The Freud Five features Eagle County’s best

I don’t like fantasy sports.

I’m hopelessly biased. In baseball — this may shock you — I pick all San Francisco Giants and the season would be a cesspool by May. Same thing in football with the 49ers.

But I do get to play fantasy basketball when it comes to the high school scene with the annual Freud Five. Congratulations to all the all-leaguers in the box which accompanies this story. Not surprisingly, we have large contingents from Battle Mountain girls basketball and the Vail Christian boys.

The first rule of the Freud Five is that there are always more than five. Sue me. The second rule is you might be out of position. You’re good players and coaches … make it work, people.

Tony Hernandez, Eagle Valley, point guard

As we just mentioned, players will be out of position, but I like the idea of the point guard leading the team in rebounds. In a season of many plot twists, Hernandez, 5-foot-11, led the Devils in rebounding. That’s just awesome.

Former Devils coach Chris Walls said of Hernandez, “All he does is get to the ball.” (This is the only time we could say that Walls was like former NFL coach Buddy Ryan.) Current Eagle Valley coach Justin Brandt, after a win at Summit County, said of Hernandez, “He just has a huge heart. He has a laser focus and anticipates well.”

Alec Moritz, Vail Christian, and Gabby Caballero, Battle Mountain, shooting guards

The Freud Five is going to be darn good on the nonexistent basketball power play. These two are assassins from beyond the arc. Neither has a conscience when it comes to shooting the 3. Even if they’re off one day, they keep shooting because they know the shot’s going to fall eventually.

Both also play defense well. Caballero is downright aggressive, while Moritz is a pickpocket artist. Both also return next season — and the sound you just heard was cheering from the two schools in Edwards.

Liam Mckenny, Battle Mountain, and E.J. Koller, Vail Christian, small forwards

The Freud Five also has a sense of humor when it comes to having Mckenny at small forward. Even more fun is that these are two different players who both got it done in completely different ways. At 6-5, Mckenny is your quintessential post player, who also had a nice 15-foot jumper. Mckenney also gets points for being Liam, which is apparently in vogue. (Teammate Liam Hanagan, not to mention Vail Mountain School alum Liam Hurley.)

Meanwhile, we’ve got Koller, who’s really hard to define except for the fact that he’s fast. Don’t take the “hard to define” description the wrong way. Koller just did a lot of little things that added up to big things — the rebound here, the pass there, the shot here. In some ways, he was the glue.

Claire Krueger, Battle Mountain, power forward

One of three captains for the Huskies, Krueger is the captain of the Freud Five. She played all four years at varsity on a team that has had little success in a generation. She stuck with it and was justly rewarded.

Krueger averaged nearly a double-double per game but was also the heart of the Battle Mountain girls’ first league title since 1993. We hear she’s pretty good at soccer as well.

Zack McKeever, Vail Christian, center

The ‘fro is a qualifying factor, but McKeever really developed in many ways this season. When your 6-foot-4 center also comes up with a 3-point shot, well, that makes you tough to defend.

He also became a more mature player this winter. Last year, if he went hard to the hoop and felt he should have gotten a foul, he could disappear from a game. Not so this year. What’s more, he helped teammates keep their cool in tense moments.

Kindi Backstrom, Battle Moutain, coach

I really never thought any of us would live long enough to see Battle Mountain girls basketball win a title. The Huskies have had two winning seasons in my 22 winters here. What’s more, Battle Mountain started 2-6 this year before a 13-3 run down the stretch, including a league title and a playoff win. Well done, Coach.

Vail Christian’s Sheldon Kuhns will be the assistant because, well, he’s already done that with volleyball and girls basketball and we heard Saints boys basketball had a decent year. Whether you grow a postseason beard is up to you, Sheldon.

More Awards

• Sixth Man for Freud Five: Jamison “Jamo” Lee, Vail Christian …  Think the Saints have a good backcourt coming back with Jamo and Moritz?

• Sixth Man of the Future: After missing most of the season with an injury, Vail Christian’s Hayden Sticksel was a huge spark off the bench. I’m not Sheldon, but it’s not hard to see Sticksel playing a big role at Vail Christian next year.

• Happy Surprise Award: Battle Mountain’s Alden Pennington, another super soph along with Caballero, turned into another perimeter threat as the season developed.

• Happy Suprise Award, Part II: Eagle Valley’s Keegan Garvey dropped 17 points to lead the Devils to an upset playoff win over Conifer. First, way to go, kid. Second, how are you in high school?

• Game of the Year: Eagle Valley beats Battle Mountain in triple overtime. With a 9:30 p.m. deadline, I was just rooting for someone to win the darn game. Thank you, Carlos Quezada, for the 3.

• Moment of the Year: Battle Mountain’s Audrey Teague jumps up and down after Wilder Isom hits a free throw during the Huskies’ 45-28 win over Rifle, the title clincher.

via:: Vail Daily