Early Basketball Insight.

Written Tuesday November 5th at 11:45 AM

These are my early indicators heading into basketball season which is only a few weeks away. These are not my rankings or projections but this is where I think the teams are at right now.

Boys

1. Clarkston- Wolves primed to have a bounce back season.

2. Troy- Guards are very strong, post is a question for the Colts.

3. Farmington- Guards are very strong, post is a question for the Falcons.

4. Ferndale- Making the jump up two divisions for the Eagles not as easy as people think.

5. Berkley- Bears are going to be scary this season.

6. North Farmington- Raiders could be dangerous this season.

7. Oak Park- Majority of the Knights are back. They should be a team to watch.

8. Oxford- All depends on the Townsend’s for the Wildcats.

9. West Bloomfield- Lakers should be solid this season.

10. Groves- Falcons should be better in year two under Coach Benny White.

11. Southfield Arts and Tech- Warriors have some questions heading into the season.

12. Stoney Creek- Cougars have the talent back to be probably the best team in the city of Rochester.

13. Bloomfield Hills- Blackhawks have the proven shooters, the interior is the question.

14. Lake Orion- It could be a long season for new coach Joel Schroeder and the Dragons.

15. Adams- New coach Jaret Thomas has made strides in improving the Highlanders.

16. Seaholm- Maples look to be improved after a tough year last season.

17. Rochester- Falcons should be better this season.

18. Troy Athens- Red Hawks should be a team to watch this season.

19. Avondale- New coach Pat Clancy has questions in the interior he will need to address.

20. Pontiac- It looks like its going to be a while for the Phoenix to return to last season's greatness.

21. Royal Oak- Ravens have been a hard team to figure out. They will be again this season.

Girls

1. Southfield Arts and Tech- Besides the Big Three, who else will step up for the Warriors???

2. West Bloomfield- Lakers are primed to have a big season.

3. Clarkston- If the Wolves offseason was an indicator then watch out.

4. Royal Oak- Is Sarah Soraghan ready to have a much bigger role this season???

5. Avondale- Yellow Jackets have a strong starting five but the bench is a question.

6. Adams- Highlanders might have the most dangerous three point shooter in Maggie Doelinga.

7. Oxford- Program strength is very strong for the Wildcats.

8. Lake Orion- Program strength is very strong for the Dragons.

9. Stoney Creek- Lily DiPani is the most underrated point guard in the league.

10. North Farmington- Raiders have Maya Kelly and Molly Simpson back but they still haven’t addressed the interior.

11. Troy- Colts took a bit of a hit with the departure of Kendal Zeiter but they should still be fine going forward.

12. Bloomfield Hills- How are the Blackhawks going to replace Maryam Hashim and Grace Getz???

13. Berkley- Bears toughen up their non-conference. They are ready to make some noise.

14. Troy Athens- Red Hawks have experience after a disappointing postseason last year.

15. Rochester- Falcons have their fourth coach in four seasons, need stability in the program.

16. Groves- Falcons have some questions but Ellie Ruprich and Mia Yarberry are back.

17. Seaholm- Maples have experience back. How will they respond in Coach Chris Manchester’s second year???

18. Farmington- Moving down to the Blue should help the Falcons be more competitive.

19. Ferndale- Eagles have a new coach in Keith Paris but the question is will he be there long term???

20. Pontiac- Phoenix could surprise some people, we’ll find out.

21. Oak Park- Knights will need to address a ton of things this season.