Gramps 2024 Boys Girls MO HS BB ratings

 I saw a comment the other day by about how ridiculous the MaxPreps Missouri boy's basketball ratings w were.   I have followed these ratings for the seven years that I have been rating teams myself.  I have communicated with MaxPreps about their rating system but no one has answered my emails.  I don't have anything against MaxPreps, and, in fact, I manage the MaxPreps page for the Eureka boys team. But, and it is a big BUT, MaxPreps has some real problems with their algorithm.  They seem to put extra emphasis on winning records over strength of schedule or school size.  Both of those factors play into the rating of a team.  Over the years I have rated teams, class six teams average about 120 rating, while class one teams have about 90 rating.  The best class six teams rate at about 145 while the best class one teams are rated at about 125.  So most class six teams would beat a class one team by 20 or more points. So I took the top 100 MaxPreps-rated Missouri teams and compare

 The other day, I was suggesting that there might be two or three undefeated class one Missouri girl's basketball teams in the 2024 state tournament.  Meadville and Delta were two obvious class one teams and then a follower, Jon Dykstra, suggested that Platte Valley might be another outstanding AND undefeated girl's team in the class one tournament.   It is really difficult to get through an entire season without a defeat.  So many factors have to be in your team's favor to win every single game.  Injuries, illnesses, a cold shooting night, and even bad or missed calls in a close game, can all add up to one or two losses for even the best teams. So, how many Missouri high school basketball teams have gone undefeated in state history? And has there ever been two undefeated teams face-off in a state final? How have the girls, who started in 1973, done vs. the boy's teams which go back to the early 1900s?  I would assume that there were more boys' undefeated teams wit

 Has there ever been a state championship game with two undefeated girls' basketball teams in the state of Missouri? Well, without putting a jinx on either of these teams, it might just happen this year with class one Meadville and Delta facing off.  Unfortunately, the way the backets are set, districts 1-4 and 9-12 are in the upper bracket of the state tournament game and it would end up being the semi-final game of the tournament, not an epic state championship game. Meadville, in district 12, is Gramp's current front runner in the Braggin' Rights ratings and, Delta, in district 1, is the second-best rated team in the class one girls.  Everyone else is about 10 points or more back from these two, who could give class six teams fits with their excellent play. The teams are headed for a crash collision, but it would be much nicer if it was for a state championship. How do those two teams compare, you ask? Meadville has outscored opponents 80 to 24, has a raw and weighted ra

 Goat Talk (@goattalkC) caught me again.  He left a cryptic reply to my class three boy's ratings of "Summit over Greenwood?" Well, Goat Talk, you aren't the first person to point out a discrepancy in my ratings.  In fact, I bet that I get a dozen or so comments about some team that beat another team but Gramps has the losing team ahead of the winning team in Gramps Braggin' Rights ratings. Yep.  It happens and sometimes Gramps is wrong and sometimes, well, statistics are just statistics. I went back and looked at both school's basketball schedules and did an analysis of my ratings, both unweighted and weighted. Both schools are private.  Summit Christian Academy over in Lee's Summit, MO, and Greenwood HS in Springfield MO.  Summit Christian Academy has 1200 students, K-12, and  Greenwood  Laboratory  School , established in 1908 on the campus of  Missouri  State University, has a proud tradition of offering outstanding K-12 college preparatory education.

 I recently passed the modest level of 1000 followers on X.  I know a lot of great sports accounts would think that to be a paltry number but I feel good about the types of followers that are reading about Gramp's Braggin' Rights ratings and a few of my infrequent blogs. Amongst the 1000 are athletes, high school coaches, and athletic directors from throughout the state.  Many of them are convinced that Gramp's ratings are far better than the polls put out by the coaches' association, sports accounts, and area newspapers.  There are about 500 of these followers and about 500 fans, parents, and former players.  It has been gratifying to have learned so much about communities and their coaches and teams while doing Gramps ratings. I picked up the 1000th follower on Sunday afternoon and I had a hard time picking so I chose two.  They are both remarkable coaches and individuals. The first one turned out to be Jason Culpepper, who had followed me with his personal account la

 We all know the No-Nos.  It's bad luck when a black cat walks in front of you.  It is also bad luck to walk under a ladder and, of course, Friday the 13th is a day to be avoided.  All of these things and, for some people, many more situations bring bad luck. Sometimes, it's bad luck for a basketball team to wear a different uniform or different socks.  Just about one year ago, the Eureka Wildcats boy's team went over to Missouri Baptist to play Fort Zumwalt South in a GAC/Suburban Challenge.  The Wildcats dressed out in a vintage gold uniform rather than their normal purple and white uniforms.  It was a disaster.   The Wildcats had one of the best defenses in the state last year, giving up about 38 points per game.  They held Zumwalt South to 24 that night, one year ago today.   Unfortunately for the Wildcats, there was a lid on the basket and they only scored 15 points.   Yep, that is right.  15 points for the whole game.  Not 15 in a quarter or a half.  15 for the game.