CS8
1. Southeast – A trip to Rochester was a good way to get back into the swing of the Central State Eight after their City celebration. D’Angelo Hughes showed why he’s headed to play at the next level, scoring at will. The options that the Spartans have continues to grow with the progression of junior guards Trevyon Williams and Isaiah Walton and the inside presence of freshman Anthony Fairlee. The ‘East side will be searching for some revenge this Friday when they head west to The Bowl to try and rectify their only CS8 loss this season which came at the hands of the Crimsons.
2. Lanphier – The Lions had a City hangover. They were still licking their wounds from the championship game loss to Southeast when they struggled with Eisenhower last weekend before pulling out a win in overtime. Their senior leader stepped up yet again and bailed them out and he's playing so well that division one schools are taking notice. Xavier Bishop is the best player in the conference and Yaakema Rose continues to fill up the stat sheet but Lanphier needs more if they want to keep pace with Southeast. Big Orange Nation needs more of an inside presence and they need to improve on their rebounding, but like we said in our office this week, we still like our odds with Lanphier over just about every team in the conference right now. Save, of course, Southeast.
3. Glenwood – The defending conference champions continue to climb the Power Rankings, setting up quite a showdown this Friday in Chatham. We’re sure the student section for Titan Nation will be more than ready to welcome in Xavier Bishop and the Lanphier Lions. Glenwood gave up a 14 point lead on the road to MacArthur but they were able hold on thanks to Ethan Hunt’s three and a big night from Ryan Hembrough. The difference in styles should make for must see hoops and we’ll see if the Titans can continue to climb the Power Rankings.
4. MacArthur – Two of the top scorers in the Central State Eight wear the Generals jersey. Keymonta Johnson and Amir Brummett are averaging 15 and 13.4 points, respectively. Mac gave the Titans all they could handle yet again but came up on the losing end, handing the Generals another CS8 loss which was the last thing they needed. A trip to Roy S. Anderson is the perfect way for us to see where MacArthur really belongs in the Power Rankings.
5. Jacksonville – The CS8 is a tough conference so winning on the road isn’t ever easy. The Cyclones gave the Crimsons some trouble on Friday but James White continued his hot shooting for behind the arc and Joe Brannan and the boys did the rest. The Crimsons have three players averaging double figures and Brandon McCombs is top four in the conference in rebounds. The best news for Sean Taylor is that Brady Hays is working his way back into some playing time despite still struggling with shoulder pain. Hays is one of those guys that’s still better than a lot of players in the CS8 even if he’s not 100 percent.
6. Lincoln – The Railsplitters still seem to be struggling with finding solid scoring options to go with Aron Hopp. Isaiah Bowers is averaging just over ten points a game so the sophomore has shown the potential. Coach Neil Alexander’s style of play keeps the Railsplitters in most games but that six game skid earlier this season showed how to beat the ‘Splitters this year.
7. Rochester – The Spartans silenced the RAC last weekend with a dominant win, but there’s a reason Southeast is at the top of the Power Rankings. The Rockets responded with two non-conference wins over Riverton and Taylorville since then. A very winnable rivalry game awaits this weekend against SHG so the Orange Krush better show up to support the Rockets on their home floor.
8. Springfield – The Senators had Lincoln on the ropes at home but couldn’t close. Springfield High has two of the top three scorers in the Central State Eight with Isaac Nelson averaging 19.5 and Keon Day putting up 18.8. Hosting Eisenhower is an excellent way to pick up another CS8 win this week.
9. Eisenhower – The Panthers were poised to make quite a jump in the Power Rankings but Xavier Bishop’s buzzer beater to force overtime spoiled that celebration. Ike continues to stay in almost every CS8 game but just can’t close.
10. SHG – The Cyclones are struggling. They showed their potential again by staying with the Crimsons into the second half but Jacksonville got hot from deep to put them away in the fourth quarter. Winning at their rival Rochester would be a good way to get back on track. Back on track at the RAC? That was almost too easy.
Area
1. Pleasant Plains – Pleasant Plains capped off a very strong week last week by defeating CS8 foe Rochester handily and then the Cardinals followed that up by defeating a very competitive West Central team at home. The Cardinals were tested in the latter matchup, but hung on for an impressive victory in front of a packed house at Fraase Gymnasium. All five Cardinals scored in double figures and junior Cole Greer had a break out performance, proving his stock as one of the top point guards in the area, scoring 18 points, dishing out six dimes, collecting five rebounds, generating three steals and he didn’t turn it over once. Greer also nailed four consecutive free throws late in the fourth quarter to put the game on ice. The Cardinals handled Beardstown on Tuesday night.
2. Williamsville – Along with Pleasant Plains, Williamsville is playing its best basketball at the most crucial time of the year. Coach Nick Beard is making the Williamsville administration look very smart for hiring him. Williamsville defeated a very good 1A Quest Charter team on Friday in overtime, thanks to senior point guard Matt Watson’s 29 points and a Big Nasty crossover, 3-pointer that had a defender stumbling into Sherman. On Tuesday night, when Williamsville honored the 1990-91 Carry McVickers-led Bullets team that finished fourth in the state, the current crop of youngsters in purple and gold impressed the alumni, by pummeling New Berlin by 31 points. 10 players notched at least two points for Williamsville in that effort. The Bullets face a tall task to round out the week. They host Argenta on Friday and will travel to Urbana on Saturday. Regardless of the outcomes of those games, the Bullets make it a point to schedule tough competition to prepare them for the post season.
3. Riverton – Not sure many predicted before the season that on February 3rd, as we compile the latest Area Power Rankings that Riverton would still be undefeated in Sangamo play. Now, the Hawks still haven’t delved deep into the conference schedule. Riverton still has dates awaiting with PORTA at home on February 9th and at Williamsville on February 16th, followed by a regular season finale matchup at home vs. top dog, Pleasant Plains. The next few weeks will be telling for the stock of the Riverton Hawks.
4. PORTA – The Blue Jays make a leap in the Area Power Rankings this week. PORTA came through with a big win at home against Athens on Tuesday night in a physical matchup full of dunks, blocks and trash talk that came down to the wire in the “Black Top Bragging Rights” game. Max Muller continues to score at an elite level. Muller dropped 19 points for the Jays in the win.
5. Auburn – Another team that continues to surprise in 2015-16: The Auburn Trojans. The Trojans won the Coaches vs. Cancer Tourney / Auburn Invitational last weekend by topping Hartem in front of the home crowd to keep the hardware right at home. Coach Scott Bacon rocked some really fresh Auburn Blue Jordan Ones with a Trojan logo on them during the victorious tourney run. Sneaker heads out there ought to check out Bacon’s kicks.
Honorable Mention
Athens – A few weeks ago there were some brief conversations in the Dungeon of Invitation aka the Channel1450.com office about whether or not Athens should leap to No. 2 in the rankings. Although the chatter was short-lived, due to the strong play of Pleasant Plains and Williamsville, the Warriors were in the midst of a 15 game winning streak at the time. Since then, the Warriors’ shield has been dented. Athens has dropped two crucial Sangamo games on the road at both Riverton and PORTA. The Warriors have dealt Muhammad Ali-like blows to lesser competition, but that doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, because Athens has struggled against strong competition. The Warriors have all of the makings of being a very dangerous playoff team, but a weak schedule has not helped them.
