This is a new year of Church League, with new teams, new players and a new Church League power rankings writer. First things first, I am not Steven Campbell, I am Will Most, LION’s Opinions Editor, SFX Dillon player and basketball enthusiast. I hope to give you power rankings that you will enjoy and agree with.

First things first, these are power rankings, not standings. Just because a team beat another team means that they are really the better team. Teams have injuries, bad matchups and cold shooting nights. For example many people will be shocked to see Congo hasn’t fallen that much in this weeks top 10 rankings. When all teams have gotten into the thick of things and reporting on the scores being more established, there may be an expansion of the power rankings, but for the foreseeable future the top 10 is sufficient.

1. SFX Hickey (Last Week: 1) (1-0)

A strong performance by the top team holds them at their rightful place on top. And while Tom Hickey ‘15 may have not put on a devastating game in terms of points, he played a nice all around game to secure his team the win. It was also noted that their opponent LCA juniors held on at the beginning of a game, but Hickey turned on the Jets and won by 15. Look out for an undefeated season.

2. SFX Kuchler (Last Week: 2) (0-0)

Kuchler got the bye this week, and it would be unfair to assume SJC Light Blue or SFX Dillon is the better team despite their nice wins. However that doesn’t mean that SFX Kuchler isn’t without it’s concerns, as they stumbled at the start of last season and gave a poor defensive effort in their first couple games. However, leader Kevin Kuchler (St. Ignatius) seems to be committed to making his team contenders, so look for a hot start next week.

3. SJC Light Blue (Last Week: 3) (1-0)

A solid win for SJC Light Blue and a solid performance by Michael Owens (Nazareth), the big man that will cause problems for pretty much every team in the league. As long as Owens stays strong, and SJC Light Blue’s starters and supporting cast play on a consistent level, this team is a contender.

4. SFX Dillon (Last Week: 4) (1-0)

SFX Dillon really impressed this week with a dominant win over a solid LCA team. This was by far the most impressive win of the week in terms of margin of victory and strength of opponent. SFX Dillon will proudly take the title of one of the most dangerous teams in transition, with Dan Niedermeyer ‘15, Joe Dillon ‘15 and Ben Gawthrop ‘15  running all across the court forcing steals and pushing the ball before defenses are set up. With this win SFX Dillon is starting to climb its way up to the group of contenders. While SJC Light Blue is still ranked over Dillon, these teams are neck-an-neck and Dillon could grab that three spot with a strong win next week.

5. First Presbyterian (Last Week: 6) (1-0)

First Presbyterian gets a solid first win in week one, and looks to be a team that could be dangerous come the playoffs. And while they certainly haven’t proven themselves as contenders, much like Dillon with a couple strong wins and some star caliber players making some big plays, First Presbyterian is one of the better teams in the league.

6. SJC Maroon (Last Week: 8) (0-0)

Wow, SJC Maroon plays a whopping total of zero games and moves up two spots! Despite numerous complaints from SJC Maroon players on their ranking and their demands that they are a better team than Light Blue, I just won’t believe it till I see it. If SJC Maroon really wants to back up their claims, they have to come out strong and prove they deserve to be their current ranking.

7. Congo (Last Week: 5)-(0-1)

Don’t worry Congo faithful, this fall in the rankings should only be temporary. I’ve got a lot of faith in this team and the large amount of talent they possess. Plus, Congo’s strategy in game one was essentially just to shoot threes, which I’m being told by key players on Congo’s team is not the gameplan for the rest of the season. But as talented as this team wins, they can’t let another game happen like this again this season because they are bound to lose a couple games to the larger teams (like SJC Light Blue)

8. LCA (Last Week: 7)-(0-1)

LCA is a really talented team that has speed, shooting and late game playmaking ability. Unfortunately they ran into the hot SFX Dillon squad and suffered a big loss despite the fact that SFX’s back up guards gave Freddie Figge ’15 tons of opportunities, most of which he capitalized on.

9. SFX Junior “God Squad”- (1-0)

While beating a weak SFX Junior team certainly doesn’t bolster your resume, the SFX Junior “God Squad” is a solid team that isn’t anywhere near being dangerous in the playoffs, but instead competing for the title of “Best Junior Team in the league.”

10. SJC Dark Blue- (1-0)

SJC Dark Blue gets the nod for the last part of the power rankings, purely out of respect for their upset over high ranked Congo, but I’m concerned this team won’t be able to live up to the expectations it has already set for itself. Scoring just 33 points against a team that isn’t exactly elite defensively isn’t a compelling case. Thirty three points would have lost or tied most of the important and notable games of this weekend. Additionally, Congo outscored Dark Blue in the second half and if the game had been just a minute longer, I would bet that Congo would walk away with the W. If SJC wants to keep this position next week, they have to find a way to beat Grace Lutheran in a more compelling manner than they did Congo.​