Is it too early to think about district play-offs? Probably. I don't want the season to end that soon as we seem to be successfully navigating the pandemic and keeping most teams on the court.
But why not take an early look at district placements? Maybe some of the coaches will see the rankings and do a slightly better job at seeding teams in that district?
Also, who has the most difficult district? Which class has the best team ratings?
Here's a few answers....
Class ratings related highly to school size. Makes sense. More kids, more talent, more money for good programs. Class six is the best, class five about 8 points below six, class three and four fairly equal. Class one at the bottom with an average of 72 or about 40 points lower than the top class six team average. That's what makes it that much more impressive when you have a South Iron, Greenwood or Hartley with astronomic ratings.
And who has the most difficult districts in classes six, five and four?
In class six, District four, with Chaminade, CBC, Webster Groves, Kirkwood, and Ladue is the most difficult. Either Chaminade or CBC could be the State Champion but one will be the district runner-up. Classes 11 through 16 are all very strong too, but not as stacked as district four. Look for the district four champion to win the state class six title.
In class five, the districts are fairly well distributed without two potential state finalists in the same district. District four with Cardinal Ritter and University City might be the closest to having two state semi-finalists in one district. The "best" district is five, where those North St. Louis County teams are only just starting to play. I would bet on Ritter winning the class five tournament.
In class four, districts one, three, and four have some stiff competition with teams that all could appear in a final four. New Madric Central and Dexter will be a good district final, Vashon dominates the state but has "stiff" competition from Miller Career and Soldan, MICDS and Westminster Academy could both be in a state class four final but they have to get by Vashon in a sectional game. Barring injuries or illness, Vashon should be the state champ again for the umpteenth time in the last 20 years.
Hope this helps. I will post classes one through three in the next blog.
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