ND Class B: Week 4 Power Rankings

We had a slow start to the season, thanks to Mother Nature. Christmas is in the books and now things will really heat up. Well..maybe not the temperature but we will have games going on non-stop in the coming days.   On Tuesday, The Dale Brown Classic is happening in Minot, and on Wednesday the Hoopster Classic is going down in Minot as well. Also on Wednesday, the Mandan Holiday Tournament tips off. The Mandan tourney will continue on Thursday and Friday.   There was a bit of a shake up in this week's Power Rankings. We had a team drop out, a new team jump in, and quite a bit of movement.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/PowerRankings.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/PowerRankings.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-1676515" width="297" height="185" /></a></figure>   Double check upcoming game info, there have been a ton of changes/rescheduling in the past couple of weeks   #1 Four Winds-Minnewaukan (1-0)   DNP this past week   Next Game: 12/27 @ Minot State Dome vs. Dickinson Trinity   Comments: Will 4Winds look rusty after having an extended break with the bad weather and the Christmas break? Only time will tell and I can't wait to watch them play on Tuesday. [player_tooltip player_id='1144580' first='Deng' last='Deng'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1144581' first='Dalen' last='Leftbear'] are the two big names for the Indians. Deng and Leftbear are special athletes that are constantly making splashy plays on the hardwood. I am interested to see how deep coach Rick Smith goes into his bench and how the Indians look shooting from beyond the arc.   #2 Central Cass (3-0)   Games This Past Week: WIN vs. Maple River 74-39 & WIN @ Thompson 48-34   Next Game: 12/27 @ New Rockford-Sheyenne   Comments: CC picked up their first Region 1 win on the year and they took down a Top 10 team on their home court. The Squirrels must have had a sweet Xmas after those two wins over the Raiders and Tommies. They will be back to work today as they have a busy week ahead. Tuesday they play at New Rockford, Thursday they are at Lisbon, and on Saturday they host LLM. Scoring leaders from the Thompson W: [player_tooltip player_id='1144577' first='Carter' last='Vrchota'] 18, [player_tooltip player_id='1111886' first='Sam' last='Kobbervig'] 12, [player_tooltip player_id='1617813' first='Cole' last='Holzer'] 8.   #3 Bishop Ryan (1-0)   DNP this past week   Next Game: 12/28 @ Minot State Dome vs. Thompson   Comments: I am interested in watching the Lions on Wednesday. Will they look rusty after all the time off? Thompson should not be rusty after having 2 games last week and they also play in the Dale Brown Classic on Tuesday. The Lions will be rested, maybe they will run the Tommies off the court? The Tommies typically play solid defense, I am interested to see how they handle high-scoring [player_tooltip player_id='1138815' first='Brady' last='Feller']. Keep eyes on [player_tooltip player_id='1189452' first='Ramsey' last='Walz'], he is likely one of the best BIGs in Class B. [player_tooltip player_id='1617814' first='Ian' last='Johnson'] is the athletic/utility man that can get it done on both ends and score from every level. [player_tooltip player_id='1050254' first='Connor' last='Thompson'] is back after missing last season, I am interested to see how he looks. [player_tooltip player_id='1376819' first='Jett' last='Lundeen'] is a youngster to be keep track of. Look out for the Lions!   #4 Shiloh Christian (1-0)   DNP this past week   Next Game: 12/27 @ Minot State Dome vs. Thompson   Comments: Tomorrow's game with the Tommies is looking like a very intriguing matchup. [player_tooltip player_id='1165392' first='Karter' last='Peterson'] vs. [player_tooltip player_id='1372160' first='Atticus' last='Wilkinson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1138746' first='Jay' last='Wanzek'] will be a fun mathcup. [player_tooltip player_id='1705523' first='Drew' last='Overby'] vs. [player_tooltip player_id='1481868' first='Wyatt' last='Westin'] is another matchup to look out for. Overby and Westin are both excellent shooters. On Wednesday, the Skyhawks play Westhope-Newburg. I want to see [player_tooltip player_id='1219808' first='Caden' last='Englund'] vs. [player_tooltip player_id='1169145' first='Walker' last='Braaten'] matchup in that game. Those two players know each other well as they are teammates in the AAU season with [program_tooltip program_id='2075741' first='ND' last='Phenom'].   #5 North Star (3-0)   Game This Past Week: WIN vs. Des Lacs-Burlington 59-47   Next Game: 12/27 @ Minot State Dome vs. Our Redeemer's   Comments: The Bearcats had a great win over DLB on their home court this past week. Scoring for North Star in the W: [player_tooltip player_id='1324683' first='Dane' last='Hagler']- 30, [player_tooltip player_id='1367009' first='Parker' last='Simon'] - 11, [player_tooltip player_id='1367010' first='Karsen' last='Simon'] - 6, [player_tooltip player_id='1632620' first='Hunter' last='Hagler'] - 6, [player_tooltip player_id='2256887' first='Brett' last='Dilley'] - 4, Owen Kurtti - 2. [player_tooltip player_id='1324683' first='Dane' last='Hagler'] has been an absolute STUD so far this season and is easily looking like a 1st Team All-State Player. He has been hitting 3's and has been unstoppable off the bounce. Dane has also been finishing above the rim with MONSTER SLAMs. Tune in on Tuesday evening to watch Mr. Hagler and the Bearcats! College coaches need to start taking some serious looks at [player_tooltip player_id='1324683' first='Dane' last='Hagler'].   #6 Bowman County (2-0)   Game This Past Week: WIN vs. Richardton-Taylor 78-24 & WIN vs. Beach 58-52   Next Game: 12/27 @ LLM   Comments: They are playing in the Roughrider Tournament and they will face the host of the tournament, the Trinity Titans. This is the 5th straight time that BC and DT have met in the Championship. The Bulldogs won the Roughrider Tourney last year. This will be a fun game as the teams know each other well and they are both from Region 7. Could this be a preview of the Region 7 Championship game?   #7 Des Lacs-Burlington (2-1)   Game This Past Week: LOST @ North Star 59-47   Next Game: 12/28 @ Minot State Dome vs. Dickinson Trinity   Comments: The Lakers had a tough one against the Bearcats. The game was much closer than what the final score indicated. The Lakers did not convert from the FT-line and the Bearcats did. [player_tooltip player_id='1138816' first='Carson' last='Yale'] was the best Laker in that game. Coming up, DLB will have its work cut out for them. The next 3-games they have Trinity, Beulah, and Rugby. If the Lakers go 3-0, they will have proven that they are the real deal.   #8 Thompson (2-1)   Games This Past Week: WIN vs. North Broder 71-57 & LOST vs. Central Cass 48-34   Next Game: 12/27 Minot State Dome vs. Shiloh Christian   Comments: The Tommies picked up a huge Region win over North Border on Monday. [player_tooltip player_id='1705523' first='Drew' last='Overby'] scored 26 points and knocked down 6 3-pointers in that win. Later in the week, the Tommies lost to the mighty Squirrels by 14 points. Against CC, [player_tooltip player_id='1145544' first='Jake' last='Starcevic'] scored 13, [player_tooltip player_id='1705523' first='Drew' last='Overby'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1165392' first='Karter' last='Peterson'] each scored 10. The Tommies have a tough week coming up. They are playing Shiloh Christian on Tuesday in the Dale Brown Classic and Bishop Ryan on Wednesday in the Hoopster Classic. If the Tommies win both of those games, they will be shooting way up the rankings!   #9 Linton-HMB (3-0)   Games This Past Week: WIN vs. Beach 47-44   Next Game: 12/28 Mandan High School vs. Bottineau   Comments: The Buccaneers kept it close vs. the Lions but this is not surprising as Beach will typically keep games low scoring and they are always physical contests. [player_tooltip player_id='1135862' first='Trace' last='King'] led Linton with 13 points and [player_tooltip player_id='1146180' first='Jace' last='Jochim'] went for 9 points. The Lions have the Mandan Holiday Tournament coming up. They will play games Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. [player_tooltip player_id='1146180' first='Jace' last='Jochim'] vs. [player_tooltip player_id='1144617' first='Carson' last='Haerer'] is a matchup to watch in Wednesday's game. Both players are great shooters with a ton of talent on the offensive end. If Linton could go 3-0 and win the Mandan Tournament, that would solidify the Lions as one of the top teams in Class B.   #10 Grafton (4-0)   Games This Past Week: WIN @ Langdon-Edmore-Munich 63-41   Next Game: 1/3 @ Northern Cass   Comments: The Spoilers have wins over Oakes, Cavalier, Drayton/Valley-Edinburg, and Langdon/Edmore/Munich. The Spoilers have three talented juniors with [player_tooltip player_id='1481873' first='Juan' last='Villarreal'], [player_tooltip player_id='1168246' first='Braylon' last='Baldwin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1168256' first='Ryan' last='Hanson']. Baldwin is a stud that handles the rock with skill and he facilitates the offense. He is a tough matchup as he can slash to the rim, hit mid-range J's, and knock them down from deep. He has a fantastic pull-up jumper. The Spoilers are looking like a tough team once again.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/NorthDakota.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/NorthDakota.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-1606306" /></a></figure>

We had a slow start to the season, thanks to Mother Nature. Christmas is in the books and now things will really heat up. Well..maybe not the temperature but we will have games going on non-stop in the coming days.