ND A Updated Power Rankings

<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size">Merry Christmas to everyone across the Dakotas!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PHD just updated the Class A Power Rankings for North Dakota. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"style":{"typography":{"fontStyle":"italic","fontWeight":"800"}}} --> <p style="font-style:italic;font-weight:800">Best of luck to all the teams when they get back from Xmas break!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1676515,"width":"527px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <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" style="width:527px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>#1 Grafton (5-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">RECENT SCORES</span>:</strong> W 79-44 vs. Oak Grove, W 72-60 Thompson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Spoilers have too much firepower to not move them up to #1. They have a deadly combination of skill, length, lethal shooting, size, and depth. Earlier in the season the Spoilers started [player_tooltip player_id='1168246' first='Braylon' last='Baldwin'], [player_tooltip player_id='1481873' first='Juan' last='Villarreal'], [player_tooltip player_id='1770389' first='Kyler' last='Droog'], [player_tooltip player_id='1168256' first='Ryan' last='Hanson'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1770392' first='Abram' last='Sevigny']. From there, they bring in super sophs [player_tooltip player_id='1632619' first='Reggie' last='Rice'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1632630' first='Brody' last='Lillemoen']. You will have a hard time finding a better #6 and #7 man in Class A. It will be interesting to see if the Spoilers can win their next two games (Langdon and Bottineau). If they do, that will set up a very compelling matchup with Devils Lake on January 11th. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>#2 Four Winds-Minnewaukan (2-2)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">RECENT SCORES</span>:</strong> W 69-63 Devils Lake, W 67-48 Central Cass</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite having two losses, we had to move the Indians back up to the #2 spot. [player_tooltip player_id='1144580' first='Deng' last='Deng'] is back and healthy. 4Winds also just took down the #1 and #4 ranked teams in North Dakota! What a way to head into Christmas for coach <em>Rick Smith's</em> team. In the 6-point win over Devils Lake, 4Winds was led by [player_tooltip player_id='1144580' first='Deng' last='Deng'] with 26 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 5 blocks, and [player_tooltip player_id='1144581' first='Dalen' last='Leftbear'] with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. Against Central Cass where they won by 19, 4Winds was led in scoring by [player_tooltip player_id='1144580' first='Deng' last='Deng'] with 30 points, [player_tooltip player_id='1144581' first='Dalen' last='Leftbear'] 19 points, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2344136' first='Dorvan' last='McKay']</strong> with 9 points. Coming up, the Indians have two quality games against Dickinson Trinity and Beulah in Minot on the 29th and 30th, let's see if they can stay smoking hot.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>#3 Devils Lake (4-1)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">RECENT SCORES</span>:</strong> W 71-37 Turtle Mountain, L 69-63 Four Winds-Minnewaukan, W 66-38 Valley City</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Firebirds suffered their first loss of the season this past week. They had to travel about 15 miles down the road for their "New Rival" Four Winds-Minnewaukan and it sounds like it was a doozy of a game. It was a packed house and a raucous environment. The leading scorers in that 4Winds loss for a DL were [player_tooltip player_id='1918762' first='Beau' last='Brodina'] (20 pts), [player_tooltip player_id='1750475' first='Parker' last='Brodina'] (18 pts), and [player_tooltip player_id='1411320' first='Wylee' last='Delorme'] (13 pts). The Firebirds had a nice bounce-back win on Friday when they took down Valley City by 28 points. Coming up in the New Year, DL plays Grand Forks Red River, it will be interesting to see if they can take care of business against the AA Roughriders. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>#4 Kindred (3-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">RECENT SCORES</span>:</strong> W 57-52 Valley City</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I don't know if it is true, but I heard that there is a petition going around Kindred to change the town's name to "Dunk City"! Coach <em>Woehl's</em> team has only played three games but I would not be surprised if they lead the state in DUNKs. The Vikings are loaded with size, athleticism, and talent, no question about that! Kindred does not score a ton of points or play at a frenetic pace, but they play solid defense, control the boards, and they have size that most teams only dream about.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/DaksHoops/status/1737622347824144459","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/DaksHoops/status/1737622347824144459 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"large"} --> <p class="has-large-font-size"><strong>#5 Beulah (3-0)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline">RECENT SCORES</span>:</strong> W 70-44 Wilton-Wing, W 74-30 Nedrose</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Miners moved up a class, lost their coach Rockstar coach (<em>Jeremy Brandt</em>), and [player_tooltip player_id='1355919' first='Bennett' last='Larson'] moved away to Stanley. Did that slow down Beulah? No! The Miners are searing hot, undefeated, averaging 73.3 ppg, and holding opponents to 41.3 ppg. [player_tooltip player_id='1144977' first='Trace' last='Beauchamp'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1355920' first='Braylen' last='Schirado'] lead the Miners, they have looked tough in their three large-margin victories. [player_tooltip player_id='1186854' first='Aidan' last='O'Brien'] is another noteworthy player with athleticism and a nice skill set. [player_tooltip player_id='1144979' first='Champ' last='Hettich'] is also a quality player for Beulah. New coach <em>Brandon Schirado</em> could not have asked for a better start to the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1606306,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <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> <!-- /wp:image -->