Plenty of teams talk about brotherhood, but this winter Denver South boys basketball embodied that term en route to a historic season.
The Ravens feature three sets of brothers, along with a brother tandem on the bench in head coach Vince Valdez and his assistant Ray Valdez.
Behind those family forces, Denver South captured its first title in the City League (formerly known as the Denver Prep League) since 1963.
“I don’t think we were expected to do what we did in league, and we were counted out by a lot of teams at the start of the season,” said senior guard Jonathan Trease, whose twin Alex Trease is also a starter at forward. “But it meant a lot to all of us, to be able to come in as an underdog, and driven by (our brotherly bonds), we proved what we could do. When we won the first city title in 60 years, that made the accomplishment mean that much more.”
Denver South’s starting lineup features two of those sets of brothers, with the Treases and also the Rhoades-Martinez brothers, junior point guard Dominic Rhoades-Martinez and sophomore guard Matt Rhoades-Martinez. Plus, the Ravens have an impactful brotherly duo off the bench in freshman guard Brody Shepherd and junior guard Cole Shepherd.
Behind all those brothers, as well as senior Chase Ford at center, Denver South bested traditional league powers Denver East (58-46 on Jan. 19) and George Washington (74-63 on Jan. 23) before holding off Rangeview on Feb. 9, 55-53, behind Dominic Rhoades-Martinez’s buzzer-beater to secure the league title.
For Vince Valdez, his fifth year on East Louisiana Ave is a sweet payoff. The coach used the same blueprint he did when he was at Lincoln, where he won a pair of Class 4A titles in 2007 and ’08, to morph the Ravens back into a perennial contender. Denver South was 7-16 in Valdez’s first year in 2019-20.
“First we wanted to the best team in a three-mile square radius,” Valdez explained. “Then it was, ‘Let’s go and see if we can be the best team east of Broadway.’ Then it was, ‘Let’s see if we can be (a serious playoff contender).’ Before you know it, we’re competing with everybody in the metro area and in Aurora.”
While Valdez has some familiar faces on his staff from his tenure at Lincoln — Leonard Ward was his longtime assistant there and is now a Ravens assistant, as are former Lancer stars Quinton Hosley and Jamison Washington — he’s also capitalizing on the deep Denver hoops lineage of the Rhoades-Martinez brothers.
Their dad, Dominic Martinez, was an all-state selection at Denver Lutheran before going on to Western Colorado, where his play earned him induction into the school’s Hall of Fame. The boys’ uncle, Gary Rhoades, was an All-American at Denver West, where he set a DPL scoring record before going on to a highlight-laden career at Colorado State that landed him in the Rams’ Hall of Fame. Denver West named its court after Rhoades earlier this year.
“It’s a family affair that extends all the way back to Harvey Park Rec Center, because that’s where Gary Rhoades was a recreation director for years,” Valdez said. “He taught Dominic Martinez, he coached myself, he coached my brother Ray.
“There’s also a Wash Park influence here, because these kids are all neighborhood kids. It’s a neat (local) recipe. And it makes for a close connection between everyone that’s pretty special.”
With all of that considered, Dominic Rhoades-Martinez, who has interest from MSU Denver, Northern Colorado and Colorado College, understands he’s carrying on a family legacy. He leads the Ravens with 18.0 points and 4.9 assists.
“I’m motivated to not only do it for myself, but also do it for my family,” Rhoades-Martinez said. “Yeah, I feel a little bit of pressure, but at the same time I try to play my own game, be my own player. And trying to continue that legacy motivates me.”
Signs of the Ravens’ breakout season started last spring, when Denver South finished at the top of the Green Mountain Spring League. They continued in the summer, when the Ravens won their division at the UNC team camp, and then carried into autumn when they took second in the Gold Crown Fall League.
Denver South’s had its fair share of humbling losses this year, including to Heritage in the first game after winter break and then closing the regular season with blowout losses to Vista PEAK Prep and Northfield, the top two seeds in the Class 5A bracket.
But as the No. 18 Ravens (16-7) head into the Class 6A playoffs on Wednesday at No. 15 Monarch, they remain confident. Denver South’s won six state hoops titles. That tally began with the lowest-scoring championship game in CHSAA history, a 7-6 win over Fort Collins in 1928, and finished with the Ravens’ most recent crown, a Class 3A title in 1970. In the time since, the closest the Ravens have come to glory was a Class 4A title defeat to Pueblo South in 2014.
“Now, in the playoffs, we have to go make another statement, just like we did in our league,” Jonathan Trease said. “We’re the underdog again. It’s going to take all of us locking in, but there’s a belief in our locker room we can make it to (the Great 8 at) the Denver Coliseum. And from there, anything could happen.”
Denver Public Schools boys basketball playoff teams
The Class 6A, 5A and 4A boys state tournaments begin Wednesday with the opening round. Denver East, the district’s hoops juggernaut and defending Class 6A champion, missed the playoffs by one seed.
Class 6A
No. 18 Denver South at No. 15 Monarch, 6 p.m.
No. 22 George Washington at No. 11 Doherty, 6 p.m.
Class 5A
No. 32 Thornton at No. 1 Northfield, 6 p.m.
No. 22 Denver North at No. 11 Grand Junction, 7 p.m.
No. 19 Golden at No. 17 Thomas Jefferson, 7 p.m.
Class 4A
No. 24 Steamboat Springs at No. 9 DSST: Green Valley Ranch, 6 p.m.
No. 20 Denver West at No. 13 Holy Family, 6 p.m.
No. 26 Summit at No. 7 DSST: Montview, 6 p.m. (MLK Early College)
No. 19 Sierra at No. 14 DSST: Conservatory, 6:30 p.m.
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