Class 3A and 4A Team Rankings Update
Robbinsdale Cooper is the new number 1 in AAA Perhaps Cooper Coach Kiara Buford should send DeLaSalle Coach Tanysha Scott a personal note of thanks this week. After all, Cooper jumped up to #1 in our 3A rankings based not…
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Continue ReadingRobbinsdale Cooper is the new number 1 in AAA
Perhaps Cooper Coach Kiara Buford should send DeLaSalle Coach Tanysha Scott a personal note of thanks this week. After all, Cooper jumped up to #1 in our 3A rankings based not so much on what they did but on what the Islanders did not do, as in DeLaSalle did not play well in a loss to Mahtomedi on Saturday. That dropped the Islanders record to 2-1 and moved them down to #3. Meanwhile, Cooper captured a 20-point win over Minneapolis North. The Hawks, who moved down a class this season, have a ton of weapons and might not relinquish the top spot any time soon.
It is unlikely there will be thank you notes headed in our direction from the good folks over at Mahtomedi. Last week, we heard their displeasure about our opening-week 3A rankings which had the Zephyrs at #10. After Saturday's performance it appears as though they may have had a point – or at least a point to prove. Prove it they did with an outstanding defensive performance in a 51-36 drubbing of the Islanders. With that, they earned a promotion to #4.
“Wait just a minute,” Zephyr fans will no doubt protest. “We beat them senseless and DeLaSalle is still ranked ahead of us. What's up with that?!” I can appreciate their viewpoint – and would probably concur if I lived in the 55115 zip code – but rankings are based on a body of work and a team's long-term prospects, and DeLaSalle has the horses to win this race. Will they? We shall see. If Mahtomedi continues to perform as they did over the weekend, the Zephyrs will no doubt earn their way up to the pinnacle.
Holy Angels rose one place to #2 by default. Others who took steps forward include Benilde-St. Margaret's and Worthington. BSM moves from 14 to 12 on the strength of two nice wins, and Worthington climbed four spots to #14 with defeats of Windom and St. Peter. On the down side, Chisago Lakes fell from 13 to 20 with an 18-point loss to 2A Norwood-Young America, while Kasson-Mantorville and the defending state champs from Orono dropped to 0-3 and disappeared from the list.
Wayzata is the biggest winner in AAAA
News flash: Hopkins is the #1 team in 4A this week. That is a familiar story, isn't it? The Royals overcame some shaky defense on Saturday to record a 16-point win over #6 Centennial on their home court. Until someone proves otherwise, Brian Cosgriff's well-tuned machine will remain at the top. The real story of the week is out of Wayzata, where the Trojans appear to have some very fine horses. Great things have been predicted for Wayzata, and this week they backed up the hype with a couple of nice wins that improved their record to 4-0. Wayzata won an overtime thriller against Lakeville North on Saturday. Although a one-point victory and a perfect record does not establish long-term team supremacy, it is certainly notable and Wayzata is worthy of its new # 2 ranking.
The other big story of week 2 is the plunge of Minnetonka from number #2 to #12. The Skippers nearly stumbled to an 0-3 start before righting the ship with a narrow, come-from-behind win over Forest Lake. Tonka lost earlier in the week to #3 Lakeville North – no shame in that – but had really stubbed their toes in the season opener against Maple Grove. Of course, Minnetonka is still one of the premiere 4A teams in the state, and they will no doubt overcome the slow start. Seems to me Leah Dasovich's girls didn't exactly jump out of the gate last year, either, stumbling to a 1-4 record before rolling off nine straight wins.
Other risers in this week's rankings include Roseville, which moved from #20 to #19 with a 3-0 start that included a narrow win over Elk River and the destruction of Blaine. Park Cottage Grove climbed two spots to #20. Forest Lake and Andover flip flopped at #15-16 after the Rangers scored a 20-point win in their encounter last week. Meanwhile, Minneapolis South fell from 19th to 22nd after losing badly to #7 Cretin-Derham Hall. Apple Valley fell four spots to #25 after an unimpressive loss to Park. Nobody dropped out of the Top 25.