Missouri Boys Class 5 Basketball Rankings 12/18/2020

 I don't know who is more surprised to be in class 5, De Smet or Cardinal Ritter?  I don't understand the criteria that was used to place these two schools together in the new class five.  I know school size is one factor and district performance is another.  De Smet has not won a district title in a few years because they always had to face CBC, one of the top schools in the state.  CBC might have been #1, De Smet #2, but the Spartans never got past the Cadets.  Thus, their placement in class five was influenced by that district's performance and only slightly by the 924 students in their school.  Cardinal Ritter has only 262 students, so their elevation to class five had more to do with their excellent performance in state play-offs than school size.  That is a big difference but not such a difference when you realize that Ritter attracts a lot of talented young men in the city who want to play with an outstanding program.

So far, Ritter has already made a statement with an 84-76 win over De Smet at Ritter on December 8th.  I might have Ritter rated a little lower than they should be as they may be the best team in all classes.  Time will tell.

University City, who is returning to a powerhouse position, is also in class five and has the unenviable task of facing De Smet in district 5 to get into the play-offs.  It will be a big task but not impossible, with Jalen Hampton and a lot of younger talent. I am rooting for U City, who has sharp-shooting Justin Holland, a former LHBA teammate of my grandson, coming off the bench for key threes.  Two other strong squads in St. Louis/St. Charles area are the outstanding St. Dominic and Fort Zumwalt teams.

Over on the other side of the state, Platte County is making an early impression with dominant wins over Kearney and Grain Valley and a close win over St. Joe's Benton.  And don't forget Cape Girardeau Notre Dame down in the bootheel or Springfield Catholic in the Southwest. 

As I mentioned earlier, statistical ratings become more robust with additional games.  So consider this ranking as more of a pre-season rating than a solid ranking.  Give me a few more weeks and these ratings will solidify.

I will post the other boys classes and girls' classes over the next week.  

You can find the other boys teams class ratings at:

Class one:   Class Two:  Class Three: Class Four:  Class Six: 



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