Power rankings
-
- January
- 28
I went to bed a few weeks ago and, somehow, woke up in Fargo, North Dakota. That had to be what happened, right? How else would you explain all this darn snow?
Anyway, I finished shoveling the driveway (with help of a neighbors trusty snowplow), and wanted to post my latest power rankings. Remember, the updated playoff picture in Classes AA, A and B will be released during tonight’s Varsity Central Live show, which starts at 7:30 p.m. Matt Grossbard of Pearl River will be our special guest, and I’m sure he’ll be able to help us break down to Class A.
Be careful if you have to drive anyway. It’s pretty slipper out there. You’re better off staying indoors with a cup of hot chocolate and watching VC Live tonight at 7:30. Just a tip.
Top 10
1. Mount Vernon (11-2): Winning the SNY Invitational definitely raises the program’s profile. But how good were Jefferson and St. Ray’s really? The Knights impressed many who tuned in to watch them live, and seem to be improving all over.
2. Peekskill (15-0): The road to an undefeated season has two major obstacles — Newburgh and Poughkeepsie. I’ll likely pick the Red Devils to win both games, although I wouldn’t be shocked if they lost one, or both.
3. Iona Prep (15-1): Do these guys still play games? It seems like the Gaels never play. The rest will be a good things going into Sunday’s showdown with Bishop Ford at home. It will likely be the first of two meetings between them.
4. New Rochelle (12-3): Beating Glendale (Missouri) last week would have kept the momentum going into Friday’s clash with Mount Vernon. But I still think the game has plenty of juice. New Ro has the talent to compete with the Knights. It’s just a matter of them coming out mentally prepared.
5. Poughkeepsie (13-2): The setback to Poughkeepsie had plenty of positives in it, specifically the play of Brandon James and Dayvon Whitaker. Those two players alone could carry them far in the AA playoffs. Both were impressive.
6. Stepinac (10-7): In some ways, this season is already a success. The Crusaders beat Mount again this week and are likely bound for the CHSAA playoffs. With Ford and Iona Prep clogging the way to the title, a playoff win would cap a great season at Stepinac.
7. North Rockland (11-1): The Red Raiders just keep on winning. They likely won’t get much respect until the playoffs, and I’m sure there will be some calling for a first-round upset. Coaches I’ve spoken to, though, believe they’re just as good as New Rochelle and Poughkeepsie.
8. Mount St. Michael (13-5): The Mounties slide down the ranks a little, mainly because they haven’t really had a quality win in a while. They’ll have their chances in the final weeks of the season, including a home meeting with Iona Prep.
9. White Plains (8-7): The Tigers get to now travel down to Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, two teams it lost to at home last week. Both will likely end in defeat for White Plains. As long as they compete, they’ll be fine in the long run.
10. Gorton (11-6): The return of Corey Green will certainly change things. Gorton has league games left against Roosevelt and Lincoln, which will both be tough. If the Wolves can sweep, they’ll be home in the first round of the playoffs.
On the brink: Yorktown (10-3); Mahopac (13-2); Arlington (10-5); Lakeland (11-2).
Conference Rankings
Class AA
1. Mount Vernon
2. New Rochelle
3. Poughkeepsie
4. North Rockland
5. White Plains
Class A
1. Peekskill
2. Lakeland
3. Rye
4. Pearl River
5. Spring Valley
Class B
1. Albertus Magnus
2. Nanuet
3. Dobbs Ferry
4. Pleasantville
5. Lincoln Hall
Class C
1. Valhalla
2. Blind Brook
3. North Salem
4. Hamilton
5. Tuckahoe
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 2:21 pm by Kevin Devaney Jr..
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Hi Kevin – good ranking this week. MV belongs on top, and Iona Prep is 4-1 against the top-10.
Prediction: Iona Prep 68; Ford 58 on Sunday. After an out-of-control, Chaz Williams, Ford is light after the 2008 graduation.
Class C is easy. The match-up in the title game most likely will be Blind Brook-Valhalla..unless the suspended players come back and give Hamilton the chance to make a run… Who does an at full strength Hamilton match-up better with Blind Brook or Valhalla ?
whit Valhalla win over BB do u think that Hamilton can still win Class C or do you have a new pick
With Hamilton at full strength they should win Class C they have some very good players led by Jon Schofield plus a great coach in Coach Hogans. they should be able to over whelm Blind Brook with size and speed. Valhalla vs Hamilton would be a great game
Will i don’t know about that Because BB is a Big team and when the player come back they mite only have a game or two to lean how to play with eachother
Well
Sounds like Valhalla – Hamilton would be a better game than a third Valhalla-Blind Brook match-up. I heard Valhalla handled Blind Brook pretty easliy last week.
Nanuet over DF? get outta here
Don’t count Schechter out of Class C. Max Wein will be back.
Can anybody fill me in on whats happened at Lincoln HS in Brooklyn (PSAL). I think they started the season #2 in the USA Today national rankings and now they are not even top 25 in NYS. Lance and 4 guys from the playground should be ranked? Off topic I know but what’s up?
When do the players come back?
Kevin,
as you know i am only a mount fan and grad.you are right when you say they did not have a quality win in a long time.they lost to stepinac twice, ford,iona,and bishop maclancy.i only saw them play once this year and will be at game on 2/3.i will say hello if you are there.for an old guy in fl.i spend more time on this blog than with my wife.my wife loves you for it.
Tuckahoe is 4 and 11. Would seem to need to win 4 out of 5 to make the playoffs. Makes it hard for them to be number 5 in power rankings
Valhalla beat Blind Brook. Although they led by 12 in the 4th, the game was tied with less than a minute to go. Valhalla played better and deserved to win. However, they don’t beat BB every time.
Class C – My guess is you haven’t seen BB. They have three guys with decent size up front and Hamilton will not overwhelm the Maglianos
North Salem has a very nice backcourt and can do damage in the playoffs
Not sure about other contenders. Let’s see what they have
I don’t see why Solomon Schechter has been cut out of the race- Max Wein will be back
I completely agree with Class C Fan
kevin,
just thought u would want to know, peekskill has scheduled a game against Lehman High School. They wanted to fill that Blessed Sacrament “no show game” with a very very competitive game. Lincoln, Jefferson, Boys and Girls, and Rice are all booked, and a couple other teams didnt want to play them, so Lehman, pending small adjustments, will be playing peekskill on Sunday, February 8th
Observations,
I was told that Valhalla was running away with the game up by 14 and could not make foul shots, Blind Brook tied it with about 2 minutes left, Valhalla pt the press back on and won by 8,...Remember this Blind Brook more than any other team in Class C has a distinct home court advantage..they probably are hoping for the semis to be played at the higher seed.
Obseravations,
You are also correct I don’t think any of the high seeds want to play North Salem in the first round. O’Neill can have a huge game and ruin someones season
I’ve seen Blind Brook and Hamilton. Blind Brook and there twin brothers are strong so youre right thats my mistake. but i think hamilton would beat blind brook. Blind Brook has 3 good players. the Maglianos are strong but they dont have very good baskeball sense not very smart players. Kulik is a very good shooter and can break down many defenders in class C
Kevin,
The answer to your question is yes! Iona does still play basketball games. However, academics is a “big” thing at Iona so the students were studying for mid terms and regents!
the peekskill/lehman game is falling apart. it might not be played after all
New Power rankings:
1. Peekskill
2. Iona Prep
3. New Ro
4. MV
5. Stepinac