David dissects his third AP poll

Every week (for the last two weeks) I’ve tried to analyze the thinking of the Associated Press poll for your enjoyment. This week, it was really hard.

I honestly have no idea who’s voting in this thing, but I don’t think they get to watch much high school basketball. Which is a shame, because it’s the HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL POLL.

Let’s just get started. You’ll see what I mean early on. Like very early on. Starting with…

BOYS

Ugh. What a mess. This is almost unacceptable. Bothell (which I’ll freely admit is a very good team) lost two games this past week to No. 2 Garfield and Rainier Beach, the No. 2 team in 3A. I feel bad for Garfield. I don’t understand how you beat the No. 1 team and don’t become No. 1. Especially when you’ve been No. 2 in every AP poll.

For shame AP! For shame!

Jackson, meanwhile, continues to roll. It’s the only undefeated team in the 4A poll and the only one of the top-five teams without a first place vote, which makes complete sense. At this point Jackson could beat the top three teams in the state tournament and still finish fourth overall at the end of the year.

I don’t know what the AP Poll fears change so much.

Oh, and Arlington got three votes, which means at least three people who vote in this thing have some semblance of what’s going on. (Unless they voted Bothell No. 1. Then they obviously don’t.)

Like 4A, not much changed in the 3A poll. Seattle Prep dropped a few spots, moving those teams up one, but the same top-10 teams remained, including Mountlake Terrace at No. 8 and Glacier Peak at No. 10.

Shorewood is tied with University for the equivalent of No. 11.

And, there’s still no sign of Stanwood in the poll. I’m really close to just crying and giving up all hope of anything.

There are still no local teams in the 2A poll, so we’re going to turn this part into Wapato Watch 2013 in honor of Herald Writer Aaron Lommers who (I’m guessing) scans the polls every week to see where the Wolves are.

This week they have fallen a spot to No. 10, where they are tied with Anacortes.

1A/2B/1B

King’s loss to Archbishop Murphy last week was probably a big contributor to the Knights falling out of the top 10. Currently the No. 11 team with eight votes, King’s is still on the cusp of reentering the power poll.

In the 2B poll La Conner, who according to its coach Scott Novak last week is still undefeated after defeating Cedar Park Christian – Mountlake Terrace, is up one spot to No. 3. The AP poll has the Braves at 17-1, begging the question: Who does the AP think La Conner lost to?

Intriguing? Sure. Surprising? Based on the poll so far, not really.

The real question is if the AP had the right record for the Braves, would they be higher than third.

And the Lions, after losing a 51-41 contest to La Conner, still can’t crack the top five in the 1B poll. I still think CPC – MLT is a strong contender and will make it in the final five by the end of the season. That team’s frantic offense (and defense) is fun to watch. If only the AP could see it.

GIRLS

The top four teams all remained the same, including Lynnwood at No. 4. As expected, Arlington’s tough week led to it falling a bit in the AP poll. Losses against the Royals and Stanwood (stay tuned for the 3A breakdown) made the Eagles fall slightly from No. 5 to No. 7.

I’m actually okay with this. The AP didn’t overreact and drop Arlington out of the top-10, which I was more worried about. In The Herald Power Poll, the Eagles actually fell farther, from No. 1 to No. 4 (although it should be noted that I only dropped them to third, but I was outvoted by my coworkers, and noted Wesco South enthusiasts, Lommers and Prep Editor Aaron Swaney).

The important thing is star forward Lindsay Brown appears to be okay, which means Arlington is still poised for a good postseason run.

Stanwood stays put at No. 7. I still think it should be higher, the AP still disagrees, so we appear to be at a bit of a standstill.

The Wesco 3A South – which, like on the boys’ side is stacked with good teams – finally broke into the poll with division-leading Shorewood tied for tenth with Mt. Spokane. Glacier Peak received a couple votes, unlike Meadowdale, which defeated the Thunderbirds last night and play the Grizzlies tomorrow. That was after the poll was out, so I can’t fault the AP for that.

When Meadowdale receives no votes next week however, I can hold the AP personally responsible.

Ellensburg dropped down to No. 6, moving Archbishop Murphy up to No. 4. The team right above them at No. 3? Wapato.

And Aaron Lommers rejoices.

Cedarcrest (16-2) holds steady at No. 8.

1A/2B/1B

Of the lower three classifications, the only local presence is in the 2B poll where Darrington moved up from No. 8 to No. 6, while La Conner received four votes.

I saw the second half of the Braves’ game against Cedar Park Christian – Mountlake Terrace last week before the boys game started, and the lady Braves looked like a force to be reckoned with too. La Conner is 12-4, with two of its losses coming against Darrington.