High school basketball: Dakota Valley tops small town rankings after winning first state title

Dakota Valley (North Sioux City, S.D.) had never won a high school basketball state championship until this year and now it is being recognized by MaxPreps as the top small town team in the nation.

The Panthers outscored Sioux Valley 52-31 in the second half and went on to an 82-65 in the South Dakota Class A championship game. The win capped an improbable season for Dakota Valley.

"Unbelievable," Dakota Valley head coach Jason Kleis said on the South Dakota Public Broadcasting telecast as reported by the Sioux City Journal. "The guys are going to give me crap, because I told them about week two, 'We’re not going to go undefeated.' I didn’t think we would, but this group of kids, from the first day we felt a special vibe about them that we can’t explain. They rolled all the way through, and I’m so proud of them."

The small town high school basketball rankings consist of schools with an enrollment of less than 1,000 students from towns with a population of less than 10,000 people. Dakota Valley has an enrollment of 376 students while the town of North Sioux City has a population of just under 3,000 people.

Teams are ranked in order according to the MaxPreps computer rankings. Four Winds/Minnewaukan (Fort Totten, N.D.), Ashland-Greenwood (Ashland, Neb.) and Kingfisher (Okla.) finish in a three-way tie at No. 2 with a rating of 27.9. Dakota Valley has a rating of 33.0.

Schools are listed with their final season record and their computer rating. Small town basketball rankings2.   Four Winds/Minnewaukan (Fort Totten, N.D.), 25-0, 27.9
2.   Ashland-Greenwood (Ashland, Neb.), 27-1, 27.9
2.   Kingfisher (Okla.), 28-1, 27.9
5.   Manhattan Christian (Manhattan, Mont.), 23-0, 27.8
6.   DeSmet (S.D.), 25-1, 27.3
7.   Raymond (Miss.), 29-5, 27.1
8.   Hesston (Kan.), 25-1, 26.8
9.   Nokomis (Newport, Maine), 25-1, 26.5
10. Branson (Ross, Calif.), 28-6, 26.3
11. Hillsboro (Kan.), 25-1, 26.2
11. Silsbee (Texas), 32-7, 26.2
13. Charleston (Mo.), 29-3, 25.6
14. Annandale (Minn.), 34-2, 25.2
15. Lapwai (Idaho), 27-0, 25.1
15. Van Alstyne (Texas), 29-6, 25.1
17. Poca (W.Va.), 26-1, 25.0
18. Fergus (Lewistown, Mont.), 23-2, 24.9
19. Caledonia (Minn.), 31-2, 24.7
20. Nashville (Ill.), 30-4, 24.6
21. Pikeville (Ky.), 32-3, 24.5
21. Wahoo (Neb.), 23-3, 24.5
23. Thayer (Mo.), 29-2, 24.4
24. Olpe (Kan.), 25-1, 24.0
24. Yuma (Colo.), 25-1, 24.0
24. Dallas Center-Grimes (Dallas Center, Iowa), 22-5, 24.0