A look at the CSAA Basketball race (Boys)
Three teams remain undefeated in the CSAA race. Big Rapids, Reed City and Newaygo would look to be on a collision course, while Kent City, White Cloud and Grant lurk just behind the top three. The Redbirds have been favored from the start, and boast a #5 ranking in D2. The Lions were languishing a bit at the start with a 1-3 mark but a dramatic come from behind win over Kent City seemed to build their confidence and they have won 4 out of 5 since. The ‘Yotes have the edge of home games on that singular court of theirs.. Hang on. Could be a fun run right down to the first conference tourney Big Rapids 2-0 6-1 The Cards only loss was a track meet against Hart when the teams put up 176 points and BR’s 84 proved to not be enough. But then again,everyone’s lost to Hart. There have been a few close games against Coopersville and White Cloud but the Cards find a way to win. Kent Ingles is a good bench coach and he has Ruggles, the Dunns and a deep group of talent. Who’s going to beat them? Tough to say. They don’t play a team with a winning record until they host Reed City a week into February. Kent City and/or Grant could give them trouble before then but they better bring their A game. Reed City 3-0 6-3 The Coyotes have been resilient. They started the season somewhat short handed due to injuries and peeled off 4 wins in their first five games losing only to Big Rapids when Coach Walsh’s team took the air out of the ball in hopes of containing the high octane Cardinal offense.The other losses included undefeated and highly ranked Ludington and a strong Ithaca team in the Coyotes holiday tourney. They play yet another state ranked team this week when Standish Sterling comes to town. They’ll win most games, especially at home, but whether they can beat some of the better teams around remains to be seen. Newaygo 4-0 6-4 The Lions are the frontrunner thus far posting 4 conference wins and with a struggling Lakeview up next they could likely move to 5-0..Then they play Reed City up in the enigmatic Coyote facility. The winner of that one will be the primary challenge to what looks to be a Big Rapids title quest. Decker, Nelson and Long are frequently found at the top of the stat sheet but Coach Long has made effective use of his roster in finding productive combinations. The loss to Shelby was surprising but the Lions aren’t going to win many games scoring 40 points. Outside of the ‘Yotes they don’t play anyone with a winning record until back to back battles against two of the regions best teams, BR and Hart toward the end of the season. Kent City 2-1 3-3 The Eagles dropped their first three and have won three straight since. They averaged 40 per game in those losses and just under 60 in the wins. They will know a lot more about their conference status in a one week stretch coming up when they will play the three teams ahead of them in the standings White Cloud 2-2 4-4 Surprising nearly everyone but themselves the Cloud moved to the expanded single division and promptly ran off wins in their first four games including two conference W’s against teams from the former ‘upper’ division. Since then they’ve come down to Earth a bit dropping 4 in a row including 3 straight to state ranked teams with a combined record of 21-2. WC is going to give up points so they have to score in bunches to win. If they aren’t hitting early they can get in trouble but Coach Jones’ team has some toughness and grit and while it might be a stretch to crawl past four teams to challenge for a title they still have games against 3 of those teams and nothing this team does will surprise me. Grant 2-2 4-5 The Tigers really needed that win over White Cloud. They snapped a 4 game skid against a solid conference opponent and showed some D after yielding an average of 80 points in their last 3. The emergence of Obenauf and Whitnet as primary scoring threats has helped and though they give up some height in most games they have players who can bang in the paint. Their next 3 games aren’t a cakewalk but winnable if the Tigers play their game. Then the high scoring Big Rapids team comes to town to test what has been an inconsistent defense. Tri County 2-2 3-5 The Vikings 3 wins have come against teams scuffling through losing seasons with a collective record of 3-21.The closest they have been to any other opponents was a 13 point loss to White Cloud. While they possess a couple of shooters they struggle against the press and tend to be mistake prone at times. Middle of the pack at season’s end. Chippewa Hills 1-2 3-3 The Warriors are in a rough part of their schedule with back to back losses to Reed City and Big Rapids and state ranked Baldwin up next. CH doesn’t score a lot most nights and is unlikely to match up with the better teams on the schedule. There are some winnable games ahead for a school that hasn’t had a lot of success on the court in recent years. Morley Stanwood 1-4 3-6 An inconsistent offense that is prone to slow starts has hindered the ‘Hawks. So has their schedule. 6 weeks between home games is a lot and when the team takes the floor on their home gym on January 27 it will be the first time since December 16. They do, however, close with 5 straight at home but still…. Lakeview 0-4 1-6 The Wildcats beat Hesperia in their first game and in the 6 games since they have lost by an average of 25 points.. They could pick up another win or two but barring the discovery of another 30 points or so currently sitting anonymously at the end of the bench any wins will likely be few in number. Central Montcalm 0-3 0-8 Granted, a brutal schedule to begin the season, still, it's rough on the players and coaches to be in pursuit of that first W. almost halfway through. Best shots at getting off the schneid seem to be later on down the road since Big Rapids and Grant will be coming to town this week.
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