by ninja_joe » Wed Feb 08, 2017 10:51 pm
As far as the top teams go in Region 8, after seeing everyone play this year...the first ball club that actually decided to buckle down & play with hustle on defense will probably come out on top. Not sure if hard nosed defense exists in Region 8 though. No evidence of it so far this year.
Stanley & Parshall -- by far -- have the most talented starting 5. However, neither of these teams plays defense with any sense of urgency & are content to allow lesser teams quality shots. As a fan, you get the sense that these two teams coast. That's a bad habit & you would think they both would learn after getting upset last year by teams with lesser talent in the regional. If they even gave a legit effort on the defensive side for 32 minutes, they would easily meet each other in the regional final...but they probably won't.
TCS & Kenmare --on paper -- not as talented as the above teams...however, they have some pieces and skill players. TCS is capable of beating someone in a regional, just not sure they can string 3 quality games together as they are real dependent on the Smith kid's outside shooting. Then again, if no one plays D, they will be in the hunt. Kenmare probably has the most grit out of all these teams. They have guard play with state tourney experience. That can really help them out. They too though are up & down...they tend to shoot quick & can have trouble with teams that run off of those quick shots. Regional match ups will be important to them.
New Town -- explosive but far too undisciplined with shot selection & sloppy defense on their presses. They give up alot of easy baskets with their style. If they played better defense throughout the game, they would be real tough. But they don't. And will not. Capable of knocking someone off because of getting hot from 3pt range--also capable of getting beat by someone lesser & more disciplined because of shot selection & indifference on defense, especially in the half court --and on the block. It's 2pts every time if you have a post game against these guys.
Sleeper teams = Powers Lake & Lewis-Clark North Shore -- and maybe Watford City(because of their difficult schedule--that experience might pay off this year with competing at tourney time) Powers Lake plays together on both ends. North Shore has the big man & a group of kids who play together too. These teams will beat someone in districts and regionals. Plus they are teams that casual fans will root for because their kids play with sportsmanship, team play, & act accordingly. The rest of the teams listed above all have some arrogance, attitude issues that tend to trigger problems within the teams from time to time and for the casual fan....you don't really pull for them because of that type of behavior displayed on the floor.
Region 8 will be interesting for sure