RAMSEY: Sierra's Gordon prepares to battle with L-P's Scott

Even as a first-grader, Wesley Gordon could look above the little people who surrounded him on the basketball court. The height always was there.

It took time to realize constant, focused work was needed to master the game, but there’s no doubt he’s performed the required labor.

On Friday, Gordon leads undefeated Sierra against Josh Scott and once-defeated Lewis-Palmer in the area’s biggest regular-season high school game of the 21st century.

Gordon is 6-foot-7. Scott is 6-foot-9. Both are ranked among the nation’s top high school players. Both will play next season at the University of Colorado.

Gordon will spend Friday’s game in the lane, his usual domain. He polices the basket, swatting shots as he protects the rim. He seizes offensive rebounds and dunks. He seldom strays far from the paint.

When he’s playing pickup with his friends at the Y, where freedom reigns, Gordon is a different player. He takes, and makes, 3-pointers. He dribbles behind his back. He escapes his usual role as a superb yet stereotypical big man.

At CU, Gordon will be surrounded by other towers. He hopes this will liberate him. He wants to play small forward, which will demand a more varied set of skills.

Sierra coach Terry Dunn appreciates Gordon’s discipline and unselfishness. The Stallions, Dunn said, need Gordon to stay in the lane. He’s their lone big man.

Dunn shares Gordon’s vision of the future. He sees Gordon excelling all over the court for the Buffs.

“He’s got one of the best basketball IQs I’ve seen in terms of thinking ahead,” Dunn said. “He understands the mental aspect of the game.”

I see a blindingly bright future for Gordon. He’s quick, fast, smart and blessed with extreme leaping powers. He’s only 17, and he’s a tireless worker.

It wasn’t always this way.

Sierra senior guard Jalen Little remembers the first time he met Gordon. When Little was in the first grade, he walked into the Boys and Girls Club on Chelton Road and saw Gordon. He was easy to spot. He stood a foot above everyone else.

Little was impressed.

Until he watched Gordon start playing.

“He wasn’t like he is now,” Little said. “He was big and goofy.”

Calvin Brown saw Gordon a couple of years later. Not much had changed.

“He was pretty funny looking,” Brown said. “And clumsy.”

Gordon laughed when he heard the descriptions. He doesn’t mind. For much of grade school, he was more interested in video games than real games.

It was tough to score baskets on the video screen. At least there was a serious challenge. It was easy to score at the gym.

“Yeah, I was goofy,” Gordon said, “but I was playing against little people, and it was easy to score.”

By the time he was 12, Gordon already had hit 6-foot. The game remained easy, but he could see his days of dominance might be coming to an end. He began pushing himself, and he’s never been satisfied since.

Little and Brown won’t kid you; they did not expect the “clumsy”, “goofy” and “awkward” youngster to become a smooth, agile young man.

But they have enjoyed the show this season. Gordon, averaging 21 points, dropped 38 points on Wasson, 37 on Ridge View and 49 on Sand Creek.

Gordon is Sierra’s marquee player. He dominates conversations about the team. He dominates media coverage.

Little and Brown decline to complain. They describe their relationship with Gordon in family terms.

“We’re brothers,” Little said.

Gordon agrees.

“We’re really close,” he said. “If we’re not with our girlfriends, we’re with each other. We all like each other so much, and it makes us much more powerful.”

These brothers have a clear goal. They want to rule the state, and so far no one has stopped them. At Sierra, there’s every reason for optimism.

Every reason, that is, except a big man who lurks a few miles up north.

Big man by the name of Josh.

Next: Lewis-Palmer’s Josh Scott, who considers himself a basketball underdog.

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