17U Power Rankings: Week 1: April 11, 2012

Soldiers hold onto No. 1 spot, Meanstreets, WI Swing, New Rens jump into rankings

Oakland Soldiers remained the top team after winning their Easter Extravaganza. The real movement came below them with Mac Irvin Fire and CIA Bounce dropping after failling to win the NY2LA Swish N' Dish Invitational. CIA Bounce was without Andrew Wiggins who was at the Nike Hoop Summit. Mac Irvin on the other hand, was beating by Meanstreets in the semis while they were at full strength. New Rens, WI Swing and jumped into the rankings along with the aforementioned Meanstreets.

Rank	Prev		Comments
1	1	Oakland Soldiers Oakland, Calif.
The Cali crew stays at No. 1 taking home the title at the Soldiers Easter Extravaganza. They went to OT against their 16U team in the final. They'll be back in action for the first EYBL session in Minneapolis.
2	2	Eric Gordon All-Stars Indianapolis, Ind.
Our No. 2 team will kick off the season at the Indyball.com Shootout this weekend. We expect a title with no other ranked teams in the field.
3	4	Houston Defenders Houston, Texas
The Defenders will look to prove their rank at the Pittsburgh Hoop Group Jam Fest in next weekend. The Harrison twins are both featured on our Preseason All-American teams.
4	5	Texas Titans Dallas, Texas
Julius Randle and Matt Jones should be fun to watch all season. They kick off play with in Minneapolis for the first session of Nike EYBL.
5	7	Team Final Philadelphia, Pa.
This team is gearing up for the first EYBL in Minnesota. This past weekend, they scrimmaged Team Takeover ... now that's what we call preparation.
6	8	CP3 All-Stars Winston-Salem, N.C.
Theo Pinson, Ja'Quel Richmond & Greg McClinton are a dangerous trio of players on the circuit. They will kick off the season next weekend in Minneapolis at the first Nike EYBL session.
7	3	CIA Bounce Brampton, Ontario	Notes: Quarterfinalist NY2LA Swish N' Dish
CIA Bounce falls a little bit after a loss at NY2LA, but we can’t penalize them too much. They beat a good TP Elite team and played all weekend without the services of Andrew Wiggins.
8	9	Garner Road Bulldogs Raleigh, N.C.
While others were at bigger events, Garner Road stayed home and won its own tournament this weekend against inferior competition. We’ll see how good they really are next week at the adidas VIP Exclusive.
9	6	Mac Irvin Fire Chicago, Ill.	Notes: Semifinalst NY2LA Swish N' Dish
Mac Irvin fell because they lost in the semis at NY2LA, despite beating a ranked team (All-Ohio Red) along the way. To make matters worse, that loss came to cross-town rival Meanstreets.
10	10	Team Penny (Bluff City Legends) Memphis, Tenn.
Though they were off last week, look for Nick King and Jonathon Williams to burst out of the gate strongly in their first competition at the Nike EYBL in Minnesota. Combine King and Williams with Austin Nichols and you have a scary frontline to deal with.
11	11	BABC Boston, Mass.
BABC was off this week but they won their tip-off event two weeks ago. We still don’t know how they will respond after losing two key players from a year ago (Georges Niang, Nerlens Noel).
12	12	Team Takeover Washington, D.C.
The biggest news coming out of the DMV is that uber-athletic wing Ishamel Wainwright will be playing with this team. Throw BeeJay Anya, Stanford Robinson and Jarius Lyles to the mix and you have a scary crew that will hard to score on.
13	13	Boo Williams Hampton, Va.
Anthony Barber and Boo Williams held off Wave and the Richmond Squirrels to take their AAU State Tournament this week.
14		Meanstreets Chicago, Ill.	Notes: NY2LA Swish N' Dish Champ
While their 16U team has been getting most of the attention, the Meanstreets 17s crack the rankings this week by winning the championship at NY2LA. They beat Mac Irvin Fire and the now-ranked Wisconsin Swing along the way.
15		New Rens New York, NY	Notes: Playaz Spring Fling Champ
This team should be a fixture in the rankings all season. They beat the Long Island Lightning at the finals of the Playaz Spring Fling, without the services of Savon Goodman and Jermaine Lawrence. They have potential to be really good.
16	14	Compton Magic Compton, Calif.
They aren’t part of the Nike EYBL and have yet to participate in a spring tournament, but that will change this weekend when they go to California for the Hall of Fame California Championship.
17	15	Dream Vision Las Vegas, Nev.
Everybody is wondering where Shabazz Muhammad is going but it won't be hard to find his little brother. Rashad, will be in the backcourt with Stephen Domingo all season looking to increase his stock.
18	19	Long Island Lightning West Hempstead, N.Y.	Notes: Playaz Spring Fling Final Runner-up,
Kuran Iverson is the headliner but Dayshawn Smith made a name for himself this weekend, including hitting a game-tying 3 to send their finals matchup vs. New Rens to OT. Iverson won't be doing EYBL this season, so Smith and Jason Boswell will need to step up. They also beat Playaz Basketball Club in the semis. Test
19	17	Nike Baltimore Elite Baltimore, Md.
Led by Daquan McNeil, Nike Baltimore Elite could end up being a sleeper on the Nike circuit. They will participate in the first EYBL event in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 20-22.
20	20	D.C. Assault Washington, D.C.
With talented lead guard Nate Britt (UNC) at the helm, ever-improving Kris Jenkins on the wing and in the post, and the inside presence of Junior Etou, this team will be a handful to deal with on the Nike circuit. This past weekend, Nate Britt attended the Grind Session in Baltimore.
21	21	Florida Elite St. Petersburg, Fla.
Florida-bound PG Kasey Hill can create offense for himself or utilize the weapons – 6-7 Kansas-bound sharpshooter Brannen Greene or undecided, hyper-athletic, 6-9 forward Chris Walker – for the Rams to score points. The Rams will be dangerous on the adidas circuit.
22	22	All-Ohio Red Columbus, Ohio	Notes: Quarterfinalist NY2LA Swish N' Dish
All-Ohio Red clings to a spot in our rankings after a 2-1 trip at NY2LA. Their lone loss came to Mac Irvin Fire in the quarterfinals.
23	18	Playaz Basketball Club (N.J.) Paterson, N.J.	Notes: Playaz Spring Fling Final 4
The Playaz fell to the Long Island Lightning in the semis of their own event this weekend. They'll get some practice in before heading to Minneapolis for the first EYBL session.
24	24	KC Run GMC Olathe, Kan.
They will have time to relax and practice this coming week, but on April 20-22 they will be competing in Minneapolis, MN at the NY2LA Spring Extravaganza. 6-1 Kansas-bound point guard Conner Frankamp will be a guard worth paying attention to – he’s lethal from distance and a capable play-maker.
25		Wisconsin Swing-Litscher
The Swing didn’t play last week, but they did place second in the NY2LA Swish ‘N Dish two weekends ago. With Bronson Koenig running the point and Luke Fisher down low, the Swing are a team to be reckoned with.
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