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The Optimist

The student news site of Bloomington High School South

The Optimist

The student news site of Bloomington High School South

The Optimist

Hudson Hoops: week 3 power rankings

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With 2 weeks of high school basketball in the books, we now know more about the true potential for a lot of these high school teams. Week 3 is on the horizon so it seems fitting to update my rankings to let you know where teams stand after two weeks. For the first edition of my rankings I didn’t know much about many of the teams and was unsure how things would shake out past the top four, but with the added information I will now be giving you my top ten for Class 4A and 3A and my top five for both 2A and 1A.

Class 4A

Lawrence Central (2-0) (-)

After starting the season 2-0 and easily defeating the defending 4A champions it would be a crime not to leave them at number one on my list. This team remains as the team to beat in class 4A basketball. Deandre Davis and Nijel Pack are looking to lead this team to a state title.

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Bloomington South (3-0) (+2)

The Bloomington South Panthers have looked nothing short of dominant this season. After impressive one sided wins over Edgewood, New Albany, and BNL, this team looks like the real deal and legitimate state title contenders. The three headed monster of Anthony Leal, Noah Jager, and Connor Hickman can both defend and score with ease. 

Lawrence North (2-0) (-)

Lawrence North is off to a 2-0 start with wins over Marion and Jeffersonville. Even though Jeffersonville took them to overtime this is still a great basketball team that head coach Jack Keefer has assembled.

Warren Central (2-0) (-2)

Despite having a new head coach this year this team still looks like one of the top teams in 4A. An impressive win over Indianapolis Tech has secured their spot in the top 4, but I need to see more quality wins before I am completely sold on this squad’s potential. 

Jeffersonville (1-1) (NR)

The Red Devils already have one loss but it was an overtime loss to Lawrence North. The fact that they were so competitive in that game puts them at number five for me. This southern Indiana sleeper is looking great so far in the young 2019-20 season.

Brownsburg (4-0) (NR)

Starting off the season red hot with four wins, the Bulldogs aren’t messing around this year. Wins over Crispus Attucks and North Central makes me think that this team is legit.

Indianapolis Crispus Attucks (2-1) (NR)

Led by senior Sincere McMahon, who is averaging a ridiculous 29 ppg this year, the Tigers are a formidable opponent and definitely one of the top ten teams in 4A.

Carmel (1-2) (NR)

Disappointing is the only word to describe the Greyhounds season so far. The defending state champions are struggling to start the year with losses to Zionsville and Lawrence Central. The Lawrence Central loss was expected but one more loss to a team similar to Zionsville will push them out of the top ten.

Lafayette Jeff (4-0) (NR)

This marks the 3rd consecutive year Jeff has started 4-0 or better. The Bronchos haven’t played the greatest competition yet but have managed to beat the teams they’ve played by an average of 30 points across four games.

Ben Davis (2-2 )(NR)

Another team with high hopes coming into the season after finishing as the runners up in the state championship game last year, the key contributors they lost from last year’s team is likely the main reason for the Giants’ early losses to Fishers and Southport.

Dropped Out: None

Important Matchups:

Dec 11 –  Lawrence Central vs Lawrence North

Dec 13 – Bloomington South vs Southport

Dec 13 – Cathedral vs Warren Central

Dec 13 – Lawrence North vs Brownsburg

*Dec 14 – Brownsburg vs Heritage Hills

*Dec 14 –  Carmel vs Evansville Reitz

*Dec 14 – Bloomington South vs Culver

December 14th games are part of a basketball festival and will all be played at Southport.

Class 3A

Silver Creek (3-0) (-)

There isn’t much to say that hasn’t already been said. Trey Kaufman is a beast and this team would easily be a top ten team in 4A which makes them by far the best team in 3A.

Heritage Hills (1-0) (+1)

Despite only playing one game the Patriots have looked just as impressive as they did last year and are the team most likely to give Silver Creek a good game.

Brebeuf Jesuit (2-1) (NR)

Brebeuf is a team that wasn’t even on my radar coming into the season, but they have proven themselves as one of the better teams in 3A with two early wins and a three point loss to Cathedral.

Delta (2-1) (NR)

When they started off the season 0-1 I thought my initial predictions about this team were right but they came back and won the next two. It is still yet to be completely determined if their roster can recover from all the seniors they lost from last year’s team, but, as of right now, I am giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Greensburg (1-0) (-3)

They only moved down on my rankings because they have only played one game so far this season, but they still look like one of the better teams in 3A.

Princeton (3-0) (NR)

The Tigers have started off the season on a roll with three straight wins. Their first year under new head coach LaMar Brown is off to a fast start and they are looking to keep the momentum going throughout the season.

Evansville Bosse (1-0) (NR)

The Bulldogs started off the season with a win over Terre Haute South, but with only one game under their belts, they still have a lot to prove moving into Week 3 of this young high school basketball season.

Beech Grove (2-1) (NR)

Beech Grove has looked pretty good in their first three games this season. They have lost a road game to Noblesville, but they kept it competitive and are one of the better teams in 3A basketball right now.

Hammond (1-1) (NR)

Hammond has started off kind of slow, but I still think they are a pretty good team. It is also worth noting that their one loss is to a non-Indiana school so I don’t think it accurately reflects their rank when compared to the other Indiana schools.

South Bend St. Joseph (2-0) (NR)

The Indians have started off with two wins, both coming in Week 2, and both were very convincing. They look like a really good team and could easily move up if they keep winning.

Dropped Out: Edgewood (4)

Important Matchups:

Dec 10 – Heritage Hills vs Evansville Bosse

Dec 13 – Hammond vs Gary West

Dec 13 – Princeton vs Evansville Bosse

*Dec 14 – Greensburg vs Southport

*Dec 14 – Heritage Hills vs Brownsburg

*Dec 14 –  Silver Creek vs FW Blackhawk

December 14th games are part of a basketball festival and will all be played at Southport.

Class 2A

FW Blackhawk Christian (2-0) (-)

Caleb Furst and his squad are dominating to start the season winning their first two games by 46 and 28 points, respectively. Even though they moved up into 2A they haven’t given me a reason to doubt their abilities yet.

Linton-Stockton (3-0) (+2)

Lincoln Hale has the Miners playing their best basketball right now as they jump out of the gates to a 3-0 start. This team is legit and in my eyes has a good shot at the state title this year if they keep this up.

Shenandoah (3-0) (-)

Another team off to a hot start, the Raiders of Shenandoah are the team I thought they were and are easily a top five team in 2A basketball right now. 

Andrean (1-2) (-2)

The defending champions aren’t off to a good start but this team is too talented and too well coached to stay in this slump for long. Look for Andrean to start winning a lot of games starting this week. It is worth noting that all three teams they have faced so far have been 4A schools.

Southwestern (Hanover) (4-1 )(NR)

This team has looked nothing short of impressive this year. While they have one loss to Loogootee, the Rebels still looked good in that game as well. This team is one to watch as we go deeper into the season.

Dropped Out: None

Important Matchups

Dec 13 – Shenandoah at Fishers

*Dec 14 –  FW Blackhawk vs Silver Creek

December 14th games are part of a basketball festival and will all be played at Southport.

Class 1A

Gary 21st Century (5-0) (+1)

The Cougars have looked fantastic to start the season with their best start to a season in over ten years. They are the team to beat in 1A basketball, but they need to keep this success going because other teams are right on their heels.

Barr-Reeve (2-0) (-1)

Coming into the season I thought Barr-Reeve would easily be the number one team in 1A. While they are still an amazing basketball team, there are other teams that will be able to compete with them this year.

Bloomfield (2-0) (NR)

The Cardinals of Bloomfield have started off the season with two easy wins over Washington and Orleans. They have yet to be tested in a close game, but I still think this team is the third best team in 1A.

Loogootee (4-0) (NR)

I never expected to be saying this coming into the season, but Loogootee looks like a really good basketball team. Their new coach seems to have made a difference and instilled a fire in this team that wasn’t there before. Their win over Southwestern (Hanover) might be the best win any 1A school has so far.

Covington (2-1) (-1)

No one seems to be talking about this team. The AP Poll doesn’t have them in their top 25 but they still showed out and beat Lafayette Central Catholic, who was number five in the Dec 3 AP poll. This team was really good last year and as the season goes on will garner more and more respect this year.

Dropped Out: Lafayette Central Catholic (3)

Important Matchups:

Dec 10 – Barr-Reeve vs Evansville Memorial

Dec 14 – Bloomfield vs Edgewood

These are the best high school basketball rankings you can find. I have found my rankings to be more accurate than the AP Poll and I think you will too. Look forward to biweekly updates for the rest of the season, and my next rankings will be out before the start of week 5.

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    Logan HanchettDec 9, 2019 at 6:42 pm

    Hudson Hoops could take on the entire Associated Press

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