Boys Top 30 teams overall, shown below, using the Section2Basketball.com computer rankings. Here is full list current computer rankings for the boys.
Going to share some quick thoughts on each classification in preparation of upcoming sectionals in February. I fully understand that there are still league title implications and plenty of regular season games left but I thought it would be a good time to take a look forward. Teams still have time to improve or get injured players back before the sectionals start so some of these teams will be higher/lower ranked depending how they finish up their schedule.
Class AA
This year’s Class AA boys teams are just absurdly close from top to bottom. There are 13 teams that are within 13 total points of each other. In the middle of that top 13 are 8 teams separated by TWO POINTS!! Rarely do you ever see a classificiation of any size where there are this many teams that have the potential to win 2 or more games in a tournament. Ballston Spa and Mekeel Christian sit as the top two teams right now but both have losses in the section in the last week. Colonie has strung together six straight wins and is playing its best ball right now. Green Tech has played 5 games in the section, all of them single digit contests. Then we have the eight teams I mentioned above that are less than 2 points apart. (CBA, Niskayuna, Shaker, Bethlehem, La Salle, Saratoga, Shen and Schenectady). Good luck trying to predict who would win any match-up between any of those teams on a given night. Oh yeah, Albany is right below them and has won three of their last four games and playing well. Going to be a fun sectional tournament for this class.
Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website.
| Deavion Springsteen | Albany | 16.3 |
| Malachi Perry | Albany | 15.4 |
| Nicholas Verdile | Ballston Spa | 18.6 |
| Mike Miller | Ballston Spa | 15.6 |
| Benjamin Phillips | Ballston Spa | 12 |
| Cam LaClair | Bethlehem | 12.8 |
| Kieran Barnes | Bethlehem | 12.2 |
| Caden Bernardo | Bethlehem | 11.2 |
| Logan Yohe | Bethlehem | 11 |
| Kaelen Leak | CBA | 11 |
| Matt Sgambati | CBA | 10.5 |
| Brandon Gordon | Colonie | 15.1 |
| Trey Von Owens-Cody | Colonie | 11.2 |
| Cam Trimarchi | Colonie | 10.7 |
| Haisi Mayben | Green Tech | 20.9 |
| Ramere Brown | Green Tech | 11.4 |
| Adam Myers | La Salle | 17.6 |
| Jason Bradwell Jr. | La Salle | 10.6 |
| Isiah Rose | Mekeel Christian Academy | 20.3 |
| Nykim Taylor | Mekeel Christian Academy | 17.2 |
| Terrence Robinson | Mekeel Christian Academy | 14.5 |
| Sam Booth | Niskayuna | 17.2 |
| Ethan Gilson | Niskayuna | 10.8 |
| Daniel Smalls | Niskayuna | 10.5 |
| Andrew Stallmer | Saratoga Springs | 14.4 |
| Ryan Farr | Saratoga Springs | 14.1 |
| Hutton Snyder | Saratoga Springs | 10.8 |
| Damari Holder | Schenectady | 19.3 |
| Christian Gomez | Schenectady | 14.4 |
| Quymaine Haggray | Schenectady | 11 |
| Zacharie Matulu | Shaker | 18.3 |
| Andrew Massaroni | Shenendehowa | 12.9 |
Class A
Class A boys have four teams that have a separated themselves as contenders. (Amsterdam, Hudson Falls, Lansingburgh and Troy. Albany Academy doesn’t participate in Section 2 playoffs.) Right below those four teams are another group of teams that could easily spring an upset in a quarterfinal game against the top four. Those teams are Burnt Hills, Gloversville, Columbia, Queensbury and Averill Park.
Amsterdam just defeated Hudson Falls at home in a three point contest last week. They have a balanced attack with five players averaging double digit points per the Times Union website.
| Robert Chandler | Albany Academy | 18.2 |
| Cyrus Matia | Albany Academy | 11.8 |
| Jack Louridas | Albany Academy | 11.7 |
| Elijah Godbolt | Albany Academy | 10.7 |
| Jhai Vellon | Amsterdam | 17.6 |
| Cesar Thompson | Amsterdam | 15.2 |
| Victor Dueno | Amsterdam | 14.8 |
| Alec Bartone | Amsterdam | 12 |
| JaShean Vann | Amsterdam | 10.8 |
| Ben Kline | Burnt Hills | 16.6 |
| Evan Rainville | Columbia | 16.6 |
| Mariano Dicaterino | Gloversville | 18 |
| James Collar | Gloversville | 14 |
| Peyton Smith | Hudson Falls | 26.6 |
| Wesley McIntyre | Lansingburgh | 20.1 |
| Aayden Green | Lansingburgh | 14 |
| James Oliver | Lansingburgh | 12.3 |
| Jacob Paolino | Mohonasen | 10.4 |
| Trevon Bailey | Queensbury | 15.9 |
| Chase Baker | Queensbury | 11.2 |
| Terrance Clark | Troy | 19 |
| Stetson Merritt | Troy | 17.9 |
| Daniel Covington | Troy | 15 |
Class B
Catholic Central and Tamarac are the clear favorites in Class B. The Crusaders took out Tamarac in last year’s tournament. Both have top 5 players in the area on their teams (Darien Moore of CCHS and Joey Poulin of Tamarac) and other key parts that make them the teams to beat. Glens Falls, Ichabod Crane, Fonda, Watervliet, Schalmont and Bishop Gibbons sit right behind them with Mechanicville, Schuylerville, Ravena and Cohoes knocking on the door as teams that could pull an upset early in the tournament.
Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website.
| Esiasyn Starr | Bishop Gibbons | 16.7 |
| Jaquare Jones | Bishop Gibbons | 14.8 |
| Zackarhi Archie | Bishop Gibbons | 13.3 |
| Dequawn Gheen | Bishop Gibbons | 12 |
| Ryan Savoie Jr. | Broadalbin-Perth | 19.9 |
| Samuel Hotaling | Broadalbin-Perth | 11.8 |
| Chris Rogers | Cairo-Durham | 13.4 |
| Darien Moore | Catholic Central | 24.3 |
| Sei’Mir Roberson | Catholic Central | 15.3 |
| Nick Riley | Catholic Central | 11 |
| Nick Peterson | Cobleskill | 12.5 |
| Zowen Collins | Cobleskill | 10.5 |
| Marquay Tanksley | Cohoes | 15.5 |
| Robert Hughes | Coxsackie-Athens | 11.3 |
| Jackson Cusack | Fonda | 15.2 |
| Kellen Driscoll | Glens Falls | 16.8 |
| Cooper Nadler | Glens Falls | 11.8 |
| Cody Thompson | Greenville | 11.5 |
| Jack Giarusso | Greenville | 11.1 |
| Brett Larson | Greenville | 10.8 |
| Keith Robinson | Hudson | 17.9 |
| Kristyain Clarke | Hudson | 15.8 |
| Jordan Cunningham | Hudson | 13.8 |
| Alex Schmidt | Ichabod Crane | 22.1 |
| Daniel Warner | Ichabod Crane | 16.6 |
| Braden Jones | Johnstown | 17.4 |
| Ryan Hoyt | Johnstown | 13.3 |
| Fen Egan | Mechanicville | 11 |
| Jack Reif | Ravena | 11.3 |
| Isaiah Smith | Schalmont | 15 |
| Elijah Smith | Schalmont | 14.5 |
| Luke Sherman | Schuylerville | 24 |
| Brady Smith | South Glens Falls | 16.3 |
| Ryan Fitzsimmons | South Glens Falls | 10.8 |
| Zach Rowe | Taconic Hills | 10.9 |
| Joey Poulin | Tamarac | 24.4 |
| Mike D’Agostino | Tamarac | 15.1 |
| Jack Casey | Tamarac | 11.6 |
| Daheem Wilson | Watervliet | 22.4 |
| Jay Chaplin | Watervliet | 16.5 |
Class C/CC
Class C has too many teams to run a single tournament so the Section splits them into C and CC. Here are the teams that go in each category.
The top two teams in the full classification have been Hoosic Valley and Duanesburg. They both are heavy favorites to meet in that final if they continue their strong play. Hoosic Valley has one loss to Class B contender Tamarac and Duanesburg is undefeated and rolling through WAC play. The next five teams in order of the power rankings are in the Class CC tournament. They are Stillwater, Chatham, Voorheesville, Hoosick Falls and Greenwich. Stillwater are the defending sectional champs and hold a close victory over Chatham as the two opened their seasons in a pre-Thanksgiving tournament. The winners of each bracket play to see who advances out of the Section.
Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website.
| Jesse Francoeur | Berlin-New Lebanon | 10.5 |
| Dayne Coates | Berne-Knox | 19.5 |
| AJ Wright | Berne-Knox | 15.1 |
| Blake Shaver | Berne-Knox | 11.6 |
| Antonio Fairley | Canajoharie | 22.1 |
| Matt Thorsen | Chatham | 18.4 |
| Jacob Baccaro | Chatham | 14 |
| Jeffrey Mulhern | Duanesburg | 19.5 |
| Ethan Thompson | Duanesburg | 12.1 |
| Casey Clarke | Galway | 13 |
| Josh Lovelass | Galway | 11.9 |
| Zach Kenyon | Galway | 10.6 |
| Caleb Nelson | Granville | 25.5 |
| Cody Nelson | Granville | 12.3 |
| Joe Skiff | Greenwich | 18.2 |
| Jacob Ziehm | Greenwich | 11.4 |
| Ryan Alling | Greenwich | 10.5 |
| Isaiah Eckler | Hoosic Valley | 23.5 |
| Logan Reilly | Hoosic Valley | 13.9 |
| Jake Sparks | Hoosick Falls | 18.9 |
| Jack Welch | Lake George | 14 |
| Brady Cole | Maple Hill | 12 |
| Trevor Ruberti | Mayfield | 19.5 |
| Cameron Abdella | Mayfield | 11.6 |
| Troy Cammer | Middleburgh | 17.6 |
| Colton Christensen | Oppenheim-Ephratah/St Johnsville | 16.6 |
| Justin Druscher | Saratoga Central Catholic | 14.2 |
| Aiden Dunne | Saratoga Central Catholic | 11.5 |
| Matt Bernhardt | Schoharie | 11.9 |
| Preston DiGiovanni | Schoharie | 10.7 |
| Nathan Burke | Schoharie | 10.5 |
| Jaxon Mueller | Stillwater | 16 |
| Lukas Lilac | Stillwater | 15.2 |
| Carson Carrow | Voorheesville | 19.8 |
| Seth Wilson | Voorheesville | 11.4 |
| Steve Schloss | Warrensburg | 20.9 |
| Evan LaPell | Warrensburg | 17.7 |
| Derrick Pontore | Waterford | 16.1 |
| Matt Soden | Waterford | 11.3 |
Class D
Three teams loom as favorites to capture the Class D crown. Right now North Warren, Northville and Argyle are slightly above a group of 5 teams that hope to improve their play and challenge them. (Hartford, Loudonville Christian, Hawthorne Valley, Germantown and Fort Ann.
North Warren has three double digit scorers led by Sean Evans. Northville’s Jacob Frank is averaging 20+ points a game and just recorded his 1000th career point. Argyle has the leading scorer in the section, Hunter Ingram, who is scoring at 30+ points a night. Ingram just netted 55 points in a win over Corinth.
Players to watch that show up on the top 150 scoring leaders posted on the Times Union website
| Hunter Ingram | Argyle | 30.2 |
| Brandon Saunders | Argyle | 13.5 |
| Dylan Brown | Fort Ann | 15.5 |
| Cal Boucher | Fort Edward | 11.8 |
| Stephen Gray | Fort Plain | 12 |
| Dylan Keane | Fort Plain | 11.4 |
| Ray Harrington | Hartford | 20.1 |
| Austin Wells | Hartford | 11.4 |
| Oliver Towe | Hawthorne Valley | 20 |
| Henri Towe | Hawthorne Valley | 12 |
| Mike Marshall | Loudonville Christian | 16.3 |
| Jared Pratt | Loudonville Christian | 12.9 |
| Sean Evans | North Warren | 20 |
| Semaj Cuyler | North Warren | 12.3 |
| Derrick Tyrell | North Warren | 10.8 |
| Jacob Frank | Northville | 20.3 |