ND Class B: Week 3 Power Rankings
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As we all know, the weather this past week was awful. What does that have to do with basketball? Everything! Many, many games were postponed, canceled, and/or rescheduled. There was not much action as far as games went. Most teams…
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Continue ReadingAs we all know, the weather this past week was awful. What does that have to do with basketball? Everything! Many, many games were postponed, canceled, and/or rescheduled. There was not much action as far as games went. Most teams were lucky to just practice. I am guessing every team got in practice either Saturday or Sunday to help get ready for the week.
Our Top 10 teams in the PHD Power Rankings stay the same this week with just a bit of movement. If you look at the NDAPSSA rankings for last week, there was a Top 10 team that took a loss. Kindred was beaten last Monday by HCV with a score of 77-71 in OT.
#1 Four Winds-Minnewaukan (1-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/27 @ Minot State Dome vs. Dickinson Trinity
Comments: The Indians last game was on December 10th where they won at Oak Grove. It will be interesting to see how they come out on the neutral floor after a super long break. It will most likely feel like another season opener! Will 4Winds be rusty or will it look like they never missed a beat? I am guessing coach Smith & Mertens will have their team ready to roll!
#2 Central Cass (1-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/20 home vs. Maple River
Comments: The Squirrels practiced yesterday (Saturday), had today off, have another practice on Monday, and then they open up Region 1 play with a rival matchup vs. Maple River. After a long week off, getting a Region 1 win would be a nice way to get things started again for the talented Squirrels.
#3 Bishop Ryan (1-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/28 @ Minot State Dome vs. Thompson
Comments: They picked up their 1 win on December 10th and now they have to wait until the 28th for their next game. They are in a very similar situation to 4Winds but Minot Ryan has to wait an extra day to get its next game. The Lions have plenty of firepower and they should be comfortable playing on the Minot State court. Bishop Ryan vs. Thompson will be a great game! Thompson has a few games this week, so they will not be near as rusty as Ryan. At the same time, the Lions will have plenty of time to prepare and watch film on the Tommies. This will be a fun Top 10 matchup.
#4 North Border (1-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/19 @ Thompson
Comments: This will be the game to watch tomorrow night! Two Top 10 teams faceoff and this is a huge Region 2 matchup! I am assuming Ayden Stainbrook Ayden Stainbrook 6'5" | SF North Border | 2023 State ND will be guarding Karter Peterson Karter Peterson 6'6" | PF Thompson | 2025 State ND . This will be a fun matchup to watch. On the other side of the ball, I wonder who will guard Stainbrook? He can do damage all over the court, so I would think that Thompson would want to keep Peterson around the basket instead of running around with Stainbrook all over the court. I would not be surprised if Jake Starcevic Jake Starcevic 6'2" | SF Kindred | 2025 State ND ends up guarding Stainbrook for most of the game. Whoever ends up on TJ Cosley TJ Cosley 6'0" | PG North Border | 2023 State ND , he should have the advantage, I am expecting a high-quality game from TJ who recently scored his 1,000th career point. I watched this matchup last year, and Thompson took it to North Border. Thompson out-hustled and out-toughed the Eagles. Will that happen again or will North Border take care of business? I know I will be watching and I can’t wait to find out!
#5 Shiloh Christian (1-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/27 @ Minot State Dome vs. Thompson
Comments: They are in the same situation as 4Winds when it comes to how much time off. Shiloh will be the deeper team in this Skyhawks vs. Tommie matchup. Shiloh should have the advantage when it comes to depth. However, Thompson plays a couple of times this week, so they will have a chance to get knock off any rust and clean up mistakes before they meet the Skyhawks. This will be a fun one. Karter Peterson Karter Peterson 6'6" | PF Thompson | 2025 State ND vs. Jay Wanzek Jay Wanzek 6'7" | PF Shiloh Christian | 2023 State ND will be one matchup to keep eyes on.
#6 Des Lacs-Burlington (2-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/20 @ North Star
Comments: This is a monster matchup. Two Top 10 teams from our Power Rankings. Dane Hagler Dane Hagler 6'4" | SG North Star | 2024 ND is the super-athlete from North Star and the Lakers will have to find a way to slow him down. I am guessing that Rylan Olson Rylan Olson 6'5" | SG Des Lacs Burlington | 2023 State ND will start on Hagler. The Lakers have the advantage of having a 6’9″ Carson Yale Carson Yale 6'9" | PF Des Lacs Burlington | 2023 State ND as a rim-protector to help deter Hagler. On the other side of the ball, how will North Star match up with Des Lacs? I hope we get the chance to see Carson Yale Carson Yale 6'9" | PF Des Lacs Burlington | 2023 State ND and Dane Hagler Dane Hagler 6'4" | SG North Star | 2024 ND go at each other. That will be a must-watch basketball!
#7 Thompson (1-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/19 home vs. North Border
Comments: We commented on this game above when talking about North Border. Karter Peterson Karter Peterson 6'6" | PF Thompson | 2025 State ND should have the advantage down low against Stainbrook, but Stainbrook will have the advantage on the perimeter. I am not so sure that Peterson will guard him. I think the X-factors for the Tommies will be Brayden Wolfgram Brayden Wolfgram 5'10" | PG Thompson | 2024 State ND and Drew Overby. If they can minimize TJ Cosley TJ Cosley 6'0" | PG North Border | 2023 State ND , shoot the ball well from deep, and take care of the ball. The Tommies could pick up this win on their home court. Tomorrow night at this time, we will have all those answers.
#8 North Star (2-0)
Games this past week: WIN vs. Drayton/Valley-Edinburg 71-39 and WIN Cavalier 53-38
Next Game: 12/20 home Vs. Des Lacs-Burlington
Comments: Last week, We had North Star at #9 but Hagler was so impressive that we had to move the Bearcats up a spot. Dane Hagler Dane Hagler 6'4" | SG North Star | 2024 ND put up 41 points and 4 super athletic dunks vs. DVE. I am not sure how many Hagler went for against Cavalier, but he had to be in the 30’s. The Bearcats only go 7 deep in their rotation and so do the Lakers from DLB. This is going to be an amazing game to watch on Tuesday. See the Des Lacs Burlington comments for more info on Bearcats vs. Lakers.
#9 Bowman County (0-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/19 @ Dickson Trinity vs. Richardton-Taylor
Comments: It seems hard to believe that tomorrow will be the first game of the season for the Bulldogs. They should come out with plenty of enthusiasm after not playing a single game for this long amount of time. Bohden Duffield Bohden Duffield 6'1" | SG Bowman County | 2024 State ND , Bishop Duffield Bishop Duffield 6'2" | SG Bowman County | 2024 State ND , and Aidan Thompson are the top players to watch. I am interested to see what else the Bulldogs have and how much size they bring to the court.
#10 Linton-HMB (2-0)
DNP this past week
Next Game: 12/20 home vs. Beach
Comments: In the Beach matchup, Linton will have better guard play and superior shooters. The Bucs will have the best BIG on the floor with Trey Swanson Trey Swanson 6'5" | C Beach | 2023 State ND . The Lions have some good scoring options but Jace Jochim Jace Jochim 6'2" | SG Linton/HMB | 2024 State ND is the biggest scoring threat. I am interested to see if he can continue with his hot start and help the Lions pick up another win to start the year 3-0.