We’re about a month into the basketball season, meaning its time to take a look at the standings and see how the season is shaping out. Below I’ve included each team’s record (overall and league) and I invite you to share how you feel these teams rank by creating a top 10 power ranking (or more if you’re up to it) for both boys and girls basketball.

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The Mission Prep boys basketball team was impressive Thursday night during their 65-60 victory over Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) on the first night of the Mission Prep Christmas Classic. Royals forward/guard Robbie Souza scored a team-high 21 points and senior center Jerry Casey added 20. Both utilized their size and quickness to harass Los Osos most of the night.

The Royals will certainly lean on both this season, and rightfully so. Their skills make for an troubling dynamic for opponants. Souza said after the game he knows if teams choose to double either player, the other will be open. It also opens the floor for Dylan Morrow and Kyle Minkel to move around and get good looks at the basket.

The Christmas Classic is a good barometer for the Royals to see how they stand against competition from outside of the area. If the Los Osos game was any indication, this season looks promising for the Royals who are 7-1, with their only loss a 54-52 defeat against El Diamante. The true test for Mission Prep is tonight at 8 when the Royals play Taft (Woodland Hills), which is ranked No. 43 in the nation. Taft features UNLV signee Justin Hawkins, CSU Northridge commit Terran Carter and freshman Landon Drew, son of former NBA standout Larry Drew and brother of UNC guard and Taft graduate Larry Drew Jr.

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The Mission Prep Christmas Classic boys basketball tournament returns this year, beginning Thursday and ending Tuesday, Dec. 23. The bulk of the 16-team tournament, which is in its 10th year, will will start Friday with five games on the schedule — the first is between Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) and Mission Hills at 2 p.m. A slam dunk contest will be held Saturday night.

Some of the notable teams include:
Taft (Woodland Hills, CA) – Taft features UNLV signee Justin Hawkins, Cal State Northridge commit Terran Carter, and freshman Landon Drew, son of former NBA standout Larry Drew and brother of UNC guard and Taft graduate Larry Drew Jr.

Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, CA) – They are led by 6-foot-3 point guard Justin Cobbs, who signed to play for Tubby Smith at Minnesota next year. Cobbs and his team will take on St. Joseph on Thursday 18 at 6:30 p.m.

Kentwood (Covington, WA) – Kentwood features the No. 1 junior in the nation, Josh Smith, according to Rivals.com. Smith reportedly holds offers from over a dozen Division I programs including every Pac-10 school.

Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, VA) – Bishop O’Connell is led by University of North Carolina commit Kendall Marshall. O’Connell is currently ranked No. 49 in the nation by ESPNRise.com.

Los Osos – Los Osos is led by UCLA recruit Kendall Williams.  Los Osos will face host Mission Prep on Thursday at 8 p.m.

I have added a link to the tournament Web site at the bottom of the blog. The site has embedded youtube.com videos of some of the players.

The only teams from the Central Coast involved in the tournament are Mission Prep and St. Joseph.

Here is quick breakdown of the tournament:
Number of teams: 16
Number of out of state teams: 3
Number of tournament games: 31
Facilities: Mission Gym
Ticket Prices (all-day pass): $10.00 adults; $5.00 children under 18

For more information on the tournament, visit:  http://www.mpchristmasclassic.com

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Now that I’m getting older, I often find myself calculating when I will deteriorate physically. In fact, I have an informal aging checklist that tells me how it will go down:

* Wrinkles begin to appear: in 4 years

* Noticeable hair loss: 7 years

* Complain about younger generation’s musical tastes and knowledge of world events: now

I like basketball, but I’m not sure how long my aging body will allow me to play it. Right now, I still have pretty good speed and stamina — and a few pretty good moves, if I must say — but I figure I’ll start slowing down in a couple of years. And then at some point, I’ll injure myself, requiring some sort of knee surgery, thus requiring me to come to terms with my age by retiring from hoops and all other things requiring mobility.

But there’s hope.

In this morning’s Tribune, reporter Nick Wilson relates his basketball challenge against 78-year-old Don Morris. (That’s him above, shooting with his eyes closed.) Granted, Morris isn’t exactly spry enough to play Wilson 1-0n-1 (one of Nick’s favorite tactics on the court is to run around a lot.). But he’s still got game.

As this video I made shows, Morris is a solid free-throw shooter (He recently made 23-of-25 in senior competition), and he can nail the three. He also gets around pretty well for a guy who graduated from college in 1952.

So there you go. If I can stay fit like Morris, I’ll have nearly 40 more years of hoops. Which means 40 more years to fix my shooting form.

Doesn’t look like Morris can help me keep my hair, though. Maybe I’ll be one of those cool old bald guys.

Photo: Dave Middlecamp

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