So after 2 weeks, what have I learned? There is still plenty of basketball left in the season.
Team A beats Team B handily. Team B beats team C handily. So naturally Team A should beat Team C handily. Wrong.
That's the beauty of the Game. A lot of contenders that can beat each other any given night.
Let's start with giving Brennan a whole lot of RESPECT and CREDIT. They beat Steele and followed that feat by beating Judson this week alone. Last week they beat OConnor by over 50 POINTS in the Northside Tournament Championship! Those are my Top 3 teams in Class 5A...... Wow.....
Plus they already beat Stevens and Reagan as well. That's 5 of my Top 10 teams.
The only reason I haven't ranked Brennan is that they are 4A not 5A and they will not be able to play 5A teams in the playoffs to see who is the best in the city. Winning a State Championship will solidify that claim though.
This is getting complicated. Look at the top paragraph.
Honorable mention- Roosevelt (ready to crack Top 10 by beating Brandeis but loose to OConnor and Clark) Southwest (Only lost to Roosevelt but all other wins to non Top 10 teams) Madison (Losses to Brennan and Clark)
Tie for 10. Clark- Unchanged with wins over Brackenridge and Madison. Good young team that is playing for District and playoffs.
10. Jay- Drop down with losses to Judson, Wagner and Johnson. Make a good run in the Southside Tournament.
9. Churchill- I was impressed with the improvement from game 1 in the season. They beat Clark and lost to OConnor in the SAISD Tournament Championship. Need more inside presence to make a huge run at District.
8. Brandeis- Drop down with 2 losses in a row against Johnson and Roosevelt. Having trouble with athletic teams. I was surprised how much trouble they had against Johnson. Johnson primarily played with 5 guards the whole game. Spacing was a problem as well as overall intensity in the game that I saw them. Almost felt as if they were just going through the motions. Still though, a lot of talent in the Roster. Can rebound quickly. Let's see if they do.
7. Stevens- They have a tough loss to Reagan with losses to Wagner and Brennan
6. Johnson- They made it seem somewhat easy in beating Brandeis. Maybe when you have Gabby Bowie and Erica Sanders, it seems that way. Add 2016's Tara Molina and Sandy Ramirez ability to handle the ball, drive to the basket and score in opportune situations with steady shooting from 2015 Amy Jungbluth, you have 5 capable guards that can match up with many teams, guards for guards.
5, Reagan- They beat Stevens. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Reagan after losing a lot of seniors last year. One reason I didn't have them in my Top 10 in my initial ranking is that they are real young. But that has been a strong point. 4 of their top 5 players are 2016's. 6 of their Top 9 scorers are 2016's. Another Coach that deserves some major CREDIT! 7 straight wins after losing opening night to Brennan.
4.Wagner- Beat Antonian, the best Private School in the city pretty handily. Big game coming up with Brennan.
3. OConnor- Wins SAISD Tournament by beating Roosevelt and Churchill. 2016's Kasey Saldana and Victoria Pena are contributing nicely. They are not underrated anymore. Let's see how they handle being a contender as the days and weeks come by.
2. Judson- Beat Jay and lose to Brennan. Not an excuse, but were missing a key player when they lost. They will be in any game simply cause they play tough defense and are a great rebounding team.
1. Steele- Yes, they lost to Brennan. But maybe that is what they needed to stay focus. Reagan is up next. Let's see how they respond against a good team.
Games to watch this week: Tuesday 11-19-2013
Wagner vs Brennan
Steele vs Reagan
Judson vs Johnson
