As we head into the New Year of 2016, there are nine NYC boys AA teams ranked in the New York State top 25. The table to the left shows each team's average scoring offense, average scoring defense and average scoring margin so far this season. As the top ranked team in New York State, Cardozo boasts an average scoring offense of almost 81 points, while holding opponents to only 62.6. The numbers for Wings Academy (currently ranked 3rd in New York State) are equally impressive on paper: a scoring offense of 80.4 vs. a scoring defense of only 54.4. However, Cardozo remains undefeated and has posted its numbers against an extremely competitive PSAL Queens AA Division, going up against the likes of Construction (currently ranked 4th in New York State) and Queens High School of Teaching (currently ranked 17th in New York State). On the other hand, Wings has faced arguably less competitive foes in the PSAL's Bronx AA Division and it does have one loss (although it was to 11th-ranked Iona Prep). Construction's number 4 ranking is a testament to the strength of the PSAL Queens AA Division this season. Construction is 8-1 in league play, including an impressive 64-56 win over Queens High School of Teaching, and its sole loss came to top ranked Cardozo (76-62). Queens High School of Teaching had an impressive season-opening road win against PSAL powerhouse Thomas Jefferson (currently ranked 15th in New York State) and its only losses since then have come to Cardozo (81-64) and Construction (64-56). Thomas Jefferson has played a tough schedule so far, facing off against Queens High School of Teaching (an 80-77 loss), Iona Prep (a 71-58 win) and Cardinal Hayes (a 75-74 win), not to mention the Under Armour Holiday Classic and its brutal league play in the PSAL's Brooklyn AA Division (by the way, Jefferson also defeated Brooklyn AA rival George Westinghouse, which is currently ranked 12th). Speaking of tough schedules, Iona Prep has already faced four teams that are ranked in the top 25 (wins over 3rd-ranked Wings Academy and 5th-ranked Christ the King, and losses to 8th-ranked St. Raymond and 15th-ranked Thomas Jefferson), and has also faced two top teams from New Jersey (a 52-41 loss to CBA and a 66-31 loss to national powerhouse St. Anthony of Jersey City). St. Raymond and Christ the King have each faced Iona Prep (St. Raymond winning a thriller at home 50-48 and Christ the King losing on the road 69-64). It will be interesting to see if St. Raymond and Christ the King can hold or improve their rankings as they go deeper into their tough league schedules, giving us a larger sample size.
Although we think an argument could be made that Wings Academy's ranking is a little generous and that Thomas Jefferson's ranking is not generous enough, overall there are enough common denominators and enough circularity to support the rankings. We would, of course, like to see more New York City teams in the top 25, but that is a story for another day and the season is still young.
Happy New Year to the New York City High School Basketball community.