To wrap up our coverage of the 2017 grassroots season, it's time for the final Team Rankings of the season. The 16U Rankings will remain accessible underneath the
Grassroots tab at the top of the Prep Hoops Ohio homepage. This article will simply explain our thinking behind them.
With rosters changing on a weekly basis with players jumping from team to team and since these are
Team Rankings, the rankings have to do more with records/championships than talent. Talent is considered though! In some situations, it's the reason one team with comparable results is ranked higher than another.
Also, these final rankings do factor in team performance from the spring. Some teams made huge leaps in July, but it's impossible to jump from unranked to #1, if their spring wasn't impressive.
The 16U Top 15
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Ohio Basketball Club
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All Ohio Gold
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OH-NOVA (Russell)
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All Ohio Red
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Cincy Lakers
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OH-NOVA (Bennett)
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TNBA West Vega
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Miller Factory
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TNBA West Flash
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NEO Shooting Stars (Lowery)
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Pro Bound
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C2K Elite
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NWO Basketball Club
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SMAC Running Rebels
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Dayton Metro
Tier 1: 1
Sure, OBC didn't have a good first weekend of July and they lost to #14 SMAC Running Rebels in Louisville. However, they went 5-1 and made it all the way to the semifinals in the adidas Summer Championships last weekend in Vegas.
Plus, this is a situation where talent is very relevant. In a hypothetical head-to-head situation, nobody is matching up with OBC's frontcourt that goes 6'9”-6'9”-6'7”. All of those guys (
Alonzo Gaffney,
Brison Waller, and Jamier Fletcher) are surefire D-I prospects.
Additionally, the other 14 teams on this roster have been more inconsistent than OBC.
Tier 2: 2-5
Gold gets the nod over Red after beating them for a second time this season in Columbus. All Ohio Gold also won that tournament entirely, by going 6-0, also defeating #8 Miller Factory and #9 TNBA West Flash along the way. All Ohio Gold also went 3-1 at the Peach Invitational.
Red performed solidly at both of those tournaments (4-3 record). They combined that with a strong performance at the AAU Super Showcase to end the season, solidifying themselves in Tier 2.
Russell's NOVA team jumped from #5 in spring to #3 currently because of a 9-1 record in July. They swept the Hoop Group Summer Jam and went 3-1 at the UAA Finals in Atlanta. They have the talent to compete with anyone in Ohio, as
Ben Roderick and
Max Martz have solidified themselves as D-I wings.
Cincy Lakers 2019 have also proven capable of beating anyone throughout July. Most notably, they went 6-1 in the 17U division at the adidas Invitational to start off July. They advanced all the way to the semifinals of the Gold bracket in Indy, making it further than any collection of 2018 Ohio talent.
Tier 3: 6-15
Near the top of Tier 3, NOVA (Bennett), the two TNBA West teams, and Miller Factory have shown the most consistency throughout the month. A couple teams have fallen significantly from their spring standing, as Pro Bound went 3-7 in July and C2K went 4-9.
This NEO Shooting Stars group has jumped from unranked to #10 after having strong weekends in Louisville (6-0 in 16U Gold) and Fort Wayne.
Near the bottom, NWO Club, SMAC Running Rebels, and Dayton Metro, were far too consistent against solid competition to get left out of our final edition of the rankings.
photo: Curtis Oakley
