We have a handful of contests in the books, which means we have just enough data to present some new Power Rankings for Boys Basketball (December edition).

#1 DAWSON CO TIGERS

RECORD: 4-1 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #1

So far, the only blemish is a Thanksgiving Tournament 5-point loss to Cherokee (of Class 7A). Otherwise, the #2-ranked Tigers are looking pretty good. Junior Mason Barnes has really made a huge impact this season. We knew Jasper Gibson, Eli Burruss, and others would do their thing, but Barnes’ contributions have been outstanding.

#2 BANKS CO LEOPARDS

RECORD: 4-0 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #2

The #5-ranked Leopards and Carl Cleveland are off to their usual start. The Jefferson season-opener was the only close game so far, and if the others around Cleveland continue to play as they have been, this could be the best year yet.

#3 JEFFERSON DRAGONS

RECORD: 3-3 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #3

The Dragons were ranked as high as #8 in the state, but have stumbled a bit out of the gate. Granted, two losses were within 5 points or less to state-ranked Banks and Class 6A opponent Winder-Barrow. A lopsided loss to state-ranked, Class 7A’s Archer hurts too. Jacob Radaker has been ridiculously good so far, and there are many players coming from football that can turn this up a notch.

#4 WHITE CO WARRIORS

RECORD: 3-3 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #8

The Warriors have proven their spot with wins over Lumpkin, Habersham, and Union so far, while dropping one to Tallulah Falls. Region play is up next for this group. This is a 4-spot jump for White County.

#5 STEPHENS CO INDIANS

RECORD: 2-4 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #5

Stephens County has one two of the last 3 to help boost the team to this point, including a statement win over rivals Habersham Central. The 4 losses are by a combined 28 points, so there’s a lot to like here.

#6 TOWNS CO INDIANS

RECORD: 3-1 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #10

The Indians have started off as well as you could want – wins over Union, Highlands, and Nantahala. A rematch with rivals Union awaits later this week. Towns County makes a 4-spot leap here.

#7 COMMERCE TIGERS

RECORD: 2-0 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #12

Commerce has 2 wins to start the year, and both were blowouts. Great start for the Tigers, who look to put their history far in the past. This is the biggest rise in the power rankings, as the Tigers jump 5 spots this time around.

#8 TALLULAH FALLS INDIANS

RECORD: 2-2 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #7

TFS ran up a big win over White County and Highlands while dropping 2 games so far. Still a lot to be clarified, but a matchup tomorrow with Union will help clear the muddy waters.

#9 LUMPKIN CO INDIANS

RECORD: 2-5 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #6

The Indians already have a large sample size of 7 games in the books. Losing by nearly 20 to White County early on was not ideal, but this is a young group who’s best ball is surely ahead of them.

#10 HABERSHAM CENTRAL RAIDERS

RECORD: 2-5 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #11

The Raiders have dropped some close ones to Franklin (6 points) and East Jackson (3 pts), as well as rivals Stephens County (3 pts). They have beaten Rabun, but also lost to White County so far. Still, there’s a lot of promise in this group.

#11 RABUN CO WILDCATS

RECORD: 0-2 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #9

The Wildcats have barely gotten going yet, dropping one to Lakeview then Habersham Central.

#12 UNION CO PANTHERS

RECORD: 0-3 (0-0)
LAST RANKING: #4

The Panthers haven’t had the full cast together, so this is a bit misleading. Still, they’d love the gut-wrenching loss to rivals Towns County back, or the 6-point loss to North Hall back as well. Worth noting here that Union hasn’t played at home yet either. This is a temporary 8-spot decline until Union starts chalking up some wins, which are sure to happen since the bulk of the team was on the gridiron.