Who is the Number 1 team in the city? Time will eventually tell at the end of the season!
But first, let's enjoy the ride. So many teams jockeying for positioning, so many young players making names for themselves. We already have had some surprises in the win and loss columns, some surprise teams and a lot of excitement! You have to love it.
Ok, Is the name of the game, What your are doing or Who you are doing it against?
Let me make an effort to sort it out. First, Records are not a true indication of where every team is at right now, is it?
Brennan and Wagner already have at least 3 losses but have played more competitive teams than the majority of teams in the city will play all season combined.
Yes, you have to applaud and acknowledge a lot of teams for respectable starts in the season with even more respectable records. But, and I mean a big but, let's see what happens when they start matching up with more competitive teams and more importantly when District play start.
Not to say these cinderella teams cannot keep it up, let's just enjoy what they are doing right now and maybe their will be more to come in the days and weeks to come.
One great example will be Taft! Can they keep up what they have started going 10-2 and eventually knock off a favorite in District 27-6A to make the playoffs. Its hard to tell right now with the relative questionable competition they have played against. But they did beat Johnson who in turns goes the next time around to beat Wagner! Can Taft upset either Brandeis, O'Connor, Brennan or Clark to make the playoffs.
Let's just stay in that very same District, can Jay throw a wrench in anyone's parade? Possibly beat Taft and another District favorite. You just don't know, till the games are played.
For now, the way I look at it, this is what I have in my Top 10 as of RIGHT now!
Not as an Expert, but as a Fan......
1) Clark- Yes their strength of schedule hasn't been that great but they are undefeated! And they are taking care of business. They have beat the teams they need to beat convincingly. They have a good win over IWHS at the beginning of the season and over TABC Hoops ranked Harligen team. The tournaments they chose to play might hurt them at crunch time when it counts. They might go untested till District play unless they draw someone competitive at the New Braunfels Tournament.
2) Brennan- They have played a quality schedule against quality teams and that is a big plus irregardless of wins and losses because they are competitive. They have quality players at every position. They have quality players coming of the bench! They have height, guards, shooters and depth. Even with all that, they need to display cohesiveness and chemistry on the court in order to represent in State! Maybe Wagner just has their number but then again, maybe this will be their year. Wait a minute, it seems every year is Brennan's year!!!
Tied
3) Steele- They have played a good schedule and have some nice wins. They have enough talent to beat any team in the city any given night. They can be a defensive nightmare with all their athletic players up and down their roster. Down low, they can put a hurt on almost any team much less if your team doesn't have any height to match. Like any good team should, they will get stronger as the season moves forward.
3 )IWHS- The Shamrocks have had a real good 8 day stretch of basketball after losing in opening night to Clark. Maybe there best ever in school history! They have managed to roll into Houston and pick up nice wins over top quality and State Ranked Private Schools and followed it with nice wins here in San Antonio. They have a unique mixture of a lot of young talent contributing big minutes that might not know any better, a lot of seniors that help out especially with composure, a lot of players that are capable of hitting the long ball, the continual emergence of Sophia Ramos, the seasoned leadership of Point Guard Alexia Torres combined with an overall Team commitment to stingy defense!
So who will win between and Steele and IWHS, the team that can impose their will on the other. Sometimes easier said than done.
5) Wagner- They have played quite possibly the toughest schedule of any San Antonio HS team.They are who they are. They are still the defending Champs and in the end nothing else is going to matter only what happens in the playoffs. They are lacking depth, but that has been the case the last few years. But when you play the schedule they have played, it will catch up to you especially when you rely on 3 players for the majority of your offense. Teams that have enough can approach it this way, I have 6 that are going to outscore your 3.
6) Judson- They have a loss to a very good Vista Ridge team and have a nice win over TABC Hoops State Ranked RR Westwood. This team is going to use their defense to beat you. They have some athletes as well with the addition of some young shooters as well as Belle Tovar finding her stride, a bona fide scorer! They will get stronger as the season moves on and might very well be surprising a lot of people. Still very much under the radar, we will see what they have much more clearly when they play NSID/NEISD Tournament next weekend.
7) Johnson- With a couple of huge losses from last years team, Johnson has managed to keep on competing and maybe surprising some people. Consistency is what they need and are looking to achieve. They beat Taft and Antonian but also have lost to those same two teams. They have a great win over Wagner but need to expand from it. Tara Molina playing solid PG minutes. They have a lot of players that can run teams out the court. Are they going to be a team that plays to their level or one that is still growing, maturing and finding their stride as the season rolls by. Impressed with under the radar Josie Larson running the floor and finishing.
8) Antonian- Another Private School making some noise early in the season. They have beat Brandeis, overcoming about a 25 point lead in the process, and Johnson. They have also lost to Johnson. Another team playing in the NISD/NEISD Tournament. A lot more will be determined after the tournament is done. One thing this team has going for it is its depth. They can keep on coming at you with wave of players after players. They have a very capable bench. What they lack in size, they make up for in a defensive style that seem to play with relentless abandonment! High risk, high reward. They also have plenty of guards that can handle the ball, create, attach and shoot. The team plays Hard all the time!
9) Brandeis- Their best player is out for a few but still have been able and managed to compete well. They can very much can compete for the District title at full strength. Under the Radar Cindy Si has been steady as well as the whole team. Super athletic and talented Brianna Walker is another kid to watch out for. They will also compete in the NSIS/NEISD Tournament.
Tied for 10th.
Taft, Jay, Lee, Clemens, Southwest, Reagan, Smithson Valley, Madison, O'Connor
Ok it might be a cop out, but wanted to give teams an extra shout out that might normally not be getting any love!
And plus it's early, early morning Thanksgiving and my wife is already in the kitchen and I am already getting hungry!
Go Support High School Girls Basketball!!!!!!!!