2016 First AP Poll

[JIMMY THE GREEK]

A lot of people say these Polls mean nothing; however if you look at the Final Four in the past 20 years you will notice a lot of top ten teams making it to Columbus. There will always be exceptions, but most top ten teams make it to the District Finals or Regionals and beyond. I think they have some validity or meaning. JMO

Congrats to D2 #6 Unioto and #9 Vinton County, #11 Pomeroy Meigs

Congrats to D3 Chesapeake #17

Special Congrats to my former boss Coach Lisath and Dayton Northridge at #4 ; Lisath's squad finished #5 in the AP poll last year losing in the Regionals.

[JIMMY THE GREEK]

I would like to see Lynchburg and Valley on that list as well.

[danicalifornia]

Trimble is also #9 in D4.

[redskinwitness]

I think it's nice for the kids but it's all media based and half of them don't even vote. Not very accurate either. I look at the D4 poll, Caldwell at 10-2 is 19th and have close losses to Strong D2 teams Johnstown and Warren with a road win over strong D3 Fort. In that same D4 poll Waterford is 11th and they got smacked in the mouth at home by that same fort team that Caldwell beat the night before. Polls rarely take in to account strength of schedule. Nice recognition but just not accurate

[FannyPack]

Caldwell lost to Johnstown by 20. That's only a 7 possession game, so I'd also consider that close.

[Raider6309]

People always cry over rankings. Like last year, Warren beat Athens but Athens was ranked higher. But Warren played bad outside of SEO, Athens slaughtered the defending state champ and gave the only national ranked team in Ohio a scare in the plains. People forget the season is 22 games

[FannyPack]

People always cry over rankings. Like last year, Warren beat Athens but Athens was ranked higher. But Warren played bad outside of SEO, Athens slaughtered the defending state champ and gave the only national ranked team in Ohio a scare in the plains. People forget the season is 22 games

Bingo. And like Jimmy stated, they usually turn out to be pretty accurate come the end of the year.

[redskinwitness]

Caldwell lost to Johnstown by 20. That's only a 7 possession game, so I'd also consider that close.

It was a 5 point game with under 3 minutes to go but for some reason our coach continued to foul and they hit free throws. Scores can be deceptive. Johnstown is really good, the big carter kid is going to OU
Either way the point is polls really dont matter that much. Everyone gets to play in the tournament

[enigmaax]

People always cry over rankings. Like last year, Warren beat Athens but Athens was ranked higher. But Warren played bad outside of SEO, Athens slaughtered the defending state champ and gave the only national ranked team in Ohio a scare in the plains. People forget the season is 22 games

I don't care about polls, but last year it wasn't just that Warren beat Athens, it was that Warren beat Athens by about 50, that Warren always beats Athens, and that for all Athens talent, they never had anything to show for it but a paper ranking.

Other than that, it is kind of silly to whine about the poll. But hell, people moan about of pfloyd's rankings on here all the time and those are just one guy's opinion so it isn't surprising they'd take the AP poll too seriously.

[enigmaax]

I think it's nice for the kids but it's all media based and half of them don't even vote. Not very accurate either. I look at the D4 poll, Caldwell at 10-2 is 19th and have close losses to Strong D2 teams Johnstown and Warren with a road win over strong D3 Fort. In that same D4 poll Waterford is 11th and they got smacked in the mouth at home by that same fort team that Caldwell beat the night before. Polls rarely take in to account strength of schedule. Nice recognition but just not accurate

Agree with this. My question is when are the votes turned in? In your example comparing Waterford & Caldwell, I wonder how many voters were even aware of the FF-Waterford score when they voted. I would expect some shuffling this week even though Waterford already had a loss at the time this poll came out.

[captainmorgan]

Surprised not to see valley ranked in D3

[SportsRule]

The polls are fun for the kids I am sure.

[Preacher Purl]

I've been fortunate enough to be on a staff when our team was ranked #1 in the state and I can assure you that the kids, staff, and community took great pride in it.

[SportsRule]

I was on a staff that got as high as #3 - and I agree with you preacher

[Bazinga!]

I think it's nice for the kids but it's all media based and half of them don't even vote. Not very accurate either. I look at the D4 poll, Caldwell at 10-2 is 19th and have close losses to Strong D2 teams Johnstown and Warren with a road win over strong D3 Fort. In that same D4 poll Waterford is 11th and they got smacked in the mouth at home by that same fort team that Caldwell beat the night before. Polls rarely take in to account strength of schedule. Nice recognition but just not accurate

I agree that rankings in HS bball especially early in the year are just as pointless as they are in college football. That being said the recent Caldwell loss contradicts your previous post. FF played Warren very tough, should have won and Caldwell handles FF fairly easily then lose by 20 to Warren. You can't compare it this way. There is no good way to rank these teams. I know it's fun for kids and parents probably but very pointless and unnecessary. Just adds pressure for these kids that have enough pressure coming from their parents/coaches/community. Just my 2 cents on it. Save the rankings for end of season or not at all