Picture This: Mid-Season Team Rankings
In this article:
Picture this. What if our state resembled collegiate athletics? What if there were rankings based on strength of schedule, quality of opponents, and records? What if there was one champion based off a field of 68 teams that made up…
Access all of Prep Girls Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingPicture this. What if our state resembled collegiate athletics? What if there were rankings based on strength of schedule, quality of opponents, and records? What if there was one champion based off a field of 68 teams that made up the postseason tournament? What if there was an IN-Season Tournament like the NBA/ WNBA? Instead of the Commissioner’s Cup, they could call it the Governor’s Cup. What if there was a Mid-Season break that included an All-Star game? Top girls based off of votes going toe-toe at one location. What if there was one MVP trophy? What about NIL deals? Transfer rules? Shot clocks? Scenarios like these are fun to think about and debate. They are water cooler material that could carry along hours of conversations. Talk about fun topics that truly would get down to who the best of the best is. I would say in order for anything like that to happen, better stats and technology tools would need to improve and be consistent statewide.
So here I am, contemplating about topics like these. Talk about topics to debate on a snowy day. You could be doing the same thing as we speak. Even going against who I would say is the best in this game is up for debate. Trust me, I don’t have a dog in any race so my feelings wouldn’t be biased or based on personal connection. I would say that topics like this could create and stir up conversation that could lead to a lot of interesting things. For starters here is one. Who is the best senior basketball player?
Imari Berry Imari Berry 5'10" | SG Clarksville | 2024 State TN ? She is about to eclipse 2,000 points. Committed to Clemson. Has tons of talent. What about Sydney Mains Sydney Mains 5'11" | SF Knoxville Catholic | 2024 State TN ? She’s going to FAU. Broke many school records. Won the big game. Been there twice and probably going back. What about Aaiyanna Dunbar Aaiyanna Dunbar 6'2" | C Blackman | 2024 State TN ? She’s going to Michigan. She is going to one of the biggest power 5 schools out there. The topics could go on and on. I think that is what makes basketball such a love story. It could bring a love/hate type of relationship to the table and the topics could go on and on for days until something is played out. We see it daily in collegiate and professional athletics. I mean who is better Angel Reese or Caitlyn Clark? Or think of this scenario, what better 1-2 punch combination out there would be better than Caitlyn Clark and Aaliyah Boston on the same team if she is drafted to the Indiana Fever? Sabrina and Stewy? Like I said, a love story that could go on and on.
Here, I try to take a jab step and shoot my shot on coming up with a mid-season team ranking based off of records gathered. My benchmark was a total of 14 games. I did take in consideration of location, but at the same time who cares. I threw out public and private school classifications as well as large and small class divisions. Check out this mid-season team ranking based off records. Trust me, there will be rankings you won’t agree with.
*Some records may not have been reported yet and teams might have played less games due to the weather. Just remember it’s based on wins and losses. I know the strength of schedule, location and class should play a part in this. Some teams have an easier schedule than others. You still have to play the game though.Either way I’m giving you something to talk about. Enjoy!
- Clarksville (16-0)
- Bradley Central (16-1)
- Gibson Co. (22-1)
- Bearden(18-1)
- Loretto (17-1)
- McMinn Central (18-2)
- Dyersburg (16-2)
- Sevier Co. (19-2)
- Gatlinburg-Pittman (19-2)
- White Co. (19-2)
- McMinn Co(18-2)
- Upperman (18-2)
- Heritage (18-2)
- Father Ryan (17-2)
- Middle College (Memphis) (14-2)
- Brentwood (14-2)
- Chester Co. (16-2)
- Cheatham Co. (17-2)
- Pickett Co. (12-2)
- Signal Mountain (11-2)
- Coffee Co. (18-3)
- Memphis East (12-3)
- Wayne Co. (17-3)
- Cookeville (15-3)
- Westview (14-3)
That above would be the top 25 based on win loss records with PCA, Grace Christian- Franklin at the cusp. If we continue on, let’s take a step further and do the top 50.
- PCA (12-3)
- Grace Christian Academy -Franklin (12-3)
- Silverdale Academy (17-4)
- Knoxville Catholic (16-4)
- Huntingdon (16-4)
- Columbia (16-4)
- Northview Academy (15-4)
- Clinton (15-4)
- TKA (14-4)
- Center Hill (14-4)
- Whitehaven (10-4)
- East Robertson (10-4)
- St.Benedict (10-4)
- Summertown (16-5)
- Moore Co. (15-5)
- Lebanon (15-5)
- Nolensville (14-5)
- USJ (13-5)
- Jackson Southside (13-5)
- York (13-5)
- Jackson Christian (13-5)
- Houston (12-5)
- Chattanooga Christian (11-5)
- Franklin Road Academy (11-5)
- McKenzie (9-5)
———-
*Pearl-Cohn (9-5) would just miss the mark.
Talk about conversations. Schools such as Bartlett, Knoxville-Webb, Cleveland, Collierville, miss out due to the fact their coaches probably wanted to challenge them early on and compete against teams who matched up well or better than them. Some even played out of state opponents.
See, it’s important to make sure stats, records, and other statistical categories are reported. If not, we can never get a true answer for who is better. That’s why it’s important that games are played so results happen. You gotta bring it nightly in order to rise above. We have some dawgs that hoop in this state. Look at the squads who just missed the mark. Bartlett went to the finals last year and they aren’t even in the top 50. Don’t worry, everything will shake out when it comes to the state tournament. Oh wait, then we will have six champions. Who is the best? Looks like that is a whole other topic. You gotta love this game!