As a pollster for the Buffalo News, I'm asked to send in my weekly ballots ranking the top ten large and small schools.  The polls are based on games played through Sunday of each week.  Here's a look at how I see them and some of the rationale used to get there.

 

Large Schools

1. Niagara Falls (AA) – Opened league play by holding Grand Island to just 24 points.  A good gauge of where these guys are at will come tonight at Kenmore West.

2. Canisius (MMA) – The Crusaders already own 77-53 win against Kenmore West and could move up on this ballot after the New Year, depending on how tonight goes.

3. Jamestown (AA) – The Class AA state finalists are now 3-0 and most recently defeated Williamsville South after taking a 24-point lead into the fourth quarter. 

4. Bishop Timon/St. Jude (MMA) – Slip behind the Red Raiders after struggling to finish off the Billies.

5. St. Joe's (MMA) – The gaudy double-double stat lines are piling up for Reggie Agbeko and so are the wins for the Marauders, now 5-0 against opponents from WNY.

 6. McKinley (A1) – The Macks didn't play this week and their next game isn't until January 4th at Hutch-Tech.

7. Riverside (A2) – Moved them up to this spot after seeing…

8. Kenmore West (AA) – the Blue Devils loss to Canisius.  Don't get me wrong, I like these guys and I think their size inside with Campbell, along with their athleticism will present problems for most teams they face.  But I'd give Riverside a slight edge at this point.  They have a chance to turn all sorts of heads tonight when they host Falls.

9. Hutch-Tech (A1) – Hoping to beat Akron tonight and gain a matchup with St. Mary's for their efforts.

10. Williamsville South (A1) – The additions of Chaquille Nettles and Trent Ferguson, along with the players who have come up through the Billies basketball program have combined to make this team a contender for a third straight Class A1 title.

 

Small Schools

1. Olean (B1) – The easiest choice on either ballot, hands down.

2. St. Mary's (MMA) – As much as I was impressed by Olean last week, I thought the Lancers showed a lot of character in their loss to the Huskies.  They have talent all over, but they are also tough – as evidenced by the way they refused to go away.  The "Big 3" large schools in the MMA have a big time challenge in front of them when they face the Lancers this year.

3. OTC/MEC (C1) – Talented team with early losses to a pair of top large schools.  Beat Amherst for their lone win.

4. Depew (B1) – Took care of business against Niagara Catholic.  Travel to Amherst tonight, before hosting Lancaster in their Holiday Tournament over the break with a potential matchup against St. Mary's on the line.

5. Tonawanda (B1) – The Warriors are now 5-0, including a 50-34 win over cross-town rival North Tonawanda.

6. East (B1) – Should be ready to challenge for the Yale Cup after taking some lumps early – losses to Timon, Olean, & Aquinas, and a game at St. Joe's on Thursday.

7. Silver Creek (C2) - Another squad off and rolling with a 5-0 start.  The Black Knights early results include wins over Salamanca, Portville, and Westfield.

8. Panama (D) – Last year, the Panthers split with Cassadaga Valley in two nonleague games.  This season, the Class D favorites opened its season by sweeping last season's overall Class B champs.

9. Maple Grove (C2) – Avenged a near poll-exiting loss to Randolph with a dominating win on Friday.  From what I saw in their win over the Cardinals, the Red Dragons looked like a very cohesive unit that still deserved poll consideration from this pollster.  But the loss to Randolph still costs them a spot.

10. I-Prep (C2) – I gave them the nod after considering the competitive nature of its two losses to quality large schools (St. Joe's & Lockport). 

 

** Walsh almost made this ballot, but beating Lackawanna by 12 looked much less impressive after I saw that Holland did the same thing by nine points.  MST Seneca was also considered, but I thought the quality of I-Prep's losses trumped the Indians' resume of wins.  Dunkirk's results with Olean couldn't be considered for this ballot, but they will for the next one – they trailed by nine after three quarters and lost 53-50.

 

-centercourt