Needless
to say, the 2 Ohio AAU District Qualifiers really shook up the 6th
and 7th grade team rankings last weekend. Right out of the gate on Friday
night in Cincinnati, the state’s #1 ranked 7th grade team (Queen
City Prophets) went down in defeat to the Ohio Hoopsters in a major upset. Then early the next morning the upstart Ohio
Unity knocked off the Shining Stars who were poised for a big jump in the
rankings after a couple of good showing the previous weeks. The upsets weren’t
limited to southern Ohio, as the Great Lakes District Qualifier threw a couple
of curve balls as well, as the favorites, SMAC U and Murphy AC both took a back
seat to King James on Sunday. I don’t think any team was as impressive as the
central Ohio-based Team Excel who ran the gauntlet of quality teams all weekend
to claim the gold medal. Because of
their efforts, we now have a new #1 team state!
The
next chance for teams to make a statement will come next week in Columbus as
most of the state’s top 7th grade squads will be participating in
the Buckeye Prep Summer Showdown. This event will be in conjunction with the
NYBL Finals (same facility) so you know the gym will be electric!
There
really was not much drama in the 6th grade division, as All-Ohio Red
ran through the field in Cincinnati as expected. Murphy AC was the last team
standing in the North in division I. Dayton Elite won the D-II title in Buckeye
Valley in a thrilling win over Ohio Hoopster Elite. The team that made the
biggest jump in the rankings was southern Ohio’s Riverside Flyers. We don’t get to see much of them, but this is
a well constructed team that knows how to play basketball.
In
the 8th grade division, Ohio Unity pulled a big upset last weekend
by taking down #2 ranked All-Ohio Red in Jerry Watson’s Super Sixteen
tournament in Columbus last weekend. With that loss, as well as their loss of
Logan Hill to injury, All-Ohio takes a big drop to #6, and Ohio Unity makes a
power move upward. King James has continued to win as has OBC and Next level.
With the 8th grade AAU state qualifiers tipping off next week, look
for some additional movement in the rankings next week.
