12/25/205
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Good afternoon and Merry Christmas to everyone.

Normally I wait until the first of January to put together the first ABV rankings of the season but I've seen enough and have read enough to put things together heading into the holiday tournaments.

These rankings could all change drastically by the time the Big Ball drops.

The one thing that is brutally noticeable so far is how strong 1A is and how pathetic (so far) 2A has been.

Not since we went to four-classes in 2007-08 has the Deep South 2A schools struggled this mightily.

Three of my Top 10 teams in 2A have lost games to 1A teams so far.

Benton – Goreville, Carterville – Waltonville, and Wesclin – Sparta.

In 1A, the class droppers are flexing their muscles so far this season.

Lawrenceville is unbeaten heading into the holidays for head coach Tad Shick.

The Indians have been impressive so far and they can prove their worth this week in the Effingham/Teutopolis (Lets bring in a bunch of teams no one cares about to play a handful of local teams) Christmas Classic.

Sparta's class drop came at the perfect time for head coach Jordan Beckley.

The Bulldogs are athletic and have been trouble makers for their opposition so far with a tournament championship at DuQuoin and a key Cahokia Conference Illinois Division win over Wesclin.

Cumberland is also a drop down from 2A to 1A for Coach Justin Roedl and the Pirates have a group of young guards that are like Will Rogers when it comes to long range shooting.

“They never met a 3-point shot they didn't like.”

Casey-Westfield has just a loss to 3A Mt. Zion after an 8-0 start for Coach Tom Brannan.

The Warriors will always be a 1A postseason factor.

Let's turn to the rivalry between Waltonville and Woodlawn, two of the strongest 1A programs in the Deep South.

Things got a bit more interesting when one of the top players from the Spartans (Kyle Cooper) transferred to Woodlawn to play for his brother, head coach Luke Cooper.

The matchup last week at Woodlawn went to Cardinals who came out on top of a 48-43 decision.

That is the only loss so far for Coach Lowery and his club.

Both teams have their eyes on the prize (Champaign) in March.

Tuscola and head coach Justin Bozarth have been on a roll the past few seasons and his Warriors have a legit shot at more postseason hardware.

Webber Township has the two-time ABV 1A Player of the Year and some important players who have shown so far that they collectively are more than just a one-man band.

The Trojans won the Wayne City Holiday Tournament and the lone loss was to Waltonville in the title game at the Christopher Turkey Tournament for Coach Jaxon Helm.

Goreville won its own invitational tournament three weeks ago and the Blackcats and Waltonville could hook up this week in the finale at the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament.

Coach Tripp's teams are always ready when the calendar flips to February.

North Clay and head coach Josh Zink have more work to do as the three best teams they have played defeated them.

The talent is there for a postseason run.

As mentioned earlier, 2A is a mess as this dumpster fire is burning brightly in the southern Illinois sky.

Normally when the rankings come out, there are certain teams you used a permanent ink Sharpie to write in.

Although some are still there, some are missing from the list.

Most shockingly the Pinckneyville Panthers are struggling so far this season and they head to Christmas on a four-game losing streak and sit at 5-5 and not in the ABV Top 10.

They also have a loss to 1A Woodlawn at the Carlyle Kaskaskian Tournament.

There is still time to get things put together and it will start on Saturday in their own holiday tournament.

Some postseason hardware would mend a lot of broken hearts in Perry County.

Staunton was a feel good story for 2A with the award of 2A ABV “Coach of the Year” going to a deserving Coach Ty Laux.

This season the Bulldogs lone loss was to University City (MO.) and they sit at 7-1 and are favorites at the Carlinville Holiday Tournament this week.

They will need to prove their worth the remainder of the season.

Are they the best team in the ABV? Maybe not.

Are they playing the best basketball without an embarrassing loss? Yes.

Columbia is starting to play their best basketball for Coach Mark Sandstrom after a tough early season tournament at Wesclin.

It's still early but they have wins over Roxana and their long time nemesis Breese Central.

The top two will square off at the East Alton-Wood River Shootout on February 7.

Roxana has made waves so far this season for Coach Mark Briggs and they could be a sleeper to win the Duster Thomas Hoops' Classic this week at Pinckneyville.

Benton have just a loss to the Blackcats but they also have only two wins (Hardin County, Murphysboro) over teams who have winning records.

This week will be interesting in Columbia for Coach Ron Winemiller and Co.

Carterville and head coach Shane Hawkins were cruising along after winning the Trico Tournament until they got an early morning wake up call delivered by Waltonville at the Carbondale Shootout on December 13.

They have wins since against Goreville and Nashville and are the favorite at the EHT this week.

Breese Central is just 6-4 so far but the Cougars and head coach Jeremy Shubert always get better as the season rolls forward.

Don't be too surprised if they end up as a factor at the Mater Dei Holiday Tournament this week.

Wesclin and head coach Brett Brede roared out of the gate with three quality wins over Breese Mater Dei, Columbia and Nashville.

The Collinsville loss is understandable but the defeat to Sparta at home should be a blaring alarm clock blast.

Nashville is another of the clubs who normally can be counted on for some hardware each season.

The defeats are to Wesclin and Carterville for Coach Stote Reeder and Company.

The Hornets are part of a loaded BMDHT.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes are like a bad penny. They always show up and are alwasy ready.

They will once again be in the postseason conversation and they will be tested at their own tournament this week.

Alton Marquette and mentor Steve Medford (who is back in coaching after a hiatus) have held their own so far this winter.

The Explorers are 4-0 in the Gateway Metro Conference and a title victory at Columbia this week wouldn't be a shock.

This listing may look a bit odd but, unfortunately this have been a very odd season in 2A.

I could have easily thrown all of these names in a hat and dragged them out one at a time.

Perhaps I did? If so it's our little secret. LOL

EDITOR'S NOTE: I had a major snafu with my former cell phone carrier. I now have a different cell phone number. I have reached out to some of you so far with the changes. My new number, which is also listed on my scoreboard page, is (618) 967-6107. Much to my dismay, the number I had for the past 15-years is now history. Life goes on. See you at the gym. Jack.