9th/10th Grade House Basketball Power Rankings 2012 Pre-Season

By Stephen Barston

All teams are supposed to be created equal, but at the onset of the season, some squads are looking better than other. Here are the first official power rankings for this season:

1.     Duke: Overall depth, led by experienced and versatile sophomores like Dylan Cunningham, Vinny Puzio, Colin Cochran, Matt Sherwood, and Griffin Ross, creates a lethal five to keep an eye on. Combine these players with nifty freshmen, such as Jack Kniffin, and Duke deservedly sits atop the power rankings to start this season.

2.     UCONN: Conor Davey can do it all, his talents ranging from great ball-handling skills to swatting away shots with ease, and Julien Noujaim always makes opposing guards think twice about entering the paint. Guards Liam Donoghue and Connor Gonzalez-Falla create a speedy backcourt to watch out for.

3.     Kentucky: Filled with quick guards who can shoot, like Pete Archey, Henry Soule, and Connor Waldron, Kentucky has a top-quality backcourt; look for Robby Arrix to anchor the paint with TJ Adiletta looking to convert on three-pointers.

4.     North Carolina: Ryan Murray, Patrick Winter, and Philip Rech look to handle the backcourt while the Trismen twins hold up the paint. Add four solid freshmen to create a team with no glaring weaknesses.

5.     Michigan State: Former travel basketball players Jack “The Magic Man” Feeley and Jamie Schwartz look to combine forces with freshmen with a lot of potential (Trifone brothers, PK Brannigan) to move towards the top of the standings. The only concern is the lack of experience.

6.     Georgetown: Kevin Pendo is an all-around beast (see previous article on private school sleepers), and the Costantino brothers add a nice pair of guards, but without too many big men, the Hoyas might get overpowered by big teams like UCONN and Indiana.

7.     Indiana: Big men Cooper Drippe and Jack Griffiths will dominate down low, and Matt Pettit can knock down shots for the Hoosiers, but a lack of true ball handlers may make the team slightly one-dimensional.

8.     Syracuse: Daniel Traver and Timmy Lochtefeld lead ‘Cuse as veterans with speed and strength. Freshman Jamie Schofield provides the team with a consistent shooter and several other freshmen look to solidify the defense.

9.     Stanford: Word on the street from Cardinal players is that Aidan Coyle is unable to play this year. This leaves them with a solid backcourt, led by sophomores Brian Coyle, John Mackie, and Davis Nixon, but not enough height will possibly put them at a disadvantage.

10.  Texas: George Reed will try to orchestrate the offense for this team, and Matthew Hayes will look to continue his domination of the boards. Jack Garfield will protect the paint and lead the interior defense, but not enough experience makes the Longhorns chances bleak against squads loaded with sophomores.

11.  Missouri: Without a ton of experience, Mizzou still has the potential to become a surprise team this year, so long as the freshmen can work well together and with veterans Jack Duggan (see the other post on private school sleepers), Michael Maccarone, and RJ Clasby.

12.  Georgia Tech: By luck of the draw, the Yellow Jackets are left with a sheer lack of experience (no sophomores on this team) and size that puts them at a potential disadvantage this season. One player to watch is center Dolan Gregorich.