Tuesday, December 14, 2010

9/10 House Basketball Power Rankings: Week 1

By Matt "House" Brown
Expert House Insider

I am not going to sit here on my computer and lie to you guys saying that I went to every game and received all of the stats needed to generate a perfectly accurate article about the first week of YMCA House Basketball games at Middlesex on Sunday. (12/12) However, the unexpected excitement that surrounded the 9th/10th grade pre-season rankings has pressed me into generating a sequel. The stats used here are as told to me by the players themselves. Next week will be better.

1. Heat (W, 62-32) - Yes this is my team, so an opinionated paragraph looks bad here. Instead here are numbers: 62 points in 40 minutes, and five out seven players on the team scored double digit points. The kicker is that our second best player, sophomore Pierce Whiting was missing.

2. Knicks (W, 40-29) – This victory sounds dominant, but is even more dominant than it appears below the surface. They started the game without substitutes. The two most notable absences were freshman Carter Watt and sophomore Patrick Reilly, both top tier talent. Sophomore Jack Travers, who played freshman basketball along with Reilly last year, went down with an injury at the start of the second half. They continued to play with four players, and sophomore star Craig LaMantia was able to assert himself as an MVP candidate by leading his shorthanded squad to victory with 20 points.

3. Bucks (W, 32-23) – A solid victory in which Jack Sherwood stepped onto my “best player in the league” pedestal next to Craig LaMantia. Sherwood tore up the Bobcat’s defense scoring only one less point than the entire opposing team.

4. Wizards (W, 38-24) – This group surprised me with their points for/points against deficit this week. Although I did expect a win. The combination of sophomore Brian Weil and the Skolds brothers proved too much offense for the Raptors to keep up.

5. Celtics (W, 28-20) – The Celtics displayed much of the team defense I had expected. Although, 28 points won’t win you the game every week in the league this year, and they will need to improve on the offensive end. I still like the way this team plays a lot.

6. Nets (L, 40-29) – People often overlook how difficult it is to play with four on the court at a time with more subs than the other team. Yes, having four players made the Knicks extremely tired, but it also allowed for LaMantia to stay on the court for the entire second half. Freshman Brad Magnusson will show himself as a good player on the offensive side of the court, and down the stretch this team will be were they are ranked right now, middle of the pack.

7. Raptors (L, 24-38) – This team probably disappointed me the most out of anyone this week, however, I will not hold my resentment against them too much. Their size will overpower certain opponents in the future.

8. Hornets (L, 32-62) – Although they let up more points then anyone else in the entire league, I argue that the game was played at a faster pace than any other team. I also think the Hornets’ offense will be able to settle in during a more slow-paced game. Their 32 points would of beaten seven teams in the league, and they were missing a very important guard in 10th grader Carl Stowell. I look for them to recover.

9. Bulls (L, 20-28) – Sloppy showing from the Bulls this week. However, their performance was much like I had predicted. They must find a way to come together and rise above this early season woe.

10. Bobcats (L, 24-38) – Lost by a fairly significant margin to a middle of the road team. Show me something, Bobcats.

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