prepcasts.com

January 9th

As 2006 calendars come into use, high school basketball changes gears. Now, the conference competition will dominant the schedule until District play. Lets take a look at some early season “positioning”. Girls Conferences—in no particular order:
Suburban West—some high powered offensive machines located here. There are 4 teams (Mehlville, Kirkwood,Marquette,Oakville) averaging over 54ppg! Mehlville Panthers 12-1 (3-0), fresh from their tight win over Marquette, look like the early season best of this league.
GAC-North—Timberland has the best non-league record but has yet to put its foot into the icy waters of this tough league
Four Rivers—Sullivan Eagles (9-0) lead the early pack with New Haven chomping at their heels. The dust should be cleared after the Feb 13 battle between these two teams.
AAA- JF Kennedy currently sits on the top perch of this conference. The Celtics should breeze through January and face some stiffer challenges in February.
Cahokia- To no one’s surprise, the Freeburg Midgets are assembling a tremendous 2005-06 package
Suburban South—Who can run with Webster Groves Statesman is the question? This entertaining team is putting 60+ppg on the board.
Jefferson County—toss a coin—many possible choices ! No team is more than 2 games over .500 as conference play heats up. Probably one of the most balanced conferences.

BOYS:
Four Rivers: New Haven (pre season favorite)(9-0) is tied in the early going by the charging Tigers of ST James. The February tussle between these two teams will likely decide champion of the conference.
GAC-North: Unsung by many in preseason, the Pirates of St Charles (12-0) have inside and outside threats and a stingy defense (43ppg !). At this point, they have the targets on their chests.
ABC: Lutheran North (6-4, 3-0) has 3 quick conference wins while most teams haven’t played even 2 league games. Crusadors tough non league schedule could fool some who just glance at their record.
Metro Catholic: DeSmet (7-4, 3-0) has the 6-10,6-11 combo as their starting blocks. Not considered by many in pre season, the defense, patience, free throw shooting key the success of the Spartans.
Suburban South: Despite personnel changes, Statesman (11-2,1-0) should match the preseason evaluations by most—conference champions.
Suburban West: Currently 3 teams tied (Lindbergh, Parkway South, Lafayette)with 2-0 league marks. Most insiders feel the inside strength of the Lancers is difficult to match by most teams. All team possess offensive weapons, so upsets are likely.
Suburban East: Jennings has super star, Sanijay Watts, that no one else can match. Early pick by most observers doesn’t seem like it’s changed much during 1st 6 weeks.
Mississippi Valley: Mascoutah(9-5,3-0) has jumped out to early league lead. Civic Memorial has best overall record, Triad is coming on..Another great race here!
Columbia: Wesclin (13-2, 2-0) appears to have positioned itself best for the long road in this excellent small school conference on the East Side.
Southwestern: Looks like a 2 man race—Edwardsville and Alton. All other teams are capable of knocking anyone off on a given night!