back, last year we were 13-11,” ThunderRidge head coach Joe Ortiz said. “We weren’t a finished product. So we’re building, we’re getting better, and I like where we’re at.

“Our tournament in San Antonio early in the season, where we lost twice, it was good team-building against hard-fought competition. We usually don’t play a game that early in the season, and we played five games in Week 1, and eight games over the first two weeks. We played a third of our season in two weeks, so we got after it right away. Right now, we’re hitting more of a stride.”

In addition to Crawford running the point, ThunderRidge also features a couple other dynamic senior playmakers in 6-foot-8 forward Tommy Wight (Point Loma commit) and 6-foot-5 shooting guard Charlie Spann. Ortiz refers to the trio as the team’s “three-headed monster.”

Plus, for a program rarely lacking in size, 6-foot-8 sophomore center Drew Paine has seen his role expand this season as the Grizzlies wait on the return of 6-foot-4 forward Ulysses Brown. The junior has yet to play in 2023-24 while recovering from bone marrow edema, and Ortiz hopes to have him back by February.

Even without Brown, the Grizzlies are emerging as an early championship contender, while Ortiz hit a milestone on Dec. 13. ThunderRidge beat Overland to give the 28th-year boss his 500th career victory, the 14th coach in CHSAA history to achieve the mark.

“I’ll stop counting soon,” Ortiz quipped.

The Terrors’ emergence. In Class 5A, second-year Palmer head coach Eric Trujillo’s squad put the state on notice last month with a 79-63 victory over defending 6A champion Denver East that turned heads.

No. 3 Palmer (10-1) fell to Thompson Valley by one point in the game before the win over Denver East, but besides that setback, the balanced Terrors (four scorers averaging double-digits) have looked Denver Coliseum-caliber.

“With some of the attention we’re getting, we’re getting a lot of people’s best effort,” Trujillo said. “Our league isn’t going to be easy, including the defending state champion in Mesa Ridge who is starting to find their stride. It’s going to be a tough league and we have to stay focused, but we feel good about where we’re at.”

Trujillo is a Palmer alum, and was senior guard on the Terrors’ last title team that ran the table to a perfect 24-0 season and 5A championship in 2000. Palmer also won the title in 1993, but since current Nuggets guard Reggie Jackson led the Terrors to the Final Four in 2008, the school has been absent from the latter rounds of the state tournament.

Trujillo believes that can change this year for the school located in downtown Colorado Springs, where Palmer’s long had its talent siphoned by the city’s suburbs. Senior 6-foot-6 guard/forward Walker Asp headlines the Terrors, as the captain is averaging 13.8 points and 4.5 rebounds.

“We’ve had a lot of transition in the city, and now that new people and families are moving in and are excited to be here, they want to be a part of that downtown experience, and the kids are starting to come back, the program is building,” Trujillo said. “Good things are brewing.

“It means a lot to me to coach at my alma mater and really try to push us to get us back to where we were in the past. With this group, we have a great opportunity to be one of the teams playing for (the title) on March 9.”

Ralston Valley’s youth movement. Up in Arvada, No. 7 Ralston Valley (7-3) features one of the top players in the state in junior guard Tanner Braketa, the son of head coach Chris Braketa.

But Tanner has yet to play this season due to right knee surgery over the summer to correct a birth defect that resulted in a dead spot in the bone of his kneecap. That means Braketa’s other son, Caiden Braketa, and four other sophomore contributors are stepping up and carrying the load.

“That’s a big piece we’re missing, but it’s also been good for some of those younger guys because now they’ve had to step up and be more of a guy than a role player, especially his little brother, Caiden, who has had to take on a main role instead of just playing off of Tanner and (senior point guard) Jackson Hansen,” Chris Braketa said. “He’s learning a lot more of the mental side of the game. He’s got the skill set, he’s got the size at 6-foot-3. For him, it’s learning how to deal with adversity when you’re missing shots, how to be more of a leader, that sort of thing.”

Caiden Braketa is averaging 17 points in his brother’s absence, while Hansen, an All-Colorado receiver, has quickly acclimated into hoops season at 12.2 points per game. Sophomore guard Frank Psaute is the Mustangs’ other main contributor in double-digit scoring.

Chris Braketa hopes that with the return of Tanner in a couple weeks, Ralston Valley, which lost in the Sweet 16 last season, will be ready to make a Denver Coliseum appearance in March.

“Now it’s about matching the physicality of other teams, making sure we’re competing every single play and every single possession,” the coach said. “That’s where we’re a little bit lacking right now. Part of that might be the inexperience. But if we learn to match what some of those other top teams bring, we can do some big things.”

More storylines. In Class 5A, No. 1 Golden (8-1) has the pieces to make a run at the program’s first state title. The Demons are led by the senior guard tandem of Slade Pike and Alex Erger…. Class 6A No. 2 Valor Christian, which beat Ralston Valley on Wednesday in Highlands Ranch, also has the talent to make a run at the program’s first Class 6A title. Valor Christian (10-2) is led by junior guard Cole Scherer (19.8 points per game) and senior guard Eli Kim (13.4), plus 6-foot-6 junior forward Brady Wynja (10.1). The Eagles played ThunderRidge and Smoky Hill tough in their two losses so far…. Speaking of No. 10 Smoky Hill (9-3), head coach Anthony Hardin’s squad is motivated after losing to Denver East in the Great 8 last year. Senior forward Kevin Sylla, a 6-foot-8 dominator in the paint, is putting up 13.8 points per game while sophomore Carter Basquez is one of the best underclass guards in the state…. No. 4 Mountain Vista (9-2), No. 8 Rock Canyon (9-3) and No. 9 Douglas County (10-2) are other forces to be reckoned with out of the Continental League along with ThunderRidge. The Golden Eagles are led by junior guard Cal Baskind, while Rock Canyon has junior guard Kasen Lehman and Douglas County features senior point guard Reilly Guerra.