Cherry’s Isaac Asuma crashed through Hayfield defenders Zander Jacobson (3) and Isaac Matti during the state tournament in March. (Cheryl A. Myers, Special to the Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A .500 team stands atop the Class 1A boys basketball rankings, raising a question:

Huh?

The answer is found in Cherry's competition and its roster.

First, the competition. The Tigers lost their season opener to Deer River, ranked sixth in Class 1A this week by Minnesota Basketball News. They also lost Saturday to Minnehaha Academy, ranked sixth in Class 2A. They gained back some ground by defeating, by 19 points, defending state champion Hayfield, No. 2 in Class 1A. The other victory was by 37 points over Barnum.

On to that roster. It starts with Isaac Asuma, who has returned after missing the loss to Deer River because of injury. A 6-3 junior guard who surpassed 2,000 high school points last season, he received a scholarship offer from the Gophers in April and is deep in Division I opportunities. He's joined by ninth-grade brother Noah and their eighth-grade cousin Isaiah. All are kin of Bob Asuma, who coached at Cherry for more than three decades.

Cherry reached the semifinals of the state tournament last season; all three of the Asumas, two not yet in high school, were getting heavy playing time. It was Cherry's first trip to state in 25 years.

Elsewhere in the rankings:

Park Center, 5-0 and averaging 95 points per game, remains No. 1 in Class 4A, having turned back No. 2 Lakeville North on Saturday.

Totino-Grace, 2-1 with a loss to Lakeville North, stays atop Class 3A.

Holy Family remains No. 1 in Class 2A at 4-0, ahead of 6-0 Lake City and 3-4 Minneapolis North.

BOYS BASKETBALL STATE RANKINGS

By Minnesota Basketball News

Class 4A

1. Park Center (5-0); 2. Lakeville North (4-1); 3. Shakopee (4-0); 4. Eastview (3-1); 5. Hopkins (6-1); 6. Maple Grove (4-1); 7. Farmington (3-2); 8. Eden Prairie (3-1); 9. East Ridge (3-2); 10. Wayzata (2-3).

Class 3A

1. Totino-Grace (2-1); 2. Orono (4-0); 3. Benilde-St. Margaret's (4-0); 4. DeLaSalle (4-2); 5. Mahtomedi (2-1); 6. Alexandria (4-1); 7. Mankato East (4-1); 8. Austin (4-1); 9. Princeton (4-0); 10. St. Anthony (4-1).

Class 2A

1. Holy Family (4-0); 2. Lake City (6-0); 3. Minneapolis North (3-4); 4. Maranatha (3-0); 5. Maple River (6-1); 6. Minnehaha Academy (6-2); 7. Plainview-Elgin-Millville (2-2); 8. Perham (4-0); 9. Pequot Lakes (4-0); 10. Watertown-Mayer (4-0).

Class 1A

1. Cherry (2-2); 2. Hayfield (5-1); 3. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (2-0); 4. New Life Academy (6-0); 5. Cass Lake-Bena (3-0); 6. Deer River (5-0); 7. Henning (6-0); 8. Goodhue (5-1); 9. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (3-0); 10 Mankato Loyola (5-0).