| 23 January 2012
Washington State 1A Basketball Rankings - 23 Jan. 2012
1. Granger, South Central (12-2)
A couple weeks ago, Granger faced Naches Valley in the most anticipated match of the 1A basketball season. Granger won the game 65-52 with a devastating full-court press and 20 points and five steals from dynamo Brandon Castro. The game handed Naches Valley its first loss of the season, solidifying Granger as the team to beat in 1A.
MORE AFTER THE JUMP!
2. Naches Valley, South Central (14-1)
Losing to Granger hasn’t seemed to rattle the Rangers, as they have rattled off four straight wins and you could make a case for them to be in the number one spot after Granger lost to Zillah on Jan. 14. But with Granger owning the head-to-head matchup between these two, I couldn’t bring myself to that. Either way, Naches Valley is going to be a frontrunner for the state championship come March.
3. Cashmere, Caribou League (13-2)
After a losing to Okanogan and Granger earlier in the season, Cashmere looks to be back on track and starting to roll, having blown out four teams in a row. Senior guard Cooper Elliott has emerged as one of the best players in 1A, scoring around 20 PPG and becoming the Bulldogs’ go-to scorers.
“It’s always nice to have that kid that you can go to,” head coach Keith Boyd said after the Bulldogs’ win over Chelan on January 10. “Cooper has been stepping up big-time on the offensive end. He’s a handful. He’s 6-foot-5, but he can run up and down the floor in the transition game, and he can shoot. It’s nice to have Cooper Elliott, that’s for sure.”
4. Bellevue Christian, Emerald City League (11-4)
The Vikings have only played three games in the last two weeks, but one of them was a big one. On January 11, BCS took on 4A Newport, staying with them until the third quarter when Newport went on a 17-6 run to pull away and eventually win 52-38.
Here’s the problem with the Vikings. They play in the Emerald City League, which is essentially the WAC of 1A basketball. In other words, it’s not very good. So when BCS goes undefeated in league play, it’s not given much merit, but you also can’t downgrade them for winning. They don’t play anyone up to their level for the rest of the season, so we’ll have to wait until districts to see what this Vikings team is truly made of.
5. Zillah, South Central (11-4)
After falling to Naches Valley 48-45 on Jan. 5, the Leopards blew out four consecutive teams and then beat No. 1 Granger 60-56 in a tightly contested game where 6-foot-3 Zillah senior Derrell Pascal dropped 25 points and collected 15 rebounds.
The victory boosted coach Doug Burge’s squad into a first-place tie with Granger and Naches Valley at 5-1 in league play, so the South Central is anyone’s game at this point. Z
6. Lynden Christian, Northwest Conference (11-3)
7. Okanogan, South Central (14-2)
8. King’s, Cascade Conference (13-3)
9. Toledo, Southwest (10-2)
10. Freeman, Northeast (8-4)
--Nathan Parsons (@nathanparsons98)
