For me, the Top 5 teams are:

1. Charleston

2. Sikeston

3. Kennett

4. Bernie

5. Caruthersville

Jackson definitely has some talented players coming back, but they just didn't live up to it last year. We'll see if this season is different for the Indians. For Caruthersville, the key is going to be if Monroe can get some help. For Kennett, I hear Antonio Primer is injured to start the season. I think the surprise team this season is Bernie. Hopefully, they can avoid the off-the-court problems that derailed their season last year. Also, it will be interesting to see how SCC does with Otto Porter's little brother playing varsity as a freshman. Big shoes to fill! Hope its not too much pressure for the young man.

And your right Preach, I was debating the whole Bernie/Cville ranking. We beat them last year and we return everyone but Elbie Fonda so that's why I gave us the edge.

Yeah, Caruthersville has everyone except Fonda back and hopefully will be able to keep the team on the court what with the silliness in their administration and all. They are a sleeper in Class 3. I'm curious about your logic with Jackson Cheese. I agree with you that they are going to be good this year. Hadn't thought about them as #2 in the area. Not that I disagree, I just want to know your thinking behind it.

Well they were very young last year. Sophmore and Junior heavy team. Obviously have good size on the inside and outside. Karson King will be one of the premiere players in the area IMO. He will have some good players along side him in Stevens,Duame, and McDowell. I think they will surprise a few teams this year. Still a fairly young team but added a year of exp under their belt. Like I said, I could be way off here but that's how I see it as of right now. I guess you could switch spots 2-4 and you could have an arguement for either team. I do think Charleston lost too much to be ranked #2 though.

The 5 listed are definitely the cream of the crop. A case could be made for Charleston or Sikeston at 1 or 2. The other 3 could be mixed in some fashion as well. I do think the teams listed are the top 5.

ND is always competitive TFA, but will probably be down this season as opposed to last season IMO.

Caruthersville will be way too big and athletic for Bernie in my opinion. Really overwhelmed them last year. So Caruthersville should be on the list over them to me.

I have no idea who will win this year between Bernie and Caruthersville; however, I think you will see a different dynamic on the Bernie team this year. With the JV team members moving up to varsity full time this year, it should be a successful year. I could be wrong, but I think that some of the games that were less than competitive last year will be a lot more competitive this year.

Due to some key injuries I think Kennett may get off to a slow start. They have Mitchell who can just about get it done by himself but the question is can they overcome a slow start and the pressure of being in 4A now. Should be interesting. When everyone is healthy they will have talent coming out their eyeballs. To bad they are not in 3A anymore, I could have seen them winning it all.

What about the Boys from Hayti Heights? they made a nice run in the playoffs any of you bootheelers know what they got coming back?

I know some of you don't believe that Jackson should be in the top 5, but don't sleep on them. They have a lot of talent, and have really progressed. I saw them play a couple of times this summer, and they looked really good!

Sideline---I'm giving a basketball insight!..I heard at Central that the Booker kid that played guard last year is out for this year. That's my one yearly post! HA!

bullet....is he hurt or just not playing?

Kennett has Mitchell and Primer and also Drake, who was their starting point guard last year, very quick. Primer has a football injury but should practice in about 2 weeks, will be dressed for first game at the Riverbend. Mitchell is 6'4 now and Primer is 6'4 and about 240 lbs., both have improved their game from last year. They have a very good freshmen class and will probably move a couple of those guys up. That district will certainly be one of the toughest in the state.

Understood bullet....absolutely no reason to run a kid's name through the mud. I'm glad you didn't state it.

I'm sure word will get out when basketball starts and the kids start talking...They'll have Mikey Jones, Boreboom and Garan Evans but they are both still playing football (not intended to be a shot). Along with Cox they'll have the Wilferth kid who is about 6'7". They apparently have a really good freshman class with a very good point guard that will probably play varsity. That's about all I know.

1. Sikeston

2. Charleston

3. Bernie

4. Kennett

5. Caruthersville

Charleston may miss Greg Tucker just a little bit. He was possibly the most clutch player in the area last season. That's a lot coming from a Sikeston fan. Jamaul Gray and Aaron Cassell will be missed, also.

Sikeston will miss Terry Jamison, Caleb McGee, Kilron Coleman, and Keldon Warfield.

The main difference Sikeston and Charleston have from most other schools is their ability to re-load. They have lots of talent waiting for their chance to be a starter that have seen significant varsity minutes.

1. Sikeston

2. Kennett/Charleston

3. NMCC (These kids are going to be solid)

4. Caruthersville (Don't sleep on them)

Who left Kennett for Charleston?

Shandor lived in Sikeston for a spell. He played 8th grade ball here. Great kid and made a lot of friends here. Wish he stayed!

That sounds slightly hyperbolic.

I'm hoping ND might creep into the top 5 at some point, but at this point I'm not sure I'd even put them in the top 10. The last few years we always seemed to have at least 1 or 2 solid players left over from the previous years team, plus a couple decent underclassmen role players. This year, I don't think there's much returning at all, and not a lot of underclassmen to be excited about.

I think basketball in this area will be down YET AGAIN this year. Sikeston and Charleston will probably be tops, but even those teams lost quite a bit, and I don't see them being on quite the same level as last year. SCC will be down a lot. Hopefully there will be some surprises from some schools who haven't been as successful over the past few years.

Cat food says this kid handles the ball better than Derek Tipler, Marcus Biles, Shawn Sherrell, Bobby Hatchett, D.D. Gillespie, Dominitrix Johnson, ect.......Wow......Can't wait to watch Jackson play.

The best point guard ever? I seen that kid play last season and he is okay. But to say the best ever,com on man!!! And this semo ranking is a joke! To have Jackson ranked over Cville is pushing it too far. The Sikeston/Charleston rankings is okay but putting Jackson over all them other good teams is not cool. Having a tall team means nothing.

In my opinion (and that of my esteemed colleagues), your claims of his skill seem a bit exaggerated (hyperbole means essentially the same thing) especially considering the talent of kids who have come through the area who could handle the ball both in recent years (Bobby Hatchett, Darryl Howard, Ryan Parham, etc.) and historically (see DaleDoback's list for just a few). No offense to the kid but I feel like we would have heard his name on here just a little bit if he "handles the ball like no one else anyone has seen in this area for a long time, maybe ever." What's his name so we can be on the lookout for him?

He played, last year. His looks remind me of a kid who used to live in C'ton, but it's not the same kid, of course. Pretty good ball handler but a stretch to put him in the same class as some of the aforementioned.

I wish him good luck this year along with everybody else.

No, this one is for the top 5 in basketball.

Nope. You'll see where it says basketball forum near the top in the initial post.

A few people mentioned how "big" Jackson will be this year. They have been "big" for years. Sikeston and Charleston have shown that being "big" doesn't mean that much. Last year, Desoto had a starting lineup of 6'10", 6'8", 6'4", 6'0", and 5'11". Sikeston beat them twice. Size is good, but not a determining factor....at least in high school.

Cape should be top 5 in my opinion. with evans and cox coming back.

Agreed on the comment about size. When a team built around size matches up against a team built on athleticism and speed, the matchup comes down to three things:

1) Coaching: Who puts their kids in positions to succeed the most.

2) Point Guard Play: Maintaining the tempo that suits your team better than the other PG.

3) Officiating: This is an ugly fact but its true. Unfortunately crews fall into patterns. What I mean by that is some tend to call most of their fouls underneath on shots and rebounding. This of course favors the smaller team. Others call them away from the basket while guarding on the ball, this favors the bigger team.

I have not seen the Cox kid from Cape play. Can someone tell me a little? Is he going to be better than Tisdale? I'm not from Charleston but Parham is best point in the area, maybe best player.

dadscatfod is obviously a HS kid that is jealous of Daume and is trying to make him look bad here. Daume is an very average player, at best. What this dadcatsfood has done is make him a target all year now for people here that think he is truly being hyped.

NMCC will be a very good team this year also who could be in the top 5 when it's all said and done with Delontre Haney moving from cape. Tre' was very atletic and one of capes best players in practice but got kicked off the team second semester. he never made an impact in games though.

@ he hate me i think you have your starting lineup wrong Sumner Foster is starting over Cooper

Daume is honestly one of the best ball handlers I've ever played against.. If he gets his head in the game, you all are going to look dumb. Him and King have the potential to do big things (remember they are only juniors). King is the smartest player you'll find in the area, I can promise you that. I also believe charleston to be the best team in the area. I think they will be better without tucker. With a physical point guard like parham, it'll be hard to stop their offensive flow. As long as they play hard on defensive, they'll be great.

It will be especially rough for ND if there is a scout.

3 out of 5 ain't bad Cheesehead. Caruthersville still has the talent to finish as one of the Top 5 teams. I don't see Jackson finishing in the Top 5 in the area however. Maybe when King and Daume are 100% they'll improve alot, we'll see.

I see shs and chs on a level above, then kennett and nmcc and maybe jackson on next level, then not far behind is bernie,south pem,cville,and portageville also hayti. Lots of parity this year which makes for lots of opportunities and great games to watch.

Scc and doniphan also are gonna be there as well as many others , maybe things will sort themselves out after these Christmas tournies.