Updated Power Rankings 6-10

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>December was a busy month of basketball for just about every team in Nevada. Now that each team has played more than 10 games, I thought it would be a good time to update the power rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>6.</strong> <strong>Arbor View -</strong> Arbor View goes from #9 to #6 in the power rankings. They currently 10-5 and I would say that their biggest win of the season so far was against Mojave. They also put up a pretty good fight against the now #2 team in the power rankings, Sierra Vista. [player_tooltip player_id='1486090' first='Tremmell' last='Darden Jr']. , [player_tooltip player_id='1253130' first='Sebastian' last='Knox'], Ty'jir Broxie, Ien Kirkland, and [player_tooltip player_id='2053686' first='Cassius' last='Britt'] have all been doing well. In the month of January, they will face Liberty (1/10), Bishop Gorman (1/13), and Centennial (1/15) all in the less than a week. A brutal stretch of games, but if they can pick up wins in 2 of them I think they'd be happy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>7. Liberty -</strong> Liberty was #5 in my preseason power rankings, and they move to 7th. Their record is 3-5, and a majority of their games have come against quality competition. Which makes it somewhat hard to gauge where they're at. But I did watch them play at the Tarkanian Classic. [player_tooltip player_id='1252347' first='Jaden' last='Riley'] had quite the performance against American Fork, and [player_tooltip player_id='1493480' first='Dante' last='Steward'] pitched in that game as well. I'm a big fan of their pace, and how hard their second unit plays when they're out there. Defensively, they can really stifle you with their quickness. Liberty will also be playing in the Nike Tournament of Champions, and will face Carl Hayden (AZ) in the first game. For them to have a successful January, they'll need to get some consistent production on offense from their starters. As they have matchups with Centennial (1/8), Arbor View (1/10), Sierra Vista (1/11), Mojave (1/28), Coronado (1/30). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>8. Democracy Prep -</strong> Still in the #8 spot as they were a month ago is Democracy Prep. Right now their record is 8-3 and they haven't lost at home yet. Their top 3 scorers have been [player_tooltip player_id='1529852' first='Josiah' last='Stroughter'] (15.0 PPG), [player_tooltip player_id='1529853' first='Tai' last='Coleman'] (11.4 PPG), and [player_tooltip player_id='2374248' first='Dashaun' last='Harris'] (9.8) PPG. I was able to catch their game against Buchtel at the Tarkanian Classic and they were playing fast as they usually do. Things got close at the end, but [player_tooltip player_id='2374248' first='Dashaun' last='Harris'] hit a game-winning shot in the closing seconds and got DPAC the win. Coming up for the Knights, is the Nike Tournament of Champions. They open the tournament against, Cienega (AZ). The rest of January their bigger matchups are against Mater East (1/6) and Mojave (1/25).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>9.</strong> <strong>Rancho -</strong> Rancho was previously 6th in my power rankings and they are now in the #9 slot. [player_tooltip player_id='1253142' first='Jakoi' last='Lide'] is putting the nation on notice this season and is currently ranked #9 in the country in scoring, averaging, 34.8 PPG. He is able to score in a number of ways, [player_tooltip player_id='1535761' first='Jailen' last='Childress'] has also been a reliable contributor and is averaging 11.2 PPG. Their consistency on offense, helped Rancho reach 4-0 start. However they are now 8-4 after losing 3 games at the Tarkanian Classic. But they did grab one win against American Fork. By the look of it, their hardest games in January will be against Cimarron (1/11), Palo Verde (1/14), and Desert Oasis (1/16). As long as they play up to their potential, they should end up securing the #2 seed in 4A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>10.</strong> <strong>Faith Lutheran -</strong> Making their way into the rankings is Faith Lutheran. They are 9-7 and went 2-2 in the Tarkanian Classic, including a double overtime win against Spanish Fork. They also beat Palo Verde 67-64, and only lost by 8 to Arbor View. Some guys who are contributing frequently for the Crusaders right now are, [player_tooltip player_id='2797847' first='Ace' last='Hansen'], [player_tooltip player_id='1962913' first='Bentley' last='Swinn'], [player_tooltip player_id='1253134' first='Mason' last='Schweitzer'], [player_tooltip player_id='2303381' first='Tyson' last='Price'], [player_tooltip player_id='1895435' first='Dashel' last='Wiley'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2303381' first='Tyson' last='Price'], and Alex Rogers. In order for them to get a top seed in 4A, they'll need to grab some wins against Shadow Ridge (1/3), Green Valley (1/14), and Basic (1/22) in January.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams on the outside looking in:</strong> Cimarron, Mater East Academy, Desert Pines, Legacy, Silverado </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->