10th Annual CSAL 8th Grade Basketball Preseason Rankings

Can we get a sticky for this?

The Preseason Rankings were extremely close to the final results last season after a Big 10 Tournament which went mainly chalk. As predicted Our Lady of Mercy cut down the nets in the CHS gym, but did so against a surprise opponent in St. Aloysius. See last year’s preseason rankings compared to each team’s final finish (Preseason Ranking is in parenthesis):

1. OLOM (1)
2. St. Aloysius (5)
3. St. Jude (3)
4. St. George (2)
5. CHS BR (4)
6. St. Theresa (9)
7. St Thomas More (6)
8. Sacred Heart (7)
9. MBS (unranked)
10. Holy Family (8)

Believe it or not, this is the 10th edition of the CSAL 8th Grade Basketball Preseason Rankings, and everyone expects another great season of high quality basketball action played almost exclusively below the rim. This season is expected to be much more wide open than last year with no real dominant team. Jamborees start tonight with some quality matchups, so let’s get to this year’s rankings.

Without further ado, here are the much anticipated 2015-2016 Preseason CSAL Rankings:

1. Our Lady of Mercy – The Blue Jays won their first end of the year tournament in a while last season, ending another St. George championship run. Their coach can now add a CSAL Big 10 Championship to his trophy case, which already included two High School State Championships. No word on which he holds in the highest regard. OLOM will play full court lockdown help-side man to man defense with impeccable rotations. They typically utilize a spread motion offense which gives teams that venture to play man to man fits. This team will boast more size than last year’s champions, but the athleticism for last year’s team will be tough to match. They will try to be the first repeat champs besides St. George in as long as I can remember.

2. St. Aloysius – Will the St. Aloysius Lions become the Buffalo Bills or the Atlanta Braves? This is the question being asked on Stuart Ave by Lions fans after two second place finishes in the Big 10 Tournament. This young coaching trio has built a perennial juggernaut based on aggressive defense and a balanced attack on offense. Aloysius continues to be a tough matchup due to the size and length of their guards. This attribute should make their patented ¾ court trap a force to be reckoned with once again.

3. St. George – Only programs like Duke Basketball, Alabama Football, and St. George Basketball are disappointed after fourth place finishes. The Dragons have had a run of greatness just as long as the Blue Devils, and their tenured head coach is just as much of a legend in basketball as names like Krzyzewski, Pitino and Calipari. This year’s team has some guards that may be a little undisciplined as ball handlers, but are some of the best shooters in the league. They have nice size, but this isn’t a retro SGS team with multiple 6 footers. I would expect nothing less than a bounce back season from the mighty Dragons and their freshly resurfaced court.

4. Holy Family – The once much maligned program has become a perennial tourney team, and a good showing in the early season 7th grade invitational has them as a top 4 seed this year. They will feature one of the best backcourts in the league, led by their pg who is one of the best slashers in the league. They will look to play an up tempo game and rely on perimeter ball movement in order to outscore opponents.

5.St. Jude – St. Jude boasted the most athletic players in recent CSAL history as a 7th grader last season. Unfortunately, he has transferred to U High to pursue football. This leaves a major hole in their back court which will need to be filled by multiple players. They run a pick and roll offense which can be tough to defend if your defense isn’t disciplined and trained on pick and roll defense tactics. They will need to rely on their forward and center play to give them an advantage.

6. St. Thomas More – The Eagles had one of the best 7th grade teams, but lost 2 rotation front court players to CHS which puts a major hole in their front court depth. Because of this, they will be a team based on perimeter play. The Eagles have struggled in the tournament in recent seasons and look to bounce back and prove they are still one of the elite programs in CSAL. With no great team, this could be the year that the STM players add a basketball championship patch to their letter jackets.

7.CHS – The Baby Bears have had two of their best seasons in a row in the past twenty years and hope to make it three. The best player in all of CSAL, who played for Sacred Heart as a 7th grader, has been called up to the freshman team, so he will unfortunately not dress out for the Son-Father Coaching Tandem. The Bears do still have some talent, albeit undersized. They have multiple players who can handle the ball including a point forward who can handle, pass, shoot and play defense. Frontcourt depth could be an issue for this team. Their dribble drive motion offense should be a strength creating mismatches against man defense.

8. Sacred Heart – As mentioned above, the Tigers had the best 7th grade player in CSAL, but he is now on a freshman roster. This takes away a Demarcus Cousins type talent, minus the headcase aspect, in their starting 5. Without him, the Tigers drop from a top 5 team to a bubble team. They have a young fiery coach who should whip this team into shape and have them playing some lockdown defense in order to make this tournament. The early season Sacred Heart tournament always gives an indication on who the top teams in the league will be.

9.St. Francis Xavier – St. Francis Xavier now has one of the most intimidating home court atmospheres in all of CSAL at the St. Gabriel Community Center. Escaping this arena with a victory is becoming more and more challenging each season. SFX had a young team last year and will be led by their Jrue Holiday type PG who boasts great size for that position. They also have a power forward that likes to play on the perimeter, but is a beast on the boards down low.

10. MBS – The Pelicans, who had their name stolen by a New Orleans basketball franchise, snuck into the big dance last year after entering the season unranked. They typically run a 2-3 zone defense and rely on outside shooting to defeat opponents. They like to set stagger screens and down screens and have quick ball rotations around the perimeter to get some open looks from the perimeter.