Few area high school basketball players are on the rise like East High's Dominique Collier. The 6-foot-1-inch freshman, slated to graduate with the class of 2014, is already listed in ESPN's college basketball recruiting database with a stellar 4.5 out of five stars. And now the shooting guard has another notch in his belt: He's been named to USA Basketball's developmental national team, giving him the chance to land a spot on the FIBA Americas Under-16 Championships squad, which will compete June 21-25 in Leon, Mexico (Denver Post).

Collier's career trajectory isn't likely the result of skills only. He can also thank the company he keeps. Denver native and top NBA point guard Chauncey Billups has been acting as Collier's mentor, and the two stay in touch even now that Billups has been traded to the New York Knicks (Denver Post).