Midway through the season, every team has completed about half of their games. That makes this the perfect time for an updated edition of our Power Rankings. Our pre-season standings proved to be fairly accurate, with the glaring exception of our stance on the Mystical Meerkats. While the Meerkats are not the worst team of all time, they certainly have gotten off to a slow start. In their losses, their offensive sets have primarily revolved around former MVP candidate Adam Iffert launching off-target three pointers. The fact of the matter is, picking the Meerkats as the league runner-up may have been rather optimistic. Quite frankly, a sophomore team may not have the physical ability to seriously contend for a championship this year. However, the Meerkats have suffered losses against teams of their peers, not just upperclassmen. The bottom line is, the Meerkats will contend for a championship, but are more likely to do so next year than this spring. Now, on to the top five. We used the same voting procedure as last edition.
1. Flint Tropics (14 points) [ranked #3 last edition]
The Tropics live and die by their three balls. In fact, they attempted more three point than two point field goals in their win against the Big Dribblers. However, this gameplan is not uncommon in intramurals, and, as long as they are making threes, the Tropics are the best team in the league. More specifically, as long as MVP front-runner Brendan McAulay is hitting his threes, the Tropics are the best team in the league. Brendan made five threes and had seventeen points in the matchup against the Dribblers. However, if Brendan is having an off-day, the Tropics will be in trouble. They have a great core of McAulay, Ryan Penny, and Ryan Morelock, but their big three provides a vast majority of their offense (34 points and four assists against the Dribblers). Without Brendan making big shots, Penny and Morelock would be forced to generate almost all of the scoring. Both Menne brothers and Pete Arnold (who played well as the point guard in their last contest) are more than capable players, but the talent pool drops off significantly after this core. Elite three point shooting kept them in their game against Faculty/Staff, and they pulled off a miraculous five point loss, the closest loss against Staff in recent memory. At their best, the Tropics are dominant, but on an off shooting day, they are very vulnerable. The true key may be Meghan Gleason’s absence from games, as many have insinuated her presence messes with Arnold’s head.
2. Big Dribblers (13) [1]
The Big Dribblers were our unanimous number one team in the preseason, and despite their loss, they still received a first place vote from one of our panelists. The bottom line is, the Dribblers get much more consistent scoring than the Tropics, and that is what makes them relevant in the championship conversation. The Dribblers have superior size and strength to the Tropics, and have a host of players such as Joey Lopshire, Chris Kahn, and Rob Tinkle who know how to get buckets inside the paint. In terms of depth, it is worth noting that every player who stepped foot on the court for the Dribblers got on the scoreboard, which is a luxury many elite teams do not have. Part of the reason that everyone on the team managed to put the ball in the basket, however, is because of the play of point guard Kent Miiller. Kent is easily the best point guard in the league, because of his elite ball handling and ability to finish. He dished out six assists, but Kent also got to the basket and finished enough times to earn 12 points in the Dribblers loss against the Tropics. He even shot well enough on two point field goals for it to be efficient (6-10). The attention Kent draws from the opposing defense complements his passing ability to help him get his teammates involved. Kent’s biggest weakness is also the team’s biggest weakness, however. Kent shot 0-3 in the Tropics game from three point land. The team usually relies on Carl Vander Kooy for its long range shooting, but Carl can be streaky. Perhaps as a product of not being involved in the offense enough as a whole in that game, Carl shot 1-4 for 3 points. Carl has the potential to win games with his three point shooting, but on off-days, there aren’t enough other reliable shooters for the Dribblers to beat top teams. Kahn has demonstrated the potential to fill the role of an outside shooter, but as of yet, the Dribblers are primarily a team that wants to eat you up on the inside. They are the most consistent team, but have an upside limited to what Carl can do from outside.
3. Ballers on Point (9) [4]
The Ballers on Point have certainly claimed the spot of top underclassmen team. They have done so behind Spencer Martin’s ridiculous performances, as well as behind Myles’ dunk. Seriously, Myles dunked. It’s the top play of the year so far. Still, their best player, and one of the best players in the league, is MVP candidate Spencer Martin. He posted a then-league-high 17 points in a game earlier this season (one of the first that we tried to take stats down for). The Ballers on Point have plenty of upside, but we won’t know what they are really made of until we see them play Staff on February 11.
4. Hamburglars (4) [5]
Watching the Hamburgulars play basketball always leaves the distinct impression that they could challenge for the number one spot in these polls if they decided to really try. Jalen has been showing up to games with much more intensity this season than last, but he hasn’t been putting in the kind of dominating performances he’s capable of. The team as a whole, doesn’t play with the kind of intensity that other, more “try hard” teams are seen invoking. An interesting stat from their game against Staff: the Burgulars shot 26 three pointers, and 12 two pointers. The fact of the matter is, three pointers are a much lower percentage shot, but they are much easier to put up. Still, Seth Gochnauer, Sterling Mitchell, and Jalen Brown are one of the most talented big threes in the league, and that talent will take them far. Whatever else anyone says, Jalen is the last opponent anyone would want with the ball in a close game if the clock’s running down.
5. Stone Cold Keelers (3) [NR]
The Keelers are this year’s surprise team. The franchise formerly known as the All-American All-Stars of America is looking to make a run at its first truly competitive season. A thorough demolition of the Coach’s Kids opened our panelists eyes to this team’s skill. The Keelers let loose a barrage of punishing threes, and got out running on the fast break to put up an impressive 40+ points. Joey Perkins and Taylor Burton both have outside shots that can burry an opposing team. Jack Blaiklock is one of the top point guards in the league, and does a good job of both facilitating the offense and knocking down the occasional three point shot, himself.
Other Teams Receiving Votes:
Chief and the Boys (2) [6]
Goodbye:
Mystical Meerkats (0) [2]
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