Good morning, Marion basketball fans, and welcome to “The Shootaround.” In this space, I will look ahead at this week's games and what's going on around the state as a way to keep you informed and to learn more about what's going on myself. This is where I will update Marion's girls and boys basketball team's rankings that particular week, look at the two games on tap, and begin state-tournament projections sometime in February after the first run through league action. RANKINGS RUNDOWN The new year brings with it the first round of rankings, and while there is no shortage of ranking systems and theories, we typically refer to ScoreBookLive.com's “Power 25” rankings, and Erick Taylor's weekly “Super Six” rankings in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as they do a great job covering high school hoops in Arkansas. Shunda Johnson's Marion Lady Patriots made their 2024 debut in SBLive's “Power 25” last week at No. 14 prior to last Friday night's overtime defeat against No. 13 West Memphis. After the West Memphis contest, Marion dropped one spot to No. 15 in SBLive's statewide rankings. SBLive's rankings rank the Top 25 high school basketball teams in the state every week, regardless of classification. Marion was on the outside looking in on the ADG's weekly rankings. Emmanuel Wade's first group of Marion Patriots tipped off 2024 with a No. 8 ranking in SBLive's initial poll, and the fightin' Pats checked in at No. 3 in the ADG's Class 5A Super Six rankings, and ninth overall in the ADG's weekly Overall Top 10. Following a 1-1 weekend after beating West Memphis and losing a neutral-site contest to Houston, TN., the Patriots moved up to No. 6 in this week's Power 25. Defending state champion Pine Bluff is the only Class 5A team ranked ahead of Marion this week, checking in at No. 5. THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE Marion's home-heavy first trip through conference play continues Tuesday and Friday inside Fidelity Bank Arena. The Patriots welcome Nettleton on Tuesday evening in a contest that is massive for the boys and girls. Then Searcy comes calling on Friday night, again at home. The Nettleton and Searcy games will both be broadcast live on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel. Marion and Nettleton's girls teams split their meetings a season ago, with each school winning at home. The Lady Pats used their early February victory over the Lady Raiders as a springboard to a conference-runner-up finish and eventually a third straight voyage to the state semifinals. Tuesday's girls matchup features a pair of 0-1 teams in the 5A East, and while a win would be preferred, recall that last year's Marion team started 0-3 before winning nine of their last 11 games to enter the dance on a hot streak. The Lady Raiders, who are ranked No. 18 this week on SBLive.com, enter play tonight with a stellar 14-3 overall record, but in their last two outings, Nettleton lost a non-conference contest at Searcy (46-43), and the conference opener to Greene County Tech (56-48). Marion and Nettleton's only common opponent is Bryant, which both schools have beaten. Marion's boys swept Nettleton a season ago, including a thrilling home win over Nettleton last February that put the Pats into the driver's seat for the 5A East conference title, while the Raiders settled for a league runner-up finish. The boys contest showcases two 1-0 5A East teams, and each impressed in their league openers on Friday night. No. 3 Marion downed West Memphis for the 11th time in 12 outings in a 60-32 conquest, while No. 21 Nettleton survived a game Paragould team for a 54-50 victory. Should Marion top Nettleton tonight, Marion would be in a good position for a second straight league crown after beating state-tournament hopefuls in the first two games of league action. It should be noted that West Memphis and Nettleton split a pair of non-conference meetings in December, with West Memphis topping Nettleton 55-45 two and a half weeks ago. The race for this season's state tournament continues on Friday night when Searcy visits. The Lady Lions were a surprise winner last January at Fidelity Bank Arena, and Searcy completed a season sweep with a double-digit victory in February, but Searcy still missed the cut for the state tournament. Searcy enters play this week at No. 16 in the SBLive rankings, just one spot behind Marion, and many believe that the Lady Lions could be close to making the state tournament cut. Marion swept Searcy a season ago, rolling at home before surviving at Lion Gymnasium in February. Marion's trip this February to Searcy will look a little different after the White County district opened its brand-new, state-of-the-art basketball arena last spring. STATE TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK Many expect Searcy to be in the mix for this year's Class 5A state basketball tournament with that new arena, but the site of this year's tournament will be decided later this month. Please stay tuned to our social media pages for all of the sites of this year's state tournaments, including basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, track, and volleyball. MPAN BROADCASTS Join us throughout basketball season for conference action on MarionPatriots.com and on the Marion Patriots Activities Network. MPAN will produce home broadcasts this season with ambient noise from inside the arena, while road conference games and state tournament games will feature Chuck Livingston on the call with Jonathon Crymes. As always, MPAN's broadcast of Marion Patriot athletics will be free to view. 5A EAST STANDINGS AS OF 1-8-24 GIRLS SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Greene Co. Tech 1-0 Searcy 1-0 W. Memphis 1-0 Valley View 1-0 Marion 0-1 Batesville 0-1 Nettleton 0-1 Paragould 0-1 BOYS SCHOOL CONF. RECORD Marion 1-0 Valley View 1-0 Nettleton 1-0 Searcy 1-0 Batesville 0-1 Greene Co. Tech 0-1 Paragould 0-1 W. Memphis 0-1 THIS WEEK IN 5A EAST BASKETBALL TUESDAY, JANUARY 9 Nettleton at Marion Searcy at W. Memphis Valley View at Paragould Batesville at Greene Co. Tech FRIDAY, JANUARY 12 Searcy at Marion Greene Co. Tech at Valley View W. Memphis at Nettleton Paragould at Batesville