Older Tropics Look Young at the Top of the Rankings

PLANO: Week 2 Power Rankings

By Tyrese Boone | Plano Media Associate

Week 1 was a success. Every game was competitive and some players really balled out last Thursday night. Out of the 50 players in the National Player Performance Rankings this week, 14 of them came from this league and five cracked the top 10 (Larsen, Clemons, Dentmon, Jablonski, Bray).

 Here are the power rankings after Week 1:

1. Older Tropics (1-0)

The Tropics keep their place at the top of their power rankings. The Tropics were very rusty on offense, but used their defense to create points off of turnovers to hold an undermanned MMG to only 65 points. Brian Gahan led the way with 32 points and 9 rebounds to a 15-point win. This team should be able to get better as the season goes on.

 Next Matchup: Sniper Gang (0-0)

2. BWA (1-0)

BWA had a very impressive showing last game against Hoop There It Is. Justin Dentmon balled out; scoring 40 points to lead his team to a 13-point win. Dentmon was also one of the many players who landed on National Players Performance Rankings this week. Their offense will be a very important factor to this team’s season going down the road.

 Next Matchup: Ballin On A Budget (0-1)

3. Role Models (1-0)

Role Models played the best team basketball last week. All of their starting five scored above 20 points and shot over 60 percent from the field. Lorenza Marshall and Martin Salinas led the way to an impressive 27-point victory against Ballin on a Budget. If they can play like this for the rest of the season, I can see them finishing undefeated in the regular season.

 Next Matchup: Nike (1-0)

4. Push The Rock (1-0)

Push The Rock dominated in their last game against the Classic Ballers. Their dominance on both sides of the ball led to a 52-point win. Kevin Saunders and Joshua Williamson played well scoring above 15 points and grabbing five rebounds each. The craziest thing about this team is that it’s only the first game of the year and there beating a team like this. Push The Rock in its first game has shown the whole league they are a contender this year.

 Next Matchup: Hoops There It Is (0-1)

5. Nike (1-0)

Nike played good team basketball as well and ended up winning the game against the Gym Class Heroes by 19 points. They played good defense and were able to get an abundance of points at the free throw line due to the over fouling of their opponent. The difference between Nike becoming a good team than becoming an elite team is their offensive production. If they can shoot efficiently from the field and play lockdown defense, they could really make a run for a championship this season.

 Next Matchup: Role Models (1-0)

6. Hoops There It Is (0-1)

Even though this team didn’t get a win, they showed how good they can be even without their full roster. Hoops There It Is ended up losing to a very talented BWA team by 13 points. Kailan Bray (triple double) and Howard Stokes (double double) filled up the stat sheets and played well on both sides of the floor during the loss. Here’s a hot take: If Hoops There It Is had their full roster for the first game, they could have won. This team can play with any team in this league. However, how many games can they win without their full roster not showing up to the games?

 Next Matchup: Push The Rock (1-0)

7. Gym Class Heroes (0-1)

Gym Class Heroes played well in their first game, but ended up losing by 19 to Nike. Jacob Jablonski and Cameron Clemens played well individually, but the team as a whole struggled throughout the game. Fouls and a 50 percent team free throw percentage ended up hurting them in the second half causing the nine-point lead to increase. If the team can come together and work on the little things, they can be able to win games throughout the season.

 Next Matchup: The Soldiers (0-0)

8. MMG (0-1)

MMG had a really great first half but slowly lost their momentum in the second against the Tropics. The team seemed to run out of gas in the second half due to lack of subs showing up to the game. Maxx Nakwaasah ended the game with a double-double, (27 points, 11 rebounds), but it wasn’t enough to win. If MMG can get more players on their roster, they should be able to pull off some wins sooner than later.

 Next Matchup: Classic Ballers (0-1)

9. Ballin On A Budget (0-1)

Ballin On A Budget fell apart badly in their game against the Role Models. They were outscored 64-43 in the second half and they ended up losing the game by 27 points. However, this team did show some upside on how good they can be. Jeffrey Larsen and Isaac Rhodia balled out and scored a combined 62 points on the night, which allocated to 64 percent of their teams points. I believe once the team chemistry gets better they’ll be able to win some games.

 Next Matchup: BWA (1-0)

10. Classic Ballers (0-1)

Classic Ballers gave it a good effort, but were overwhelmed and ended up losing to Push The Rock by 52 points. The ballers struggled from the field throughout the whole game, only shooting 30 percent from the field and shooting 25 percent from three point range. On the bright side, Nathan Hicks (14 points, 50 percent from deep) showed that he can play and possibly become the leader of this team. If the ballers can get better on both sides of the ball, they’ll have a better chance to win games this season.

 Next Matchup: MMG (0-1)

 T-11. Soldiers/Sniper Gang (0-0)

These teams did not play last week. They will be ranked after their first game this week.

Next Matchup: Soldiers - Gym Class Heroes (0-1)

Sniper Gang - Older Tropics (1-0)