With the state tournaments wrapped up, there isn't much room for debate in the final edition of the 2011-12 POWERADE state rankings. St. Mark's was the preseason No. 1 pick, and the Lions held on to the top spot by going 27-2 and winning the NEPSAC AA tournament.
Springfield Central was unranked to begin the season, but made up ground by going 22-1 and claiming the Division 1 state championship with a 67-46 win over No. 4 Brockton. Northfield-Mt. Hermon started the season at No. 2 and finished at No. 3 after locking up the NEPSAC AAA crown. St. John's (Shrewsbury) and Mahar were both outside the Top 10 when the season started, but they climbed to No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. Mahar won the Division 2 championship.
Looking ahead to next year, both St. Mark's and Northfield-Mt. Hermon will lose a significant amount of talent to graduation, but they should be able to re-stock and build around the players that are returning, like junior forward Anthony Dallier (NMH) and freshman forward Aaron Falzon (St. Mark's).
POWERADE State Basketball Rankings
St. Mark's (27-2) — Last week: No. 1
Springfield Central (22-1) — Last week: No. 2
Northfield-Mt. Hermon (23-4) — Last week: No. 3
Click for complete POWERADE state rankings.
Follow Mike Grimala on Twitter (@ESPNHSGrimala).