Here are the updated rankings. The West Bloomfield Boys Game will be updated later today.
Boys
STOCK HIGH
Clarkston (12-2, Rank 1): Wolves rolling on all cylinders
right now.
Oxford (13-0, Rank 2): Wildcats control their destiny in the
Blue.
Adams (11-3, Rank 3): It’s awesome to see Austin Urusy back
on the floor. He will help this team big time.
Pontiac (13-1, Rank 4): Phoenix will get Oxford again at Sy
Green Gy but for now the rest of the Blue look out.
STOCK MEDIUM
North Farmington (9-3, Rank 5): Raiders have won four
straight which is a good sign.
Farmington (9-4, Rank 6): Falcons beat Adams on Friday
night, needs the Highlanders to lose one more to be back in the White race.
Lake Orion (8-6, Rank 7): Dragons in a tough patch right
now. Then again they should be fine going forward.
Groves (9-5, Rank 8): Falcons have gotten things turned
around a little bit.
Troy (8-5, Rank 9): Coming back from 17 down on the road is
a big deal for the Colts.
West Bloomfield (5-8, Rank 10): Lakers are 0-4 since Donovan
Moore went down with an injury but good news is on the horizon.
Oak Park (6-6, Rank 11): Knights have had a ton of ups and
downs this season.
Ferndale (6-6, Rank 12): Eagles have been scoring in bunches
recently.
Southfield Arts and Tech (6-5, Rank 13): Warriors have been
around 500 lately.
Stoney Creek (6-7, Rank 14): Cougars have been playing
better lately.
Bloomfield Hills (5-9, Rank 15): Blackhawks are 1-5 in
January which is not good.
Berkley (7-5, Rank 16): Don’t look now but the Bears have
won four straight.
STOCK DOWN
Avondale (4-9, Rank 17): Yellow Jackets have been
competitive lately.
Seaholm (4-9, Rank 18): January has been a good month for
the Maples thus far 3-3, that’s not bad.
Harrison (6-7, Rank 19): Hawks have lost three straight since starting the month strong.
Harrison (6-7, Rank 19): Hawks have lost three straight since starting the month strong.
Royal Oak (4-8, Rank 20): Ravens are 1-5 in January which is
not good.
Troy Athens (2-11, Rank 21): Red Hawks have lost six
straight games.
Rochester (1-11, Rank 22): Falcons really struggling right
now.
Hazel Park (1-12, Rank 23): The Vikings are ready for the
MAC right now.
Girls
STOCK HIGH
Southfield Arts and Tech (12-1, Rank 1): No new changes with
the Warriors.
Royal Oak (12-0, Rank 2): Ravens still unbeaten but big
showdown looms on Tuesday
West Bloomfield (9-1, Rank 3): Lakers no doubt the best team in
the White.
Avondale (10-1, Rank 4): Yellow Jackets length has posed a
problem for teams lately.
STOCK MEDIUM
Stoney Creek (8-4, Rank 5): The Cougars have seemed to get
back on track, thank you Paul Finebaum.
Clarkston (5-6, Rank 6): Wolves had a tough loss to
Southfield Arts and Tech but they will be tested against Stoney Creek this
week.
Oxford (7-4, Rank 7): Wildcats had a split week but they
will be fine going forward.
Lake Orion (6-5, Rank 8): Dragons when motivated are as good
as any team in the White.
Adams (5-6, Rank 9): Highlanders played tough against
Avondale but they are “Trusting the Process”
Troy (6-5, Rank 10): Colts snapped a four game losing streak
but they have Oxford next.
Bloomfield Hills (5-6, Rank 11): As mentioned last week, welcome
back Maryiam Hashim.
Rochester (5-6, Rank 12): Falcons have control of the Blue
right now.
Berkley (9-2, Rank 13): Yep the Rochester game told me a lot
about this team.
STOCK DOWN
Troy Athens (3-7, Rank 14): The Red Hawks have been hot and
cold lately.
Seaholm (6-4, Rank 15): Maples haven’t had the greatest of
weeks but they are making progress.
Pontiac (6-6, Rank 16): Phoenix have either been hot or
cold, the record shows it.
North Farmington (2-10, Rank 17): Raiders played better than
the last two but it wasn’t enough.
Ferndale (5-5, Rank 18): Eagles have not been consistent,
record shows why.
Farmington (1-10, Rank 19): Falcons have lost seven straight
games, which is not good.
Oak Park (4-5, Rank 20): Knights have not been consistent
and record shows it.
Groves (2-10, Rank 21): Falcons have lost four straight and
not even been competitive.
Hazel Park (0-12, Rank 22): The MAC can’t come soon enough.
Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/oaa-now-020419
Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/user-539915961/oaa-now-020419
Might want to go watch a Girl's Blue Division game one of these days. You write like you know something about the Blue but it's obvious you have not seen a Blue Division game in years. There are a lot of good players on these lower division teams. Just not as deep and as consistent as the upper levels, but doesn't mean they deserve to be ridiculed. Take Pontiac for example, their ups and downs are based on they only have 5 girls on the team. A talented 5 I might add, but they can't run the whole game against teams that can throw 10+ girls at them. #10 has in the gym range literally, she hit some shots against Berkley that Mr. Curry would be proud of, their big #2 is an intimidator but has to play loose D to avoid fouling.
ReplyDeleteBerkley is still in contention even with lose, Rochester better not think the division race is over, which you seem to insinuate. The Bears have 6 seniors and are lead by a Junior and a Freshman. Good years ahead for the Bears. Plus you keep listing a player that is not even playing for the Bears this year. As for your schedule comments, might want to look at it. Berkley plays Troy and Royal Oak next month. and it seems like you down grade a team because Berkley beat them. This is a team that was 9-13 last year and has already won 10 this season, playing almost all the same teams as last year. Schedule is based on location and who returns team's calls. Team doesn't always have choices for scheduling, as no HS team has a big travel budget. And lastly, why should they play teams that don't want to play at Berkley every other year?
Actually I have seen a Blue game and I've seen Hazel Park play and wasn't impressed.
ReplyDeleteOn Berkley, the strength of schedule bothers me. Is Berkley talented yes but looking at them going forward they are in a tough district and I don't think the schedule has prepared them as they have. Yes Berkley plays Troy and Royal Oak which will be tough games and they have to go to Rochester. Berkley did beat Groves, who in return beat Stoney Creek. I thought Berkley would pass the eyeball test but right now they have something to prove to me, I don't think Berkley is a bad team at all but some of the teams they play are not very good. Rochester has not won an out of league game yet now that could change. I will update the stocks tonight to see where you guys are at but the Groves win is looking very good right now.
Well I am going to weigh in my two cents here as a person who has followed the blue and the gold very religiously, including scouting, game prep, and stats. Never in the history of the OAA has the bottom division this devoid of talent. If I recall, there were zero top 50 in Oakland county coming from the blue in every preseason poll. Furthermore, there has always been 3-4 players from the bottom division (even when it was 4 divisions and the gold was there) that have been mentioned in the rankings.
ReplyDeleteI think you should check your facts on the scheduling component as well. Schedules are negotiated by coaches generally and you pick teams to play based of how strong or weak your team is. You generally try to schedule both on your non conference schedule to make sure you get your tests early before heading into league play. Lining up lower level Catholic league cupcakes who generally will only run zone against you are easier to figure out. In the past Berkley has always played up against teams like Royal Oak, Athens, Troy, Bloomfield (both Andover and Lahser before the merge), Adams, Waterford Mott, Southfield (both Southfield and Lathrop before the merge), and even traveled to Mercy. My point to this is it a faulty logic to cry poor with budget, or teams won't/didn't call back, or not having choices. There are plenty of good games to be had out there.
Sammy, I appreciate the work that you put in to cover the OAA now that MIPREPZONE has turned corporate. I do not always agree with your opinions, but I respect what you do and the way you present them. I have read this outlet for many years now and understand the logic. Sometimes fanatics have to take the blinders and cameras off and see it is ok that their team isn't a state contender. Rochester was a sub .500 team coming into that game and got to .500 with a win. You can "rah rah" all you want about the league not being over, because it isn't. I have seen it turn on a dime many times. You want to tell us how great the blue is? Combined they have a combined record of 39-50, which includes beating up on each other. Rochester lost every non league game. Teams like Hazel Park hired quite possibly the worst coach they could have when their program was on the rise. How do you hire a coach who went win less in a catholic league season? Ferndale, Oak Park, and Pontiac have been bad for years. On top of that, the district draw for Berkley is the number 5 team in the state. Now you can say I don't know what I am talking about but be both understand exactly what I am saying. Just let the girls enjoy the season. It is high school girls basketball in the lowest level of the OAA. Instead of being a fanatic about a website that you perceive has slighted your team, do what Al Davis famously said and Just Win Baby.