South Dakota: Class AA, A & B Review (As of Jan 11th)

We are just about a third of the way through the season and boy, I mean girl, is it a good one! Whether it's Class AA, A, or B, the games have been nothing but spectacular. Here’s a recap of things so far…. <em><strong>Class AA</strong></em> Well, well, well, look what we have here. I like to think of Class AA as the NBA’s western conference. There are so many good teams and week to week the number one spot can change. As of now is there a clear-cut number one? <strong>Brandon Valley</strong> had the top spot for a while. However, a lost to <strong>Brookings</strong> knocked them down a few spots. On top of that, <strong>Roosevelt</strong> played them tough all the way through to the 4 minute mark in the 4th quarter of last week’s game. Roosevelt is winless as of now but the last few games they have shown flashes of potential with the capabilities of being solid team. <strong>Washington</strong> can attest to their grittiness. Roosevelt had a chance to tie the game with 1.9 seconds left but it rimmed out! So Washington who is 6-2 beat a good Lincoln team, a really good Class A team in <strong>Lennox</strong> and beat cross town rival Roosevelt. They losses to Brandon Valley and <strong>O'Gorman</strong>. <strong>Harrisburg</strong> is the lone undefeated team with 2 good wins against Brookings and near 40-piece chicken nugget win over <strong>Watertown</strong>. They may be the most complete team. They have a low post presence, shooters and size on the edge. They’re just starting to get into the meat of their schedule. Matchups with Washington, two Lincoln games and two Aberdeen Central games are staring down the line. Oh and don’t forget about O’Gorman who sits at 6-1, <strong>Rapid City Stevens</strong> 7-1, and <strong>Sturgis</strong> at 6-1!!! It’s like one week its Golden State at the top, then Houston, then The Lakers, then San Antonio. I like what the season has brought so far. <em><strong>Class A</strong></em> Six teams remain unblemished in the loss column. However, there is still a lot of ball to be played. Defending champs <strong>St. Thomas More</strong> are 7-1 with a 2-point lost to <strong>Elk-Point Jefferson</strong>. <strong>Lennox</strong> also only has one loss and that was to Class AA Washington. <strong>West Central</strong>, <strong>Hamlin</strong>, <strong>McCook Central</strong>, <strong>Winner</strong>, <strong>Belle Fourche</strong> and <strong>Vermillion</strong> are the unbeaten teams. That could change within the next few weeks. Matchups with Hamlin/West Central, West Central against Lennox/Vermillion and St. Thomas More are all on the schedule. Winner has a home game against St. Thomas More and Vermillion has to see a tough Dell Rapids team. One thing I like about Class A is all the cross-conference matchups. You get the <strong>Dak 12</strong> throwing blows with the <strong>Big East</strong>, then the <strong>Northeast Conference</strong> takes on teams from the Dak 12, then some might even meet in <strong>Hanson Classic</strong> in Mitchell at the Corn Palace. The season is young and there is still time to make claim for your squad. Who will prevail? <em><strong>Class B</strong></em> Small as a community but large in the number of teams. Class B offers about 80 plus high schools throughout the state. Some have been rolling since the season began. <strong>Warner</strong>, <strong>De Smet</strong>, <strong>Ethan</strong>, <strong>Herreid/Selby Area</strong> and <strong>Corsica-Stickney</strong> have a combined 40-4 on the season so far. De Smet picked up a nice win against Class A Dell Rapids by a margin of 18 point. That’s huge for them as Dells could easily contend for a title in their own class. Defending champs <strong>Castlewood</strong> is coming off a stretch where they lost 3 in a row. Nothing to be too alarmed about, as they weren’t pick to win state last year and you see how that turned out. Augustana commit<strong> Lauren Sees</strong> has her Avon team right in the thick of things. Alongside her is a dynamic 8th grader <strong>Shalayne Nagel</strong>, who racks in about 7 rebounds a game, which leads the team. <strong>Freeman</strong> and<strong> Irene-Wakonda</strong> (Forever) are also looking in midseason form. This weekend there are some good matchups in every class. Take a look! <em><strong>Hanson Classic Jan 12 in Mitchel at the Worlds Famous Corn Palace</strong></em> Avon vs. Waubay/Summit, 9 a.m. Hanson vs. Sully Buttes, 10:30 a.m. Tripp-Delmont/Armour vs. Irene-Wakonda, Noon Freeman vs. Faulkton Area, 1:30 p.m. Flandreau vs. Crofton (Neb.), 3 p.m. Dell Rapids vs. Pine Ridge, 4:30 p.m. De Smet vs. Corsica-Stickney, 6 p.m. St. Thomas More vs.  Lennox, 7:30 p.m. Ethan vs. Warner, 9 p.m. <em><strong>Jan 12 Sanford Pentagon Heritage Classic at The Sanford Pentagon</strong></em> Lower Brule vs. Fergus Falls (Minnesota) 8 am Deubrook vs. McLaughlin – 11 am Red Cloud vs. George – Little Rock (IA) 2pm Sioux Falls Christian vs. Sioux Center (Iowa) 5pm Harrisburg vs. Unity Christian 8pm