Rockford boys basketball power rankings: Who are 10 best teams for 2023-24?
We had a new kingpin of Rockford-area small-school boys basketball the last two years, even with traditional local power Rockford Lutheran going undefeated in the Big Northern for the third and fourth year in a row. Scales Mound was even better, finishing third and second in the state in Class 1A.
Can another new team rise to the top this year? Maybe. Or maybe Scales Mound will continue its Cinderella run. Either way, Rockford basketball looks to be led by the small schools again. Here are our preseason power rankings of the top 10 Rockford-area boys basketball seasons, with teams being ranked by how far they are expected to go in the IHSA postseason tournaments, not by class size:
More: Top Rockford-area basketball games to watch over Thanksgiving week
1) Pecatonica
Pec has never won a sectional title, but they return the bulk of they were a school-record 27-8 two years ago and improved that to 30-5 last year. Most of those players are back. They also split two games with Scales Mound last year before falling to Fulton at sectionals. “They return a lot of talent from a record-setting team last year, including Cooper Hoffman, who really makes them go,” South Beloit coach Matt Stucky said. “There's nothing he can't do on a basketball court. He's an all-state caliber player.”
2) Scales Mound
Scales Mound’s first run to state made some sense. The school only had 69 students, but it’s two best players were four-year starters and four of the five starters were four-year varsity players. All of them graduated last year, yet Scales Mound made it all the way to the 1A state title game. Second-team All-State guard Thomas Hereau is one of three returning senior starters who could give the Hornets their third consecutive 30-win season after having none in their previous eight decades as a school. “Thomas Hereau,” South Beloit coach Matt Stucky said, “is a walking bucket.”
More: Guards dominate top 15 Rockford-area boys basketball players to watch for 2023-24 season
3) Rockford Christian
Rockford Christian (29-3, 8-1 Big Northern) finished second to Lutheran in the conference, winning a nonconference meeting against the Crusaders but later losing to them in the game that counted for the league standings. The Royal Lions went on to win only their fourth regional title. They were an undersized team, but return a pair of explosive 5-10 guards. Christian Cummings and Elijah Daugherty averaged 40 points as sophomores and could push RC even further as juniors. “Rockford Christian has an extremely talented backcourt,” Polo coach Matt Messer said.
4) Auburn
Starting guards Rakim Chaney, Amir Danforth and TJ Horton return to lead Auburn. Chaney’s postseason run — 22 points in the regional finals, 30 in the sectional finals — led Auburn into the Elite 8 in Class 4A last year. Danforth might be the best 3-point shooter in the NIC-10. Only a sophomore, he is already drawing NCAA Division I looks. Auburn tied for second in the NIC-10 last year, one game behind Guilford, and should battle the Vikings for first again. Auburn also won the JV title last year, so it should have some good, new talent. “Auburn is the best team in my opinion,” East coach Roy Sackmaster said. “They are talented, with arguably the best player in the conference in the Chaney kid. But Guilford will be nipping at their heels.”
5) Guilford
The Vikings (23-9, 15-3) are coming off their first NIC-10 title in 23 years, but they were upset in regionals. Can they go further this time? Guilford last won a regional in 2007 and its only sectional title came in 1993, when they finished second in the state. Guilford returns four starters in all-conference guard Malachi Johnson, Jayden Webster, Mike Jones and Connor Doyle. “We will also be adding a lot of talent from the JV level, in which they only had two losses last year,” Guilford coach Chris Dixon said.
6) Eastland
Eastland has finished second in the NUIC South three years in a row, since last winning the title in 2020. Two-time defending champ Fulton, which has been state-ranked both years, is loaded again, but Eastland, which reached the 1A state semifinals in both 2010 and 2013, could win its first regional title since 2014. And the last four years that the Cougars won a regional title, they also won sectionals. “They're hard-nosed, skilled, physical, and really well coached,” South Beloit coach Matt Stucky said.
7) South Beloit
Ross Robertson, a 6-8 junior forward, has led South Beloit to 27 wins the last two years, one shy of the school record, and a pair of regional titles. He averaged 22.5 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots last year and had 37 points and 24 rebounds in an overtime loss in sectionals to Class 1A state runner-up Scales Mound. The Sobos will have to fill in around him, but Robertson will be hard to handle on the 1A level.
8) Rockford Lutheran
Lutheran graduated a trio of three-year regulars, led by second-team All-State guard Walt Hill, Jr. But the Crusaders, led by Vontez Dent and Marquis Haynes, should still contend in the Big Northern, along with Rockford Christian, Dixon and Byron. Dent, a 6-4 guard/forward, was a unanimous all-Big Northern player as a junior, when he averaged 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. “Great program,” Byron coach Matt Huels said. “They continue to reload.”
9) Byron
Byron (20-11, 6-3) returns a trio of 6-3 seniors from a team that tied for third in the Big Northern and won 20 games for the first time in four years. Ryan Tucker averaged 16.4 points as a junior, while Jack Hively averaged 14 points and 6.9 rebounds and Carson Buser 6.9 points and 3.9 assists. They could power the Tigers to only their second regional title in 12 years.
10) Boylan
While the top of the NIC-10 looks like a clear choice between either Auburn or Guilford, the next level looks muddled between Boylan, Belvidere North and Boylan. If that’s the case, history says go with Boylan. North might have its best team ever, but the Blue Thunder have never even gone .500 in the conference, topping out at 8-10 three times. Boylan hasn’t won fewer than 16 games in a full season in 40 years. The Titans (22-12, 13-5) were in the title race all year last season with only one player (the graduated Aedan Campos) among the 15 all-conference and special mention picks. The Titans again may not have a true star, but could still win 20 games — or more — for the eighth year in a row.
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Who are the top boys basketball teams in the NIC-10, BNC and NUIC?
