State basketball rankings ..... Just win the gold, baby

The latest state rankings for Pennsylvania boys basketball came out today from Pennlive.com and the Harrisburg Patriot News.

But before we get to those, first a priceless picture. The WPIAL gives out gold medals to coaches and players that win championships. Central Valley boys basketball coach Brandon Ambrose got his first gold Friday night when Central Valley defeated Chartiers Valley in double overtime in the Class AAA final.

Those medals mean a lot to some, and there's no doubt this one meant a lot to Ambrose. He took it home with him. When he got up Saturday morning and went downstairs, this was waiting for him:

It's Ambrose's 8-month-old son, Michael, with the gold medal draped around his neck. Hey, maybe he wanted to know what it felt like to be a gold medalist. Great picture, huh? After Brandon sent it to me, I thought it was one worth sharing.

State rankings

Now for the state rankings from Mike Bullock of Pennlive.com.

CLASS AAAA

No.  School                                           Rec    Pvs

1.     Roman Catholic (12)                   22-4        1

2.     New Castle (7)                             26-0        2

3.     Martin Luther King (12)             23-5        3                           

4.     Hampton (7)                                22-4        4

5 .    Chester (1)                                   22-5        6

6.     North Allegheny (7)                    21-4        5

7   .  Pennsbury (1)                             22-5      10                                   

8.     Conestoga (1)                              24-5        7

9.     Lower Merion (1)                       21-7        8

10.  Abington (1)                                22-5        9

Others to watch: Allderdice (8) 19-5, Bethel Park (7) 18-6, Carlisle (3) 18-8, Cedar Crest (3) 25-5, Central Bucks West (1) 15-12, Central York (3) 24-4, Cumberland Valley (3) 19-7, Emmaus (11) 18-8, Great Valley* (1) 22-3, Harrisburg* (3) 17-7, Hazleton (2) 21-4, Hershey (3) 18-8, Kiski Area (7) 17-6, LaSalle College (12) 19-6, McDowell (10) 22-3, Obama Academy* (8) 22-1, Oxford (1) 22-7, Parkland (11) 21-5, Spring-Ford (1) 24-4, St. Joseph’s Prep* (12) 16-7, Stroudsburg (11) 16-11, West Chester Rustin (1) 17-10, Wilson (3) 26-3, York (3) 22-6.

*-season complete

CLASS AAA

No.  School                                             Rec     Pvs

1.     Neumann-Goretti (12)                 22-4         1

2.     Archbishop Carroll  (12)             21-4         2

3.     Allentown Central Cath (11)       27-0         3

4.     Abington Heights (2)                    25-1         6

5.     Central Valley (7)                         22-3         7

6.     Chartiers Valley (7)                     24-2         4

7.     Imhotep Charter (12)                  20-6         5

8.     Susquehanna Twp. (3)                19-7      NR

9.     Bishop McDevitt (3)                     26-2         8

10.   Uniontown (7)                              21-2       10

Others to watch: Berks Catholic (3) 24-5, Bermudian Springs (3) 22-4, Blue Mountain (11) 21-6, Elizabeth Forward* (7) 20-4, Erie East (10) 20-5, Farrell (10) 22-3, GAR Memorial (2) 20-6, Holy Ghost Prep (1) 22-6, Lancaster Mennonite (3) 20-7, Manheim Central (3) 24-4, Mars (7) 15-9, Montour (7) 16-8, Philly Electrical (12) 16-11, Pittston (2) 18-8, Pottsville (11) 23-5, Scranton Prep* (2) 21-3, Shamokin (4) 22-3, Strong Vincent (10) 17-8, Thomas Jefferson (7) 22-3, West York (3) 24-4.

*-season complete

CLASS AA

No.  School                                                  Rec    Pvs

1.     Constitution (12)                                23-5       1

2.     Seton-La Salle (7)                               25-1       2

3.     Greensburg Central Cath (7)            22-3       3

4.     Lewisburg (4)                                     23-3       5

5.     Loyalsock (4)                                      24-3       4

6.     Aliquippa (7)                                      18-6       6

7.     West Middlesex (10)                         20-5     10

8.     Fairview (10)                                      22-3       9

9.     Meyers (2)                                          19-7    NR

10.  Holy Cross (2)                                      20-6       8                                        

Others to watch: Bald Eagle Area (6) 20-5, Beaver Falls (7) 18-7, Bristol (1) 16-9, Central Martinsburg (6) 17-8, Columbia (3) 16-9, Conemaugh Twp (5) 21-5, Del-Val Charter (12) 17-7, Elk Lake* (2) 21-2, Hanover (3) 19-7, Mercyhurst Prep (10) 18-7, Mid Valley (2) 22-4, Neshannock (7) 18-6, Notre Dame-Green Pond (11) 17-9, Penns Valley (6) 19-6, Quaker Valley (7) 21-3, Richland (6) 20-5, Summit Academy (7) 16-6, Towanda (4) 23-4, Trinity (3) 12-12.

*-season complete

CLASS A

No.  School                                                   Rec    Pvs

1.     Lincoln Park (7)                                   25-1       1

2.     Math, Civics & Sciences (12)               11-14     2

3.     Bishop Carroll (6)                                25-0       3

4.     St. John Neumann (4)                          27-0       4

5.     Church Farm (1)                                  23-4       8

6.     Mahanoy Area (11)                              24-2    10

7.     Monessen (7)                                        20-6       7                                   

8.     Vincentian (7)                                       22-3       6

9.     Elk County Catholic (9)                        23-4        9

10.   Johnsonburg (9)                                   23-4        5

Others to watch: Berlin Brothersvalley (5) 23-2, Bishop Guilfoyle (6) 19-6, Clarion-Limestone (9) 22-4, Cochranton (10) 21-3, Erie First Christian (10) 15-9, Forbes Road (5) 16-8, Galeton (4) 20-5, Greenwood (3) 18-7, Homer-Center (6) 22-3, Kennedy Catholic (10) 14-9, Lebanon Catholic (3) 17-8, Mount Calvary (3) 22-4, New Hope Academy (3) 14-9, North Catholic (7) 15-10, Phil-Mont Christian (1) 19-5, Pius X (11) 19-4, Ridgway (9) 20-6, Sullivan County (4) 19-6.