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FAB 50: The Good & Bad!

Ronnie Flores — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 01:29:13 +0000

The preseason FAB 50 rankings set the tone for the ensuing season. We put alot of effort into our preseason rankings because it makes it alot easier to justify moves as the season wears on. We won’t give away all our rankings secrets, but two rules we live by are one, we won’t ever drop the No. 1 team if it wins its final game, and two, the No. 1 team can never lose its final game. We’ve been compiling weekly rankings since the fall of 1987 when Miami Senior (Miami, Fla.) opened up as preseason No. 1 in the first National Prep Poll (FAB 50 precursor). Rankings have come and gone since then, or stopped and attempted to re-start. We’ve been doing them ever since and obviously we’re going to keep the FAB 50 going as long as possible. Our preseason No. 1 team has finished No. 1 14 times, so we’re pretty proud of the rankings job we’ve done over the years. On the flip side, no one is perfect and there are some preseason rankings we wish we had back. We take a look at three of our best moments, and three of the preseason decisions we’d love to take back.

Montverde Academy (Fla.) at No. 1 in 2012-13
When things go wrong, more things seemingly go bad, and when things are going well in basketball, the breaks seem to go a program’s way for a long time. At the end of the 2011-12 season, it seems as if things were going right for Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.). After a miraculous fourth-quarter comeback in the National High School Invitational (now GEICO Nationals) title game led by Arizona recruit Brandon Ashley, it looked like the Pilots would dominate high school hoops in the near future. They had just won their third NHSI title in four years and the program seemingly was in good hands with Mike Peck and Todd Simon. Had Montverde Academy or Findlay Prep won convincingly it would have had a strong case for No. 1 over Oak Hill Academy of Virginia, which chose not to participate in the event. What was even more obvious watching that game was how good the Eagles were going to be in 2012-13. Point guard Kasey Hill was dynamic, the team added strongman Devin Williams (West Virginia) and center Dakari Johnson, who sat out the 2011-12 season after earning national freshman of the year honors in 2010-11 at St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.). They were a cinch preseason No. 1 and that’s before the program added Ben Simmons later on during the season. Montverde went on to capture GEICO Nationals at the end of the season, and the program was preseason No. 1 for the next two seasons and won three consecutive FAB 50 titles. More, importantly that 2012-13 team set the tone for what was to come for the program over the next 10 years, and no other credible rankings service had the Eagles preseason No. 1.

Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) at No. 7 in 2016-17
Even though this team was a bit short-handed in its first game, it still didn’t look anything like a preseason No. 1 team from California and a top 10 team after it lost that opener at the NorCal Tip-Off Classic to unranked Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 79-63. It certainly didn’t look better than preseason No. 9 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) in its early season games. At least one poll had that team preseason No. 1 in the nation. If anything, the Trailblazers were one of those physically dominant teams, similar to the 2012-13 Montverde Academy team, that we evaluated in recent years. After we witness star forwards Marvin Bagley (Duke) and Cody Riley (UCLA) dislodge a backboard, we said to ourselves, “what in the world were we thinking” as Bishop Montgomery had no one taller than 6-foot-5. We knew the Knights would get better, and the big payoff came in the CIF Southern Section open semifinals at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, when coach Doug Mitchell’s club took down Sierra Canyon, 70-63, in a memorable contest played in front of 12,000 fans as part of the double-header involving Chino Hills and Mater Dei. Some pollsters still hadn’t learn their lesson, as the next week Mater Dei came in to the CIFSS open final as the higher ranked team both nationally and locally by everyone expect one poll. Bishop Montgomery had a memorable fourth quarter run to pull out a 70-55 win to capture its second CIFSS open crown in three seasons. The Knights went on to beat Chino Hills and Mater Dei a second time en route to their first and only CIF open state crown. They finished No. 6 in the FAB 50, but more importantly served as a stark reminder that sometimes great high school teams don’t need NBA-type size, or the highest rated individual recruits, to be considered one of the best in the country. Sometimes great high school teams have great chemistry and great high school players, regardless of what is expected of them at the collegiate or NBA levels.

Glenbard West (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) at No. 29 in 2021-22
We always like it when we’re ahead of the curve on a team without alot of fan-fare that has the potential to be a great team. That was the case with the Hilltoppers, who eventually got the national acclaim they deserved after a 13-1 season shortened by COVID-19 in 2020-21. Glenbard West captured the IHSA Class 4A state title with a dominant 56-34 win over Whitney Young (Chicago) with a group of seniors that got little to zero national acclaim until it kept winning. We wish we had placed them inside the Top 25 and it would have been even more interesting to see what would have happened had this club finished 38-0 instead of 37-1. This well-oiled unit led by center Braden Huff and Paxten Warden goes down as one of the best teams in Illinois history, but from a FAB 50 perspective it couldn’t finish higher than No. 13 in the final rankings. That’s because the Warriors lost to No. 32 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, while No. 12 Camden (N.J.) defeated the Trailblazers, 66-62. Huff (16.8 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 apg, 1.5 spg and 1.5 bpg) was named the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year and earned a scholarship to Gonzaga, while three other teammates were D1 bound. Glenbard West built a national following in three months and its story is what high school basketball is all about.

Rankings We Wish We Had Back

St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) at No. 1 in 2004-05
By this time, Bob Hurley Sr.’s program at St. Anthony was a perennial contender and had already won two FAB 50 national titles (in 1989 and 1996). This club looked like it had the makings of one that could give the eventual Naismith Hall of Fame coach his third crown, so it was pegged as preseason No. 1 in a close call over Oak Hill Academy of Virginia, the defending FAB 50 national champs. We knew the Friars might start off slow because of injuries, but we never expected them to finish 21-6. The Friars ventured down to San Diego, Calif., for the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic and were upset in the semifinals by Steve Canyon (Spring Valley, Calif.), 67-65, behind a terrific performance by future San Diego St. guard Richie Williams (24 points). Hurley’s club never seemed to recover and the injury problems mounted. St. Anthony is the only preseason No. 1 team to finish unranked. Only two other preseason No. 1 teams have even finished outside the top 10, with the lowest being Findlay Prep (28-4) at No. 14 in 2010-11. Oak Hill Academy, led by senior Jamont Gordon (Mississippi St.) and juniors Kevin Durant and Ty Lawson, both future NBA players, was definitely the more talented team and probably should have been No. 1. The only returning starter from the 2003-04 team, K.C. Rivers (Clemson), missed the entire season and Oak Hill lost two games and finished No. 2. Oak Hill lost to South Gwinnett of Georgia and to Homewood-Flossmorr of Illinois, neither of which won state titles. The FAB 50 No. 1 team that season was Niagara Falls (N.Y.), which began at No. 48 in the preseason.

Flint Hill Prep (Roanoke, Va.) at No. 1 in 1988-89
Just as we had one St. Anthony club too high, we wish we had another higher back in our second year of doing a National Prep Poll. St. Anthony (which is now closed) finished No. 2 in 1987-88 and was the only team to defeat No. 1 St. Nicolas of Tolentine (Bronx, N.Y.). We tabbed talented Flint Hill Prep (Oakton, Va.) as preseason No. 1 in a close call over the Friars, as coach Stu Vetter had two legitimate McDonald’s All-Americans in Aaron Bain (Villanova) and George Lynch (North Carolina) and came into the season having won 74 of its previous 76 games. Flint Hill Prep finished 23-3 and No. 9, but the Friars were even better than advertised. That St. Ants unit is considered one of the best in high school basketball history even though Danny Hurley, the top player on the junior varsity team as a freshman who was expected to be the top guard off the bench as a sophomore, shattered his finger and missed the season and 6-foot-7 Sean Rooney, the team’s top rebounder, tore ligaments in his ankle after the season began. Regardless, this team didn’t miss a beat, capturing the Great Florida Shootout, defeating Flint Hill Prep in the finals of the King Cotton Classic in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, defeating teams from 10 states and capturing the first state Tournament of Champions title with a 62-55 victory over regionally-ranked Elizabeth to finish 32-0. The mainstays on the team were point guard Bob Hurley Jr. (Duke), shooting guard Terry DeHere and power forward Jerry Walker (both Seton Hall), while 6-foot-5 freshman Rodrick Rhodes rounded out the starting lineup. The New Jersey TOC was discontinued after the 2021-22 season.

Montverde Academy (Fla.) at No. 2 in 2019-20
If a defending FAB 50 champ has the ingredients to defend its national title, we almost certainly give it the benefit of the doubt in the preseason pecking order over another talented club. That’s what happened after IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) captured the 2019 GEICO Nationals title. It was a close call, but we gave it the benefit of the doubt over Montverde Academy, the club it took down in the tournament semifinals, 74-73. Has MVA won that game, it most certainly would have began No. 1 in 2019-20 and with the late addition of Scottie Barnes (FSU), it probably should have been anyway. It’s not as if IMG Academy was a bad choice; after all it finished No. 5 in the FAB 50 at 19-6. It’s a choice we want back because Montverde Academy ended up being the best team since the turn of the century. The Eagles defeated 12 FAB 50 ranked teams en route to one of the largest winning margins (39.0 ppg) among elite high school teams we’ve ever uncovered. Only one team played coach Kevin Boyle’s team in single digits and that, of course, was IMG Academy in the title game of the City of Palms Classic (63-55). Led by Mr. Basketball USA Cade Cunningham (13.9 ppg), Barnes (11.6 ppg) and a third McDonald’s All-American in Day’Ron Sharpe (12.1 ppg), MVA handed the Ascenders three of their six losses and no other team came within 20 points. IMG Academy played the Eagles within 20 points (76-64) and 10 so there is always that preseason nod that we’ll have to live with. Two other factors that make that preseason order even more poignant is the fact MVA didn’t have the luxury of closing out with a GEICO Nationals title, as the event was canceled because of COVID-19, and the fact IMG Academy didn’t have its most talented player, returning All-America Jalen Johnson, on the roster after Thanksgiving. Had Johnson not been on the club at all, or had MVA not blown that 16-point lead the year before against IMG, it would have been a wire-to-wire No. 1 club similar to its 2017-18 unit. Could IMG have pulled off an upset in one of the games with Johnson in the lineup?

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

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NBA Daily Betting Odds & Predictions for November 13

Sara Jane Gamelli — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 20:22:31 +0000

There are four games on the NBA betting slate today, beginning at 7:30 p.m EDT and 10 p.m. EDT. The New York Knicks (5-4) will matchup against the Boston Celtics (7-2) at the TD Garden. The Washington Wizards (2-7) will play the Toronto Raptors (4-5) in Canada. The Chicago Bulls (4-6) will take on the (5-4), and the Cleveland Cavaliers (4-5) will travel to Sacramento to face the Kings (4-4) tonight.

Will the Celtics continue to be a power threat in the East? Will the Bucks finally find their stride if Damian Lillard is able to suit up? Here you will find the NBA betting odds, stats, trends, player prop bets, and predictions for Wednesday, November 8.

Monday's slate of NBA hoops

Celtics (7-2) look to continue hot start
Cavs coming off big win at Golden State take on the Kings

: NBA TV, NBA App
: https://t.co/j7XaSJWBOj pic.twitter.com/pYwTWQUkzZ
— NBA (@NBA) November 13, 2023

NBA Daily Game Odds for 11/13

^{*Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook}

The NBA Slate and Odds for 11/13

Knicks (+310) @ Celtics (-9)(-395)
Wizards (+360) @ Raptors (-10) (-470)
Bulls (+310) @ Bucks (-9) (-395)
Cavaliers (-2.5) (-142) @ Kings (+120)

NBA Parlay +380

Bet #1 : Kristaps Porzingis O 20.5 Points and Assists (-110)

lk out below pic.twitter.com/uoAxUMRjY4
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 12, 2023

Season Stats?PPG:?19.6 | FG:?55.8 %?| 3 PT:?39.5 %?| FT:?82.7 %?| REB:?6.2 | AST: 1.8?| STL:?0.4?| BLK:?1.3

Career Stats vs New York Knicks:?PPG:?22.1?| FG:?42.5 %?| 3 PT:?41.2 %?| FT:?92.2 %?| REB:?9?| AST:?1.4?| STL:?0.2 |?BLK: 2.1

The Boston Celtics (7-2) will matchup against the New York Knicks (5-4) at home tonight. Boston is coming off a two game win streak, while the Knicks have won three straight. Although Kristpas Porzingis is on a loaded Celtics roster, he's been fairly consistent in terms of point production.

If you're betting on the NBA, Porzingis hit over points and assists in four of the last five games, and 60 percent in the last ten. Even better, this is a prop that hit 78 percent over the last thirty games. The Boston Center is averaging 19 points a game, which is nearly what the line is at tonight.

The Celtics have a tough matchup against the New York Knicks tonight, who rank 2nd in opponent points scored (103.2), and 4th in assists allowed (22.7). Although this will be a true test for Boston, Porzingis has the ability to space the floor, drawing out either Randle and Mitchell. In addition, there is too much talent on this team to fade the assists part.

Why Kristaps Porzingis will hit this prop

Although Porzingis only hit this prop 25 percent of home games, he faces his former team, where he's hit this prop in four straight games dating back to early 2023. A prop that hit 77 percent over the 2022-2023 season, I am confident KP will be heavily involved tonight.

In the month of November, the Center is averaging 29.3 minutes, and anywhere from 6.2-11.3 shot attempts per game. Averaging 19 points this month, Porzingis has five assists in the past two games, including three against the Toronto Raptors. In the season opener against New York, No. 8 finished 30 points on 8-15 shooting in 38 minutes against the Knicks.

Statistically, this isn't the most favored prop tonight. However, Julius Randle couldn't figure a way to stop Porzingis in their first matchup, and I have no doubt he will be a large role in the offense tonight at home.

Bet #2: Khris Middleton O 3.5 Assists (-135)

Khris keeping us close. pic.twitter.com/OMy9vrzp49
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 10, 2023

Season Stats?PPG:?11.1 | FG:?48.3 %?| 3 PT:?34.6 %?| FT:?78.6 %?| REB:?3.1?| AST: 4?| STL:?0.6?| BLK:?0.1

Career Stats vs?Chicago Bulls?PPG:?15.6?| FG: 43.8 %?| 3 PT:?37.2 %?| FT:?84.9 %?| REB:?5.1?| AST:?3.8?| STL:?1.3 |?BLK: 0.

The Milwaukee Bucks (5-4) will matchup against the Chicago Bulls (4-6) tonight at home. Bucks guard Damian Lillard is listed as probable for tonight's game, after missing the last two matchups. Although Lillard is most likely to have most of the ball handling responsibilities, having him back in the lineup makes me more confident in this prop.

If you're betting on the NBA, Khris Middleton has mainly been healthy this season, and consistent in terms of assists. Over assists has hit in six of the last seven games, and 90 percent in the last ten. In fact, Middleton has dished out over 3.5 assists in four straight games, against New York, Brooklyn, and Indiana. Although the Bucks didn't have Lillard, Middleton had seven assists against the Orlando Magic last matchup.

I am full confident in this pick tonight, as this is a prop that hit 80 percent last season. While the Bucks are playing at home tonight, Middleton has over 3.5 assists in all home games this season, including the last five games in Milwaukee.

Why Khris Middleton can hit over 3.5 assists

Tonight, Jae Crowder and Chris Livingston are listed as OUT for the bucks. Although losing Crowder will be one less scoring option, Milwaukee still has plenty of scoring options in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cameron Payne, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, and Malik Beasley.

The Bucks will play a Bulls team who allows the 16th most points per game (113.3), and ranks 29th in opponent assists (28.6). Most recently, Chicago allowed Detroit players Alec Burks and Marvin Bagley III to hit over assists props. Additionally, NBA Players Jusuf Nurkis, Kevin Durant, Grayson Allen, Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks, Kelly Olynyk, Jordan Clarkson, and Lauri Markkanen hit over assist props this week.

Averaging 4 assists per game this season, Middleton has a career average 3.8 assists against Chicago. Having played an average of 19.8 minutes per game in the month of November, he has 11 assists in the past two games.

If you're betting on the NBA, go with Middleton over assists tonight.

Bet 3: Scottie Barnes O .5 Blocks (-225)

YA BOY SCOTTIE BARNESSSSS pic.twitter.com/bskLRNfq9i
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 9, 2023

Season Stats?PPG:?20.2?| FG:?46.3 %?| 3 PT:?35.3 %?| FT:?75.7 %?| REB:?9.8?| AST: 5.8 | STL:?1.4?| BLK: 2

Career Stats vs?Washington Wizards:?PPG:?14.8?| FG:?47.6 %?| 3 PT:?0 %?| FT:?73.3 %?| REB:?5.7?| AST:?3.3?| STL:?0.8|?BLK: 0.3

Tonight, the Raptors will face the Washington Wizards at home. At times, the Wizard have played small ball, occasionally putting Kyle Kuzma at the five. Tonight, the Raptors will have the size advantage, especially with Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, and Jakob Poeltl.

If you're betting on the NBA, Raptors sensation Scottie Barnes has over .5 blocks in 89 percent of the games this season, and nine of the last ten. In addition, Barnes has six blocks in the last three matchups against Boston, Dallas, and San Antonio.

Although the Raptors struggle to find rhythm offensively, they've been tough on the defensive end. Averaging 4.7 blocks per game, Barnes hit this prop against the Wizards last at home in March of 2023. Tonight, the Raptors face a Wizards team who rank near last in points scored, rebounding, and assists. On average, Washington allows opponents to get 5.3 blocks per game, and Barnes is averaging two blocks a game this season. You could argue Barnes will hit over rebounds, however he has been consistent with blocks.

Scottie Barnes is a defensive juggernaut

Barnes has incredible versatility and strength, and this newly constructed Washington team does not. Scottie Barnes has incredible defensive prowess, and his shot blocking has not gone unnoticed.

While most teams have found their stride against the Wizards, I fully expect Barnes to be a force on the defensive end tonight. Averaging 35.9 minutes this season, look for Barnes to continue this streak for the fourth straight game.

Bonus Bet: Washington Wizards +9 (-110)

A solid performance yesterday from @Bilaal_6.

20 PTS, 7 REB, 4 3PT, 4 STL pic.twitter.com/qHEeq2E4u6
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) November 13, 2023

Yes, the Washington Wizards aren't a great team. They've acquired several new pieces this offseason, and struggle to find an identity. Lacking that true super star, Washington sits at 2-7 on the season. Tonight they face the 4-5 Toronto Raptors on the road.

Overall, Washington is 4-5-0 against the spread, and Toronto 5-4-0. They rank 28th in the league in point differential at -7.5, where the Raptors rank 17th at -1.5. To me, +9 is a large spread, especially for two teams who have poor offensive rhythm and flow.

The Raptors rank second to last in points per game, while the Wizards are surprisingly sixth in the NBA in points per game (116.2). Conversely, the Raptors are a top seven team defensively, while Washington allow 123.8 points per game.

In their last ten matchups, Toronto is 7-3 against Washington, and covered the spread five times. Despite losing to Brooklyn 102-94 on Saturday, the Wizards have four players who average points in double-figures, including Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole, Deni Avdija, and Corey Kispert. Although the Wizards dropped four of their last five games, they've been able to cover the +8.5 and +9 spread against Miami and Atlanta. Toronto is coming off a 117-94 loss against the Celtics, where they shot just 27 percent from long range, and under 40 percent from the field.

While I expect the Raptors to take this game outright, I fully expect Washington to cover the spread tonight. They also received a breakout performance from rookie Bilal Coulibaly, who finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals against the Nets. If you plan to make this bet, the Wizards are 3-2-0 against the spread on the road this season.

Stay tuned for more NBA betting related articles.?Click here

Sara Jane Gamelli is a full-time Sportswriter at Ballislife, and Sports Content Creator on Twitch and TikTok. She has a focus on the NBA, WNBA, NCAA Basketball, and the NFL. Sara Jane currently resides in Connecticut/NYC area with her Cat and Dog. SJ has her undergraduate degree from the?University?of Connecticut in Economics, with a minor in business administration.

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15 Year Old Cameron Boozer Gets BUCKETS vs NBA Pros!! Michael Beasley, Marvin Bagley & More!

Arek Kissoyan — Thu, 04 Aug 2022 15:56:00 +0000

The Miami Pro League was LIT last night!! The Boozer Twins, Michael Beasley, Marvin Bagley, Mario Chalmers and Antonio Blakeney put on a show!

The post 15 Year Old Cameron Boozer Gets BUCKETS vs NBA Pros!! Michael Beasley, Marvin Bagley & More! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Every #1 Ranked Player In Every Position! (2015-2020)

Arek Kissoyan — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 17:15:04 +0000

Every #1 ranked player at every position in the year of 2015-2020. Lonzo Ball, Colin Sexton, Zion Williamson, Jayson Tatum, Marvin Bagley, and many more!

The post Every #1 Ranked Player In Every Position! (2015-2020) appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Why Not? Ron and Dev Predict NBA Draft Lottery (Picks 10-14)

Ronnie Flores — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 22:10:00 +0000

See Picks 5-9! | See Picks 1-4!

With the 2020 NBA Draft date of Nov. 18 swiftly approaching, we wanted to take a deeper dive into this year's crop of talent. The winner among the losers on NBA Draft Lottery night was the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team with the third-worst regular season record was awarded the first overall selection.

The Golden State Warriors, who are looking to get healthy and return to their winning ways, will pick second, the Charlotte Hornets third, with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers rounding out the first five selections.

This will be one of the most unique NBA Drafts on record due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only is the draft delayed by five months, NBA front offices will be making picks with far less real-time evaluation because of the cancellations of many conference tournaments and last season's NCAA Tournament. Another interesting aspect of this draft is NBA scouts and front office personnel will not be able to evaluate prospects in a live draft combine setting, but rather a virtual one taking place at regional sites.

In this piece, myself and Ronnie Flores do our best to predict which players the lottery teams will select based on fit and team needs. Check out our selections in a three-part series, beginning with picks No.'s 10-14 below.

14. Boston Celtics (from Memphis)

Ronnie’s Pick: Precious Achiuwa | PF | 6-9 | 225 |Memphis | Freshman

Precious Achiuwa

6'9" - SF - 2019

Why: The Celtics have done a good job in the draft and on are the cusp of being the best team in the East, so whoever they bring in would be fighting to become a rotation player. Achiuwa has a chance to do that because he brings energy to both ends of the floor and is a hellacious rebounder. The brass will be taking a long look at North Carolina’s Cole Anthony, but the Celtics don’t need perimeter scoring more than they need front court depth. Achiuwa fits the bill.

Devin’s Pick: Jalen Smith | PF | 6-10 | 225 | Maryland | Sophomore

Why: I can see Boston going in multiple directions with this pick, because when you look at the Celtics roster, there’s not a specific area of need they need to fill. With Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart occupying the guard positions along with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward on the wing, if Boston keeps this pick I can seeing them adding some more front court depth as current starter Daniel Theis is fills more of a glue-guy type of role. Smith, if available would be a nice choice here of proven production at a high college level with plenty of tools to build on at the NBA level. Smith was a double-double machine for the Terrapins during his sophomore season, averaging 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, and his 2.4 blocked shots per game were good for second in the Big Ten Conference. Smith shot 36.8 percent on just under three attempts per game from the college three point line, which makes me think he could be a potential two-way impact guy as a rim protector and versatile scoring option at the five, which is very reminiscent of Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner.

13. New Orleans Pelicans

Ronnie’s Pick: Saddiq Bey | SF | 6-8 |215 | Villanova |Sophomore

Why: The Pelicans have some terrific offensive pieces and could shore up their defensive prowess, and Bey foots the bill. If he earns minutes on the floor because of his defense (which would be a tremendous value at this spot), he is a good enough spot-up shooter to keep defenses honest and compliment Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson.

Devin’s Pick: Saddiq Bey | SF | 6-8 | 216 | Villanova | Sophomore

Why: This will be another interesting pick come draft night as the Pelicans have a host of young talent on its roster to go along with the veteran leadership of Jrue Holiday and J.J. Redick. New Orleans has nine players aged 24 years or younger and we didn’t get to see the full extent of what the youth movement looked like due to Zion Williamson missing time due to injury and the stoppage of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking strictly at roster need, three-point shooting is always of value, especially when your best long distance shooter (Redick) is heading toward his 36th birthday. I think Bey fits in nicely here because of his size, length, athleticism to go along with his 45.1 percent three-point shooting clip as a sophomore at Villanova.

12. Sacramento Kings

Ronnie’s Pick: Patrick Williams | PF | 6-8 | 225 | Florida State | Freshman

Why: The Kings’ front office is in transition and after some draft gaffes in recent years, they want to get this pick right. This isn’t a particularly loaded draft, but Williams has the potential to stick because of his frame, foot speed and long-term defensive ability. There are some terrific wing defenders in this draft, and the Kings can’t afford to swing and miss badly. Williams didn’t produce at a high level offensively in his lone college season, but the Kings need a shot in the arm not someone jacking up shots.

Why: For me, this is a best available pick type of situation for the Kings. The point guard spot is locked up with De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic (if he re-signs) will see the majority of the time at shooting guard, while Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes will continue to see the minutes in the front court and Sacramento needs a reliable piece that can come in and help right away. The best available guy at No. 12 could be Nesmith out of Vanderbilt. The 6-foot-6 wing brings versatility on the offensive end as evidenced by his above 50-percent shooting clip from both two and three-point range to go along with his 82.5 percent success rate from the free throw line. Nesmith played only 14 games last season due to injury, and while that’s a small sample size to draw from, his scoring feel on the perimeter and has some defensive versatility upside with his frame.

11. San Antonio Spurs

Why: The Spurs will take a long look at Florida State’s Patrick Williams and can only hope Isaac Okoro (Auburn) falls this far. He likely won’t, so Nesmith is a terrific value pick because he can really shoot the deep range shot and complement the talented backcourt players the Spurs already have. It will be enticing to pick up a defensive-oriented forward, but passing up an offensive talent the likes of Nesmith will be too difficult to pass up.

Devin’s Pick: Patrick Williams | PF | 6-8 | 225 | Florida State | Freshman

Why: This is the first time in a long time (23 years to be exact) that the Spurs will draft in the lottery, so San Antonio will have to rediscover this uncharted territory. As most know, this franchise has a rich history in drafting an unknown international player, stashing him, and bringing him over at the perfect time to help them on a championship run. Could that happen again this year? Sure, but for the purposes of this “mock lottery” let’s pick a player for Pop & Co. The reason I go with Williams here is because San Antonio could benefit from adding some athleticism and energy to its front court. The one-and-done forward out of Florida State fits that bill quite well with his explosive leaping ability, mobility in transition and ability to finish with through and above contact in the paint. Williams didn’t put up eye popping numbers during his only college season, averaging 9.2 points and four rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game and needs some work to refine his all-around offensive skill set. Where better to do that than with the Spurs who happen to have one of the best power forward’s the world has seen on its coaching staff.

10. Phoenix Suns

Ronnie’s Pick: Killian Hayes | PG | 6-5 | 215 | France | PRO

Why: The Suns ended the season on an upswing and hope to keep the positive momentum going with a home run at this spot in the draft. The Suns will likely look to the backcourt with someone who can play on the ball and be effective off it. Tyrese Maxey (Kentucky) will get a look at this range, but Hayes has terrific upside and there won’t be tons of pressure for him to perform right away. If Hayes can learn the NBA game from Ricky Rubio and be a complement to Devin Booker, this would be a terrific spot for him.

Devin’s Pick: Killian Hayes | PG | 6-5 | 215 | France | PRO

Why: The Suns need to show they are committed to building a long-term backcourt around superstar guard Devin Booker in addition to providing a true point guard who can operate out of ball screen action with stud power forward De’Andre Ayton. Hayes might be the perfect successor to Ricky Rubio at the point guard position in Phoenix. The 18 year-old lefty plays with a high basketball IQ, great vision and decision-making out of the pick and role, and knows how to use angles and changes of speeds to get into the paint. Just imagine a high ball screen with Hayes and Ayton with Booker spotting up on the wing. That’s tough to guard. Hayes does need to get better as a three-point shooter to keep defenses honest in those ball screen situations.

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2019-20 Underclass All-American Elite Team

Ronnie Flores — Mon, 04 May 2020 23:37:53 +0000

Class players of the year Patrick Baldwin Jr (Juniors), Emoni Bates (Sophomores) and D.J. Wagner (Freshmen) headline the 2019-20 Underclass All-American Elite team.

Two juniors and a sophomore named to the 26th Annual All-American Elite Team headline a group of 75 elite players selected to the 2019-20 Underclass All-American Elite team powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

Small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. of Hamilton (Sussex, Wis.), this year’s National Junior of the Year, was named to the overall All-American Elite third team. In 2018-19, Baldwin was the only tenth-grader on the Elite All-American second team. This season no underclass player was chosen to the second team, as a strong senior class was rewarded for its efforts.

Mousa Cissé

6'9" - PF - 2020

The second junior to make the All-American Elite team was big man Mousa Cissé of Lausanne Collegiate (Memphis, Tenn.). The fourth five selection led the Lynx to the TSSAA Division II Class A state crown.

Two juniors were honored as fourth five selections in 2018-19: Evan Mobley of Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) and Jalen Johnson of Nicolet (Glendale, Wis.). Mobley moved up to the first team this season and Johnson didn’t play in enough games to be eligible for All-American honors. He was expected to suit up for preseason FAB 50 No. 1 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), but eventually returned to Wisconsin and played a handful of games at the end of the regular season for his original high school.

This year Emoni Bates became the first sophomore to earn first five honors since current NBA superstar LeBron James while at St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) in 2000-01. In the past 26 years under the current selection format Bates and James are the only tenth-graders to earn first five All-American honors and fans are already anticipating a lengthy pro career for Bates.

In 26 years of publishing our annual All-American teams and including our retroactive teams dating back to the 1954-55 season, no freshman has ever been a first team All-American selection. Bates was a second team selection in 2018-19 and the third freshman ever to earn All-American acclaim, joining Marvin Bagley III of Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) in 2014-15 and 6-foot-8, 215-pound man child Wayne McKoy of Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) back in 1973-74.

As is the case every year, some underclass All-Americans will transfer programs and have already made the announcement. Each year, more players are classifying up in order to speed up the recruiting process or join a class that will be more advantageous to their development.

Jalen Duren

6'9" - C - 2021

Sophomore big man Jalen Duren will leave Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) and is headed to defending FAB 50 champ Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.). Sophomore Skyy Clark of Heritage Christian, (Northridge, Calif.) is headed to Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.) while Zion Cruz will leave Hudson Catholic (Hudson, N.J.) to play for Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), where he will be joined by another talented 2022 guard, Dior Johnson from Mayfair (Lakewood, Calif.). Expect more player movement and some more reclassification as the summer rolls on.

National Grassroots Editor Ronnie Flores selects this performance-based squad with input from Mr. Basketball USA panelists. It is chosen after the conclusion of the season, which makes the Underclass All-American Team more reflective of players who made state championship runs.

Our national coach of the year is Thomas Ryan of Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.).

Juniors to Watch (2021)

G — Trey Alexander, Heritage Hall (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 6-4
F — Patrick Baldwin Jr., Hamilton (Sussex, Wis.) 6-8
C — Nate Bittle, Crater (Central Point, Ore.) 6-11
G — Ahamad Bynum, Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) 6-2
G — Kennedy Chandler, Briarcrest Christian (Eads, Tenn.) 6-1
F — Paolo Banchero, O’Dea (Seattle, Wash.) 6-9
F — Kendall Brown, Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Air, Kan.) 6-7
F — Max Christie, Rolling Meadows (Rolling Meadows, Ill.) 6-6
C — Moussa Cisse, Lausanne Collegiate (Memphis, Tenn.) 6-10
G — Zaon Collins, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 6-1
G — Jerdarrian Davison, Calhoun School (Letohatchee, Ala.) 6-3
C — Moussa Diabate, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 6-10
G — Rashool Diggins, Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) 6-1
F — Caleb Furst, Blackhawk Christian (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) 6-10
G — Nolan Hickman, Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.) 6-3
G — Jaden Hardy, Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) 6-5
G — Chucky Hepburn, Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) 6-1
C — Chet Holmgren, Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.) 7-1
F — Daron Holmes, Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) 6-9
G — Jackie Johnson, Wichita Southeast (Wichita, Kan.) 5-10
G — David Jones, Teas Valley Christian Prep (Scott Depot, W. Va.) 6-5
F — Harrison Ingram, St. Mark’s (Dallas, Texas) 6-6
G — Trevor Keels, Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 6-5
F — Trey Kaufman, Silver Creek (Sellersburg, Ind.) 6-9
F — Jonathan Lawson, Wooddale (Memphis, Tenn.) 6-7
F — Aminu Mohammed, Greenwood Laboratory (Springfield, Mo.) 6-5
F — Trey Patterson, Rutgers Prep (Somerset, N.J.) 6-7
G — Daeshon Ruffin, Callaway (Jackson, Miss.) 5-9
G — Hunter Sallis, Millard North (Omaha, Neb.) 6-4
F — Jabari Smith, Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Ga.) 6-9

2020 National Junior of the Year: Patrick Baldwin Jr.

Sophomores to Watch (2022)

G — Amari Bailey, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 6-4
F — Emoni Bates, Lincoln (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 6-8
G — Jaden Bradley, Cannon (Concord, N.C.) 6-2
F — Andre Casey, Tinley Park (Ill.) 6-8
G — Skyy Clark, Heritage Christian, (Northridge, Calif.) 6-3
C — Donovan Clingan, Bristol Central (Bristol, Conn.) 6-10
G — Zion Cruz, Hudson Catholic (Hudson, N.J.) 6-3
F — Gradey Dick, Wichita Collegiate (Wichita, Kan.) 6-6
C — Lee Dort, North Dallas Adventist Academy (Richardson, Texas) 6-10
C — Jalen Duren, Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-9
F — Barry Dunning, McGill-Toolen (Mobile, Ala.) 6-7
G — Keyonte George, Lewisville (Texas) 6-3
G — Rylan Griffen, Richardson (Texas) 6-4
G — Bryce Griggs, Fort Bend Hightower (Missouri City, Texas) 6-1
G — Sterling “Scoota” Henderson, Kell (Marietta, Ga.) 6-2 G
G — Trejuan Holloman, Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 6-0
G — Jalen Hood-Schifino, Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) 6-4
F — Caleb Houstan, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-7
G — Ricky “Pop Pop” Isaacs Jr., Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 6-2
F — Kamari Lands, La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 6-7
G — Desean Lecque, Desert Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.) 6-0
G — Chris Livingston, Western Reserve Academy (Hudson, Ohio) 6-5
G — Fletcher Loyer, Clarkston (Clarkston, Mich.) 6-4
F — Mark Mitchell, Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 6-8
G — Ben Roy, Manasquan (N. J.) 6-1
G — Bruce Thornton, Milton (Ga.) 6-2
G — Milos Uzan, Desert Pines (Las Vegas, Nev.) 6-5
F — Jarace Walker, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 6-6
G — Chance Westry, Trinity (Camp Hill, Pa.) 6-5
F — Kijani Wright, Windward (Los Angeles, Calif.)

2020 National Sophomore of the Year: Emoni Bates

Freshmen to Watch (2023)

F — Omaha Biliew, Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines, Iowa) 6-7
G — Kanaan Carlyle, Milton (Ga.) 6-1
F — Kwame Evans, Poly (Baltimore, Md.) 6-8
C — Baye Fall, Lutheran (Parker, Col.) 6-10
F — Rayvon Griffith, Taft (Cincinnati, Ohio) 6-6
F — Matthew Bewley, Northeast (Oakland Park, Fla.) 6-9
F — Amani Hansberry, St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) 6-7
G — Jaylen Jones, East Nashville (Nashville, Tenn.) 5-9
C — Jalen Lewis, Bishop O’Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 6-8
G — Chris Lockett, Newman (New Orleans, La.) 6-4
F — Mackenzie Mgbako, Gill St. Bernard (Gladstone, N.J.) 6-7
F — Dennis Parker, John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) 6-6
G — Mike Price, Crespi (Encino, Calif.) 6-1
G — D.J. Wagner, Camden (N.J.) 6-2
G — Mikey Williams, San Ysidro (Calif.) 6-3

2020 National Freshman of the Year: D.J. Wagner

National Coach of the Year: Thomas Ryan, Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.).

Note: ESPN selections 2010-2012; EA SPORTS selections 2003-2009; Student Sports selections prior to 2003; Selections are based on high school accomplishment, not future college/pro potential, and are reflective of those that lead their teams to state championships. The editors of www.ebooksnet.com do not knowingly select fifth-year players, and those ineligible due to age or academics, Mr. Basketball USA or to its various All-American teams.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

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Marvin Bagley III

Alexander Paen — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 17:27:00 +0000

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Tarkanian Classic: 5 Things We Learned!

Ronnie Flores — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 23:01:30 +0000

We will watch all five days of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas and these are our five main takeaways from the event. Will Dashien Nix and Marcus Bagley emerge as McDonald's All-Americans? Centennial (Corona, Calif.) used its faced-paced, sprinting style to advance to the Platinum Division championship. And as this tournament has shown, teams with good guards and quality shooting can take down nearly anyone, as Centennial (Corona, Calif.) has advanced to the Platinum Division championship game.

Marcus Bagley Has A Chance
The younger brother of Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III has slowly been getting out from under his older brother's large shadow and he used Tark to completely break out and shine on his own for FAB 50 No. 27 ranked Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.). The 6-foot-8 forward was banged up in Sheldon's 2019 state title quest, but now his legs are lively and he's jumping ability has taken his game to the next level. Bagley can leap vertically and is now throwing down horizontal dunks in the key and in traffic that he wasn't before. He's also getting tremendous lift on his jumper and it keeps defenders on their heels because he's so powerful and bouncy around the basket. Bagley had 28 points in Sheldon's tough 69-63 first round victory over Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) and was the difference-maker in the Huskies' gritty 48-37 quarterfinal victory over Westchester (Los Angeles). With Westchester holding a 31-29 lead, Bagley led a 19-0 run with 17 points, starting with a dunk and including three deep 3-pointers. When it was all over, Bagley had scored 35 of the Huskies' 48 points. When we say he has a chance, we mean to one day make some NBA money like his older brother. We also mean he's should have a real shot at the 2020 McDonald's All-American Game in Houston.

There Is Plenty Of Parity Among Elite Teams
With the possible exception of FAB 50 top-ranked Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), the early results of holiday events around the country show almost any elite team can beat another. There are a couple of reasons. When you look at the Pangos Elite 8 Prep Division alone, you realize how many talented players are toiling on teams not eligible for credible national polls. Just imagine how much better some programs would be if players such as guard Dashien Nix of Trinity International (Las Las Vegas), Tre White and Jerrell Colbert of Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas), Carlos Rosario of Veritas Prep (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.), MarJon Beauchamp and Arthur Kaluma of Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.) and Frankie Collins of AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) among others, were on traditional high school teams. It's easy to understand just how much better public and parochial teams around the West would be if these types of players were on the roster as they likely would have been 15-20 years ago and prior. In the FAB 50, teams below No. 15 simply can beat each other on almost any given night. Another reason is fans often confuse teams with highly nationally ranked players with FAB 50 ranked teams. Not all FAB 50 ranked teams have high-major recruits and not all team with rosters dotted with high majors deserved to be ranked. A good example is Centennial (Corona, Calif.), whose senior leader is Portland St.-bound Paris Dawson, who scored 22 points in the Huskies' 63-53 semifinal win over No. 19 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and scored 59 points through the first three victories. The Huskies play well together and consistently play hard, which is often a much bigger determining factor in high school basketball than elite talent. Other examples of FAB 50 ranked teams with this makeup include No. 3 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.), No. 14 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) and No. 26 Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.).

Small Ball Is All The Rage
When Platinum Division entrant Centennial (Corona, Calif.) defeated preseason No. 21 Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) at its BattleZone tournament, it certainly raised eyebrows. The first question fans and scouts asked as was "how can a team with Evan Mobley lose to a team without a big man?" Mobley is the front-runner for national player of the year (Mr. Basketball USA), so it's a relevant question. The answer we give is, one, guards dominate high school basketball and two, being in shape and sprinting with the ball under control is one of the most valuable aspects of the game at this level and Centennial does it as well as any team we've watched so far. On the other end, Centennial guards the ball with the same energy and stamina. As the Huskies have advanced to the Platinum Division semifinals, perhaps that Rancho Christian result shouldn't be all that surprising. With its relentless style, Centennial also defeated Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) twice (including a 83-48 waxing in the quarterfinals of a team that began No. 41 in the FAB 50), current No. 17 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) in the first round and, of course, No. 19 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in the semifinals. As the Tarkanian and the season wears on, these results might not even be that surprising because Centennial's four-guard attack is that lethal, especially when the guards are shooting well as they did in Las Vegas. Centennial coach Josh Giles has done a terrific job with a team that lost three potential starters to transfer in the off-season. The players he lost, however, don't sprint with the ball, stop and start quite like the guys in the lineup now. Plenty of other teams around this country utilize this style instead of trying to force undersized post players on the floor. Sure, talented players with size are always a plus, but there is a way to beat elite teams with size.

Dashien Nix Can Be As Good As He Wants
The most impressive player at the 2019 Tarkanian Classic likely wasn't in the Platinum, The Eight or from Sierra Canyon, it was a 6-foot-4 point guard from Anchorage, Alaska who attends an independent academy just west of the famous Las Vegas strip. Nix is that player, and he led Trinity International (Las Vegas) to the Pangos Elite 8 Prep Division title with a trio of show-stopping performances. Nix controls the game with his pin-point passing, shot-making ability and strength. Nix just has a court presence and confidence that rubs off on teammates and makes a difference on the court. Nix had 32 points in the 73-65 title game win over a talented AZ Compass Prep (Pheonix) team, had a 40-point outburst in a first round win over Tre White and his team at Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas) and averaged 31 ppg in the eight-team bracket. Nix rates right with Salen Suggs of Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.) and returning National Junior Player of the Year Sharife Cooper of McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) as the nation's top lead guards in the 2020 class. The scary thing is, Nix's room for improvement might be the largest among the trio.

#1 ranked Point guard - UCLA bound Daishen Nix pic.twitter.com/vGq5U4nxPz

— www.ebooksnet.com (@Ballislife) December 20, 2019

There Was Plenty Of 2023 Talent In Vegas
The freshman class is shaping up to be a dynamite group on the West Coast, and nationally, and we had a chance to get a good look at five of them at Bishop Gorman and The Orleans Arena. We'd be remiss to not start off with 6-foot Jared McCain, a sharp-shooting point guard from Centennial (Corona, Calif.), which is the team everybody is talking about among the Platinum bracket. McCain plays with the poise of a seasoned college player and is never rushed or rattled going up against the pressure defense of highly-ranked teams. In the Huskies' 68-64 first round upset win over FAB 50 No. 17 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), which they pulled out after trailing by five points in the final four minutes, McCain hit seven 3-pointers in the second half and had eight for the game en route to a 30-point performance. McCain also had 13 points in Centennial's 83-48 waxing of a good Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) team in the quarterfinals and had 14 big points in the 63-53 semifinal win over No. 19 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). FAB 50 No. 6 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) has 6-foot-1 Bronny James on its roster and he continues to progress and make an impact for California's top-ranked team. The Trailblazers played two showcase games and in a 76-55 victory over No. 47 Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) and James finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting and looked good on the boards and setting up teammates. His playing time is a bit inconsistent on a loaded roster and the next night in a 66-44 win over Northeast (Oakland Park, Fla.) Bronny on attempted one field goal. Northeast has twin freshmen that really turned heads in Las Vegas: Matthew Bewley (6-8) and Ryan Bewley (6-9). Both drew plenty of attention and right now its Matthew who is a bit more advanced, as he can face up and handle and is more of a perimeter threat. Ryan works underneath more often and is springy on the glass. Both brothers are thoroughbreds up and down the court and Matthew can also defend multiple positions on the perimeter. Matthew reminds us a bit of a combination of 2000 Mr. Basketball USA Darius Miles (who was the No. 3 pick of that year's NBA Draft) and 1993 high school All-American Jerald Honeycutt. A couple other freshmen who's had an impact and is one to track for the rest of the season is 6-foot-8 Jalen Lewis of Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) and 6-foot-1 Sebastian Mack of Durango (Las Vegas, Nev.).

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

Daimion Collins

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2010's All-Decade All-American Team Shows Globalization of HSBB!

Ronnie Flores — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:24:21 +0000

Finding the high school player of the decade for the 2010's took a little more digging than the previous decade. While at ESPN, it didn’t take a team of observers or even much thought to choose St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) wunderkind LeBron James as the 2000's Player of the Decade. In fact, the only worthy discussion at the time lay in how James compared to the best players from previous decades.

Not only did the 225-pound point forward and 2003 SVSM graduate live up to the tremendous hype surrounding him, he transcended high school sports and became a cultural phenomenon during his senior year. James’ high school accomplishments and legacy clearly resonates through the current state of high school basketball and its elite players. High school players have never enjoyed a bigger spotlight than today and the biggest factor, along with the improvement of hand-held technology that makes social media thrive, is commonplace national television exposure thanks to James.

The elites at many perennial FAB 50 powers are household names while still in high school. This has resulted in players from all over the country, and now the world, wanting to attend schools that regularly appear on television and in the weekly national rankings. Just as the 1992 Dream Team helped globalize professional basketball, the globalization created by the desire to play on high school basketball’s biggest stage is clearly reflected on the Ballislife All-Decade All-American Team for the 2010s.

While at Box Hill (Melbourne, Australia), the college a young Ben Simmons was mostly familiar with was Duke, whose games on ESPN in 2018-19 drew more average viewers (2.23 million) than NBA broadcasts (just under 2) on the same network and its mother station, ABC. At the 2012 Pangos All-American Camp in Southern California, Simmons’ first exposure to American Grassroots basketball he told us he knew about Duke and not much about any other college. When Simmons left Box Hill for the states in 2013, he landed at a school that, at the time, was quickly becoming a go-to destination for elite players: Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)

As a result of his skill level, production and playing a big role in Montverde Academy winning three consecutive FAB 50 national titles (2013-15), today Simmons has been named the Ballislife Player of the Decade and headlines our 30-man All-Decade All-American Elite Team for the 2010s.

After moving to Florida in January 2013, Simmons helped the Eagles overcome two regular season losses to capture the 2013 ESPN NHSI tournament (now GEICO Nationals) with a 67-65 come-from-behind title game victory over St. Benedict’s (Newark, N.J.). On a team led by point guard Kasey Hill (Florida), shooting guard D’Angelo Russell (Ohio St.) and post Dakari Johnson (Kentucky), Simmons made all three of his field goals, and finished with six points, four rebounds and three assists in the championship game.

In his junior campaign, Simmons teamed with Russell (who was seriously considered for All-Decade accolades) to lead the Eagles to another GEICO Nationals title. Ironically, the star of that 2012 Pangos Camp played a big role in handing Montverde Academy its only on-court loss of the 2013-14 season. That player was center Cliff Alexander and he had 30 points, 12 rebounds and five bocks in a 73-69 come-from-behind win by Curie (Chicago) that was later forfeited. That dominant performance, and some stellar showings on the post-season all-star circuit, allowed Alexander to clip Simmons, and All-Decade selections Stanley Johnson and Jahlil Okafor for Mr. Basketball USA honors.

In his senior season, Simmons didn’t have as strong as supporting cast, but it seemed at times he willed the Eagles to victory against stellar national competition. He capped his Montverde Academy career with a 20-point, 11-rebound, six assist performance in a 70-61 victory over Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) at Madison Square Garden to win an unprecedented third straight GEICO Nationals crown.

Simmons had 13 points in the fourth period against Oak Hill Academy (the team Montverde Academy also defeated in the 2014 title game) and for the season averaged 27.1 ppg, 11.6 rpg, and 5.3 apg for a 31-1 club. Simmons’ domination led him to be the first consensus Mr. Basketball USA since James. He was a bonafide national player of the year candidate for two years running and the fact he also finished his career No.2 in points (145), No. 1 in rebounds (88) and No. 2 in assists (31) all-time at GEICO Nationals helped secure his status at the decade’s best all-around player.

When All-Decade choice Andrew Wiggins of Huntington Prep (Huntington, W. Va.) was named Mr. Basketball USA in 2013, it marked only the second time overall a foreign-born talent had earned the nation’s highest individual honor. 1990's All-Decade performer Felipe Lopez of now defunct Rice (New York) via the Dominican Republic was the first in 1994. R.J. Barrett enrolled at Montverde Academy the season after Simmons graduated and when the All-Decade choice was named 2018 Mr. Basketball USA, it marked the third time in six seasons the nation’s top individual performer was foreign-born. Like Wiggins, Barrett is Canadian.

Consistent exposure that James (and HD video cameras) helped create led to the globalization of elite high school basketball over the past decade. The competition level has never been better and the path to with a mythical national title never more difficult.

2010's Ballislife All-Decade All-American Elite Team

Editor's note: Based on high school accomplishment and the annual All-American Elite Team selections of the past 10 years. All players must have been chosen first five All-Americans to be eligible for this team. If all five first players were chosen, then second five All-Americans were given consideration. The criteria was to evaluate all high school accomplishment, not just senior year accolades, and extra consideration was given to players who were All-Americans more than once. Those considered fifth-year players in their final year of high school competition were not considered. Players are listed by year of graduation and the position they played in high school.

FIRST TEAM

First Five

G — Lonzo Ball, Chino Hills (Calif.) 6-6, Class of 2016

Our 2016 Mr. Basketball USA was one of the most unique talents of the decade. There were conventional players more efficient in terms of shooting percentage and style of play, but some of the skill Ball possessed only comes around once every ten years. A pinpoint passer all 84 feet of the court with uncanny rebounding ability for a true point guard, Ball was a two-time All-American (third five as a junior). The 2016 Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball honoree and a two-time Division I State Player of the Year, Ball recorded a state record 25 triple-doubles for the unbeaten 35-0 FAB 50 national champs and finished his senior season with averages of 23.9 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 11.7 apg, 5.1 spg, and 2.0 bpg. Ball finished his four-year career with 2,522 points, 1,204 rebounds, 1,214 assists (state No. 1 all-time) and 592 steals (state No. 2 all-time).

G — Kyrie Irving, St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) 6-2, Class of 2010

It was difficult to separate Irving and Ball, arguably the two most talented and productive lead guards of the 2010's. Ball had two monster seasons statistically and won a FAB 50 national crown and even though Irving didn’t have as much team success, his individual skill is too hard to ignore. In some showcase games, Irving simply looked like he came down a level from college with his ability to handle the ball and score. As a senior, he stepped out of the shadows of former teammate Dexter Strickland and fellow All-Decade teammate Mike Kidd-Gilchrist to average 24.5 ppg, 6.5 apg, and 4.5 rpg for a 24-3 team that finished No. 7 in the FAB 50. The Gatorade State Player of the Year in 2010 (Kidd-Gilchrist was the winner as a sophomore the prior season), Irving scored over 2,100 career points and capped his career with a MVP performance at the Jordan Brand Classic.

F — Harrison Barnes, Ames (Iowa) 6-7, Class of 2010

Wings were by far the deepest position of the decade and that’s where the deepest discussion lay to sort through the glut of talented forwards. When Barnes gradated from Ames high school, there was little doubt he was the most well-rounded player in his class and he ended up one of the most polished of the decade. After all, there was a reason he was voted preseason A.P. College Player of the Year in 2010-11 before ever playing a single game for North Carolina. He was extremely productive at the high school level, leading the Little Cyclones to repeat, unbeaten Class 4A state titles and a winning streak of 53 games. As a senior, Barnes averaged 26.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg and 3.6 apg for the No. 10 ranked team in the FAB 50. For his career, Barnes was a two-time All-American (third five as a junior) and was a three-time all-state choice who finished with 1,787 career points.

F — Ben Simmons, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-9, Class of 2015

Our 2010's Player of the Decade. As a senior, Simmons was the first Mr. Basketball USA consensus choice since LeBron James 12 years earlier. He played on teams that won three consecutive mythical national titles and was the difference maker in the big games for two seasons. As a junior, Simmons averaged 22.7 points and 9.5 rebounds for a team that lost once on-court against arguably the nation’s toughest schedule. As a senior, he was even better, as he dropped 27.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. A two-time first five All-American selection, Simmons’ dominance over his peers from a team perspective cannot be underestimated.

C — DeAndre Ayton, Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) 7-0, Class of 2017

After first seeing the Bahamian native at the 2012 Pangos Jr. All-American Camp, it was evident the eighth-grader had a chance to be a dominant force at the highest levels of the game. By his sophomore season, it was clear Ayton was the most talented post player regardless of class in the country. He was a three-time All-American (the first since Kidd-Gilchrist and Austin Rivers in 2009-11) and made the first five twice after making second five as a sophomore. After averaging 29.2 ppg, 16.7 rpg and 3.8 bpg as a junior, Ayton used his rare combination of size, coordination and athleticism to lead Hillcrest Prep in Arizona to a 33-6 mark and to the Under Armour Grind Session championship as a senior while averaging 26 ppg, 15 rpg and 3.5 bpg.

Second Five

G — R.J. Barrett, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-7, Class of 2018

After Simmons graduated, the bar was set extremely high for the Eagles’ next superstar player. In order to be mentioned in the same breath with Montverde Academy’s other star players (Hill, Russell, Simmons, etc.) Barrett knew going into his final season he needed to lead his team to a FAB 50 title. After earning fourth five All-American honors and being named National Sophomore of the Year for 2016-17, Barrett re-classified up to the 2018 class. He had two fantastic seasons for the Eagles, as he was the team’s leading scorer as a freshman and averaged 22 points and 7 rebounds in his second season. It all came together in 2017-18, as Barrett completed his career quest of leading the Eagles to the FAB 50 title. The southpaw power guard averaged 28.7 ppg for a 36-0 club that won 15 games against FAB 50 or previously ranked foes. Another notch that pushed our 2018 Mr. Basketball USA to All-Decade second five status was averaging 26.7 ppg in three wins at GEICO Nationals to seal the title and scoring an event record 177 points (22.1 ppg) in eight games.

G — Kyle Anderson, St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) 6-8, Class of 2011

Likely the surprise pick on the All-Decade team for many, until one closely examines the criteria. Yes, Anderson was official runner-up to good friend Shabazz Muhammad for 2012 Mr. Basketball USA honors, but Muhammad was compared to the wings and forwards in the All-Decade deliberations, whereas Anderson was evaluated against the group of guards on the board, because, despite his 6-foot-8 frame, Anderson's approach to the game was that of a point guard. Winning on a national level was also a strong factor in the selection process and “Slow Mo” was one of the biggest winners of the decade. In fact, he didn't play in a losing game his last two seasons with the 65-0 Friars. St. Anthony won the mythical national title his junior year and what he did in the Friars’ huge 62-45 win over then No. 1 St. Patrick (in one of the biggest No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdowns of the decade) illustrated his impact at the high school level. He had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals while helping to limit Kidd-Gilchrist to 7 points. A three-time all-stater, Anderson averaged 14.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 3.9 apg as a senior when the Friars went 32-0 with a repeat New Jersey TOC crown and No. 3 FAB 50 ranking.

F — Jayson Tatum, Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 6-8, Class of 2016

One of the most gifted scorers of the decade, Tatum was the third legitimate Mr. Basketball USA candidate his senior year along with fellow All-Decade choice Josh Jackson and eventual honoree Lonzo Ball. Tatum averaged 29 ppg, 9 rpg, 3 apg and 2 spg for a 27-5 team that finished No. 15 in the FAB 50. In his final game at Chaminade, Tatum exploded for 40 points and 14 rebounds, as the program win its first Missouri Class 5 state title. Winning that title and breaking the school scoring record held by the player in consideration for a spot on second or third five (Bradley Beal) was the reason for Tatum landing this high. Tatum was also the first four-time Metro Catholic Conference Player of the Year and a three-time Gatorade State Player of the Year.

F — Stanley Johnson, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 6-7, Class of 2014

Arguably the decade’s ultimate winner, Johnson kept adding wrinkles to his game and improving his team’s fortunes each of his four seasons. As a result, Johnson led the Monarchs to a 135-7 record in his four-year career and to four state titles, the first player ever to accomplish that feat in the CIF’s highest classification. A third five All-American as a junior, Johnson was a two-time D1 State Player of the Year and a finalist for Mr. Basketball USA as a senior. What secured his nod to this team was expanding his game as a senior to handle point guard duties and facilitating on a team that lost a starter after school started. Johnson averaged 25.1 ppg, 8.1 rbg, 3.1 apg and the Monarchs were still able to go 35-0 and finish No. 2 in the FAB 50 behind Montverde Academy in a close call. Johnson is the greatest player ever to don a Mater Dei uniform.

F — Jabari Parker, Simeon (Chicago) 6-8, Class of 2013

We didn’t get a true post on the second five, but just as he did in his lone season at Duke, Parker can play inside if need be. One of the most decorated players of the decade, Parker was a Sports Illustrated cover subject in May 2012 and one of the few to receive the “Best Since LeBron” tag. Although Wiggins edged Parker for Mr. Basketball USA honors as a senior due to a slow start from lingering injuries, he joined Johnson as a four-time state champion in the largest classification of a power state (Class 4A). He had a strong close to his senior season, which included a 29-point, 13-rebound performance over third five choice Jahlil Okafor and Whitney Young in a sectional title game. Parker went 118-15 in his four seasons at Simeon and was the 2012 Gatorade National Player of the Year as a junior. He was also the first non-senior to be named Illinois Mr. Basketball and the first freshman ever to start full-time at Simeon.

Third Five

G — Trae Young, Norman North (Norman, Okla.) 6-2, Class of 2017

His monster senior season made Young the third true point guard to earn a berth on this All-Decade team. Young made second team All-American as a junior, but made a big jump up is his final season at Norman North. Prior to his spectacular senior season, Young and fellow All-Decade choice Michael Porter Jr. led Mokan Elite to the 2016 Nike EYBL title while avenging 27.0 ppg and 7.3 apg. A two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year, Young averaged 42.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists for a 19-6 club. He goes down as one of the best players ever from Oklahoma along with the likes of 1982 Mr. Basketball USA Waymon Tisdale, Richard Dumas (1987), Wilfred Boynes (1975) and Alvin Adams (1973).

G — Austin Rivers, Winter Park (Winter Park, Fla.) 6-4, Class of 2011

This shooting guard spot came down to Rivers and Beal, and in the end Rivers’ three-time All-American status and performances in big games were too hard to ignore. He opened eyes as a sophomore when he scored 120 points against four nationally-ranked teams at the City of Palms Classic in Florida, including 46 against Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler. Rivers was named to the COP all-tourney team three times and as back-to-back Class 6A state champs, his team played in GEICO Nationals twice, where he averaged an event record 31.3 ppg in three tourney games. A two-time state player of the year, Rivers averaged 28.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg and 2.8 apg against a challenging national schedule as a senior and the three-time all-stater finished with 2,957 career points.

F — Zion Williamson, Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, S.C.) 6-7, Class of 2018

A two-time All-American (second five as a junior), Zion was tailor made for this decade, as his breath-taking dunks and gravity-defying defensive plays we captured in HD camera and spread in real time on social media every single game. One of the most viral players of the “Mixtape Decade," Williamson is one of the most explosive talents the high school game has ever seen. What kept him off the second five (next to classmate R.J. Barrett) was a general lack of national level competition and missing nine games because of various injuries as a senior. As a junior, Williamson averaged 36.8 ppg, 13 rpg and netted 51 points in a state title game win. As a senior, Williamson led Spartanburg Day School to a third consecutive SCISA Class 2A state title and a 20-8 mark, which five of those defeats he did not play in. For the season, he averaged 36.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.4 bpg and 3.6 spg while shooting 78 percent from the field and finished his career with 3,202 points (32.0 ppg), 1,131 rebounds (11.3 rpg), 304 steals (3.0 spg) and 293 blocks (2.9 bpg).

F — Michael Porter Jr., Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) 6-9, Class of 2017

Similar to his good friend and travel ball teammate Trae Young, Porter moved up from second team All-American status as a junior with a monster senior season. After leading Falter Tolton (Columbia, Mo.) to a MSHAA Class 3 state title as a junior, Porter topped that by winning a Class 3A title in Washington while averaging 37.6 ppg, 14.5 rpg and 5.2 apg. He led Hale to a 29-0 season and FAB 50 national title, including a 27-point, 15-rebound, 4-steal, 3-assist performance in a key win over all-Decade talent Marvin Bagley, III (who only played his freshman and junior year of high school) of Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon, the club that handed No. 2 La Lumiere its only loss of the season. Hale was the first team ever from Washington to win a mythical national title and Porter the first ever player from the Pacific Northwest named Mr. Basketball USA.

C — Jahlil Okafor, Whitney Young (Chicago) 6-11, Class of 2014

The last post spot on this five came down to three Chicago big men: Anthony Davis, Cliff Alexander and Okafor. Davis was the easiest to eliminate because he didn’t have much team success and wasn’t even known outside of Illinois prior to a late growth spurt and excellent 2010 spring and summer. Davis’ high school team also finished 6-18 his senior year despite his obvious budding talent. Alexander put together one of the most dominant single-game performances of the decade versus Montverde Academy and out-played Okafor in the 2014 Chicago Public League title game, but we give the nod to the Whitney Young standout because he had the most productive career of the three. Although Alexander was Mr. Basketball USA, Okafor was Player of the Year by Parade, USA Today and McDonald’s and was a serious national player of the year candidate for two seasons. In 2013, he led the Dolphins to the CPL title over Simeon and was named Chicago Sun Times POY as a junior over Jabari Parker.

Second Team

(listed alphabetically)

? C — Cliff Alexander, Curie (Chicago) 6-9, Class of 2014

? G — Cole Anthony, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 6-3, Class of 2019

? G — Bradley Beal, Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 6-5, Class of 2011

? F — Jaylen Brown, Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 6-7, Class of 2015

? F — Anthony Davis, Perspectives Charter (Chicago) 6-10, Class of 2011

? G — De'Aaron Fox, Cypress Lakes (Katy, Texas) 6-4, Class of 2016

? F — Aaron Gordon, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 6-8, Class of 2013

? F — Mike Kidd-Gilchrist, St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) 6-8, Class of 2011

? F — Josh Jackson, Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) 6-8, Class of 2016

? G — Brandon Knight, Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 6-3, Class of 2010

? G — Romeo Langford, New Albany (New Albany, Ind.) 6-4, Class of 2018

? F — Shabazz Muhammad, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 6-6, Class of 2012

? C — Jared Sullinger, Northland (Columbus, Ohio) 6-9, Class of 2010

? F — Andrew Wiggins, Huntington Prep (Huntington, W. Va.) 6-7, Class of 2013

? G — Nigel Williams-Goss, Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 6-3, Class of 2013

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Donovan Mitchell Shows Off Bounce in Intense USA Basketball Scrimmage!

Arek Kissoyan — Thu, 08 Aug 2019 21:10:42 +0000

USA Basketball scrimmage got intense today as Team USA took the USA Select team. The Select Team held their own against the main squad, with Trae Young, Marvin Bagley, Derrick White and others looking like they belong!

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35 Greatest Recruiting Classes Of All Time

Devin Ugland — Wed, 22 May 2019 19:44:54 +0000

When Top 15 recruit and five star forward Precious Achiuwa of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) announced last week that he would attend Memphis in the fall, it immediately boosted the Tigers’ seven player haul to the top-ranked recruiting class in the country.

Achiuwa joins the No. 1 player in the country, James Wiseman (Memphis East), and four-star recruits Boogie Ellis (San Diego Mission Bay), D.J. Jeffries (Olive Branch, MS), Lester Quinones (IMG Academy, FL), Malcolm Dandridge (Memphis East) and Damion Baugh (Tennessee Prep).

Penny Hardaway’s squad will perform on the court, so we can't yet say if it's an all-time recruiting job, but his efforts got myself and my colleague Ronnie Flores on the discussion of the greatest recruiting classes of all time. So we started to dig, and dig, and dig some more.

Some 36 hours later, we had a list of 35 of the all-time great recruiting classes dating back to 1965 for your enjoyment, beginning with UCLA’s class of 1965.

*The list takes into consideration not only the player rankings in those respective classes (listed by number) by the most credible?recruiting lists we?could find, but also what immediate impact the class had during its time in college hoops.?College freshman were first eligible for varsity competition in the 1972-73 season. Classes are listed in chronological order.

1965 UCLA Bruins

Class: Lew Alcindor (aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Lucius Allen, Lynn Shackelford, Kenny Heitz

Impact:?The freshman team, led by these four first-year guys, blew out the varsity team, 75-60, in the inaugural game inside of Pauley Pavilion. Alcindor, Allen, Shackelford and Heitz spent their first season competing against other freshman teams and junior college programs, winning those games by an average of 57 points in front of massive crowds. All four moved into the starting lineup as sophomores and ran off three straight national championships led by Alcindor, arguably the greatest college player ever.

1970 UCLA Bruins

Class: Bill Walton, Jamaal Wilkes, Greg Lee, Tommy Curtis, Vince Carson

Impact: The eventual best player in college basketball, Walton, and the rest of this class had to play freshman ball in 1971 and showed just how good they were as sophomores by going 30-0 and winning the ’72 title over Florida State. UCLA won it again in ’73 over Memphis, but fell to NC State in the ’74 Final Four in the last season of this storied class.

1972 Indiana Hoosiers

Class: Quinn Buckner, Scott May, Tom Abernethy, Jim Crews

Impact: This wasn’t an immediate satisfaction class, but it produced long-term success. May was academically ineligible in the 1972-73 season, but his ability was on full display during his sophomore year.?Bucker actually was an immediate impact freshman (10.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg) on a team that advanced?the the NCAA Final Four.?The Hoosiers went 31-1 in 1974-75 and lost to Kentucky in the regional finals, before going 32-0 in 1975-76, winning the national title over Michigan, 86-68. The ’75-76 Indiana squad is the last team in college basketball to finish a season undefeated.

1978 Louisville Cardinals

Class: Jerry Eaves, Scooter McCray, Wiley Brown, Derek Smith, Poncho Wright

Impact: After recruiting National Player of the Year Darrell Griffith and?Bobby Turner out of Louisville's Male High School in 1976, coach Denny?Crum missed out on big targets like Albert King and Magic Johnson in 1977?and didn’t bring in much of note that fall.?He needed to hit big going into?the 1979 season to surround Griffith with enough talent to make a run at?the program’s third Final Four in the Crum era. Although he didn’t land a?superstar, he brought in excellent depth and a gem in McRay, who was?joined a year later by his younger brother Rodney out of Mt. Vernon, N.Y.?Scooter and Smith were impact players and Eaves and Brown were good role?players as freshman. Even without Turner and an injured Scooter, who was?never the same after his freshman year, Smith and Brown stepped up around?Griffith to develop the program its first NCAA title in 1980. This deep?class made up the core of the team that made another NCAA Final Four?appearance in 1982.

1979 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Sam Bowie (3), Derrick Hord (5), Dirk Minniefield (20), Charles Hurt (36)

Impact: Bowie and Hord came in as top five recruits and the 7-foot-1 Bowie averaged 12.9 points and eight rebounds per game as a freshman, but battled injuries throughout his career. Hord, Minniefield and Hurt were all solid pieces during their four year careers, but weren’t apart of the 1984 team which lost in the National Semifinals to Georgetown in Bowie’s fifth year.

1979 UCLA Bruins

Class: Darren Daye (9), Rod Foster (28), Michael Holton (43), Cliff Pruitt (95)

Impact: These four UCLA freshmen teamed with senior Kiki Vandeweghe to advance all the way to the NCAA title game, where it lost to Louisville led by Darrell Griffith. Larry Brown left for the NBA and left the program on probation in his wake and this group never achieved the projections set for it.

1982 Duke Blue Devils

Class: Johnny Dawkins (11), Mark Alarie (43), Weldon Williams (62), Jay Bilas?(74), David Henderson, Bill Jackman

Impact: After a rough second year in Durham 10-17, many fans were calling?for coach Mike Krzyzewski’s head, but this is the class that turned things?around. Sure, Duke went 11-17 in 1982-83, but it also saw Dawkins (18.1?ppg) develop into arguably the most important recruit in school history?and the player that started a Duke dynasty that won five NCAA?championships in the Coach K era. Alarie (10 ppg, 6.5 rpg), Henderson (9.1?ppg) and Bilas (8.8 rpg) were also impact freshmen and this group made up?the core of the team that advanced to the first Final Four in the?Krzyzewski era, losing to Louisville in the 1986 NCAA title game.

1985 Louisville Cardinals

Class: Tony Kimbro (4), Pervis Ellison (17), Kenny Payne (22), Keith Williams, Avery Marshall

Impact: After winning the 1980 NCAA title and advancing to the 1982 and?1983 NCAA Final Four, it looked like Denny Crum’s proud program wasn’t on?that level anymore after going 19-18 in 1985. A big reason for that was?senior guard Wilt Wagner had to take a red-shirt for an injury. Similar to?Scooter McCray in ’78 and Lancaster Gordon and Charles Jones in '80, Crum?found another Southern gem in Ellison. "Never Nervous” Pervis teamed up?with Wagner to lead the Cardinals to their second NCAA title in seven?seasons in 1986 and the Savannah, Ga. product was the first freshman ever?named MOP of the NCAA Tournament. Kimbro was a three-year starer and Payne?scored nearly 15 ppg as a senior.

1986 Syracuse Orange

Class: Derrick Coleman (6), Earl Duncan (15), Stephen Thompson (36), Keith Hughes, Matt Roe

Impact: Pearl Washington, a New York City playground legend, and cable?television, made Syracuse a household name in the mid 1980s and coach Jim?Boeheim used that to bring in some excellent recruiting classes around?that time. Although Washington left a season early for the NBA in 1986,?Syracuse’s recruiting class that season help the program get over the hump?and advance to its first NCAA Final Four, where it lost to Indiana in the?title game. Coleman (11.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg) starred immediately, Thompson was?a terrific four-year standout and Duncan (after sitting out as a Prop 48)?and Roe became valuable contributors on NCAA tournament teams after their?freshman seasons.

1988 Georgetown Hoyas

Class: Alonzo Mourning (1), Milton Bell (28), Ronny Thompson, Dikembe?Mutombo, John Turner (JUCO)

Impact: We were tempted to place the 1981 Georgetown class with No.?1 player Patrick Ewing, but we decided to place another John Thompson haul?with a No. 1 national player, Mourning (13.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg). What makes?this class unique is the emergence of Mutombo, a Congo native who attended?Georgetown on a USAID scholarship and spoke basically no English when he?arrived. Although Bell eventually transferred and Turner dropped out,?Mourning made the Hoyas a forced to be reckoned with right away as they?advanced to the Elite Eight and they were quite competitive with the Twin?Towers underneath for the next two seasons after that.

1989 Indiana Hoosiers

Class: Lawrence Funderburke (7), Pat Graham (15), Calbert Cheaney (31), Greg Graham (36), Chris Lawson (76)

Impact: This class was met with a lot of fanfare, especially with thoughts of pairing Funderburke with Bobby Knight, but the fun didn’t last long. Funderburke only lasted six games before transferring to Ohio State after he butted heads with coach Knight. Pat and Greg Graham were solid pieces, but Calbert Cheaney ended up being the gem of that Hoosiers’ class. Cheaney led Indiana to the 1992 Final Four and was the 1993 NCAA Player of the Year as a senior.

1990 North Carolina Tar Heels

Class: Eric Montross (2), Clifford Rozier (5), Derrick Phelps (12), Brian Reese (13)

Impact: All four played roles in their first seasons in Chapel Hill as UNC went to the Final Four in 1991, falling to Kansas, 79-73. Montross ended up leading the Tar Heels in scoring during their run to the 1993 NCAA national title where they defeated the next recruiting class on our list. Rozier ended up transferring to Louisville where he became an All-American, while Reese (11.3 points per game) and Phelps (8.1 ppg) started and played major roles in the title run.

1991 Michigan Wolverines

Class: Chris Webber (1), Juwan Howard (3), Jalen Rose (6), Jimmy King (9), Ray Jackson (76)

Impact: There is no class more highly publicized and analyzed than the famed Fab Five. Webber, Howard, Rose and King were McDonald’s All-Americans, and in fact, played on the same Mickey D’s team. The Wolverines reached back-to-back National Championship games in 1992 and 1993, but fell to Duke and North Carolina, respectively. One of the more interesting facts about this team is it never won a Big Ten championship.

1993 North Carolina Tar Heels

Class: Jerry Stackhouse (2), Rasheed Wallace (3), Jeff McInnis (26)

Impact: Stackhouse and Wallace were considered two of the top three players in the country along with Randy Livingston (LSU), while McInnis rounded out the trio of McDonald's All-Americans. Stackhouse and Wallace took some time away from returning starters Phelps and Reese and UNC faltered in the 1994 NCAA Tournament, falling in the second round to ninth-seeded Boston College.

1994 Michigan Wolverines

Class: Jerod Ward (3), Willie Mitchell (16), Maceo Baston (17), Maurice Taylor?(18), Travis Conlan

Impact: After Michigan’s Fab Five took college basketball by storm in?1992-93, Coach Steve Fisher had the hottest program in the country in the?mid 1990s. He parlayed that info fine recruiting classes in ’94 and ’95.?The ’94 group was labeled Fab Five II, but because leading recruit Ward?never developed as advertised, the program never returned to the NCAA?Final Four before facing NCAA sanctions at the end of the Fisher era.?Still, the 1994 group was productive in Ann Arbor, especially Taylor (12.4?ppg) and Baston, bookend forwards who were more tough than flashy in comparison to?their predecessors on the frontline.

1997 Duke Blue Devils

Class: Chris Burgess (1), Elton Brand (6), Shane Battier (7), William Avery (51)

Impact: Brand, Battier and Burgess were all McDonald’s All-American’s in 1997. Brand came in as an immediate double-double threat, averaging 13.4 points and 7.3 rebounds as a freshman. Avery (8.5 points), Battier (7.6) and Burgess (4.3) were strong supporting actors as freshmen. Duke lost to Kentucky in the Elite Eight in 1998, then fell to Connecticut in the 1999 National Championship game. Brand, a sophomore, led the team in scoring and rebounding that season and was the No. 1 pick in the 1999 NBA Draft by Chicago, while Avery went No. 14 to Minnesota.

1998 UCLA Bruins

Class: Dan Gadzuric (5), JaRon Rush (10), Ray Young (16), Matt Barnes (39), Jerome Moiso

Impact: Rush (11.4 points), Moiso (10.8 points) and Gadzuric (8.6 points) all showed early promise as long-term prospects, but things just didn’t click. The team didn’t meet expectations under Steve Lavin and Ray Young’s career didn’t pan out as most expected. The Bruins made a couple of decent NCAA Tournament runs, but the payer rankings of this group didn’t meet the on-court production.

1999 Kansas Jayhawks

Class: Nick Collison (22), Drew Gooden (26), Kirk Hinrich (46)

Impact: This class wasn’t as highly-touted as many on this list, but it was extremely productive. All three were immediate impact players as freshmen, Collison and Gooden both averaging double-figure scoring in their first season. All three of these recruits were on the 2001-02 team which lost to Maryland in the national semifinals, while Collison and Hinrich were on the squad which lost to Syracuse in the 2003 National Championship game.

2002 Illinois Fightin’ Illini

Class: Dee Brown (19), Deron Williams (38), James Augustine (87)

Impact: Bill Self brought in this class before he left for the Kansas job and the rankings of Brown, Williams and Augustine wouldn’t lend one to believe that this class belongs on the list, but the long-term impact of this trio earned it a spot. All three started from nearly every game their inaugural year and the rapport they built helped them reach the 2005 National Championship game under Bruce Pearl. Illinois lost to North Carolina, 75-70. One honorable mention recruiting class was Lou Henson’s haul in 1986 of Nick Anderson, Steve Bardo, Kendall Gill, Ervin Small and Larry Smith, but because of Prop 48 restrictions, Anderson and Small didn’t play their freshman season.

2002 North Carolina Tar Heels

Class: Raymond Felton (3), Sean May (6), Rashad McCants (8), David Noel

Impact: This trio had a rough start as all were thrust into starting roles under coach Matt Doherty. The 2002-03 Tar Heels went 19-16 overall, 6-10 in the ACC, and missed the NCAA Tournament. Doherty was out after that season and Roy Williams took over and turned the ship around. UNC won the 2005 NCAA Title over Illinois behind the production of McCants, May and Felton.

2002 Syracuse Orange

Class: Carmelo Anthony (1), Gerry McNamara (21)

Impact: This class is important for obvious reasons. Anthony opted to go to college instead of the NBA and the rest is history. Melo immediately became the premier scorer in the country and led the Orange to the 2003 NCAA National Championship. McNamara may have been the overlooked piece to this puzzle, but his 13.3 points per game and consistent long-range shooting was instrumental in Syracuse’s success. Some include Billy Edelin in this class, but he was a 2001 high school graduate who missed his freshman season due to suspension.

2004 Florida Gators

Class: Corey Brewer (29), Al Horford (48), Joakim Noah (67), Taurean Green (70)

Impact: This group didn’t look as good on paper as many on this list, but winning followed wherever it went. They all bought in to each other and coach Billy Donovan’s system which led to it being the last group to win back-to-back NCAA titles. The Gators took down UCLA in 2006 and a great Ohio State team in 2007. Noah, Horford, Brewer and Green all shared the wealth, averaging between 12 and 13.3 points per game in their junior seasons.?

2005 Kansas Jayhawks

Class: Julian Wright (7), Brandon Rush (13), Mario Chalmers (14), Micah Downs (33)

Impact: Rush started every game his freshman year, while Chalmers and Wright eventually played their way into starting roles. The Jayhawks fell to UCLA in the 2007 Elite Eight in this group’s sophomore year, but after Wright left for the NBA and Downs transferred to Gonzaga, Chalmers and Rush helped Kansas win a National Championship in 2008 over Memphis. Chalmers famously hit the game-winning shot.

2006 Ohio State Buckeyes

Class: Greg Oden (1), Daequan Cook (21), Mike Conley (28), David Lighty (41), Othello Hunter (JUCO)

Impact: This class was truly considered one of the best ever led by generational center, Greg Oden, who developed into the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Oden averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds in his freshman campaign, while Conley (11.3, 6.1 assists) and Cook (9.8) took on big time roles as well. Ohio State made a run to the 2007 National Championship game where it fell to Florida.

2006 North Carolina Tar Heels

Class: Ty Lawson (3), Wayne Ellington (4), Brandan Wright (5), Alex Stepheson (62), Deon Thompson (80)

Impact: This class was top heavy for Roy Williams with Lawson, Ellington and Wright floating around the top 10 among the various rankings. Those three stepped in and contributed immediately, while Thompson and Stepheson played more complimentary roles. Wright went one-and-done, but the other four remained to help the Tar Heels made a Final Four run in 2008. Stepheson then transferred to USC and Ellington, Lawson and Thompson won a National Championship in 2009 over Michigan State.

2006 Texas Longhorns

Class: Kevin Durant (2), D.J. Augustin (17), Damion James (23), Dexter Pittman?(68)

Impact: Coach Rick Barnes used his connections with Montrose Christian?(Rockville, Md.) coach Stu Vetter to secure the services of Durant, the?nation’s No. 2 recruit behind Greg Oden who turned in one of the greatest?freshman seasons in NCAA history (25.8 ppg, 11.1 rpg) before being the No.?2 pick of the 2007 NBA Draft behind the same player. Barnes' haul also?included D.J. Augustin (14.4 ppg, 6.7 apg), the underrated James (7.6 ppg,?7. 2 rpg) and a fourth eventual NBA player and four-year contributor in?Pittman.

2009 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: John Wall (1), DeMarcus Cousins (3), Daniel Orton (15), Eric Bledsoe (23), Jon Hood (40), Darnell Dodson (JUCO)

Impact: John Calipari wasted no time bringing in big-time talent at Kentucky. Cal snagged five players in the top 40 and a four-star junior college transfer in Dodson. The Wildcats lost to West Virginia in the Elite Eight, then lost Wall, Cousins, Orton and Bledsoe to the NBA. It was considered a big disappointment.?

2010 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Enes Kanter (3), Brandon Knight (6), Terrence Jones (13), Doron Lamb (21)

Impact: Kanter didn’t end up playing in his short stay at Kentucky and the Wildcats still managed to make a Final Four run. Knight (17.3 points), Jones (15.7) and Lamb (12.3) were the catalysts on that 2010-11 team which fell to UCONN, 56-55, in the national semifinals.

2011 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Anthony Davis (1), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2), Marquis Teague (4), Kyle Wiltjer (22)

Impact: A recruiting class can’t get much better when three of the four guys you bring in start basically every game en route to a National Championship. Davis scooped up every award you can imagine, including Wooden Award and AP Player of the Year, as he averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game, while Kidd-Gilchrist put up 11.9 points and 7.4 boards a contest. Davis and MKG were the top two picks in the 2012 NBA Draft and Teague went 29th to Chicago. Wiltjer played two solid seasons, but transferred to Gonzaga after his sophomore year in Lexington.

2013 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Julius Randle (3), Andrew Harrison (5), James Young (6), Aaron Harrison (7), Dakari Johnson (9), Marcus Lee (19), Derek Willis (115)

Impact: Randle, Young and the Harrison twins started from the get-go, as the Wildcats had to make up for the departures of Davis, MKG, Teague, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb whom all ended up being first round picks in the 2012 NBA Draft. Those four, along with sophomore Willie Cauley-Stein, led Kentucky to another National Championship appearance where it fell to Connecticut, 60-54. Randle and Young opted for the one-and-done route with Julius going to the Lakers at No. 7 and James to the Celtics at No. 17. The Harrison twins and Johnson stayed another year before making the jump to the pros. Lee had three average seasons before transferring back home to Cal.

2014 Duke Blue Devils

Class: Jahlil Okafor (1), Tyus Jones (4), Justise Winslow (12), Grayson Allen (17)

Impact: Okafor was an absolute beast at the college level, putting up 17.3 points and 8.5 rebounds a night in leading Duke to the 2015 NCAA National Title. Winslow (12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds) and Jones (11.8 points, 5.6 assists) flourished in their starting roles. Okafor (No. 3) and Winslow (No. 10) went in the Lottery of the 2015 NBA Draft and Jones was taken 24th overall.

2014 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Karl-Anthony Towns (5), Trey Lyles (13), Tyler Ulis (21), Devin Booker (27)

Impact: If you look at the stat sheet for the 2014-15 Wildcats none of the numbers will blow you away. No player averaged more than 11 points per game, but the balance was clear as six Kentucky players scored between 6.4 and 11 points per night. Towns started every game, while Lyles made his way into 21 first five appearances. Booker and Ulis played key bench roles as Kentucky won its first 38 games of that season. The Wildcats run to a perfect season was halted by Wisconsin in the 2015 NCAA national semifinals. Towns was the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Lyles went No. 12 and Booker No. 13.

2017 Duke Blue Devils

Class: Marvin Bagley III (2), Trevon Duval (4), Wendell Carter (7), Gary Trent Jr. (18), Alex O’Connell (58)

Impact: This was a much-heralded coup for Coach K. He grabbed three of the top seven players in the country, including Bagley who reclassified up a class to head to Durham. The lanky lefty was as good as advertised, dropping 20 points and 11 rebounds a night for the Blue Devils, while Trent, Carter and Duval all joined him in the starting five and averaged double-figure scoring. Duke won 29 games in 2017-18, but fell to Kansas, 85-81, in the Elite Eight. Bagley (No. 2) and Carter (No. 7) were selected early in the 2018 NBA Draft, but Trent fell to the second round and Duval went undrafted.

2017 Kentucky Wildcats

Class: Hamidou Diallo (10), Kevin Knox (11), Jarred Vanderbilt (12), P.J. Washington (15), Nick Richards (17), Quade Green (22), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (34)

Impact: Kentucky didn’t land any of the top five players in 2017 as it’s accustomed to doing basically every year, but this seven player haul was absolutely ridiculous for Calipari. All seven contributed in a big way before Vanderbilt lost his season early to injury. The Wildcats ended up struggling in SEC play, finishing fourth in the conference with a 10-8 record before falling to Kansas State in the 2018 Sweet 16.

2018 Duke Blue Devils

Class: R.J. Barrett (1), Cam Reddish (3), Zion Williamson (5), Tre Jones (14), Joey Baker (48)

Impact: Duke needed to reload in 2018 after losing its top five scorers to the NBA Draft and Coach K did so by bringing in three of the top five players in the country. Williamson’s impact was not only felt on the floor from the jump, but also on the airwaves and on social media as the viral dunking sensation was plastered all over every sports morning show you can think of. Barrett lived up to his lofty expectations, Reddish showed flashes of why many considered him one of the more versatile scorers in the country and Jones made sure the team was running like a well-oiled machine. The Blue Devils won 32 games before losing to Michigan State, 69-68, in the 2019 Elite Eight.

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2018-19 Underclass All-American Team Announced!

Ronnie Flores — Thu, 16 May 2019 20:58:57 +0000

Class players of the year Sharife Cooper (Juniors), Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Sophomores) and Emoni Bates (Freshmen) headline the 2018-19 Underclass All-American team.

Seven juniors named to the 25th Annual All-American Elite Team headline a group of 67 elite players selected to the 2018-19 Underclass All-American team powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

Point guard Sharife Cooper of FAB 50 No. 2 McEachern (Power Springs, Ga.), this year’s National Junior of the Year, was named to the overall All-American first team. Cooper was a first five selection and last year the top junior was also a first five choice off the nation’s No. 2 ranked team. That player is Vernon Carey Jr. of University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), who made third five on our performance-based club this season. Prior to Cooper and Carey, DeAndre Ayton of Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.) in 2015-16 was the last junior to be considered among the nation’s five best players.

Two juniors were honored as fourth five selections: Forward Jalen Johnson of FAB 50 No. 24 Nicolet (Glendale, Wis.) and big man Evan Mobley of FAB 50 No. 39 Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.). Johnson was the Wisconsin A.P. State Player of the Year for the WIAA D2 state champs. Mobley had a breakout junior season and was a finalist for Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball along with second team All-American choice Jalen Green of San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno, Calif.), fellow fourth teamer Cassius Stanley of FAB 50 No. 9 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) and eventual honoree and third five choice Onyeka Okongwu of Chino Hills (Calif.), a two-time Elite All-American choice.

No sophomore or freshman was named to the overall first team. The only sophomore to earn first five honors in the last 25 years under the current selection format is NBA superstar LeBron James while at St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) in 2000-01.

Patrick Baldwin Jr., this year’s National Sophomore of the Year, was the only tenth-grader on the Elite All-American second team. The unofficial runner-up for National Freshman of the Year in 2017-18 to fellow Wisconsin player and Underclass All-American Michael Foster Jr. of Washington (Milwaukee), this year Baldwin earned the nod after improving his production and game to the point where some feel he’s the best prospect in the national 2021 class. Baldwin joined Foster and Johnson (his travel team running mate on Phenom University) on the A.P. all-state first team and Baldwin is the first ever Wisconsin tenth-grader to earn top billing dating back to the 1974-75 season.

In 25 years of publishing our annual All-American teams and including our retroactive teams dating back to the 1954-55 season, no freshman has ever been a first team Al-American selection. Emoni Bates, a prodigal 6-foot-8 forward with incredible offensive skill from Lincoln (Ypsilanti, Mich.) is this year’s National Freshman of the Year. Bates, who is quickly turning into the poser child as leading the next prep-to-pro generation of talent once the NBA rids of its one-and-done rule, is the third freshman ever to earn All-American acclaim and was given consideration for first team. Marvin Bagley of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings made the second team as a freshman in 2014-15 while at Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.). The first ninth-grader to receive All-American acclaim was 6-foot-8, 215-pound man child Wayne McKoy of Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) back in 1973-74. McKoy remains high school basketball’s only four-time All-American, as Bagley left for college early after his junior season at Sierra Canyon (Calif.) and played one season at Duke before joining the NBA.

The nine All-Americans and 58 other underclass honorees all had standout campaigns for their respective high school teams, while others are sure to emerge this summer as bona fide 2019-20 All-America candidates. Nearly every summer on the grassroots circuit, lesser-known commodities eclipse well-known players.

It’s a yearly ritual for some underclass All-Americans to change programs and each year, more players are classifying up in order to speed up the recruiting process or join a class that will be more advantageous to their development.

Green will spend his senior season at Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) after three seasons at San Joaquin Memorial. Expect more player movement and some more reclassification as the summer rolls on.

Our national coach of the year is Carl Kremer of Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Juniors to Watch (2020)

G — Adrian “Ace” Baldwin, St. Frances (Baltimore, Md.) 5-11
F — Scottie Barnes, University (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 6-7
G — Reece Beekman, Scotlandville (Baton, Rouge, La.) 6-2
F — Brandon Boston, Norcross (Ga.) 6-6
F — Greg Brown III, Vandegrift (Austin, Texas) 6-7
F — Jaemyn Brakefield, Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.V.) 6-8
G — Josh Christopher, Mayfair (Lakewood, Calif.) 6-4
G — Jalen Cook, Landry Walker (New Orleans, La.) 6-0
G — Sharife Cooper, McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 5-10
G — Cade Cunningham, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-5
G — Andre Curbelo, Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head N. Y.) 6-0
C — N’Faly Dante, Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Air, Kan.) 6-11
G — Jyare Davis, Sanford School (Hockessin, Del.) 6-7
G — Jalen Green, San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno, Calif.) 6-4
G — R.J. Hampton, Little Elm (Texas) 6-5
F — Jalen Johnson, Nicolet (Glendale, Wis.) 6-7
F — Keon Johnson, The Webb School (Bell Buckle, Tenn.) 6-5
F — Adam Miller, Morgan Park (Chicago, Ill.) 6-4
C — Evan Mobley, Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) 7-0
G — Ethan Morton, Butler Area (Butler, Pa.) 6-5
C — Day’Ron Sharpe, South Central (Winterville, N.C.) 6-9
G — Jaden Springer, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 6-3
G — D.J. Steward, Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 6-4
F — Julian Strawther, Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 6-7
G — Jalen Suggs, Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.) 6-3
G — Cam Thomas, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 6-3
G — Bryce Thompson, Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) 6-5
F — Earl Timberlake, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 6-5
F — Kyree Walker, Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) 6-5
F — Terrence Williams, Gonzaga (Washington, D. C.) 6-6

2019 National Junior of the Year: Sharife Cooper
Wasn’t a difficult choice as this dynamic point guard was the only junior named to the first five on the overall Elite All-American team and was one of four All-Americans to appear on nine of the 10 ballots in the final Mr. Basketball USA Tracker. It’s quite remarkable that Cooper was seriously considered for national player of the year as only three of the game’s all-time greats (LeBron James, Lew Alcindor, Jerry Lucas) have been selected the nation’s best as eleventh-graders. McEachern was simply on a mission this season after coming up short in the playoffs the previous two seasons and Cooper was the catalyst, averaging 28.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 8.2 apg and 4.spg and scoring over 40 points four times for a team that won its first ever GHSA Class 7A crown. He put up those numbers against one of the best schedules in the country while leading McEachern to a 32-0 record and nine wins over FAB 50 ranked clubs and three more against teams that were ranked at the time of the contest. Cooper is the third junior honoree from Georgia dating back to the 1969-70 season, joining Lithonia Miller Grove’s Tony Parker (2011) and Snellville South Gwinnett’s Lou Williams (2004).

Sophomores to Watch (2021)

F — Trey Alexander, Heritage Hall (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 6-4
G — Devin Askew, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 6-4
F — Patrick Baldwin Jr., Hamilton (Sussex, Wis.) 6-8
C — Nate Bittle, Crater (Central Point, Ore.) 6-11
G — Kennedy Chandler, Briarcrest Christian (Eads, Tenn.) 6-1
F — Paolo Banchero, O’Dea (Seattle, Wash.) 6-9
F — Max Christie, Rolling Meadows (Rolling Meadows, Ill.) 6-6
F — Terrence Clarke, Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N. H.) 6-6
G — Zaon Collins, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 6-1
G — Rashool Diggins, Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) 6-1
C — Michael Foster Jr., Washington (Milwaukee, Wis.) 6-9
G — Adrian Griffin Jr., Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 6-4
G — Jaden Hardy, Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) 6-4
G — Chucky Hepburn, Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) 6-1
F — Daron Holmes, Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) 6-9
F — Will Jeffress, McDowell (Erie, Pa.) 6-6
G — Jackie Johnson, Wichita Southeast (Wichita, Kan.) 5-10
G — Trevor Keels, Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 6-5
F — Harrison Ingram, St. Mark’s (Dallas, Texas) 6-6
G — Langston Love, Steele (Cibolo, Texas) 6-4
G — Carson McCorkle, Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N. C.) 6-4
F — Aminu Mohammed, Greenwood Laboratory (Springfield, Mo.) 6-5
F — Jonathan Kuminga, Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.) 6-8
F — Trey Patterson, Rutgers Prep (Somerset, N.J.) 6-7
G — Daeshon Ruffin, Callaway (Jackson, Miss.) 5-9

2019 National Sophomore of the Year: Patrick Baldwin Jr.
Last season Michael Foster Jr. edged Baldwin as the honoree among freshmen, but this time around the skilled wing forward gets the nod. Both are considered among the top prospects nationally in the 2021 class and are part of a terrific group of talented underclassmen in Wisconsin. In fact, some recruiting experts consider Baldwin the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the class. He followed up a terrific freshman campaign where he averaged 16 ppg and 5.4 rpg with averages of 18.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 3.1 apg for a 24-5 club that advanced to the WIAA D1 quarterfinals. Along the way, Foster was named a first team A.P. all-state selection, which only had one senior chosen among the first five. In 2017-18, Foster was the first freshman ever from Wisconsin to earn top billing among first-year players and this season the son of UW-Milwaukee coach Patrick Baldwin is the first ever among tenth-graders dating back to the 1974-1975 season.

Freshmen to Watch (2022)

F — Emoni Bates, Lincoln (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 6-8
G — Jameel “Milzy” Brown, Haverford School (Haverford, Pa.) 6-1
G — Zion Cruz, Hudson Catholic (Hudson, N.J.) 6-3
C — Jalen Duren, Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-9
G — Bryce Griggs, Fort Bend Hightower (Missouri City, Texas) 6-1
G — Ricky “Pop Pop” Isaacs Jr., Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) 6-1
G — Chris Livingston, Buchtel (Akron, Ohio) 6-5
G — Knasir “Dug” McDaniel, Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 5-9
F — Tai Manning, Grandview (Mo.) 6-6
F — Mark Mitchell, Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 6-6
G — M.J. Rice, Durham Academy (Durham, N.C.) 6-5
F — Jarace Walker, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 6-6

2019 National Freshman of the Year: Emoni Bates
This year produced another bumper crop of first-year players, but it didn’t take long to peg the 6-foot-8 forward with a sweet shooting touch as the best of the lot. In fact, Bates was so impressive in leading Lincoln to the MHSAA D1 state title he was named D1 state player of the year by the Associated Press and Gatorade State Player of the Year. Bates led Lincoln to the D1 state crown by scoring 23 points in a 64-62 victory over University of Detroit Jesuit, but it was senior Jalen Fisher that hit the game-winning jumper at the buzzer. It’s pretty safe to say Lincoln wouldn’t have been in position to win a state crown without its top shelf first-year player, as Bates had 31 points and 14 rebounds in a 72-56 state semifinal win over Howell and hit two game-winning post-season shots. For the season, Bates averaged 28.7 points and 10.2 rebounds. He’s not only considered the best player in the class of 2022 at this stage, he’s already considered one of the best long-term prospects in all of high school basketball and a candidate to turn pro out of high school should the NBA end the one-and-done era that has been in place since 2006. Bates is Michigan’s first freshman honoree since Marcus Taylor of Waverly (Lansing, Mich.) for the 1996-97 season and rivals 1988 honoree Chris Webber (Detroit Country Day) as the best freshman the state of Michigan has ever produced.

National Coach of the Year: Carl Kremer, Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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Cole Anthony, Evan Mobley Lead Pack in WIDE OPEN POY Race!

Ronnie Flores — Sat, 16 Feb 2019 20:36:36 +0000

Point guard Cole Anthony of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and center Evan Mobley of Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) tie for lead in latest Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com, now in its twelfth year. As a result of the tracker panel not being overly enthralled with the seasons the top 2019 prospects are having, this is the most wide open national player of the year race of recent memory. Which top candidate will make the strongest push in the post-season?

Just as was the case in the preseason, 22 elite players received recognition as legitimate national player of the year candidates in the updated 2018-19 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com. The results, however, show plenty of difference in terms of whom may win the prestigious honor and reflect just how wide open the race is. As many as seven players have a legitimate chance to join a Who's Who list in basketball as the nation's best high school basketball player for several reasons.

First, there is not one elite senior who is having monster season that is head and shoulders above the field such as NBA All-Star Ben Simmons did in 2015 for Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.). There is varying opinions on whom is the most talented player in the national 2019 class and that is clearly reflected in the 10-man tracker panel's voting results. Six players received first place votes with one, 7-foot junior Evan Mobley of FAB 50 No. 10 Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.), receiving three of them.

It also means the overall point totals for the top vote-getters are much lower overall. Over the years, the top vote-getter usually appeared on nine or all 10 ballots and hovered in the high 80s or low 90s (out of a possible 100 points). This time, however, the two players in first place received a total of 64 points and appeared on eight ballots. As a sign of the varying opinions of the elite players this season, 7-foot James Wiseman of Memphis East (Tenn.) received two first-place votes, but only appeared on one other ballot (seventh place) to tally 24 points. That combination of first place votes and total points has never been seen in the 12-year history of the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker.

"It's a tough vote since there aren't no brainer guys like (R.J.) Barrett, (Zion) Williamson, (DeAndre) Ayton, and (Marvin) Bagley that separate from the rest," said Van Coleman, COO of Global Sports Television, a long-time McDonalds All-American voter and tracker panelist. "This will need at least two more votes to get it right. Cole Anthony is trending downward and Evan Mobley upward and I'm not sure that before this is done, the juniors may be 1-2."

Coleman's comments regarding Anthony reflect the thinking of dominant stats and winning at a high level are required to earn an honor such as this (Listen to "In The Paint" Podcast about factors that make top candidates). Anthony, arguably the nation's top point guard for Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson Va.), tied Mobley for first place in the voting with 64 points, down from his preseason positioning of 81 points. In the preseason, Anthony was the only candidate to appear on all ten ballots, but this time around he's on seven ballots. Anthony is averaging 18.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg and 10.1 apg, but the Warriors are not having the season quite expected of them and it will be interesting to see where Anthony falls in the next go around after FAB 50 No. 16 Oak Hill was shocked 80-72 by unranked Teays Valley Christian (Scott Depot, W. Va.) after the ballots were sent out and compiled.

The juniors Coleman was referring to that could surpass all the 2019 players with strong closings are Mobley, who is averaging 19.2 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2.5 apg, and 5.5 bpg, and junior point guard Sharife Cooper, who has McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) sitting at No. 2 FAB 50 rankings with averages of 28 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 9.2 apg, and 4 spg while shooting at a 50-40-90 clip for an unbeaten club. Cooper's production on a team exceeding expectations is reflected in the voting, as he went from appearing on one ballot (seventh place) in the preseason to garnering 36 points and appearing on five ballots, including three third place votes.

Will Cooper and Mobley, one of three players to appear on eight ballots along with Anthony Edwards of Holy Spirit Prep (Atlanta, Ga.) and Isaiah Stewart of FAB 50 No. 1 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.), continue to gain traction as the season concludes? Or will a player from the 2019 class stand up and take charge of the race? (Listen to our podcast on this topic)

It will be interesting to follow since only a few of the game's immortals (Jerry Lucas, Lew Alcindor, LeBron James) have been Mr. Baketball USA honorees as juniors.

Stay logged in to www.ebooksnet.com to track the progress of the nation's top individual players and the nation’s Top teams.

Editor's Note: Click on the "+" sign next to each player's number to view how many first, second, third or fourth place votes he got and his overall point total.

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1T	3	Evan Mobley (8)	Rancho Christian (CA)	3	0	1	1	64
1T	1	Cole Anthony (8)	Oak Hill (VA)	2	4	1	0	64
3	5	Isaiah Stewart (8)	La Lumiere (IN)	1	2	0	1	59
4	4	Anthony Edwards (8)	Holy Spirit (GA)	1	1	1	2	56
5	2	Vernon Carey (6)	University School (FL)	0	1	2	2	44
6	20T	Sharife Cooper (5)	McEachern (GA)	0	0	3	0	36
7	6	James Wiseman (3)	Memphis East (TN)	2	0	0	0	24
8	14T	Scottie Lewis (3)	Ranney School (NJ)	1	0	0	2	19
9T	19	Cade Cunningham (3)	Montverde Academy (FL)	0	0	0	2	18
9T	10T	Precious Achiuwa (2)	Montverde Academy (FL)	0	2	0	0	18
11	7	Jaden McDaniels (2)	Federal Way (WA)	0	0	0	1	12
12T	9	Onyeka Okongwu (2)	Chino Hills (CA)	0	0	0	0	11
12T	NR	Trendon Watford (2)	Mountain Brook (AL)	0	0	0	1	11
14T	8	Jalen Green (2)	San Joaquin Memorial (CA)	0	0	0	0	9
14T	20T	Matthew Hurt (2)	Marshall (MN)	0	0	0	0	9
16	12T	Nico Mannion (1)	Pinnacle (AZ)	0	0	1	0	8
17	14T	Patrick Baldwin (1)	Hamilton (WI)	0	0	0	0	6
18T	NR	Greg Brown (1)	Vandergrift (TX)	0	0	0	0	5
18T	20T	Khalil Whitney (1)	Roselle Catholic (NJ)	0	0	0	0	5
20T	17T	R.J. Hampton (1)	Little Elm (TX)	0	0	0	0	4
20T	12T	Jonathan Kuminga (1)	Our Savior New American (NY)	0	0	0	0	4
20T	NR	Cassius Stanley (1)	Sierra Canyon (CA)	0	0	0	0	4

About Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel
www.ebooksnet.com's panel of 10 experts, which includes six McDonald’s All-American selection committee members, casts its vote for the top national player of the year candidates. Each panelist lists his top seven candidates regardless of class. The votes are then tabulated on a 10-point scoring system with a first-place vote equaling 10 points, a second-place vote earning nine points and down to four points for a seventh-place vote. The number in parenthesis refers to the numbers of ballots on which a player appeared and previous rankings refers to position in last season's final tracker.

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Preseason 2018-19 FAB 50: Top 15 Teams!

Ronnie Flores — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 22:37:07 +0000

We conclude our 2018-19 preseason FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com with an in-depth look at the nation’s top 15 teams. We began with teams No. 31-50 on October 30, continued with teams No. 16-30 on October 31 and now have published an in-depth look at the nation’s 50 best teams. Montverde Academy of Florida is the nation’s preseason No. 1 team as it seeks its fifth FAB 50 title in the past seven seasons.

All 50 teams are written up with explanations for why they were placed in these positions. Top-ranked Montverde Academy was the nation’s No. 1 team for three consecutive seasons (2013-2015) and won its fourth mythical FAB 50 national title last season. The Eagles begin as preseason No. 1 for the fifth time in program history, as they have won the FAB 50 title in each of the previous seasons in which they began No 1. Last season, Montverde Academy won its first wire-to-wire FAB 50 title after defeating preseason No. 21 University of Florida in the GEICO High School Nationals championship game. CLICK HERE to view the all-time list of mythical national champions.

Does Any Program Besides Montverde Academy
Deserve To Begin The 2018-19 Season No. 1?

Every season there is plenty of change on the high school basketball landscape, as stars move on and new ones emerge. In recent years, the dominance of basketball academy-type programs has been profound, but the basketball programs at public and parochial schools around the country are still quite relevant, winning national-level games and impacting the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

In fact, two public schools recently captured the mythical FAB 50 national championship in back-to-back seasons: Chino Hills (Calif.) in 2015-16 and Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) in 2016-17.

Fueled by the play of Mr. Basketball USA honorees Lonzo Ball (UCLA/Lakers) of Chino Hills and Michael Porter Jr. (Missouri/Nuggets), both Chino Hills and Nathan Hale went undefeated. Both teams steadily rose in the rankings with big win after big win whereas recent preseason rankings have been dominated by two private academies known for basketball excellence: Montverde Academy of Florida and Oak Hill Academy of Virginia.

For the past six seasons, one of those two programs began as preseason FAB 50 national No. 1. Montverde Academy was preseason No. 1 for three consecutive seasons (2013-2015), Oak Hill started out No. 1 the next two years (2016-2017) with the Eagles gaining the No. 1 nod once again last season.

Since the advent of the FAB 50/National Prep Poll in the winter of 1987, Oak Hill Academy started out as preseason No. 1 a record nine times, but the past two times the Warriors couldn’t sustain that position, finishing No. 2 (45-1) and No. 11 (38-5), respectively. For Montverde Academy the preseason results have been a bit more to its liking. In each of the four seasons in which the Eagles started out No. 1, they finished as FAB 50 champions.

Which brings us to this season.

There is a tremendous amount of elite talent on the top academy programs, but it appears traditional schools playing for state titles have just as many game-changers doting their roster.

No program with a successful track record has a clear-cut talent advantage over the rest of the field, so it makes sense to begin the 2018-19 season with defending champion Montverde Academy as the preseason No. 1 team in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com over serious contenders Oak Hill Academy, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) and IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.).

The Eagles’ talented roster, recent track record of success, and no other team clearly having more talent or that one game-changing player on its roster gives coach Kevin Boyle’s club the preseason No. 1 nod for the fifth time in the past seven seasons. Besides Oak Hill Academy and Montverde Academy, no other program has been national preseason No. 1 more than twice in the 32 years a version of this poll has been published.

This is a season where the race for No. 1 is wide open and as many as eight or nine programs are truly in the FAB 50 national title hunt. Another five believe with the right breaks they can be right there, too.

“It is a bit wide open this year and it should be interesting,” said Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith. “Montverde and IMG are going to be really good. I really don’t know who is No. 1, but it will all wash out in the end because all the top teams play strong enough schedules.”

We almost started the Warriors No. 1, but their candidacy was hurt when 6-foot-4 guard Jahmius Ramsey transferred out in late September after coming over from IMG Academy in the off-season. The talented combo guard is now at Duncanville High School in Texas (the 2007-08 preseason FAB 50 No. 1), which fields a potential FAB 50 team this season.

“Somebody is going to get Jahmius’ minutes and has to step up,” Smith said. “Because he played so hard, it hurts us a little. It hurts us defensively.”

As for Montverde, its coaching staff is confident this team has what it takes to bring home FAB 50 title No. 5, despite the graduation loss of 2017-18 Mr. Basketball USA R.J. Barrett (Duke).

“The standard remains the same…we think we can win every game,” said Montverde Academy Associate Head Coach Rae Miller. “I think this group is focused, together, has chemistry and incredible depth.”

Preseason 2018-19 FAB 50 National
Team Rankings Powered by www.ebooksnet.com

By Ronnie Flores

(Final 2017-18 ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; Look for preseason Region-By-Region Top 20 Rankings on Wednesday, November 7 and for the preseason Mr. Basketball USA Tracker on Monday, November 19.)

1. (1) Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 36-0
Key Players: PF Precious Achiuwa 6-9 2019 (No. 5 247Sports.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American), C Balsa Koprivica 7-0 2019 (No. 28 Hoop Scoop, Florida St. commit), PF Omar Payne 6-9 2019 (No. 35 ESPN.com, Florida commit), SF Cade Cunningham 6-5 2020 (No. 9 247Sports.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American), SG Moses Moody 6-5 2020 (No. 20 ESPN.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American).
Why This Ranking: No other team possessing a clear-cut talent advantage over the Eagles is a big factor in awarding the defending FAB 50 champs preseason No. 1. The Eagles have won more head-to-head FAB 50-level matchups than any other program since the end of Kevin Boyle’s first season (2011-12) and that’s another key factor in this year’s preseason positioning. This year’s roster also features incredible depth and practice time will make the reserves ready in the big game. The frontline of Koprivica, Achiuwa and Payne could be America’s best, while Cunningham mans one backcourt spot with Moody (who has been slowed by a foot injury in the preseason) and Harlond Beverly (6-5, 2019) vying for the fifth starting position. Koprivica can stretch defenses to the 3-point line and Payne is a potential game-changer with his shot-blocking and intensity level. Miller thinks Montverde’s special freshman class that includes Caleb Houston (6-8, 2022), Ryan Nembhard (5-10, 2022) and Dariq Whitehead (6-2, 2022) will force its way into rotation minutes. Houston is a good shooter while Nembhard is every bit the prospect older brother Andrew (an All-American on the Eagles’ undefeated championship team last season and now at Florida) is. If his performance at the recent USA Basketball mini-camp is any indication, Whitehead might be the best freshman in the country. He’s got one of the best first steps you’ll see and is an explosive athlete, but on this team (as opposed to him playing on a state or regionally-ranked team), there will be much less pressure to produce. It’s the depth, coaching staff experience and expectation level for this program that makes them a deserving No. 1 to begin the season.
The Skinny: Without 2018 national player of the year R.J. Barrett, the Eagles’ roster doesn’t contain that one game-changing player capable of putting a team on his back and leading them to a mythical national championship. It will likely be a more collective team effort for this team to retain its rankings position, as championship level leadership is the only missing ingredient. “That leadership is going to fall to Precious,” Miller said. “He comes in with a lot behind his name (in terms of national acclaim). “Both Precious and Cade (Cunningham) have great leadership skill and can impose their will on teams.” “Practice is going great so far,” Cunningham said. “It’s a different level and the coaching staff will have us prepared.” There is no doubt if Boyle’s club enters GIECO Nationals with an unblemished record, it will enter the end-of-season tournament as the No. 1 ranked team in the country. With their daunting schedule, the Eagles could lose a game and still regain a foothold on the No. 1 ranking as their 2013-2015 teams did. Montverde will take on No. 17 Sunrise Christian Academy and No. 9 Paul VI at the ARS National Hoopfest in Washington D.C. (Dec. 7-8) and will travel to the Iolani Classic before Christmas before taking the post-Christmas event circuit off. The Eagles come back to play No. 11 Norcross and No. 6 La Lumiere at the Cancer Research Classic in West Virginia (Jan. 4-5) and face No. 8 Sierra Canyon and No. 7 Imhotep Charter at the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts (Jan. 19-21). If they survive those games and their own Montverde Academy Invitational (Jan. 24-26), a potential No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with Oak Hill Academy awaits on Feb. 2 at the ARS Hoopfest in Tampa, Fla.

2. (3) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 44-2

Key Players: PG Cole Anthony 6-3 2019 (No. 2 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife Underclass All-American), C Kofi Cockburn 6-11 2019 (No. 30 Rivals.com), SF Christian Brown 6-6 2019 (No. 41 Hoop Scoop), C B.J. Mack 6-7 2019 (South Florida commit), SG Cam Thomas 6-3 2020 (No. 29 ESPN.com).
Why This Ranking: The Warriors are in good position to capture the program’s eighth FAB 50 crown because of a combination of depth and a potential Mr. Basketball USA on their roster. Veteran coach Steve Smith (1,108-72) will rely heavily on one player just as Montverde Academy did with R.J. Barrett (26.7 ppg at GEICO Nationals) last season. That player is Anthony, who could develop into the best player in the country under Smith’s tutelage and because of the excellent supporting cast around him. “Cole has never played with a bunch of D1 guys around him; he’s always had to score on the teams he’s been on,” Smith said. “The guys we have make him harder to guard and I think he’s by far the best guard in the country. He wants to be on a championship team.” Smith likes the makeup of his backcourt and the fact he can go with a big or small lineup with little drop off. The defection of Ramsey is eased by the addition of Brown, a big-time scoring threat and an elite defender who can play multiple positions. Evan Johnson (6-0, 2020) can relieve Anthony at the point guard and is a good long-range shooter. Smith obviously has roster turnover every year, so the fact Mack, Johnson and Darrick Jones Jr. (6-5, 2020) return off last year’s team gives him a high comfort level when trying different lineups. In the paint, Cockburn has a bit more offensive skill than David McCormack (Kansas) brought to the table last season, makes good decisions with the ball in his hands and the coaching staff is working hard to get him in top-notch shape. Dylan Cardwell (6-10, 2020) can effectively spell Cockburn and his play will be important because Smith felt not having a true back-up post player last season hurt the Warriors against top tier FAB 50 teams.

The Skinny: There is plenty to like about this team, and having a potential difference-maker in Anthony could turn into a great omen if recent rankings history is any indication. Having that player was the difference for Montverde Academy’s last three championship runs (Barrett last season and Ben Simmons in 2014-15), for Washington’s Nathan Hale (Michael Porter Jr.) in 2017 and California’s Chino Hills (Lonzo Ball) in 2016. The Warriors have a rugged schedule and a margin of error slightly smaller than Montverde Academy when it comes to dropping a regular season game and getting back near the top of the rankings heap. The Warriors face No. 4 IMG Academy on Jan. 20 at the Hoophall Classic and the Feb. 2 showdown with top-ranked Montverde Academy could be titanic, but in order to win the mythical national crown Oak Hill likely needs to defeat either of those two clubs more than once and IMG at least twice in three potential meetings. For the first time since the 1991-92 season, Smith’s club will enter bracket play at the prestigious City of Palms Classic in Florida (Dec. 17-22), where 10 other FAB 50 ranked teams await. The Warriors will likely face highly-regarded Mountain Brook in the second round and are on the same side of the bracket as No. 5 University School with IMG Academy and No. 9 Paul VI on the other side. Back in December of 1991, Oak Hill lost in the City of Palms semifinals (losing to Franklin Learning Center of Philadelphia) and finished that season 32-2 and ranked No. 2, with its only other loss to No. 1 Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.). Having 16 games under its belt heading into the COP is a definite advantage for Oak Hill over some of the other teams in the event. Since the advent of the FAB 50/National Prep Poll in 1987-88, the only time Oak Hill failed to appear in the final poll was that first season when the rankings went 20 teams deep. In that same time frame it has finished the season ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the FAB 50 an amazing 15 times. Look for Oak Hill’s ranking streak to reach 31 seasons with a good opportunity to finish in the Top 2 for the 16th time provided it wins the City of Palms title, captures GEICO Nationals and at least splits with IMG and Montverde Academy.

3. (5) DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 32-5
Key Players: SG Justin Moore 6-4 2019 (No. 27 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife Underclass All-American, Villanova commit), SG Earl Timberlake Jr. 6-5 2020 (No. 26 Hoop Scoop), C Hunter Dickinson 7-1 2020 (No. 15 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife Underclass All-American), SG Carsten Kogelnik 6-5 2019 (Brown commit), PF Paul Smith (6-8, 2020).
Why This Ranking: This legendary program has an excellent opportunity to capture its fifth mythical national title and first in the FAB 50 era. DeMatha last won a national crown in 1983-84 and since taking over for Naismith Hall of Fame coach Morgan Wootten in 2002-03, this is coach Mike Jones’ (436-112) best opportunity to join his high school coach and mentor as a national championship-winning coach. The tremendous opportunity exists because Jones returns all five starters and top seven players off a young team that exceeded preseason expectations (No. 38 in FAB 50) and closed strong. After returning from a torn ACL as a sophomore, Moore (16.6 ppg) led DeMatha to its first Washington Catholic Athletic Conference crown since 2011-12. Moore is a prototype Villanova guard in the mold of two-time NCAA champ Jalen Brunson: not too flashy, but a total winner who comes up big in the key moments. In order for the Stags to remain in FAB 50 title contention, Moore must play as he did last season and with a good start, will make a strong McDonald’s All-American push. Dickinson is a wide-bodied inside player who grinds teams down and not many programs on the schedule have a traditional post willing to bang and stay disciplined against him. Dickinson had a breakout sophomore campaign, as did Timberlake, who shined in last year’s post-season run. Smith (6-8, 2020) will need to step up in order to keep teams from collapsing on Dickinson and when Jones decides to play small ball. “We have a good mix of perimeter and post players that can play at a high level,” Jones said.
The Skinny: At the recent USA Basketball mini-camp, we joked with Jones about his team potentially beginning the season as FAB 50 No. 1. “We don’t want to be No. 1, it jinxed us the last two times,” Jones said. In 1998-99, the Stags opened up No. 1 in the final pre-FAB 50 related National Prep Poll and finished No. 8 at 28-4. Coming off a national championship season, the 1978-79 Stags had realistic hopes of a repeat, but finished 28-3 at No. 12. This club has the talent and pedigree to finish No. 1, but navigating a murderous WCAC schedule and national showcases won’t be easy. Last season, DeMatha pulled together at the right time, capturing the WCAC Tournament title, the Alhambra Catholic Invitational and the Maryland Private Schools title after losing regular season WCAC contests to Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.), FAB 50-ranked Gonzaga and twice to No. 9 Paul VI. The Stags could drop a WCAC regular season game and still be in FAB 50 title contention, but they couldn’t afford to get swept again by Paul VI or anyone else. The rest of the regular season schedule includes No. 4 IMG Academy and highly-regarded Roman Catholic (Philadelphia) at the ARS National Hoopfest DeMatha will host and No. 15 Guyer at the ARS National Hoopfest in Dallas a week later (Dec. 15). After the New Year’s, the Stags face No. 11 Norcross at the Cancer Research Classic and No. 6 La Lumiere at the Hoophall Classic over MLK weekend.

4. (39) IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 22-5
Key Players: C Armando Bacot 6-10 2019 (No. 7 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife Underclass All-American, North Carolina commit), SF Josh Green 6-6 2019 (No. 8 ESPN.com, Arizona commit), PF Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 6-9 2019 (No. 10 Rivals.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American), SG Jaden Springer 6-4 2020 (No. 7 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife Underclass All-American), PG Noah Farrakhan 6-2 2020 (No. 36 ESPN.com).
Why This Ranking: The Ascenders were part of the national rankings equation the past two seasons and this year’s team could surpass the exploits of the 2016-17 club. That Trevon Duval-led club was No. 8 in the final FAB 50 and advanced to Dick’s Nationals semifinals. Second-year coach Sean McAloon has blinding talent at his disposal and the team should have more continuity after some roster shuffling last season. This team is deep, and returning starters Green and Farrakhan should greatly benefit from last year’s experience. Green is an excellent scorer, while the latter is an instinctual point guard who can really get in a stance and defend. McAloon is a bit worried about his defense, especially since 7-foot-2 Chol Marial and 6-foot-4 Jahmius Ramsey checked out. The reality is Marial was injury-prone and appeared in only 17 games and Bacot is just what the doctor ordered inside. A physical specimen who uses his wide body to dominate on the boards and position himself for touches, Bacot is hungry to play in FAB 50 championship level games. Robinson-Earl led regionally ranked Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) to the Kansas Class 4A state crown while averaging 21.9 ppg and 8.1 rpg. Bacot and Robinson-Earl were also USA Basketball teammates that won the FIBA Americas 18U title in Canada.
The Skinny: Last season we took a wait-and-see approach as McAloon was in his first season, beginning his team at No. 24, but IMG quickly proved to be one of the country’s best teams until Silvio De Sousa enrolled at Kansas at the semester break. IMG Academy played more at the level expected of them during the preseason following his mid-season departure, but this team should benefit from better continuity, the on-court leadership of Farrakhan and the dynamic between Bacot and Robinson-Earl. Not having Ramsey could hurt defensively in the big games, but the silver lining is he’s not on the roster of one of IMG’s chief competitors for the FAB 50 crown (Oak Hill Academy) and Springer could be as or more talented than anyone on the roster. IMG grapples with Oak Hill Academy on Jan. 20 at the Hoophall Classic and that could actually be its second meeting of the season, as the two programs are on opposite sides of the bracket at the City of Palms Classic in Florida in December. IMG likely will play highly-regarded Olive Branch or Wilson of Washington, D.C., in the tournament’s second round and actually plays Wilson Dec. 7 at the ARS Hoopfest at DeMatha Catholic. The next night, IMG has a monster date with No. 3 and host DeMatha.

5. (2) University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 35-2
Key Players: PF Vernon Carey Jr. 6-10 2019 (No. 1 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife First Team All-American, Ballislife National Junior of the Year), SF Scottie Barnes 6-7 2020 (No. 2 ESPN.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American), PG Logan Alters 6-0 2019 (CAL commit walk-on), SG Roger McFarlane 6-3 2020 (No. 141 Rivals.com).
Why This Ranking: It was a landmark 2017-18 season for the Sharks, as they won the FHSAA Class 5A state crown and advanced to GEICO Nationals, avenging their only regular season loss to Oak Hill Academy before falling to Montverde Academy in the title game (76-58). Had University School upset the eventual FAB 50 champs, it would have been the first ever FHSAA program to capture a national crown. Returning from that team are three starters in Alters, the point guard, and the best 1-2 punch in high school basketball: Carey and Barnes. Carey is the returning Florida Mr. Basketball, was the only underclassman named first five All-American and is the most productive forward in the country. Carey (26 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 4 bpg) completely overwhelmed teams without a serviceable big man and is highly motivated after scoring 12 points in the loss to Montverde Academy. Barnes, who netted 24 points in the loss to the Eagles, is best described as a Swiss Army Knife and is the most versatile among the country’s elite players. He can defend the post, defend the perimeter, rebound and run the break, handle point guard duties and overwhelm smaller defenders in the post.
The Skinny: It’s quite rare for a single high school team to have arguably the best player in both the senior and junior class on their roster, so why are the Sharks not ranked higher after finishing No. 2 in the FAB 50 last year? The main reasons are a coaching change from last season, as former long-time college assistant Jim Carr replaces Adrian Sosa Jr. (who coached the majority of the previous season’s contributors on the Nike Team Florida EYBL team), and the graduation of their backcourt. Trey Doomes (West Virginia) and Drue Drinnon (New Mexico) were underrated nationally and took plenty of offensive pressure off Barnes. “I think we’re good, but different than last year,” Carr said. Carr really likes what he sees so far in David Perez (6-1, 2020) and McFarland, a transfer from Tennessee from a military background who is just as smart and disciplined as he is physical. Jace Howard (6-6, 2020) will also make an impact and his younger brother Jett Howard (6-4, 2022) is one of the top freshman in the country. University School will compete at the Les Schwab Invitational in Oregon (Dec. 27-30), where it could face No. 8 Sierra Canyon in the tourney final, and will look to become the third program following L.A. Westchester (2000-01) and Montverde Academy (2012-13) to defend its City of Palms championship since it became a national level event in the mid-1980s. “I really like this group and to have two potential NBA lottery picks at forward is special,” Carr said.

6. (12) La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 23-4
Key Players: PF Isaiah Stewart 6-9 2019 (No. 3 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife Underclass All-American), SG Paxson Wojcik 6-4 2019 (Loyola-Chicago commit), SF Keion Brooks Jr. 6-6 2019 (No. 12 247Sports.com), SF Gerald Drumgoogle 6-5 2019 (No. 139 Rivals.com), PG Desmond Polk 6-4 2020 (No. 132 Rivals.com).
Why This Ranking: This team has one of the best players in the country and a nice blend of returnees and talented newcomers that a fourth consecutive GEICO Nationals berth is highly probable. If University School’s Vernon Carey is the most productive player in the country, Stewart is right behind him. Stewart never takes plays off, loves to battle inside, doesn’t take bad shots and has a solid shooting touch. He averaged 20.2 ppg and 10.7 rpg and could develop into a serious Mr. Basketball USA candidate with a hot start. Wojcik (13.1 ppg), the other returning starter, is a deadly outside shooter (41 percent) and his big-game experience should help in crunch time. Four newcomers averaged 17.6 ppg or more at their old school, led by Brooks, a combo forward who combines quickness around the basket with an excellent mid-range shot. Obviously some of the transfers will have to adjust their roles, but look for Brooks (25.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg) to put up big numbers because of his versatility at both ends. “We have skilled players and will have the ability to really stretch the floor and make shots at a high level,” second-year coach Patrick Holmes said.
The Skinny: This independent power nearly won the end-of-season tournament in 2016 and captured it in 2017 when they finished No. 2 in the FAB 50, but last season slipped a bit and lost in the first round to Findlay Prep of Nevada. This group should get La Lumiere past the first round once again. Jakov Kukic (6-10, 2019, UCSB commit) gives La Lumiere that experienced piece in the middle the Lakers will need to beat the best teams on their schedule and put them in position to contend for the FAB 50 crown. Holmes is a bit concerned about breaking in eight newcomers, but the chemistry should be there because the coach has three key pieces that know his system. If the troops rally around Stewart and Brooks, and Kukic increases his production (6.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg), this team will be a dangerous out for other top-ranked teams. La Lumiere travels to Hawaii for the Iolani Classic (Dec. 17-21) where top-ranked Montverde Academy and No. 8 Sierra Canyon await. There will also be a key stretch in January where Holmes’ club takes on No. 14 Bishop Gorman and Montverde Academy at the Cancer Research Classic and No. 3 DeMatha Catholic at the Hoophall Classic.

7. (13) Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 31-2
Key Players: SF Donta Scott 6-7 2019 (No. 72 Hoop Scoop, Maryland commit), SG Dahmir Bishop 6-4 2019 (No. 86 Hoop Scoop, Xavier commit), SF Chereef “Reefy” Knox 6-6 2019, PF Elijah Taylor 6-8 2020 (No. 64 Hoop Scoop), SF Jamil Riggins 6-6 2019.
Why This Ranking: Every respected national ranking will jump on the Imhotep bandwagon this season, but we’ve been far ahead of the curve when it comes to coach Andre Noble’s program. We started the Panthers No. 20 two years ago when it only lost one game on the court and finished No. 4 in the nation. Last season, the schedule was beefed up and despite losing three D1 seniors to graduation, Imhotep responded by finishing No. 13 in the FAB 50 after beginning at No. 10. With four returning starters, the Panthers begin the season with their highest ranking ever and with the coaching, experience, and personnel to meet expectations. This defensive oriented club is led by returning AAAA first team all-state choices Scott and Bishop with seven other returnees ready to step up when called upon. Scott, last year’s AAAA state player of the year, is a position-less monster who can slash and relishes in defending the opposition’s top offensive threat. Bishop can score coast-to-coast as well as anyone in the country and when he gets it going from the outside this club is nearly unstoppable.
The Skinny: Two years ago, there were some question marks up front, but Scott stepped up. Last year the backcourt was a potential weak spot, which Bishop filled. As if those two weren’t enough, Knox is a D1-bound wing and much is expected from transfer Cameron Roundtree (6-6, 2020). Bernard Lightsey (Lincoln University) is the lone starter lost to graduation, but Noble (344-77) feels good about handing the keys over to cat-quick Fatayn Wesley (5-8, 2019). The Panthers are overwhelming favorites to win a third consecutive 4A state crown, but in order to retain a high ranking there can be no letdown versus nemesis Roman Catholic on Dec. 16 in a battle of defending PIAA state champions. Imhotep is about as complete a public school team as you’ll find in the country, but its eyes are on more than just a state title and it starts with defense and unselfishness. After the Roman game, Noble’s club will enter the City of Palms Classic, with the University School (FL)-Vashon (MO) winner likely in the second round. In January, Imhotep faces highly-regarded Sunrise Christian Academy of Kansas, FAB 50 title contender McEachern of Georgia and top-ranked Montverde Academy.

8. (18) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 27-4
Key Players: PF K.J. Martin 6-7 2019 (No. 87 Hoop Scoop), PG Scotty Pippen Jr. 6-0 2019 (No. 237 247Sports.com), SG Cassius Stanley 6-5 2019 (No. 25 Hoop Scoop), SF Terren Frank 6-8 2020 (No. 31 ESPN.com), C Christian Koloko 7-0 2019 (No. 81 247Sports.com, Arizona commit).
Why This Ranking: For the first time in school history, the Trailblazers will open as the preseason No. 1 ranked team in California. Over the past five seasons, only one state No. 1, last season’s Mater Dei of Santa Ana club that started No. 6 in the FAB 50, did not go on to capture the CIF Open Division state crown. Mind you the Monarchs’ preseason ranking was published before Bol Bol (Oregon) left the team. Those statistics are a good omen for this year’s Sierra Canyon team, which bounced back from losing to Mater Dei in the CIF Southern Section Open Division final to win the CIF state open crown. With four returning starters and added depth, the goal of becoming the first ever back-to-back state champ in the CIF open format is definitely attainable. The improvement of Pippen (13.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.6 spg) over the second half of the season was key to the state title run and his presence is crucial against a difficult schedule. Stanley (16.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.9 spg) could explode this year after he was engrained into the lineup following a 30-day sit-out last season. L Simpson (6-1, 2019) can sub in at a variety of positions and provides a defensive spark while the playing time for Amari Bailey (6-2, 2022) may not be indicative of his talent level. No defending CIF open division champ brought back as much firepower as this club will.
The Skinny: Coach Andre Chevalier (who took over coaching the team in the playoffs two seasons ago when the Sacramento Kings’ Marvin Bagley was in the lineup) was a bit flabbergasted last year’s core didn’t receive more post-season national and state wide honors. The team sacrificed individual acclaim, particularly Frank and Stanley, for the ultimate prize and Chevalier again will have to reach into his bag to develop the chemistry on an even more talented unit. The graduation loss of Duane Washington (Ohio St.) will be felt because he was the most consistent perimeter performer and clutch in the big games, but the team’s leading scorer was actually Martin (17.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg). The son of former NBA No. 1 pick Kenyon Martin plays big and now has Koloko to help ease his burden and keep him out of foul trouble against FAB 50 level opponents. During December, Sierra Canyon heads to the Iolani Classic and Les Schwab Tournaments with a big matchup looming versus top-ranked Montverde Academy at the Hoophall Classic Jan. 21. Sierra Canyon, which also plays CIF open title contender Rancho Christian during a regular-season showcase game, was literally a few possessions away from a double-digit loss or unbeaten 2017-18 season. In order for those close games to go the Trailblazers’ way in 2018-19, someone will have to step up and hit the big shots the way Washington did last year and continue to put individual accolades on the back-burner.

9. (7) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 33-4
Key Players: SG Anthony Harris Jr. 6-3 2019 (No. 59 247Sports.com, Virginia Tech commit), PG Jeremy Roach 6-2 2020 (No. 11 247Sports.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American), SG Josiah Freeman 6-3 2020 (No. 123 Rivals.com), SF Trevor Keels 6-4 2021 (No. 25 Hoop Scoop), PF Josh Oduro 6-8 2019 (George Mason commit).
Why This Ranking: There is plenty returning off a team that went unbeaten in the nation’s toughest basketball conference. Coach Glenn Farello (426-177) has basically his entire unit back that went 18-0 in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference play before being knocked off by then regionally-ranked Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) in the WCAC tournament semifinals. Senior leader Brandon Slater (Villanova) actually missed the WCAC playoffs and part of the regular season with a broken bone in his hand, so the Panthers actually return five players with starting experience led by Roach (15.4 ppg). The returning all-Met point guard has a knack for the big play, is ultra-competitive and brings to this year’s team an improved outside shot. The talented Keels and Oduro were newcomers to the 2017-18 team who gained valuable experience while earning important roles. Oduro’s production will be key if the Panthers want anything near last year’s regular season performance because the WCAC is as tough as ever and other FAB 50 ranked teams in Paul VI’s range have more proven inside firepower.
The Skinny: The Panthers started No. 15 last season and finished even higher than forecasted even with Slater missing crucial games. Young players stepped up last season, but the intangibles Slater brought to the game will be missed. With seven of their top eight players back, however, there is no doubt the Panthers are FAB 50 title contenders and deserving of this ranking. For the sixth time in the past seven seasons, we place three WCAC teams in the preseason FAB 50 with DeMatha Catholic and Paul VI both cracking the Top 10. Paul VI is as much the conference favorite as the Stags, but from a national perspective, we rank DeMatha Catholic higher because it has a true big man in the middle for national level foes and fared better than the Panthers did versus quality, non-WCAC competition last season. We’ll see what Paul VI can bring against a top tier FAB 50 ranked team with size right away; the defending regular season WCAC and Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA) D1 champs take on top-ranked Montverde Academy at the ARC Hoopfest on Dec. 8. It faces highly-regarded Nicolet of Wisconsin the next night before entering the City of Palms field for the first time since 2013-14. The Panthers open with No. 37 Immaculate Conception (another talented team with major league size) and could meet FAB 50 title contender McEachern in the quarterfinals.

10. (41) Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 24-2
Key Players: C Mady Sissoko 6-9 2020 (No. 38 247Sports.com), PF Bernardo Da Silva 6-8 2019, PG Michael Saunders 6-1 2020, SG Tre’ Williams 6-5 2019.
Why This Ranking: The Tigers have been a middle of the pack FAB 50 program in recent seasons, but they’re our hunch team for 2018-19. Sure they have a new coach, as former Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) mentor David Evans takes over for Curtis Condie, but their nice blend of returning talent, skilled newcomers and an infusion of enthusiasm should lead to a GEICO Nationals return. Leading the way is Sissoko, one of the most intense and team-first post players in the country. His motor and enthusiasm are contagious, and even the Tigers’ bench accountability was off the charts in Fall League games we evaluated. Wing Leonardo Colimerio (6-6, 2020), a native of Sau Paulo, Brazil, is the other returning junior who should have a jump in production this season. Williams is primed for a big season and Saunders is just what the doctor ordered at point guard.
The Skinny: Wasatch missed last year’s GEICO Nationals after earning back-to-back berths in 2016-17 and a beefed-up schedule should help this team prepare for a run at its third berth. Richie Saunders (6-3, 2020) is the knockdown shooter that will keep teams honest defensively and Sissoko and Da Silva must learn to avoid cheap fouls to stay on floor because this team will rely on its defense and athletes to match the other top shelf teams. “Playing up tempo and our defense is the strength of this team,” Evans said. Wasatch will take on regionally-ranked Meadowcreek (Norcross, Ga.) at the Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta Nov. 24 and has a three-game Northern California swing in between two December holiday tournaments. January results versus regional-level foes Fairfax (Los Angeles) and Clark (Las Vegas, Nev.) will be a good indicator of where this clubs stands entering the Montverde Academy Invitational Jan. 24. That tournament will prepare Evans’ club for its games with No. 6 La Lumiere at The Bob Kirk Invitational in Cumberland, Md., Feb. 1 and No. 17 Sunrise Christian Academy at the Heartland Hoops Classic in Nebraska Feb. 2.

11. (29) Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 28-4
Key Players: PG Kyle Sturdivant 6-3 2019 (No. 55 Hoop Scoop, USC commit), SG B.J. Boston 6-6 2020 (No. 8 Rivals.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American), PF Issa Muhammad 6-9 2019 (No. 221 247Sports.com), PF Daniel Ramsey 6-8 2019 (No. 129 Rivals.com, Xavier commit).
Why This Ranking: The Blue Devils won their last state title in 2012-13 and were regionally-ranked, but not in the final FAB 50. That goes to show how much the profile of GHSA teams have risen over the past five years because if Norcross raises a banner at the end of this season it would assuredly mean a high FAB 50 ranking. The competition for the Class AAAAAAA state crown is fierce once again with major FAB 50 contender McEachern, regionally-ranked Meadowcreek of Norcross and Wheeler of Marietta major threats to the Blue Devils’ ultimate goal. There’s a lot to like with four starters and six lettermen returning, led by first team all-stater Sturdivant and second teamer Boston. Sturdivant, one of the nation’s top-rated point guards, can also play off the ball and averaged 17.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, and 3.9 assists for the AAAAAAA runner-up. Boston had a fantastic summer and is rapidly developing into one of the nation’s best shooters and scorers regardless of class. Backcourt depth and excellent perimeter size is provided by Isaac Martin (6-5, 2019), Caleb Murphy (6-4, 2020) and Kevon Eskridge (6-3, 2020).
The Skinny: If there is any club motivated to erase the memory of last season, it’s the Blue Devils. They have fallen in the state title game the past two seasons, including last season’s 56-43 Meadowcreek heartbreaker after defeating their crosstown Region 7 rivals three times during the regular season. When Norcross knocked off McEachern in the state quarterfinals, that team was No. 4 in the FAB 50. The untimely loss does create a situation of extreme motivation meeting elite talent, but veteran coach Jesse McMillan (253-59) is still a bit concerned about replacing what JoJo Toppin (Georgia) brought to the table and depth in the post. The inside production of Muhammad will be key and some of McMillan’s concerns were eased by the October addition of Ramsey, who averaged 16 ppg and 7.9 rpg at Deerfield-Windsor of Albany, Ga. Norcross plays Wheeler Nov. 17 at the On the Radar Showcase and closes out the regular season Feb. 1 with archrival Meadowcreek. In between the Blue Devils had a national schedule which includes key games at the Cancer Research Classic versus top-ranked Montverde Academy and No. 3 DeMatha Catholic and enter the Chick-Fil-A Classic in South Carolina (Dec 27-29) against a field that includes FAB 50 contenders Memphis East, Sunrise Christian Academy, St. Frances Academy of Baltimore, Holy Spirit Prep of Georgia, Roman Catholic of Philadelphia and Independence of North Carolina.

12. (10) Warren Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) 32-0
Key Players: SG David Bell 6-2 2019, SF Jesse Bingham 6-6 2019, SF Jakobie Robinson 6-6 2019.
Why This Ranking: The Warriors return three starters off a historic team that captured the coveted IHSAA Class 4A state crown with an unblemished record. Warren Central was the first Indiana team to finish with an undefeated record in nine seasons. A repeat is within reach, as Criss Beyers’ program stresses balance and breeds unselfishness. Six players averaged between eight and 12 points last season, led by Bell and Bingham, who both averaged over 12 ppg. Bell, one of the top Grid-Hoop athletes in the country, was chosen to the A.P. all-state third team. Not only does Bell make clutch plays, none bigger than his bank runner to knock of New Albany in the state semifinals, his football background produces a ton of 50-50 plays that go in Warren Central’s favor and his defensive effort rubs off on teammates. Bingham is an athletic wing who had a breakout junior season and is adept at slashing to the basket or scoring from mid-range. Robinson is primed for a breakout season and even though he’ll play on the wing at the next level, he’s an athletic post presence that sacrifices his own perimeter game to give the Warriors necessary inside punch.
The Skinny: This team has the ingredients for another championship run and an Indiana Class 4A state champ that is undefeated or has one-loss deserves a high FAB 50 ranking. Because Indiana teams have travel restrictions, the Warriors won’t be able to test themselves against a team from outside the Midwest region so, from a national rankings perspective, it can’t afford more than one bad outing. Warren Central’s defense, passing and unselfishness won’t take a day off, but there’s no doubt the backcourt play of graduated Dean Tate and Antwaan Cushingberry will be missed. The play of Shawn Beeler II (5-9, 2019), a reserve last season, is key and so is developing some reliable bench play. Last season, the play of other Indiana teams (there were three FAB 50 ranked teams at the state Final Four) helped Warren Central’s cause and there is no guarantee the rest of the Hoosier State’s top teams will be as highly-regarded in 2018-19. Warren Central controls its own destiny and despite being one of the top football players in the country, Bell is expected to lace them up for his senior campaign.

13. (BB) Ranney School (Tinton Falls, N.J.) 28-5
Key Players: SF Scottie Lewis 6-6 2019 (No. 4 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife Underclass All-American, Florida commit), SG Bryan Antoine 6-4 2019 (No. 11 Hoop Scoop, Ballislife Underclass All-American, Villanova commit), SF Phillip Wheeler 6-8 2020.
Why This Ranking: With their returning talent and experienced-laden lineup, the Panthers are the preseason favorites to capture the coveted New Jersey Tournament of Champions after losing to last year’s eventual winner, FAB 50-ranked Roselle Catholic, in the NJSIAA Non-Public B title game. Roselle is formidable once again, with FAB 50 contender Immaculate Conception, Patrick School and Bergen Catholic also in contention. With four returning starters and two potential All-Americans, one has to like Ranney School’s chances. If University School’s Vernon Carey and Scottie Barnes isn’t the best 1-2 combo in high school basketball, Lewis and Antoine likely are. With his overall skill level and athleticism, Lewis is capable of stepping up against the FAB 50 foes on the rugged schedule. Last season, Lewis was a NJ.com first team all-state choice after averaging 16.4 ppg. With some big-time performances in the big games, Lewis could develop into a legitimate Mr. Basketball USA candidate. Antoine was second team all-state and though not quite as highly-regarded nationally, he’s actually been Ranney’s most consistent player the past two seasons. Antoine averaged 21.1 ppg and proved this summer he is capable of taking over high-level games.
The Skinny: This is far from a two-man team and how well the role players do will determine just how high the Panthers can climb in the FAB 50. Ahmadu Sarnor (6-2, 2019) is an experienced point guard with D1 offers who must knock down some big perimeter shots when the defense focuses on Lewis and Antoine. Chris Autino (6-6, 2019) has plenty of experience battling big players in the post and New Jersey had plenty of them last year and more this season. Coach Taj Holden is a bit concerned about Ranney’s interior defense and inside scoring punch, but Wheeler will help on the boards, can knock down the deep perimeter shot and won’t mind taking a back seat offensively, if necessary. The schedule includes a trip to the John Wall Invitational in Raleigh, N.C., Dec. 26-29, and a matchup with No. 31 Federal Way at the Hoophall Classic. Ranney and Roselle Catholic will tangle on Jan. 30 at the Jersey Shore Challenge and the Panthers get their crack at top-ranked Montverde Academy Feb. 8 at the Metro Classic.

14. (17) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 29-4
Key Players: SG Noah Taitz 6-4 2020 (No. 30 Hoop Scoop), PG Zaon Collins 6-0 2021 (No. 26 Hoop Scoop), C Isaiah Cottrell 6-9 2020 (No. 44 ESPN.com), SG Will McClendon 6-4 2021.
Why This Ranking: The Gaels are an overwhelming favorite to capture their eighth consecutive NIAA state title and with this group should make noise on a national level. With an extremely young core last season, Gorman began the season ranked No. 48 in the FAB 50. The Gaels exceeded expectations, however, getting past a talented Clark of Las Vegas team (which was ranked higher in the preseason) four times en route to another state crown. State Player of the Year Jamal Bey (22.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg), now at Washington, will be missed but sophomore Noah Taitz (17.5 ppg) hit just as many key shots and will have no problem easing into the lead scoring role. Collins is the catalyst and head coach Grant Rice (446-94) was impressed by how his young core developed last season. “We had one D1 senior and it was his team, but the younger guys stepped up and our chemistry was real good.”
The Skinny: The Gaels were expected to be this highly-regarded in the preseason in 2019-20, but there is no reason they can’t compete for a FAB 50 crown a year early if the egos (which weren’t there last season) remain in check, the role players such as Chance Michels (6-2, 2019), Mwani Wilkinson (6-6, 2020) and Braden Lamar (6-4, 2020) do their job, McClendon develops consistency and Cottrell produces in the big games. He didn’t have to contribute much offensively last season, but Cottrell will be key against the top teams on a loaded schedule. This fall Gorman was lights out defensively when it captured the Ron Massey Memorial Fall Classic in Southern California and it will need similar type defensive efforts to capture the Tarkanian Classic for the second consecutive season against the likes of Rancho Christian and Sheldon of California, Whitney Young of Chicago and Federal Way of Washington. Gorman faces No. 15 Guyer and highly-regarded Gonzaga Prep of Washington at Hoophall West in Phoenix Dec. 7-8, takes on No. 6 La Lumiere and WCAC power Gonzaga of Washington, D.C. at the Cancer Research Classic with the annual showdown with Findlay Prep set for Jan. 19.

15. (31) Guyer (Denton, Texas) 25-6
Key Players: PG De’Vion Harmon 6-0 2019 (No. 24 247Sports.com, Oklahoma commit), SF Jalen Wilson 6-8 2019 (No. 30 247Sports.com, Michigan commit), PF JaKobe Coles (6-6, 2020), SG Tyler McGhie (6-3, 2020).
Why This Ranking: In last year's preseason rankings, we started the Wildcats No. 2 in Texas behind 2016-17 UIL Class 6A state champ Cy Falls, as Guyer didn’t fare well in the playoffs that season. Last year, coach Grant Long’s club was rolling along and got as high as No. 8 in the FAB 50, until falling in a UIL Class 6A regional final. This season, the Wildcats have enough firepower (three returning starters, eight lettermen) to warrant top billing, but we also seriously considered FAB 50 ranked South Garland with Katy Morton Ranch and re-loaded Duncanville other major Class 6A title contenders. Harmon and Wilson (who shared District 6-6A co-MVP honors in 2017-18) have been Guyer’s leading scorers the past two seasons and as seniors there is no reason to believe their production level and decision-making won’t be even better. Harmon (15.7 ppg, 5.2 apg, 1.7 spg) is a lefty combo guard who can attack the basket with a vengeance and plays with a competitive edge. Wilson (16.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.2 apg) is an excellent spot-up shooter who can run like a deer and is also an excellent defender. “We have good size, good skill and our players have a high basketball IQ,” Long said.
The Skinny: This is far from a two-man team and a tough schedule will have Guyer battle-tested in the program’s quest for its first state final four appearance. Coles (12.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.4 bpg), who was Guyer’s only sophomore starter last season, is an interior player with better skill than he gets credit for who must stay out of foul trouble in big games. McGhie is a sharp-shooter who can play both guard spots and gives Guyer versatility while newcomer C.J. Luster (6-4, 2021) eases some of Long’s concerns about backcourt quickness. Guyer plays loaded Sunrise Christian Academy of Kansas at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest (Nov. 24) in Duncanville, and has a tough three game stretch where it faces No. 14 Bishop Gorman and Hillcrest Prep of Phoenix at Hoophall West in Phoenix (Dec. 7-8) then No. 3 DeMatha Catholic at the ARS National Hoopfest in Waxahachie the following weekend (Dec. 15). Those are big tests from a national rankings perceptive, but it all boils down to being healthy and peaking during the UIL Class 6A state tournament, which is a battle of attrition where the team with the most steady guard play is likely to come out on top. The only thing surpassing Guyer’s confidence is its motivation after bitter playoffs losses the past two seasons.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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The Luka Doncic vs Michael Porter Jr is Overrated Social Media "Feud"

David — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 13:23:57 +0000

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmRipF_lME1

We all need friends like Michael Porter Jr and Dino Radoncic!

After seeing a social media post that said Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr "liked" a post that said, "Luka (Doncic) is the most overrated person I've seen in my life," Montenegrin pro basketball player Dino Radoncic tweeted, "MVP of Euroleague can’t be overrated. A injured player who has not played 5 college games can be overrated. #Facts."

Guess who "liked" that tweet?

If you said Luka, the 19-year-old No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft who was traded by the Atlanta Hawks to the Dallas Mavericks for No. 5 pick Trae Young, then you are correct. The same 19-year-old ESPN voters made their favorite in a 2018-19 Rookie Of The Year prediction poll that I'm sure Young and Porter (who actually played 3 games in college) didn't like.

THE RELATIONSHIPS

Here's some background information on the players involved in this amusing social media "feud." Doncic and Radoncic go way back to their Real Madrid junior team days, so that's probably why Dino was quick to defend his former teammate. Porter and Young go back to their days of playing on the same AAU team, so that's probably why Porter liked a post that was putting down a guy a lot of basketball fans think the Hawks should have kept instead of exchanging him for Porter's high school buddy, who originally was planning on teaming up with Porter in college before selecting Oklahoma.

Personally, I think Doncic is going to be a star in the league and so will Porter IF he can get healthy. People forget Porter was considered by many to be the best (or top two if you had Marvin Bagley at No. 1) high school player in the nation during his junior and senior year. And despite going 14th, Porter still considers himself the best player in his class.

UPDATE

Porter said he reached out to Luka and told him it was "100% an accident" and he has nothing but respect for the EuroLeague MVP.

TRAE & MICHAEL

LUKA DONCIC

SOURCE: Eurohoops.net

The post The Luka Doncic vs Michael Porter Jr is Overrated Social Media "Feud" appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Luka Doncic Is Ready For His Next Chapter (And To See Who Will Make A Mistake On Draft Night)!

David — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 21:55:52 +0000

Will the Phoenix Suns take one of the new faces of PUMA basketball (big men Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III) or will they take the baby-faced killer that is Luka Doncic with the first pick in the unpredictable gamble that is the 2018 NBA Draft?

In an interview with Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports, the 19-year-old "playmaking prodigy out of Slovenia" had this quotable about the Draft and his upcoming season in the NBA:

“Pick one to five, it will be amazing to be selected there, especially for a European guy." Said Doncic. "I need to show it on the court, because I need to prove it. I can see who made a mistake not drafting me. After my rookie season, I will see who made a mistake. I’m motivated to enter the draft. I’m excited to play in the NBA and play against these stars."

Depending on who you ask or what Mock Draft you are looking at, Doncic is either a no-brainer at #1 (Bill Simmons will tell you this) or a possible 4th pick by the Grizzlies -- a team known for making horrible picks (drafting Steve Francis after he made it clear he doesn't want to play for them) and trades (trading Kevin Love for OJ Mayo) on Draft night. Unless Doncic has a rookie campaign like Donovan Mitchell and the big men picked ahead play like former Grizzlies No. 2 pick Hasheem Thabeet (selected before James Harden & Steph Curry), I'm not sure "mistake" will be the right word.

Look at the 2009 draft, when Blake Griffin was picked first and missed the entire season with an injury and Tyreke Evans was picked 4th and ended up winning Rookie Of The Year by putting up rookie LeBron numbers. I'm sure the Clippers still didn't think they made a mistake by taking future 5x All-Star Blake and I'm positive the Thunder were still happy with taking James Harden at No. 3 (so they could later make the mistake of trading him for soon-to-be retired Kevin Martin and a bunch of future picks). As for the Grizzlies, they knew very quickly they made a HUGE mistake with Thabeet, who became the highest drafted player to ever be sent to the D-League.

Anyways, back to the 'Wonderboy' Luka Doncic. As we wait to see which team will win the Slovenia Superstar Sweepstakes or make the "mistake" of going big, let's take a look at this serious but cool ESPN video about Doncic's journey to the NBA and a very fun video by Bleacher Report about Doncic's future in the NBA, which includes dating Jennifer Aniston and appearing in a Drake video.

BONUS VIDEOS

The post Luka Doncic Is Ready For His Next Chapter (And To See Who Will Make A Mistake On Draft Night)! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Michael Porter Jr & Trae Young Dominating AAU Together

David — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 11:21:57 +0000

News of Michael Porter Jr cancelling an upcoming scheduled workout in Chicago caused a lot of movement in NBA Mock Drafts. Some are speculating the decision means Porter's back issue is a bigger issue than many thought, while others are thinking it means the Sacramento Kings might take him (and not Marvin Bagley III, who worked out with the Kings on Monday) with the second pick.

One person who might end up in Chicago on Draft night is Porter's former AAU teammate Trae Young, who also recently jumped up on a lot of Mock Drafts. The Mokan Elite duo of Porter and Young is one of my favorite high school duos of the past few years and almost became one of my favorite college duos.

"I would have gone to Oklahoma to play with Trae Young," Porter told Athlon Sports back in 2017. "If my dad was not a coach, I would not have come back to Missouri, mostly because I had not developed a huge relationship with Cuonzo (Martin) yet."

Two years earlier, Young was pretty positive they would be playing together in college.

“Yep we’re gonna do it,” Young said to USA Today. “We’re putting it out there that we’re gonna play together. We just feel like we can do big things together....We talk or text every day and we know each other’s tendencies on the court. It’s the perfect match.”

How perfect? Here's some throwback highlights of the two future NBA lottery picks dominating the AAU scene back in 2015 and 2016.

2015

2016

2017

The post Michael Porter Jr & Trae Young Dominating AAU Together appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

2017-18 High School All-American Team Announced!

Ronnie Flores — Tue, 15 May 2018 02:48:50 +0000

Mr. Basketball USA R.J. Barrett., two-time selection Zion Williamson and Indiana recruit Romeo Langford highlight 24th annual All-American team produced by www.ebooksnet.com Grassroots Editor Ronnie Flores. Elite honor squad includes 20-man first team and 30-man second team.

The 2017-18 All-American Elite Team, now published for the 24th consecutive season and on the www.ebooksnet.com platform for the fourth time, includes 46 of the nation’s best seniors, led by Mr. Basketball USA R.J. Barrett of FAB 50 No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.).

Sixteen seniors and four juniors, including National Junior of the Year Vernon Carey Jr. of FAB 50 No. 2 University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), headline the 20-player overall first team.

A 30-player second team includes 30 additional seniors. It has been determined no juniors, sophomores or freshmen will supplant any of the seniors of the second team although underclassmen are indeed eligible. Barrett, last year’s National Sophomore Player of the Year, re-classified to the 2018 class.

In the 24 seasons of publishing annual All-American teams (we have retroactive teams dating back to the 1954-55 season), no freshman has ever made the first team. Last year’s national junior of the year, Marvin Bagley III of Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), made the second team as a freshman in 2014-15 while at Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.). He left for college after his junior season at Sierra Canyon and is expected to be a high lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft after one season at Duke.

The class player of the year among tenth-graders on this year’s Underclass All-American team is 6-foot-3 guard Jalen Suggs of Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.). Last season, he was the first-ever underclass player of the year (dating back to the 1969-70 season) from the state of Minnesota and has been a varsity player since seventh grade. Suggs has led Minnehaha Academy to consecutive Class AA state titles. Our class player of the year among ninth-graders is center Michael Foster Jr. of Washington (Milwaukee, Wis.). The 6-foot-9 post player who is already committed to Arizona St. is the first-ever underclass player of the year from Wisconsin, which has two players on this year’s 10-man freshman All-American team.

Our national coach of the year is Josh Luedtke of Creighton Prep (Omaha, Neb.). He guided the Junior Jays to the NSAA Class A state crown with a 56-46 win over Bellevue West. It was the third state crown for Luedtke, whose program finished No. 46 in the final FAB 50 National Team rankings with a 26-1 mark. In 2015, the Junior Jays won the Class A crown and finished No. 49 in the FAB 50 at 27-2. In both seasons, Creighton Prep avenged its losses. The program won its first state crown under Luedtke’s leadership in 2008-09.

This performance-based All-American team is selected by National Grassroots Editor Ronnie Flores with input from Mr. Basketball USA panelists. It is chosen after the conclusion of the season, which makes this All-American team more reflective of players who made state championship runs. This honors squad has been chosen in its current format since the 1994-95 season and is powered by www.ebooksnet.com for the fourth consecutive season. This team is chosen regardless of class and is not exclusive or preferential for seniors named to the Ballislife All-American Game. To check out who has played in the Ballislife All-American Game the past eight years, please visit ballislifeallamerican.com. To view archived All-American teams published under this format, please visit GrassrootsHoops.net.

2017-18 All-American First Team

First Five

G — Foster Loyer, Clarkston (Mich.) 6-0 Sr.
One of the most highly-honored players ever from the state of Michigan, Loyer was a cinch choice for A.P. State Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball honors. As a junior, he led Clarkston to its first-ever state title whole scoring 29 points in the state title game and was even better this season. Loyer tallied 27 ppg, 4 rpg, 7 apg, and 3 spg for a team that won another Class A title with a 26-1 record and finished No. 25 in the FAB 50 rankings. In this year’s state semifinals, he netted 42 points and came back with 40 in the state title game, making 13-of-22 3-point shots and 17-of-18 from the free throw line. Loyer also put together a string of 199 consecutive made free throws during his career. Clarkston had a 95-6 record over his four years and Loyer was named all-state in each season.

G — R.J. Barrett, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-7 Sr.
Moves up from the fourth team to the highest individual honor a player can receive as this season’s Mr. Basketball USA honoree after leading Montverde Academy to a wire-to-wire FAB 50 No. 1 finish. Last season, he was the only tenth-grader on the All-American first team and was named national sophomore of the year before reclassifying up. The left-handed power guard was Montverde Academy’s leading scorer in each of his three seasons with the Eagles, including 22 ppg in 2016-17 and 28.7 ppg for this year’s unbeaten club that won 15 games against FAB 50 or previously ranked foes. Barrett led the Eagles to their fourth mythical FAB 50 national title by averaging 26.7 ppg in three wins at GEICO Nationals and is the third foreign-born national player of the year in the past six seasons, joining NBA players Andrew Wiggins (2013) and Ben Simmons (2015).

G — Romeo Langford, New Albany (New Albany, Ind.) 6-4 Sr.
Indiana’s favorite son since Damon Bailey, Langford finished his prep career with 3,002 points, No. 4 on the all-time state list. Bailey, the 1990 Mr. Basketball USA choice, is No. 1 with 3,134 points. Langford led New Albany to a Class 4A state crown as a sophomore and this past season it took a miracle shot to knock the team off in the state semifinals. For the season, Langford averaged 35.5 ppg and led New Albany to a 25-2 record and No. 28 FAB 50 ranking. The Hoosier State rejoiced when Langford decided to attend Indiana University.

F — Zion Williamson, Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, S.C.) 6-7 Sr.
Moves up from the second five after another successful season from a team and individual perspective despite missing nine games because of various injuries. As a junior, Williamson averaged 36.8 points and 13 rebounds per game and netted 51 points in a state title game victory. As a senior in 2017-18, Williamson led Spartanburg to a third consecutive SCISA Class 2A state title, as SDS went 20-8 and was regionally-ranked. Of those eight losses, the Duke recruit missed five of those games. For the season, he averaged 36.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.4 bpg and 3.6 spg while shooting 78 percent from the field. A national celebrity and arguably the most viral player of the mixtape generation, the Duke-bound Williamson finished his career with 3,202 points (32.0 ppg), 1,131 rebounds (11.3 rpg), 304 steals (3.0 spg) and 293 blocks (2.9 bpg).

F — Vernon Carey Jr., University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 6-9 Jr.
Had a breakout junior campaign for the Sharks, leading them to the FHSAA Class 5A state crown with dominant performances. University School went 35-2 and finished No. 2 in the FAB 50, avenging its loss to No. 3 Oak Hill Academy with Carey going for 29 points while making 13-of-19 shots from the field. The son of a former NFL lineman, Carey averaged 20.3 ppg and made 27-of-42 shots from the field in three GEICO Nationals game, as University lost in the final to No. 1 Montverde Academy. Against stiff overall competition, Carey averaged 26.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg and 4 bpg while edging second teamer Nassir Little for Florida Mr. Basketball honors.

Second Five

G — Darius Garland, Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.) 6-0 Sr.
With Garland at the helm, Brentwood Academy won a record-tying four consecutive TSSAA Division II-AA state crowns. After averaging 23 ppg and leading his team to a 30-2 mark as a junior, Garland stepped up to average 28.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 4.2 apg to lead the Eagles to a 25-5 record against a national schedule and a No. 34 FAB 50 ranking. One of the best pure point guards in the country, the Vanderbilt-bound Garland dished out 11 assists at the McDonald’s All-American Game. He also participated at the Jordan Brand Classic and was a three-time Mr. Basketball recipient for his classification.

G — Javonte Smart, Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, La.) 6-4 Sr.
One of the most highly-honored players in recent Louisiana lore, Smart earned Gatorade State Player of the Year and LSWA Mr. Basketball honors for the third consecutive season. After earning Class 5A MVP honors as a freshman, Smart led the Hornets to Division I state titles the past two seasons and was state tourney MVP twice. Smart has experience playing point guard for USA Basketball, but this season took on a big scoring role and had to play inside a majority of the time with spectacular results. He averaged 32.9 ppg, 10.2 rpg, and 5.9 apg for a 30-5 club. Smart scored 15 points and hit three 3-pointers in the Jordan Brand Classic and went for 21 points in the Ballislife All-American Game.

F — Emmitt Williams, Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) 6-6 Sr.
More known for his football exploits as a youth, this late bloomer turned into one of the most explosive players in the country after starring at Lehigh Senior (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) as a freshman. He averaged 15.3 ppg and 11.2 rpg in ninth-grade and last season was one of the best players on a IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) team that finished 26-2 and No. 8 in the FAB 50. As a senior, Williams averaged 15.5 ppg and 11.3 rpg, for a team that won the FHSAA Class 9A state crown. Although the numbers seem modest, Oak Ridge had plenty of talent at its disposal and Williams’ team finished No. 8 in the FAB 50 against a tough schedule. Williams had 18 points and 11 rebounds against fellow LSU commit and second five selection Naz Reid, a record 44 points at the Jordan Brand Classic and turned in another MVP performance at the Ballislife All-American Game (31 points, 12 rebounds.).

F — Nassir Little, Orlando Christian Prep (Orlando, Fla.) 6-7 Sr.
Similar to Mitchell Robinson last season, Little used the post-season all-star circuit to catapult his All-American standing and he’s now considered the No. 2 prospect in the national 2018 class by 247Sports.com and Rivals.com. He was Team MVP at the McDonald’s All-American Game after scoring a game-high 28 points and grabbing five rebounds. He was also MVP at the Jordan Brand Classic after turning in a 24-point, 6-rebound performance. A Florida Mr. Basketball finalist along with Emmitt Williams, he came in No. 6 in the Mr. Basketball USA voting after leading OCP to its second consecutive Class 3A state crown. Bound for North Carolina, Little finished with senior season averages of 21.7 ppg and 9.2 rpg.

F — Naz Reid, Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 6-10 Sr.
One of the biggest and most powerful post players in the country, Reid put it all together as a senior to lead Roselle Catholic to a championship campaign. Against a rugged in-state and national schedule, Reid averaged 16.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 6.5 apg, and 2.5 bpg for a team that finished 29-4 and No 14 in the FAB 50. Reid tries to incorporate some of Magic Johnson in his game and doesn’t mind going out on the perimeter, but when motivated he’s a dominant force on the block. Luckily for Lions’ fans, Reid was on his game all season long, as Roselle Catholic won the NJ TOC title while Reid was named NJ.com Player of the Year. For his career, Reid won three section titles and was part of two state and TOC title-winning clubs. The LSU recruit had 15 points and 11 rebounds (game-high) at the McDonald’s All-American Game and a team-high 23 points at the Ballislife All-American Game.

Third Five

G — Tre Jones, Apple Valley (Minn.) 6-2 Sr.
Although Apple Valley’s season ended in heart-breaking fashion in the Class 4A state finals, it doesn’t diminish from the individual success Jones had this season and the past five years. Similar to Jordan Brown, Darius Garland, Romeo Langford, and Foster Loyer, Jones moves up from the 2016-17 second team after averaging 22.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists for a 26-5 team. Jones joins his older Tyus as a state Mr. Basketball selection and All-American, which Tyus achieved in both 2013 and 2014 (second five). Jones, who like his older brother will play for Duke, led Apple Valley to two state titles and even played on the varsity as an eighth-grader while leading Apple Valley to a 143-13 mark in those five seasons.

G — Coby White, Greenfield (Wilson, N.C.) 6-3 Sr.
Netted the most career points of any player from the basketball-rich state of North Carolina (NCHSAA or NCISAA), breaking the NCHSAA record of former Eastern Alamance (Mebane, N.C.) standout JamesOn Curry (3,307). Although, NCISAA players can begin playing varsity ball in seventh grade, White only needed four seasons to amass his point total of 3,573. As a senior, White led Greenfield to the NCISAA Class 1A state final while averaging 30.2 ppg, 10.3 rpg and 9.1 apg. This year’s A.P. State Player of the Year, White is also a two-time Gatorade State POY. This North Carolina recruit played in the Jordan, McDonalds, and Ballislife All-American Games with his best performance being a 21-point, 5-rebound performance at the Jordan Brand Classic.

F — Keldon Johnson, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 6-6 Sr.
The emotional and statistical leader for one of the best teams in the country, Johnson led Oak Hill Academy to a 44-2 season and No. 3 FAB 50 ranking. One of the best practice players ever to play for long-time Oak Hill coach Steve Smith, Johnson averaged 22.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, and 4.1 apg while supplying excellent defense. Those defensive abilities were evident in the McDonald’s All-American Game, where Johnson scored eight points and had three assists. Johnson is headed to Kentucky.

F — Jalen Smith, Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 6-10 Sr.
One of the most highly-honored frontcourt players in the country, Smith led a regionally-ranked 35-4 club by averaging 23 points, 12.5 rebounds and three blocks per game. Blessed with tremendous length and shot blocking ability, this four-year standout led Mt. St. Joseph to 120 wins and four titles in the competitive Baltimore Catholic League. Not only was he a two-time BCL Player of the Year, he was also named Maryland Player of the Year by Gatorade twice in addition to being the Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro Player of the Year in consecutive seasons. This Maryland recruit scored 2,122 career points and had 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the Jordan Brand Classic.

C — Jordan Brown, Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) 6-11 Sr.
After three successful seasons at Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.), Brown continued his development at the academy-type program in California’s Napa Valley. The son of a former NBA Draftee, Brown averaged 21.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.8 bpg for one of the top academy teams in the country. He was a two-time all-state pick at Woodcreek, including last season when he averaged 26.3 ppg and 15.8 rpg while leading his team to the NorCal Open Division title. Brown also won a Gold Medal with Team USA at the 2016 FIBA 17U World Championship and was a McDonald’s All-American. Brown, who chose Nevada as the final elite player to make his college decision, had 26 points and eight rebounds in that national all-star game.

Fourth Five

G — Andrew Nembhard, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-4 Sr.
With the Eagles possibly fielding their best team in the Kevin Boyle era, we chose to place a second Montverde Academy player on our elite first team. That player is Nembhard, who recovered from a serious stomach ailment suffered near the end of his 2016-17 campaign to earn All-American acclaim. Similar to fellow Canadian and teammate R.J. Barrett, Nembhard re-classified to the 2018 class and made the most of his final high school season, running point guard duties while averaging 14 ppg, 4 rpg and 8 apg for the nation’s top-ranked team. Nembhard, who is from Vaughn, Ontario and will attend Florida, averaged 10.7 ppg and 8.3 apg in three victories at GEICO Nationals. He also had nine points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals at the Jordan Brand Classic.

G — Quentin Grimes, College Park (The Woodlands, Texas) 6-5 Sr.
After the Cavaliers failed to make the playoffs in his first two seasons, Grimes’ stellar play changed the team’s fortunes the past two years. One of the country’s best scoring guards, he averaged 29.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game as a senior as College Park went 21-13 and won its first District Title in the Grimes era. Bound for Kansas, Grimes had a 50-point outing and was a relatively easy player of the year choice by the Houston Chronicle. Grimes closed his high school career with 14 points in the McDonald’s All-American Game and 15 points, nine rebounds and four steals in the Jordan Brand Classic.

F — Onyeka Okongwu, Chino Hills (Calif.) 6-9 Jr.
After a somewhat slow start to his junior campaign, Chino Hills struggled to adjust to the new offensive system of its third coach in three years, Okongwu became a dominant force once the Huskies figured out they would perform best with him as the focal point. He put forth stellar individual performances down the stretch, including a 38-point, 16-rebound, 5-block performance in a section title game victory. The Big O also had a 37-point, 17-rebound, 9-dunk performance in the playoffs and closed out the season with 27 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in the CIF D1 state title game win. Okongwu averaged 28 ppg, 12 rpg and 4 bpg for a 26-11 team that won its final 11 games and the recent USC commit was named Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball.

F — James Wiseman, Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) 6-11 Jr.
It was a tough decision for the final spots of the elite first team, but we went with this talented junior big man who missed six games because of an eligibility ruling over senior guard and teammate Alex Lomax (14.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 7.0 apg) and Class AAA Mr. Basketball Tyler Harris. Wiseman, netted a team-leading 18.5 ppg to go along with 8.2 rpg and 2.8 bpg for a 31-3 team that finished No. 4 in the FAB 50. Wiseman performed favorably against the other big men on East’s schedule and will be a serious Mr. Basketball USA candidate next season. Wiseman has committed to Memphis, where he’ll play for his high school coach this season at East: local legend Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway.

C — Charles Bassey, Aspire Academy (Louisville, Ky.) 6-10 Jr.
After earning National Freshman of the Year honors two seasons ago, Bassey has maintained his status as one of the nation’s top big men regardless of class. The powerful and nimble big man averaged 19.3 ppg, 11.4 rpg and 2.9 apg competing for an academy-type club that played most of its games on the Grind Session, which consisted of 32 core teams where basketball development is a major focus. Bassey has also starred in grassroots and international play, including 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds in the World Select Team’s 89-76 victory over Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit.

2017-18 All-American Second Team

G — James Akinjo, Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 6-0 Sr.
F — Jamal Bey, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 6-7 Sr.
F — Rechon “Leaky” Black, Cox Mill (Concord, N.C.) 6-7 Sr.
C — Bol Bol, Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 7-1 Sr.
F — Matt Bradley, Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 6-3 Sr.
C — Moses Brown, Archbishop Malloy (Queens, N.Y.) 7-1 Sr.
G — Ayo Dosunmu, Morgan Park (Chicago) 6-4 Sr.
G — Devon Dotson, Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.) 6-2 Sr.
G — Dane Goodwin, Upper Arlington (Columbus, Ohio) 6-5 Sr.
G — Mason Harrell, Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) 5-8 Sr.
F — Jermaine Harris, Rock Creek Christian Academy (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 6-8 Sr.
G — Tyler Harris, Cordova (Memphis, Tenn.) 5-9 Sr.
F — Jaylen Hoard, Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) 6-9 Sr.
F — Talen Horton-Tucker, Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) 6-5 Sr.
F — Brandon Johns, East Lansing (Mich.) 6-8 Sr.
F — Gerald Liddell, Steele (Cibolo, Texas) 6-7 Sr.
G — Alex Lomax, East Memphis (Memphis, Tenn.) 5-11 Sr.
G — Jordan McCabe, Kaukauna (Wis.) 5-10 Sr.
G — Mac McClung, Gate City (Va.) 6-2 Sr.
F — David McCormack, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 6-9 Sr.
F — E.J. Montgomery, Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 6-10 Sr.
F — Landers Nolley, Langston Hughes (Fairburn, Ga.) 6-7 Sr.
F — Daniel Oturu, Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 6-10 Sr.
F — Kevin Porter, Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) 6-5 Sr.
G — Immanuel Quickley, John Carroll (Bel Air, Md.) 6-3 Sr.
G — Jahvon Quinerly, Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.) 6-2 Sr.
F — Reggie Perry, Thomasville (Ga.) 6-8 Sr.
F — Cameron Reddish, Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) 6-7 Sr.
G — Joe Wieskamp, Muscatine (Iowa) 6-6 Sr.
F — Robert Woodard, Columbus (Miss.) 6-6 Sr.

National Coach of the Year: Josh Luedtke, Creighton Prep (Omaha, Neb.)

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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R.J. Barrett TOPS Final POY Tracker!

Ronnie Flores — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 19:31:16 +0000

The final, expanded 2017-18 Mr. Basketball ballots are in and after they are tallied, there is a clear-cut top candidate. Duke-bound wing R.J. Barrett of FAB 50 champion Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) out paces explosive Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina with 98 overall points out of 100. Besides Williamson, the candidates that received at least one second-place vote are undecided Romeo Langford and standout junior Vernon Carey, with junior center Charles Bassey appearing as the top player on one ballot.

The two most prominent factors when it comes to honoring individual players for their high school basketball accolades are production and winning. That clearly is reflected in the results of the final 2017-18 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

R.J. Barrett, a 6-foot-7 senior guard, led Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) to its fourth FAB 50 mythical national title in six seasons. The Eagles finished unbeaten at 36-0 and recorded their first-ever wire-to-wire No. 1 finish with the Ontario, Canada native leading every step of the way.

A couple of off-season happenings shaped this season's national player of the year race. The would-be top returning vote-getter in the final 2016-17 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker, 6-foot-10 Marvin Bagley of Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), decided to join the 2017 recruiting class and enroll at Duke. Last season's National Junior of the Year finished as the No. 3 vote-getter and this season was the ACC Player of the Year and is expected to be one of the top picks in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Barrett followed in Bagley's footsteps and also re-classified, joining the 2018 class after earning National Sophomore of the Year honors and being the only tenth-grader to earn first team honors (fourth five) on our 2016-17 All-American Elite Team. Barrett didn't receive much national player of the year recognition as a sophomore (tied for 19th place), but things changed in July 2017 after he led Canada to the FIBA 19U World Cup title in Cairo, Egypt. Barrett was the leading scorer (21.6 ppg) in the event and recorded 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a 99-87 semifinal win over Team USA.

Barrett's big summer was reflected in the preseason Mr. Basketball USA Tracker balloting. Every single scout on the 10-man tacker panel (see below) had him as their leading candidate or No. 2 for 2017-18 national player of the year honors. He received six first-place votes and finished with 96 points, five more than forward Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, S.C.), who was technically the highest returning vote-getter (No. 5 overall) from 2016-17 after Bagley left early for college. Williamson's 89 points included three first-place votes, five second-place votes, a third-place vote and a fifth-place vote.

All throughout this past season, Barrett wanted to prove he was the best player in the country and to put himself alongside the other Montverde Academy greats who have played for Kevin Boyle. In order to do that, Barrett felt Montverde Academy needed to win GEICO Nationals and the mythical national title. He accomplished that goal, as the Eagles did not lose a game while he averaged 28.7 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 4.4 apg. Barrett averaged 26.7 ppg in the three games at GEICO Nationals, including 25 points and 15 rebounds in the 76-58 championship game victory over No. 2 University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.).

In the final balloting for 2017-18, Barrett strengthened his candidacy over Williamson, as those two spectacular players remained the only Mr. Basketball USA candidates to appear on each ballot. Even after production at major holiday tournaments, showcases and various state playoff tournaments around the country changed positioning among other candidates, it did not alter the panel's evaluation of Barrett and Williamson very much.

Barrett was the No. 1 vote-getter on all but one of the panelist's ballots, finishing with 98 overall points, seven more than Williamson. The Spartanburg Day sensation recorded eight second-place votes, while again garnering one third-place and one fifth-place vote. As a senior, Williamso led Spartanburg Day to a third consecutive SCISA Class 2A state title, as SDS went 20-8. For the season, he averaged 36.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 4.7 apg, 2.4 bpg and 3.6 spg, while shooting 78 percent from the field. Of those eight losses for Spartanburg Day, Zion missed five of those games. Williamson's foot was in a boot for a short period of time this season and he did have some lingering injuries that affected his candidacy, but it was more likely a case that Barrett was just that spectacular and productive for the No. 1 ranked team in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

"Barrett, based on his individual performances and Montverde's unbeaten record, is an easy choice as No. 1," said panel member Frank Burlison of BurlisonOnBasketball.com. "Williamson, my choice as best player/"prospect" in the 2018 class, is No. 2."

As in the preseason, only Barrett and Williamson appeared on all ten ballots. Both are headed to Duke, where they will be joined by Cam Reddish of Westttown School (West Chester, Pa.) for the 2018-19 season. Reddish, the only other player to receive a No. 1 vote in the preseason, finished in fifth place in the final balloting with 50 points on seven ballots, including five third-place votes.

Reddish was the No. 3 vote-getter in the preseason, but jumping up in the final balloting to that position was junior power forward Vernon Carey of FAB 50 No. 2 University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). He had a spectacular campaign, leading the Sharks to a state crown and a runner-up finish at GEICO Nationals, and received one second-place vote and three third-place votes while appearing on nine ballots. The only other candidate to appear on nine ballots was Romeo Langford, who scored 3,002 career points for FAB 50 No. 28 New Albany (New Albany, Ind.).

Charles Bassey, a 6-foot-10 junior at Aspire Basketball Academy (Louisville, Ky.) who was the National Freshman of the Year in 2015-16, got the first-place vote that denied Barrett a perfect score. For the season, the big man averaged 19.3 ppg, 11.4 rpg and 3.0 bpg.

It will be interesting to see how this spring and summer's travel ball circuit affects the candidacy of Carey and Bassey heading into next season. As we saw a year ago, alot can change once the high school season is complete.

In all, 28 candidates earned recognition as a national player of the year candidate in the final, expanded tracker.

Editor's Note: Click on the "+" sign next to each player's number to view how many first, second, third or fourth place votes he got and his overall point total. Preseason tracker results are also listed ("Prev.").

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1	1	R.J. Barrett (10)	Montverde Academy (FL)	9	0	1	0	98
2	2	Zion Williamson (10)	Spartanburg Day (SC)	0	8	1	0	86
3	7	Vernon Carey (9)	University School (FL)	0	1	3	1	56
4	4	Romeo Langford (9)	New Albany (IN)	0	1	1	3	51
5	3	Cameron Reddish (7)	Westtown School (PA)	0	0	5	1	50
6	9T	Nasir Little (6)	Orlando Christian Prep (FL)	0	0	0	1	32
7T	6	Charles Bassey (5)	Aspire Academy (KY)	1	0	0	0	23
7T	11	Keldon Johnson (5)	Oak Hill (VA)	0	0	0	0	23
9	9T	Tre Jones (5)	Apple Valley (MN)	0	0	0	1	19
10	NR	Emmitt Williams (5)	Oak Ridge (FL)	0	0	0	1	16
11	5	Bol Bol (3)	Findlay Prep (NV)	0	0	0	0	12
12T	NR	Onyeka Okongwu (3)	Chino Hills (CA)	0	0	0	1	11
12T	12T	Foster Loyer (2)	Clarkston (MI)	0	0	0	1	11
14T	15T	Jordan Brown (2)	Prolific Prep (CA)	0	0	0	0	7
14T	8	Darius Garland (2)	Brentwood Academy (TN)	0	0	0	0	7
14T	NR	James Wiseman (2)	Memphis East (TN)	0	0	0	0	7
17T	17	Scottie Lewis (2)	Ranney School (NJ)	0	0	0	0	6
17T	NR	Jalen Green (1)	San Joaquin Memorial (CA)	0	0	0	0	6
17T	NR	Nico Mannion (1)	Pinnacle (AZ)	0	0	0	0	6
20	14	Cole Anthony (2)	Archbishop Malloy (NY)	0	0	0	0	5
21T	NR	Jalen Smith (2)	Mt. St. Joseph (MD)	0	0	0	0	4
21T	NR	Ashton Hagans (1)	Newton (GA)	0	0	0	0	4
21T	NR	E.J. Montgomery (1)	Wheeler (GA)	0	0	0	0	4
24	NR	Cassius Stanley (1)	Sierra Canyon (CA)	0	0	0	0	2
25T	NR	Devin Dotson (1)	Providence Day (NC)	0	0	0	0	1
25T	NR	Bryce Hamilton (1)	Pasadena (CA)	0	0	0	0	1
25T	NR	Talen Horton-Tucker (1)	Simeon (IL)	0	0	0	0	1
25T	NR	Colby White (1)	Greenfield (NC)	0	0	0	0	1

2017-18 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel

Paul Biancardi, ESPN National Director of Basketball Recruiting
Frank Burlison, BurlisonOnBasketball.com Publisher
Van Coleman, TheBasketballChannel.net VP of Content
Ronnie Flores, www.ebooksnet.com National Grassroots Editor
Clark Francis, Hoop Scoop Editor & Publisher
Bob Gibbons, All-Star Sports
Jerry Meyer, 247Sports.com Director of Scouting
Scott Phillips, NBC Sports National College Basketball Writer
Patrick Stanwood, Patrick Stanwood Basketball
Dinos Trigonis, Fullcourt Press Editor & Publisher

About Basketball USA Tracker Panel
www.ebooksnet.com's panel of 10 experts, which includes six McDonald’s All-American selection committee members, casts its vote for the top national player of the year candidates. Each panelist lists his top seven candidates regardless of class. The votes are then tabulated on a 10-point scoring system with a first-place vote equaling 10 points, a second-place vote earning nine points and down to four points for a seventh-place vote. The number in parenthesis refers to the numbers of ballots on which a player appeared and previous rankings refers to position in the previous tracker.

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DON'T JUMP! The ABSOLUTE CRAZIEST DUNKS of The BALLISLIFE ERA!!! 1 Million Sub Special!

Arek Kissoyan — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 20:13:42 +0000

DON'T JUMP! Presenting you the VERY BEST DUNKS of the Ballislife era as our 1 million subscriber special video. List of players featured includes: LeBron James, James Harden, Zion Williamson, Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine, Dennis Smith Jr, Shareef O'Neal, Cassius Stanley, Kwe Parker, Miles Bridges, Jaylen Hands, Trevon Duvan, Marvin Bagley III, DeMar DeRozan, Seventh Woods, Air Up There and SO MANY MORE high school, college, NBA and streetball players.

Music By:

1st Beat - Andreas Ericson
2nd Beat - The Artisans
3rd Beat - Timeless Beats

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Duke Commit Zion Williamson Scores 37, Puts On A Dunk Exhibition During 48-Point Win

David — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 14:09:23 +0000

Attempting and missing a between-the-legs dunk during a rivalry game would normally be a big deal and result in a benching. Zion Williamson did that on Monday night and did take an early seat on the bench. But, he didn't leave the game early because he missed a flashy dunk, it's because his Spartanburg team was beating Oakbrook Prep 82-35 with five minutes left in the game.

The new Duke commit finished with 37 points, 13 boards, 5 steals, 3 blocks and a bunch of standout dunks -- including a two-hand poster, a slingshot, a baseline over two defenders and a 360 -- during the 48-point win.

The highlight of the game for me wasn't any of those dunks but seeing tiny No. 4 on the opposing team try to guard the man-child one-on-one.

[twit id="956186076313370624"]

MAD CALIPARI

Zion joined Jayson Tatum, Brandon Ingram and Marvin Bagley as Dukies Kentucky wanted. On Monday, Kentucky Coach John Calipari ranted about recruiting during a press conference.

Via SEC Country

“I don’t sell, like, ‘When you come here, the university and the state will take care of you the rest of your life,’ ” he said. “You may buy that, and I’ve got some great property in some swampland down in Florida to sell you, too.”

“Every one of us in this country is based on you’ve gotta take care of yourself. And then when you make it, you make sure that you’re helping [others]. And along the way you bring other people with you,” Calipari said. “And that’s what we’re trying to do, just give these guys the best opportunity. We’re not trying to say this university or this state will take care of you the rest of your life. There’s no socialism here. This stuff is, ‘You’ve gotta go do it and we’re gonna help you do it.’ Some [recruits] like that. Some don’t like it.”

“We don’t get every kid, and I’ve said that all along,” Calipari said. “We get the ones that need to come here. Others choose not to, and that’s fine. That’s their choice. Obviously the kids that have come here are worth over a billion dollars [in NBA contracts]. Seventeen have graduated, 35 or whatever have gotten drafted, three No. 1 picks.

“Kids that have come here belonged here. Doesn’t mean everybody needs to come here. They don’t. I don’t think it’s changed much at all.”

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BEST BIG MEN IN COLLEGE HOOPS! Marvin Bagley III & Wendell Carter HS Highlights!

Donnie Bui — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 20:07:07 +0000

Check out these "throwback" highlights from college hoop's potentially BEST big men in Marvin Bagley III & Wendell Carter from when they were in high school! Both players were ranked in the top 5 in the country when they came out and now are considered lottery picks in the upcoming NBA draft. Bagley III is a 6'11" do-it-all forward that has been tremendous for the Blue Devils early on this season. Carter is a 6'10" forward who can play with his back to the basket or stretch the floor with his jump shot. These highlights from their AAU season when Bagley played for the PHX Phamily and Carter for the CP3 All Stars.

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#1 Duke DEVASTATED by Kyran Bowman: NC Native They DIDN'T RECRUIT!?!

Webb Wellman — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 03:23:05 +0000

Boston College's Kyran Bowman finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a HUGE win over the #1 team in the country, DUKE. Bowman is from Havelock, NC and his teammate Jerome Robinson is from Raleigh, NC and neither were recruiting by the ACC schools in NC (Duke, UNC, NC State, Wake Forest). The duo unloaded on the Blue Devils along side their teammate Jordan Chatman. Chatman scored 22, hitting four consecutive free throws in the final 16 seconds. The Eagles have won three consecutive games against the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25. Also in these highlights, Duke's Marvin Bagley, Grayson Allen, Trevon Duval, Gary Trent and more! For more on all these players and both these teams, keep it locked on BALLISLIFE.

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Preseason 2017-18 FAB 50: Teams No. 31-50!

Ronnie Flores — Sun, 05 Nov 2017 23:10:05 +0000

Today www.ebooksnet.com kick offs its 2017-18 high school basketball coverage with our first installment of the preseason 2017-18 FAB 50 national team rankings. We begin with teams No. 31-50 and our second installment will be teams No. 16-30 on Monday, November 6. The complete FAB 50 rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com will be released by November 7.

Note: The FAB 50 powered by www.ebooksnet.com is a continuation of the National Sports News Service ratings that began in 1952. These were the first national high school rankings and the late Art Johlfs of Minnesota compiled them. They were compiled for many years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 18 years ago.

Preseason 2017-18 FAB 50 National
Team Rankings Powered by www.ebooksnet.com

By Ronnie Flores

(Final 2016-17 ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; Look for preseason Region-By-Region Top 20 Rankings on Friday, November 10 and for the preseason Mr. Basketball USA Tracker on Tuesday, November 21.)

31. (NR) Westlake (Austin, Texas) 29-7
Key Players: SF Matthew Mayer 6-7 2018 (No. 57 ESPN.com, Baylor commit), SF Brock Cunningham 6-6 2018, C Will Baker 6-10 2019 (No. 13 ESPN.com).
Why This Ranking: Last season the Chaparrals got the nod as the UIL Class 6A favorites and the Texas Basketball Association of Coaches (TABC) has them penciled in as the preseason top-ranked team in state over No. 44 Guyer. Westlake is more talented than last season, but in our rankings system if a defending champion has nearly all its team returning, as Cypress Falls does, there’s no reason to start another team ahead of it. Still, with four returning starters and Baker ready to step into a bigger role, the Chaps will be hard to beat come playoff time. It starts with Cunningham (14.7 ppg, 11.3 rpg), a throwback who rebounds and gets on the floor like a Jayvee fighting for time off the bench and was the All-Central Texas Player of the Year. Mayer is a talented wing prospect who can fill it up in a hurry, while Xavier commit Keonte Kennedy (6-4, 2018) can slash and get opponents in foul trouble.
The Skinny: Coach Robert Lucero’s club is not only talented; it’s extremely motivated after blowing a nine-point lead in a regional final loss to San Antonio Wagner. It was the second consecutive Final Eight loss for a program that opened last season No. 27 in the FAB 50 and has never reached the UIL Final Four. The loss to Humble Atascocita in 2016 was to a highly-ranked FAB 50 team, while Westlake feels it was clearly the better team against Wagner. Cunningham has to remain healthy and out of foul trouble (he fouled out against Wagner) and the guard play, led by Luke Pluymen (6-0, 2018), has to be on top of its game if Westlake is going to win six games in a row to capture make its first trip to state and capture the coveted state crown. We’ll find out more about the Texas pecking order right away when the Chaps take on No. 44 Guyer at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Dallas November 25.

32. (NR) New Albany (New Albany, Ind.) 25-4
Key Players: SG Romeo Langford 6-4 2018 (No. 5 247Sports.com, Ballislife Second Team All-American), PG Sean East 6-0 2018.
Why This Ranking: The Bulldogs begin the season a spot lower than last season when they were coming off a 2015-16 season that saw the program win its first state title since 1973. New Albany is once again the favorites to win the Class 4A state crown, but it will need consistency and role players to step up in order to maintain its FAB 50 ranking. East (12.0 ppg, 4.2 apg) had a solid summer and could take on a bigger offensive role if necessary. He’s a good leader and could earn some D1 looks with a big start to the season.
The Skinny: Langford, of course, is why New Albany is so highly-regarded and the favorite to win the state title over the likes of Zionsville, North Side of Ft. Wayne and cross-town Lawrence North. After earning Ballislife National Sophomore of the Year Honors, last season he averaged 28.7 ppg and 8.9 rpg, but there wasn’t a huge uptick in his overall game. With a big season, Langford has a chance to break the Indiana career scoring mark of 1990 Mr. Basketball USA Damon Bailey of Bedford North Lawrence (3,134). The scoring race, however, won’t be the key to the season as much of the development of talents such as 6-foot-4 sophomore Julien Hunter (5.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and 6-foot-5 senior Blake Murphy (4.3 ppg) will be. The Bulldogs ranking will be tested right away when it meets North Side, a 4A state finalist last season, on December 10 at the Forum Tip-Off at Southport Fieldhouse.

33. (6) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) 31-2
Key Players: SG David Singleton 6-4 2018 (No. 39 247Sports.com, UCLA commit), PG Gianni Hunt 6-3 2019 (No. 86 Rivals.com), SF Fletcher Tynen 6-6 2018 (Boston University commit).
Why This Ranking: Last season some long-time writers and followers of the SoCal basketball scene thought we were flat out nuts to place Bishop Montgomery in front of a Sierra Canyon team that had five d1 recruits, two Pac-12 players and future NBA lottery pick Marvin Bagley. In the end, our hunch was spot on, as coach Doug Mitchell’s team went on to win CIF-Southern Section and CIF State Open crowns to finish ranked one spot ahead of where it began in the preseason (No. 7). Without the graduated Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball Ethan Thompson (Oregon St.) and Jordan Schakel (San Diego St.), the team may take a small step back, but don’t be surprised if the Knights are in the section and regional final once again.
The Skinny: The reason the Knights have an opportunity to win back-to-back CIF State Open crowns is their defense is always top notch. Singleton is a Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball candidate, Hunt is one of the best underclass point guards in the state and Tynen impacts both ends of the floor. In fall leagues, Montgomery has been in mid-season form defensively and when you combine that with the three returning starters, 10 lettermen and newcomers Lazar Nekic (6-11, 2019) and Oscar Lopez (6-4, 2019) it’s easy to see why Montgomery has a good chance to move up in the rankings. Similar to the 2015-16 team that began No. 36 in the FAB 50, we’ll slow play the Knights because they don’t play in a big-time out-of-state tournament or showcase.

34. (NR) Pickerington North (Pickerington, Ohio) 22-7
Key Players: SF Jerome Hunter 6-7 2018 (No. 50 Rivals.com, Indiana commit), PF Elijah McNamera 6-8 2018 (Miami-Ohio commit), SG Dondre Palmer 6-5 2018.
Why This Ranking: This team has a nice blend of returning talent, newcomers and experience to make a serious run at the Ohio Division I state title. The team, and in particular Hunter, caught fire at the end of the regular season and advanced to the Columbus Regional Final, where it fell to highly-regarded Pickerington Central. Hunter (19.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg) is a legit Ohio Mr. Basketball candidate while McNamera (9.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg), who is a versatile inside player, had a breakout season after playing little as a sophomore. Palmer (10.0 ppg) is also a capable scorer and a good defensive player.
The Skinny: It’s going to be a battle of attrition for the D1 state crown between early favorite Moeller of Cincinnati, the Panthers, Pick Central, Garfield Heights and Princeton of Cincinnati, all of which were considered for the FAB 50. Coach Jason Bates’ club had good size, a go-to player and quality depth. The Panthers also took a step closer to Moeller from a rankings perspective with the additions of Ross Ryan (6-9, 2018) and Corey Baker (6-0, 2018).

35. (NR) Clark (Las Vegas, Nev.) 27-5
Key Players: SG Trey Woodbury 6-4 2018 (No. 129 Rivals.com, UNLV commit), PG Greg Foster Jr. 6-5 2018 (No. 188 247Sports.com), SF Jalen Hill 6-7 2019, PF James Brides 6-5 2018.
Why This Ranking: Sin City is buzzing about this Chargers team and the possibility of a NIAA public school being the best team in Nevada and highly-ranked. The last time a Vegas public school won the largest classification (4A) state title was in 2011 (Canyon Springs) and this team could be the first Vegas public school since Cheyenne in 2002-03 (No. 17) to finish FAB 50 ranked. The ingredients are there as the Chargers return five starters and add at least two newcomers who will play a valuable role. Woodbury (14.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.4 apg) is a returning first team all-state selection while Hill, who is improving rapidly, the physical Bridges and versatile Ian Alexander (6-6, 2018) all gained all-state recognition.
The Skinny: The Chargers did beat No. 48 Bishop Gorman last season to ends the Gaels’ 79-game winning streak versus NIAA foes, but they also changed coaches and lost a eight-point lead in the closing minute and a half in a state title game loss to Gorman. Coach Chad Beeten is back after a one-year coaching stint in California and Clark has been more impressive in fall leagues than the Gaels. Throwing Foster Jr. in the mix not only makes Clark the clear NIAA Class 4A favorites, it makes the team a national player as the Chargers travel to the Beach Ball Classic and stay home in attempt to capture the Tarkanian Classic title. In spite of all the experience and firepower, Clark still has to prove it can live up to expectations when it matters.

36. (BB) Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 23-4
Key Players: PF Donatas Kupsas 6-8 2018, PG Tyson Etienne 6-2 2019, SF Frankie Policelli 6-8 2018 (No. 140 247Sports.com).
Why This Ranking: After losing to Lincoln of Brooklyn in the New York Federation Class AA title game, the Crusaders are once again talented enough to compete for the federation crown and national acclaim. With a roster with up to seven D1 players, coach John Buck’s team is a big favorite to win New York’s Independent Schools title (NYSAIS) and play the schedule to make a push towards the Top 25. Even with the loss of three starters and forward Harrison Warnock, there is an abundance of returning talent including Kupsas, a talented stretch-four from Lithuania who gained confidence playing in the FIBA 19U World Championships in Egypt last summer. LuHi’s depth, length and versatility will make it a tough out.
The Skinny: New York teams seem to be on the upswing after a short down period where they didn’t make a huge dent in the FAB 50. Archbishop Malloy of Queens could be a FAB 50 title contender and No. 46 Christ the King in the CHSAA and Lincoln and South Shore in the PSAL could be in the FAB 50 mix with the Crusaders. Veterans such as power forward Esam Mostafa (6-8, 2019) will need to step up in big games at events such as the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina, the Hoophall Classic, the SNY Invitational and the Big Apple Invitational where the Crusaders play Providence Day of North Carolina. It’s chemistry with the newcomers, however, that will be key to surviving the schedule. Etienne is a future D1 point guard and Policelli is motivated to use LuHi’s platform to prove he’s a legitimate Top 100 player in the national senior class.

37. (21) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 27-3
Key Players: SG Duane Washington 6-4 2018 (Ohio St. commit), PG Scottie Pippen Jr. 6-0 2019, PF K.J. Martin 6-7 2019, SG Cassius Stanley 6-5 2019 (No. 10 Rivals.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American).
Why This Ranking: This team graduated as much raw talent as any in the country and has a new coach, but there is just too much new blood for the Trailblazers not to be in the rankings. It begins with Washington, who proved in fall leagues he’s vastly underrated nationally. The combo guard from Grand Rapids (Mich.) Christian is an excellent shooter and should average upwards of 18 ppg on this team. Pippen Jr. is a crafty lead guard who averaged 11.8 ppg at Pine Crest (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and now has more weapons around him. Martin, who like Pippen is the son of a former NBA standout, is coming over from nearby Chaminade and is an active rebounder and strong finisher.
The Skinny: Andre Chevalier, a former assistant, is actually not a new head coach, as he had previous stints at Oaks Christian and Cleveland of Reseda and was the acting head coach in the playoffs last year when Ty Nichols stepped aside. Not surprisingly to us, that strategy didn’t work as Sierra Canyon lost to state preseason No. 1 Bishop Montgomery in the CIFSS Open Division semifinals and lost in the regional opener for the second year in a row. This team isn’t as talented, but is a major threat to Mater Dei of Santa Ana, No. 33 Bishop Montgomery and Oak Park to win the CIFSS Open crown because of the blue collar approach. Chevalier wants this team to peak at playoff time, so the development of Terren Frank (6-8, 2020) and the incorporation of Stanley after the 30-day sit out period will be critical.

38. (NR) DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 25-10
Key Players: SG Justin Moore 6-3 2019 (No. 60 Rivals.com), C Hunter Dickinson 7-1 2020 (No. 7 ESPN.com), SG Carsten Kogelnik 6-5 2019.
Why This Ranking: The Stags have enough talent, tradition and play enough FAB 50 ranked foes to offset their relative youth. Last season, DeMatha came in fourth place in the ultra-competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) and this year there are three teams from the conference in the FAB 50 so coach Mike Jones (404-107) knows there is work to be done. DeMatha lost three D1 seniors to graduation, but 10 lettermen gained valuable playing time, especially after Moore (14 ppg) went down to injury during conference play. In addition to his return, Dickinson (4.8 ppg) has made huge strides and expect his numbers to more than double this season. Ditto for Kogelnik (4.2 ppg). “This group gained a ton of experience last season and added some nice pieces; we will have very competitive practices which should translate well to our games,” Jones said.
The Skinny: The Stags have been a staple in the FAB 50 since its beginning and have arguably been the program to appear most consistently in national rankings since they began in a weekly format in 1975-76. They have the talent to move up, but if the underclass returnees don’t step up the production, the schedule could be more overwhelming than a confidence-builder. With that in mind, it will be important for newcomers such as Earl Timberlake Jr. (6-4, 2020), Josh Wallace (6-1, 2019) and Jamir Young (5-8, 2019) to be ready when called upon. In addition to weekly WCAC wars, the Stags play in the Beach Ball Classic with the likes of No. 48 Bishop Gorman, No. 36 Clark, No. 35 Long Island Lutheran and FAB 50 title contender Montverde Academy, at the Cancer Research Classic versus highly-regarded McEachern of Georgia and versus Archbishop Malloy of New York at the Hoophall Classic.

39. (NR) Ranney School (Tinton Falls, N.J.) 22-6
Key Players: SF Scottie Lewis 6-6 2019 (No. 5 247Sports.com), SG Bryan Antoine 6-3 2019 (No. 3 247Sports.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American).
Why This Ranking: The Panthers are a talent-laden team and have a big window in terms of opportunity to move up in the rankings, but they also have many local landmines that could prevent a higher ranking. Coach Taj Holden started five sophomores last season that advanced to the South Jersey, Non-Public B semifinals, where Ranney School lost to FAB 50 power Patrick School. Lewis (16.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 3.4 apg) is one of the most talented and exciting players in the nation regardless of class, but it is Antoine who is consistently the most productive player. He averaged 20.5 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.5 apg and 3.4 spg and was third five all-state by NJ.com. This team is young, but gained valuable experience playing together against tough competition, while Antoine and Lewis are long-time teammates on the Team Rio travel club.
The Skinny: Although this team has loads of potential and plays a national schedule, it’s still fourth in the New Jersey rankings pecking order behind the Celtics, Hudson Catholic and Roselle Catholic. The Panthers’ ranking going into 2018 will be dependent on how they fare at the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, Fla., where they open versus highly-regarded McEachern of Georgia. They also play Roselle Catholic on January 31 and must get by the Celtics when it counts in the post-season. With that in mind, the consistency of point guard Ahmadu Sarnor (6-2, 2019) and the production of power forward Chris Autino (6-6-, 2019) cannot be underestimated.

40. (NR) Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) 22-10
Key Players: SF Kevin Porter Jr. 6-6 2018 (No. 36 Rivals.com), SG Fred Roberson 6-2 2018, PG Trevante Anderson 6-1 2018.
Why This Ranking: The basketball-crazed city of Seattle produced its first FAB 50 national champion last season when Nathan Hale rose all the way from No. 38 to No. 1, and veteran coach Mike Bethea hopes that Emerald City magic can rub off on his program. Last season, there were three Metro League teams in the FAB 50 mix, but with Michael Porter Jr. now in college and Hale coach Brandon Roy now at Garfield, it’s again a two-horse race for the league crown and Bethea likes his team’s chances. He feels his Porter Jr. will do what Roy’s did last season. “Kevin is going to be the dominant player in this league,” Bethea said. “He’s a matchup nightmare because he can do so many things.” Roberson is a returning all-city talent who is even better as a running back, and there is a nice blend of newcomers and returning role players.
The Skinny: The Vikings were quite talented last season when they opened up No. 23 in the FAB 50. It may have been a tad high, but the team never came together like Bethea (530-130) expects this one to do. In fact, he likens this unit to his 2001-02 club led by Nate Robinson and the Stewart twins that finished No. 8 in the FAB 50 (28-1). The chemistry is good, the players have similar goals and Anderson, a transfer from Tacoma Lincoln, is a first rate lead guard as the graduated Kahlil Shabazz (Central Washington). Mike Monroe (6-2, 2019), utility man Darrious Ballou (6-6, 2018), sharpshooter Kenny Curtis (5-8, 2019) and Nate Murray (6-4, 2019) provide depth. Beach is schedule to play Garfield during the regular season right before MLK weekend and will find out what improvements need to be made when they travel to the Iolani Classic before Christmas.

41. (26) Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 26-6
Key Players: PG Kyle Sturdivant 6-2 2019 (No. 113 Rivals.com), SF JoJo Toppin 6-6 2018 (No. 102 247Sports.com), SG B.J. Boston 6-4 2020 (No. 11 247Sports.com).
Why This Ranking: The Blue Devils begin in the same rankings position it did last season when they advanced all the way to the GHSA Class AAAAAAA state title game before falling to upstart Tift County, 55-52. Despite losing their big guns up front in Rayshaun Hammonds (Georgia) and Lance Thomas (Louisville), veteran coach Jesse McMillan has a quick and talented team. He loves his guard play led by four-year starter and floor general Dalvin White (5-11, 2018), an excellent 3-point shooter, and combo guard Sturdivant. Boston is a big-time talent and McMillan plans to have multiple lead guards on the floor at the same time. That means Toppin and newcomer Issa Muhammad (6-9, 2019) need to score and play big on the boards against the better teams.
The Skinny: Even though Norcross has to replace a lot, there are potentially fewer land minds in the Class AAAAAAA ranks this year than last when there was four FAB 50 ranked teams. Wheeler and Buford are also in the FAB 50 mix, but the only team surely in front of Norcross will be McEachern. McMillan is a bit worried about the lack of depth and experience, but the Blue Devils will grow up quick playing Miller Grove of Lithonia to open the season, Gainesville at the On The Radar Showcase then No. 50 Mountain Brook Academy and highly-regarded Wesleyan Christian Academy of North Carolina at the Holiday Hoopsgiving.

42. (BB) Morgan Park (Chicago, Ill.) 26-6
Key Players: PG Ayo Dosunmu 6-4 2018 (No. 20 Rivals.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American, Illinois commit), Tamell Pearson 6-9 2018 (Alabama-Birmingham commit), SG Adam Miller 6-3 2020 (No. 23 ESPN.com).
Why This Ranking: It was a close call, but we go with the defending IHSA Class 3A state champions over defending Class 4A state champ Whitney Young in the FAB 50 because the Mustangs have more returning firepower. It starts with Dosunmu, the state’s best player and leading Mr. Basketball candidate. Don’t be surprised if he turns in some triple-double performances after averaging 22 ppg, 7 rpg, and 9 apg as a junior. He can score at a high-clip or run the team as a traditional one. Coach Nick Irvin also has a go-to player inside in Pearson and a budding star in Miller, a physically strong wing guard who can score in a variety of ways. With its talent and never-say-die defensive approach, there is plenty of potential for this team to move up.
The Skinny: The Mustangs were in the mix for a FAB 50 spot with Whitney Young and we took a look at Curie and Fenwick, too. In order for Irvin’s boys to remain in, they can’t afford a slow start to the season, as the Mustangs take on Champaign Central at the Chicago Elite Classic and Simeon, Curie and Kenwood all before December 15. Morgan Park lost some scoring punch with the transfer of Nimari Burnett and L.J. Johnson, so will look to combo guard and Tennessee-State bound Kenyon Duling (6-2, 2018) and high motor forward Cameron Burrell (6-7, 2018) to take on bigger roles.

43. (BB) Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 24-5
Key Players: SF Matt Bradley 6-4 2018 (No. 56 Rivals.com, CAL commit), C Bryan Penn-Johnson 7-0 2018 (No. 38 247Sports.com).
Why This Ranking: The Tigers have been ranked in the middle of the FAB 50 pack for the past three seasons and again have a solid team that can make some noise by closing strong and earning a third Dick’s Nationals berth. There is a lot to like about this team, as coach Curtis Condie welcomes back point guard Damion Squire (6-0, 2018) to be his coach on the floor and mesh the newcomers. The most productive of those players is Bradley, last year’s Cal-Hi Sports Division IV State Player of the Year at San Bernardino is capable of playing multiple positions and is as physical as any scoring wing in the country.
The Skinny: This team has some talent and some big players in their lineup, but is looking to take the next step up to be a true national power. Two years ago the Tigers were overwhelmed by Oak Hill Academy (81-64) and last year were more respectable against eventual champ La Lumiere. They are looking to take that next step this season and record their first Dick’s National’s win. Condie is hoping Bernardo Da Silva (6-7, 2019) ups his production and Penn-Johnson has a breakout year. The latter has turned into a tremendous prospect, but hasn’t accomplished anything in a meaningful, big-time high school environment yet. “Our length, athleticism and physical strength is exceptional and this is the most unselfish team I have ever coached,” Condie said. “Our new players will have to pick up our defense concepts.”

44. (NR) Guyer (Denton, Texas) 25-6
Key Players: PG De’Vion Harmon 6-0 2019 (No. 42 Rivals.com, Oklahoma commit), SF Jalen Wilson 6-6 2019 (No. 47 Rivals.com).
Why This Ranking: The Wildcats are right there with No. 31 Westlake, Mansfield Timberview, South Garland and DeSoto as the best bet of contenders to knock off defending champ Cy Falls and take the UIL Class 6A state crown. Similar to Westlake, whom it squares off against November 25 at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest, Guyer has a plethora of returning talent. We rank Westlake higher to begin the season, however, since it had a much better showing in the UIL playoffs. Guyer was stung in their Bi-District playoff opener in overtime by Euless Trinity, 92-91, after giving up 52 points to Jhivvan Jackson (Texas-San Antonio). That motivation and the returning talent make Guyer a major state title threat.
The Skinny: Guyer returns seven lettermen and four double-digit scorers from last season, including Harmon (18.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.8 apg) and Wilson (16.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg). There’s also small forward Le’tre Darthhard (6-4, 2018) back and pivot Grayson Carter (6-9, 2018). Darthhard averaged 10.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg, while Carter averaged 11.8 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Coach Grant Long has a balanced and motivated team, but also one that is long on guard play. Stellar backcourt play has been key in the Class 6A playoffs in recent seasons, so Wildcats’ fans have got to like their team’s chance to crack the Final Four.

45. (NR) Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) 29-4
Key Players: SG David Johnson 6-5 2019 (No. 80 Rivals.com), SG Jay Scrubb 6-5 2018, PG Justin Powell 6-5 2020.
Why This Ranking: At first glance, it seems The Shamrocks are too decimated by graduation to be ranked this high, but they are the consensus preseason No. 1 in Kentucky and have the talent, tradition and coaching to warrant this spot. Covington Catholic and Scott County were also considered from Kentucky, while Whitney Young of Chicago, Belleville, Mich., and Pickerington Central (Ohio) were other Midwest Region programs also considered. Veteran coach Mike Szabo (496-195) has good size across the board and the KHSAA’s best prospect and overall player in Johnson.
The Skinny: Trinity still only has two seniors on its roster, so it may be a year away from being a threat to other highly ranked FAB 50 teams. Coach Szabo needs the young players to step up in order to remain in and they are more than capable. Scrubb is an undersized combo forward who is athletic and quite productive at this level. Powell is an outstanding passer and oozing with potential. Even with its youth and bench players needing to develop, Trinity must avoid in-state hiccups to have a chance to move up in the rankings.

46. (NR) Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 18-9
Key Players: C Kofi Cockburn 6-11 2019 (No. 27 247Sports.com), PG Tyson Walker 5-10 2018, SG Ryan Meyers 6-1 2020.
Why This Ranking: Similar to No. 45 Trinity, the Royals are a relatively young team (one senior contributor), but they are even bigger and have a senior leader at the point in Walker, whose fielding offers from St. Louis and Rutgers. CTK has even more potential to move up in the rankings than Trinity because of their strength of New York’s Catholic League and its overall schedule, but it starts behind that club because the Royals are not nearly a consensus No. 1 in their state and have more land mines to cross. Coach Joe Arbitello is confident his team can hold off teams such as Archbishop Malloy and Cardinal Hayes for the CHSAA Class AA title because of the presence of the improved Cockburn in the middle and his good shooters around him.
The Skinny: The Royals are talented and go at least 10 deep in their rotation, but they are still relatively young and if they don’t start off well in the big games, tournaments and showcases, they could lose confidence going into the meat of the CHSAA schedule. CTK plays Cardinal Hayes on December 1 and from a national perspective, we’ll see what this team is made of when it travels to the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Missouri to battle the likes of Oak Hill Academy, Webster Groves (Mo.), defending Dick’s Nationals champ La Lumiere, No. 43 Wasatch Academy and Brentwood Academy (Tenn.). Its CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens D1 showdowns with Malloy take place a week apart in February, then it’s a Jersey road date with FAB 50 No. 1 contender Montverde Academy on February 11.

47. (NR) Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 24-10
Key Players: C Daniel Oturu 6-10 2018 (No. 44 ESPN.com, Minnesota commit), PF Sy Chatman 6-7 2018, PG Ryan Larson 6-1 2018.
Why This Ranking: This is one of the most balanced teams in the bottom half of the FAB 50 with dominant size, good perimeter play and a experienced point guard. Oturu is one of the best interior players in the Midwest Region and is motivated after his club was knocked off by eventual Class 4A state champ Apple Valley in the state quarterfinals after leading by 12 points early in the second half. Oturu was named to the all-tournament team and Larson played excellent, but it was little solace for a team that felt it should have won the state crown.
The Skinny: Coach Jerry Kline Jr. has a club that is solid top-to-bottom, but it doesn’t have that one player who can absolutely take over a game on the perimeter the way Apple Valley’s Tre Jones can. The Raiders start behind Apple Valley in the FAB 50, but they have an excellent shot to get past that club and Minnesota’s other top teams this time around. If Chatman has a big year underneath and Jake Prince (6-4, 2018) is consistent from the outside, this team will move up in the rankings.

48. (BB) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 22-9
Key Players: SF Jamal Bey 6-6 2018 (No. 154 247Sports.com, Washington commit), SG Noah Taitz (6-3, 2020), PG Zaon Collins (5-11, 2021).
Why This Ranking: The Gaels have a deep club with interchangeable parts and have dominated NIAA competition as of late. Under coach Grant Rice (417-90), Gorman has won six consecutive NIAA titles and eight of nine heading into this season. Bey is an athletic wing with tons of experience who feasts on opponents in the open court. Taitz is an excellent spot up shooter and fearless driving the ball and taking the big shot. D.J. Howe (5-9, 2018) starts at the point, but Collins could develop into one of the best guards in school history and gives the team a shot in the arm when inserted into the lineup.
The Skinny: The Gaels won last year’s state crown over No. 36 Clark in dramatic fashion; rallying from eight down with under two minutes remaining. The Chargers have more upperclass talent and has been more impressive this fall. Another reason why Gorman starts behind Clark is the Gaels started No. 26 last year, but haven’t finished the season in the final FAB 50 the last two years. Gorman will need to build up and is more than capable with a great defensive club. The key will be the development and utilization of a sparkplug bench that includes Collins, shot blocker Isaiah Cottrell (6-9, 2020) and wing Will McClendon (6-4, 2021).

49. (NR) Cox Mill (Concord, N.C.) 27-6
Key Players: SF Rechon “Leaky” Black 6-8 2018 (No. 48 ESPN.com, North Carolina commit), SF Wendell Moore Jr. 6-6 2019 (No. 21 247Sports.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American).
Why This Ranking: The NCISA Class 3A will have its top two preseason ranked teams in the FAB 50, but this year top teams in North Carolina’s public school ranks deserved a serious look. We decided to go with the 3A favorites over the 4A favorites (Butler of Matthews) for this FAB 50 spot. We like coach Jody Barbee’s team because of the addition of Black, who played last season at FAB 50 power Montverde Academy and is one of the most talented wings in the country. We also like the aggressive schedule the Chargers play, as they participate in both the Chick-Fil-A Classic (which includes Oak Hill Academy, Findlay Prep, IMG Academy, Prolific Prep, and Huntington Prep, among others) and the Beach Ball Classic (which includes No. 48 Bishop Gorman, No. 36 Clark and Montverde Academy, among others).
The Skinny: Cox Mill is the defending NCHSAA Class 3A state champ and will have the opportunity to prove it’s a much better team this season. Black raises the national profile, but in reality it’s Moore whose been the most productive player, as he went for 29 points and 12 rebounds in the 70-66 win over Eastern Guilford in the state title game. Moore upped his outstanding freshman production when Cox Mill won a sectional crown, to average 25.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.9 apg and 2.3 spg as a sophomore. We almost went with Providence Day of Charlotte in this spot, but that rankings dilemma will take care of itself when those two meet at the Charlotte Hoops Challenge on November 25.

50. (NR) Mountain Brook (Mountain Brook, Ala.) 31-5
Key Players: SF Trendon Watford 6-8 2019 (No. 10 ESPN.com, Ballislife Underclass All-American), SG Sean Elmore (6-2, 2018).
Why This Ranking: We were in line to go with Chaminade of Missouri in this spot, but highly-regarded wing Karrington Davis took his 18.7 ppg to FAB 50 power Montverde Academy in attempt to crack the Eagles’ high-powered lineup. We wanted to get our next team from the Southeast Region (which has been the best in recent years) and the defending AHSAA Class 7A state champs is the choice. Coach Bucky McMillan’s club has a nice blend of star power and plays a strong schedule by Alabama standards.
The Skinny: Watford is the star of this club, and when he’s on his game (23.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.0 apg) the Spartans can play and potentially defeat FAB 50 ranked clubs. They are not a one-man show, however, as Elmore (12.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg) is an excellent outside shooter and has plenty of experience. Mountain Brook gets to show it rankings worth by participating in the City of Palms Classic in Florida, where it could face FAB 50 national title contender Mater Dei of California if its wins the play-in game. Other clubs considered for this spot were Archbishop Wood of Pennsylvania, Wheeler of Georgia, and two teams who will meet right away at the NorCal Tip Off-Classic in California: Fairfax of Los Angeles and Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland. Whoever wins that season-opener November 25 has a nice springboard to be included in the first set of regular season rankings December 4.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

The post Preseason 2017-18 FAB 50: Teams No. 31-50! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

HEATED Drew League Semi-Finals!! Marvin Bagley Holds His Own vs Pros! Dorell Wright & J.Crawford Go OFF!

Arek Kissoyan — Sun, 13 Aug 2017 00:17:36 +0000

Marvin Bagley III, Bobby Brown, Pooh Jeter and LA Unified took on Dorell Wright, Jordan Crawford, Udoh Ekpe and Hometown Favorites at the Drew League semi-finals today! The game got heated towards the end as the competitive spirit of the teams took over.

The post HEATED Drew League Semi-Finals!! Marvin Bagley Holds His Own vs Pros! Dorell Wright & J.Crawford Go OFF! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

James Harden 45 POINTS vs NICK YOUNG!! BATTLE OF THE SUMMER w/ Paul George WATCHING!

Arek Kissoyan — Mon, 07 Aug 2017 01:23:44 +0000

James Harden and Nick Young faced off today in the Drew League Playoffs and it was an ABSOLUTE SHOW! James Harden along with Montrezl Harrell, Marvin Bagley, Bobby Brown and Pooh Jeter on LA Unified. Nick Young had Julius Randle, JaVale McGee and Victor Rudd on his Most Hated Players team.

The post James Harden 45 POINTS vs NICK YOUNG!! BATTLE OF THE SUMMER w/ Paul George WATCHING! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

James Harden TRIPLE DOUBLE at The Drew League! STRAIGHT COOKIN w/ Marvin Bagley!!

Arek Kissoyan — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 01:41:34 +0000

James Harden made his third appearance at the Drew League playoffs today with his LA Unified team and absolutely went off! James Harden finished with a triple double while Marvin Bagley III finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds.

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Drew League vs Seattle's Crawsover Pro Am!! CRAZY HYPE GAME! Drew League vs Seattle Pt 2!

Arek Kissoyan — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 05:18:02 +0000

Drew League vs Seattle's The Crawsover Pro Am rematch finally took place today and it was an exciting one once again! Jamal Crawford wasn't suited up but was coaching the Seattle team from the sidelines. The Drew League team was led by Baron Davis and featured Marvin Bagley, Bobby Brown, Frank Nitty and Marcus Williams.

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Kevin Durant Watches #1 Player Marvin Bagley At Nike Peach Jam!! Game Highlights!

Tom — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 22:37:32 +0000

Check out highlights from the no. 1 player Marvin Bagley as he guided PHX Phamily to a win in front of Kevin Durant! The 2017 Finals MVP was in the house to see what all the hype about Bagley was and seemed to be thoroughly impressed with the 6'10" rising senior. Bagley finished the game with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Bagley has stated he has official visits to Duke, Arizona, and USC lined up, while hoping to also fit in a visit to Kentucky.

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#1 High School Player vs Baron Davis! Marvin Bagley III DOES IT AGAIN at the Drew League!

Arek Kissoyan — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 02:58:48 +0000

Marvin Bagley III was back at it again in the Drew League today, this time against former NBA great, Baron Davis. Marvin finished the game with 30 points and 9 rebounds for LA Loop.

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#1 High School Player Drops 32 & 11 vs NBA ALL-Star! Marvin Bagley vs DeMar DeRozan!!

Arek Kissoyan — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 01:50:11 +0000

Here is the #1 high school player, Marvin Bagley III, dropping 32 & 11 vs NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan and his Raptors teammate, Normal Powell at the LA Drew League.

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Cassius Stanley & Kenyon Martin Jr SIERRA CANYON DEBUTS w/ Kenyon Martin Watching!!!

Arek Kissoyan — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 07:39:09 +0000

Cassius Stanley and Kenyon Martin Jr made their Sierra Canyon debuts today while Kenyon Martin himself came out to support. The games were played back to back at Sierra Canyon's home gym. No Marvin Bagley III in site so same to assume he won't be returning for his senior season.

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Younger Bro of #1 Player Will Give You BUCKETS Too! Marcus Bagley Mixtape!

Arek Kissoyan — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 22:51:33 +0000

Here's Marcus Bagley, the younger brother of the #1 ranked player in the country, Marvin Bagley III. Marcus just finished his 9th grade season and is looking to make a name for himself as one of the top players in the 2020 class.

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2016-17 High School All-American Team

Ronnie Flores — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 04:35:53 +0000

Mr. Basketball USA Michael Porter Jr., three-time selection DeAndre Ayton, and Duke recruit Trevon Duval highlight 23rd annual All-American team produced by www.ebooksnet.com Grassroots Editor Ronnie Flores. Elite honor squad includes 20-man first team and 30-man second team.

The 2016-17 All-American Elite Team, now published for the 23rd consecutive season and on the www.ebooksnet.com platform for the second time, includes 42 of the nation’s best seniors, led by Mr. Basketball USA Michael Porter Jr. of FAB 50 No. 1 Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.).

Eighteen seniors and two juniors, including National Junior of the Year Marvin Bagley Jr. of Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), headline the 20-player overall first team.

A 30-player second team includes five additional juniors and National Sophomore Player of the Year R.J. Barrett of national power Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.). In the 23 seasons of publishing annual All-American teams (we have retroactive teams dating back to the 1954-55 season), no freshman has ever made the first team.

The class player of the year among ninth-graders on this year’s Underclass All-American team is 6-foot-3 guard Jalen Suggs of Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.). The talented first-year player is the first-ever underclass player of the year (dating back to the 1969-70 season) from the state of Minnesota.

Our national coach of the year is Freddy Johnson of Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.). He led his club to the NCISA Class 3A and to big win over IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at Dick’s Nationals. Greensboro Day participated at Dick’s Nationals for the second time in three seasons and finished No. 13 in the final FAB 50 National Team Rankings. Under Johnson, who enters 2017-18 with a 992-283 career mark, Greensboro Day has won 30 or more games 14 times and he is our first-ever National Coach of the Year from North Carolina dating back to the 1969-70 season.

This performance-based All-American team is selected by National Grassroots Editor Ronnie Flores with input from Mr. Basketball USA panelists. It is chosen after the conclusion of the season, which makes this All-American team more reflective of players who made state championship runs. This honors squad has been chosen in its current format since the 1994-95 season and is powered by www.ebooksnet.com for the second consecutive season. This team is chosen regardless of class and is not exclusive or preferential for seniors named to the Ballislife All-American Game. To check out who has played in the Ballislife All-American Game the past seven years, please visit ballislifeallamerican.com. To view archived all-american teams published under this format, please visit GrassrootsHoops.net.

2016-17 All-American First Team

First Five

G — Trevon Duval, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 6-3 Sr.
Arguably the nation’s most explosive guard, Duval is also rated the nation’s top point guard recruit by ESPN, Rivals and the Hoop Scoop. On the court, the Duke-bound Duval averaged 16.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 7.0 apg for a 26-2 team that finished No. 8 in the FAB 50. Duval also has the rare distinction of winning a major grassroots summer championship for two different shoe company circuits. In the summer of 2016, he led WE-R1 to the Under Armour Association title and helped the New Jersey Playaz win the 2014 Nike EYBL title.

G — Collin Sexton, Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.) 6-3 Sr.
The fastest-riser on this year's team, Sexton didn’t make the Underclass All-American team as a junior, but rose all the way to first five with an impressive season that piggybacked a sensational summer. He led the Nike EYBL in scoring (31.7 ppg) and participated for Team USA in the 2016 FIBA 17U World Championships were he was named MVP after averaging 17 ppg. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Class AAAAAAA Player of the Year after averaging 32.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 apg and 2.7 spg for a 21-8 team, Sexton’s talent and competitive nature was on full display at the Ballislife All-American Game. He finished with 27 points and four assists to earn game MVP honors.

G — Trae Young, Norman North (Norman, Okla.) 6-2 Sr.
Will go down as one of the best players ever from Oklahoma along with the likes of 1982 Mr. Basketball USA Waymon Tisdale, Richard Dumas (1987), Wilfred Boynes (1975) and Alvin Adams (1973) and made the state rejoice when he decided to stay home and play for the Sooners. A two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year, Young moves up from the second team after averaging 42.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists for a 19-6 club. His individual high of 65 points broke his own state Class 6A record and during that same game put him over 2,500 career points. Prior to his spectacular senior season, Young led Mokan Elite to the 2016 Nike EYBL title while avenging 27.0 ppg and 7.3 apg.

F — Michael Porter Jr., Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) 6-9 Sr.
This year’s Mr. Basketball USA choice moves up from the second team after leading Falter Tolton (Columbia, Mo.) to a MSHAA Class 3 state title as a junior. He topped that by winning a Class 3A title in Washington while averaging 37.6 points, 14.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists for a 29-0 team that finished No. 1 in the FAB 50. Not only was Hale the first team ever from Washington to win a mythical national title, Porter is the first ever player from a Washington program to earn national player of the year honors. He’ll return to his roots and play college basketball at Missouri.

C — DeAndre Ayton, Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.) 7-0 Sr.
A rare repeat first five selection, Ayton is the first three-time first team selection since 2011 Mr. Basketball USA Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2009-11). Although Porter Jr. surpassed him for national honors, Ayton joined him and Duval as the only three players to appear on each voting ballot in the final Mr. Basketball USA Tracker. Originally from Nassau, Bahamas, Ayton led Hillcrest Academy to a 33-6 mark and to the Under Armour Grind Session championship while averaging 26 points, 15 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game. Ayton is headed to Arizona.

Second Five

G — Ethan Thompson, Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) 6-4 Sr.
California’s Mr. Basketball had a fantastic senior campaign and ended his stellar four-year career with two CIF state titles. Veteran coach Doug Mitchell called him the best player in program history after leading Bishop Montgomery to a CIF Open Division state title and final No. 6 FAB 50 ranking as a senior. He averaged 22.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 5.4 apg while improving his overall game and growing in physical stature. On his way to Oregon St. to join his brother Stephen Jr. (a 2015 second team selection) and his father Stephen Sr. (a third five selection in 1986).

F — Kevin Knox Jr., Tampa Catholic (Tampa, Fla.) 6-8 Sr.
Moves up from the second team after averaging 28.9 points and 11.3 rebounds while leading the Crusaders to the Class 5A state title game. He got his team there with a 40-point, 2-0-rebound semifinal performance. For his efforts, Knox was named Florida’s Mr. Basketball, the first from the Tampa region since 1999 second team selection Casey Sanders of Tampa Prep. He ended his career as Hillsborough County’s all-time leading scorer and was selected for both the McDonald’s (15 points) and Jordan Brand (12 points) All-American Games.

F — Zion Williamson, Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, S.C.) 6-7 Jr.
Earned underclass All-American honors a year ago, but developed into one of the nation’s best players regardless of class this past season with his continued improvement to his overall skill and breathtaking leading ability. A powerful forward, Williamson’s dunking ability has made him a national celebrity and arguably the best Mixtape player of this generation. After leading tiny Spartanburg Day to a state title as a sophomore, Williamson had a standout summer and averaged 36.8 points and 13 rebounds per game in leading his team to a second straight SCISA Class 2A title. He netted 51 points in the state title game victory.

F — Marvin Bagley III, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 6-10 Jr.
Ultra-talented left-handed forward edged out second team choice Jordan Brown for Cal-Hi Sports Junior of the Year honors and Williamson for national honors among Class of 2018 players. Although Sierra Canyon stumbled in the playoffs, it had nothing to do with Bagley’s individual production, as he averaged 24.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and shot 66 percent from the field against a national schedule. Bagley sat out his sophomore season after leading Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) to a state crown as a freshman, when he became the first freshman ever to earn All-American acclaim in our current format and the second one ever dating back to 1954-55.

C — Mitchell Robinson, Chalmette (La.) 6-11 Sr.
Once in a while a player uses the post-season all-star circuit to catapult his All-American standing and that’s exactly what Robinson did. He was one of the most explosive and impressive frontcourt players at both the McDonald’s and Jordan Brand Classic games. He scored 14 and 15 points, respectively, in those games and made 14-of-16 shots from the field. Prior to those impressive outings, Robinson helped the Owls reach the Class 5A state semifinals by averaging 25.7 points and 12.6 rebounds per game. The Western Kentucky recruit earned first team Class 5A all-state honors by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Third Five

G — Chris Lykes, Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.) 5-8 Sr.
A repeat first team selection, Lykes moves up from the fourth team after another standout season that saw him repeat as Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) Player of the Year and earn all-met Player of the Year honors by the Washington Post. As a junior he earned WCAC POY honors over probable 2017 NBA No. 1 draft pick Markelle Fultz (DeMatha Catholic). Aside from the local honors, Lykes averaged 18.6 ppg for a WCAC championship team that finished No. 15 in the FAB 50. Chosen to play in the Ballislife All-American Game, Lykes finished his career as Gonzaga's all-time leading scorer (2,266 points).

G — Jaylen Hands, Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) 6-3 Sr.
Hands was off the radar a bit as a junior at Balboa School in his native San Diego, but he made up for lost time over the summer and during his senior campaign. With a rare combination of explosiveness to the rim and a wicked pull-up jumper, Hands used his unique skill set to average 29.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, and 5.7 apg for a team that spent a majority of the season in the state Top 20. He broke the scoring record of 1995 first five selection Stephon Marbury (Lincoln, Brooklyn, N.Y.) at the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic and earlier in 2016 was named MVP at Adidas Nations. Hands is headed to UCLA.

F — John Petty, Mae Jemison (Huntsville, Ala.) 6-6 Sr.
One of the most highly-honored players in Alabama history, Petty moves up from the second team because of his individual production and team’s success. Was named state tournament MVP after scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and four steals in a Class 5A state title game victory. For the season, the Alabama commit averaged 23.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg and 3.0 spg for a 33-4 that finished No. 29 in the FAB 50. He repeated as state Mr. Basketball and Gatorade State Player of the Year after earning those honors at now-defunct J.O. Johnson as a junior. Petty, who played in the Jordan Brand Classic, was a four-time all-state selection and finished his four-year career with 2,749 career points.

F — Brian Bowen, La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) 6-8 Sr.
After an excellent junior season in which he led the Lakers to the Dick’s Nationals title game, Bowen helped his team take it one step further as a senior to earn All-American acclaim. He averaged 18.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg in three Dick’s Nationals games, all victories for a 28-1 club. Bowen ended the season with averages of 20.4 ppg and 7.0 rpg for the No. 2 team in the FAB 50. Undecided for college, the Saginaw, Mich. native netted a game-high 26 points in the Jordan Brand Classic.

C — Wendell Carter Jr., Pace Academy (Atlanta) 6-10 Sr.
After an honor-filled season for a state-title winning team, Carter will be taking his talents for Duke. Carter was named Class AAA State Player of the Year by averaging 22.7 ppg, 15.5 rpg and a whopping 5.8 bpg for a 26-8 club. A true back-to-the-basket talent who helped Team USA capture the 2016 FIBA 17U World Championship, Carter was not only named Class AAA State Player of the Year, but Georgia’s overall player of the year by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Carter was also named the Morgan Wooten National Player of the Year by McDonald’s, and scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished off three assists in its national all-star game.

Fourth Five

G — R.J. Barrett, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-7 Soph.
A left-hander in the mold of NBA standout Manu Ginobili, Barrett was the leading scorer for Montverde Academy as a freshman and grew bigger and stronger this season. He stepped up his game to the tune of 22 points and seven rebounds for a team full of D1 recruits that finished 26-5 and ranked No. 5 in the FAB 50. Barrett is the only sophomore to make the first team and was the youngest player to participate in the Nike Hoop Summit, scoring nine points against a United State team featuring the top players in the 2017 class. His father, former St. John’s player Rowan Barrett, is the Executive Vice President for Canada Basketball.

G — Lindell Wigginton, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 6-2 Sr.
Similar to R.J. Barrett, Wigginton is the latest in a recent string of Canadian standouts to earn All-American acclaim. The Nova Scotia native led a talented group of Oak Hill guards and was the Warriors’ most consistent player in its biggest games. A relentless competitor who worked hard on defense and was one of the country’s most potent guards getting in the paint, Wigginton might have been at his best when he netted 35 points in ending the 60-game winning streak of Chino Hills (Calif.). For the season, the Iowa St. commit averaged 20.2 ppg, 3.6 apg, and 2.4 spg.

F — Chuma Okeke, Westlake (Atlanta) 6-8 Sr.
In a great year for individual talent and teams in Georgia, Okeke forced his way to the first team because of his production and individual accolades. The Auburn recruit averaged 24.4 points, 15 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for a 18-11 club that competed in the state’s highest classification. Okeke joined first five selection Collin Sexton on the Class AAAAAAA all-state first team by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was named Sandy’s Spiel Mr. Basketball.

F — P.J. Washington, Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 6-8 Sr.
With a strong frame and an improved skill set, Washington was a three-level threat and one of the toughest checks in the country. After a couple of down seasons, the Pilots returned to the thick of the mythical national title race with Washington leading the way while playing for his father Paul Sr., who played at Middle Tennessee St. The Pilots finished the season 33-4 and No. 10 in the FAB 50 with their best player posting averages of 19.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 6.1 apg. Washington was selected for the Ballislife and McDonald’s All-American Games, and had a 11-point, 4-assist, 6-block performance in the Jordan Brand Classic.

C — Nick Richards, Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) 6-11 Sr.
Another struggling with injuries during his junior campaign, Richards came back strong and delivered for a New Jersey TOC title-winning club. Anchored the front line on one of the deepest teams in the country and his numbers (12.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg) really don’t reflect his impact and dominance. He led St. Patrick to a No. 9 Fab 50 ranking while earning NJ.com State Player of the Year honors. Similar to Washington, Richards is headed for Kentucky.

2016-17 All-American Second Team

F — Li’Angelo Ball, Chino Hills (Calif.) 6-5 Sr.
C — Mohamed Bamba, Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) 6-10
G — Alex Barcello, Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) 6-2 Sr.
C — Jordan Brown, Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.) 6-10 Jr.
G — Troy Brown, Centennial (Las Vegas) 6-6 Sr.
G — Jalek Felton, Gray Collegiate Academy (West Columbia, S.C.) 6-3 Sr.
G — Darius Garland, Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.) 6-0 Jr.
G — Marcus Garrett, Skyline (Dallas) 6-6 Sr.
C — Luka Garza, Maret School (Washington, D.C.) 6-11 Sr.
G — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 6-5 Sr.
G — Collin Gillespie, Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) 6-2 Sr.
G — Quade Green, Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) 6-0 Sr.
F — Jaren Jackson, La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) 6-10 Sr.
F — Zach Jacobs, Trinity Episcopal (Richmond, Va.) 6-7 Sr.
G — Tre Jones, Apple Valley (Minn.) 6-2 Jr.
G — Romeo Langford, New Albany (New Albany, Ind.) 6-4 Jr.
G — Foster Loyer, Clarkston (Mich.) 6-0 Jr.
C — Ikey Obiagu, Greenforest Christian Academy (Decatur, Ga.) 7-0 Sr.
F — Kezie Okpala, Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) 6-7 Sr.
F — Brandon Randolph, Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) 6-6 Sr.
G — Daron Russell, Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 5-10 Sr.
G — Gary Trent Jr., Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) 6-5 Sr.
G — Tremont Waters, Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 5-11 Sr.
F — James “M.J.” Walker Jr., Jonesboro (Ga.) 6-6 Sr.
G — Lonnie Walker IV, Reading (Pa.) 6-5 Sr.
G — Isaiah Washington, St. Raymond’s (Bronx, N. Y.) 6-1 Sr.
G — Nick Weatherspoon, Velma Jackson (Camden, Miss.) 6-2 Sr.
F — Kris Wilkes, North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) 6-7 Sr.
F — Keith Williams, Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn, N. Y.) 6-5 Sr.
F — Kyle Young, Jackson (Massillon, Ohio) 6-7 Sr.

National Coach of the Year: Freddy Johnson, Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.)

Note: Grassroots Hoops selections 2013-2015; ESPN selections 2010-2012; EA SPORTS selections 2003-2009; Student Sports selections prior to 2003; Selections are based on high school accomplishment, not future college/pro potential, and are reflective of those that lead their teams to state championships. The editors of www.ebooksnet.com do not knowingly select fifth-year players, and those ineligible due to age or academics, Mr. Basketball USA or to its various All-American teams.

Ronnie Flores is the Publisher and Editor of GrassrootsHoops.net. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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2016-17 Underclass All-American Team

Ronnie Flores — Thu, 01 Jun 2017 04:30:29 +0000

Class players of the year Marvin Bagley (Juniors), R.J. Barrett (Sophomores) and Jalen Suggs (Freshmen) headline the 2016-17 Underclass All-American team

Seven juniors and one special sophomore named to the 23rd Annual All-American Elite Team headline a group of 70 elite players selected to the 2016-17 Underclass All-American team powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

Forward Marvin Bagley Jr. of Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), this year’s National Junior of the Year, and Internet sensation Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, S.C.) were named to the overall All-American first team. Both players were second five selections.

National Sophomore of the Year R.J. Barrett of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) was a fourth five selection on the first team. The only sophomore to earn first five honors in the last 23 years under the current selection format is NBA superstar LeBron James while at St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) in 2000-01.

The eight All-Americans and 62 other underclass honorees all had standout campaigns for their respective high school teams, while others are sure to emerge this summer as bona fide 2017-18 All-America candidates. Nearly every summer on the grassroots circuit, well-known players are eclipsed by lesser-known commodities, and every so often a prospect comes out of nowhere to emerge as a Mr. Basketball USA candidate as was the case in 2016-17 with first five All-American selection and Ballislife All-American Game MVP Collin Sexton of Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.).

It’s a yearly ritual for some underclass All-Americans to change programs. Freshman Kyree Walker of Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.) is headed to Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.). That’s the program where Arizona-bound DeAndre Ayton played at the past two seasons after spending his sophomore year at Balboa School (San Diego, Calif.). More players each year are also re-classifying up in order to speed up the recruiting process or join a class that will be more advantageous to their development. Walker is expected to join the 2019 class while sophomore point guard Tyger Campbell of FAB 50 No. 2 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) is expected to re-classify to the 2018 class.

Expect more player movement and some reclassification as the summer rolls on.

This performance-based squad is selected by National Grassroots Editor Ronnie Flores with input from Mr. Basketball USA panelists. It is chosen after the conclusion of the season, which makes the Underclass All-American Team more reflective of players who made state championship runs.

Our national coach of the year is Freddy Johnson of Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.).

Juniors to Watch (2018)

F — Marvin Bagley III, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 6-10
C — Jordan Brown, Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.) 6-10
F — Taeshon Cherry, St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) 6-8
G — Ayo Dosunmu, Morgan Park (Chicago) 6-4
G — Devon Dotson, Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.) 6-2
F — Marcellus Earlington, Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 6-4
G — Darius Garland, Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.) 5-11
G — Quentin Grimes, College Park (The Woodlands, Texas) 6-5
G — Mason Harrell, Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) 5-8
G — Tyler Harris, Cordova (Memphis, Tenn.) 5-9
G — Nigel Hawkins, Cy Falls (Houston) 6-3
F — Joey Hauser, Stevens Point (Wis.) 6-8
F — Aaron Henry, Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) 6-6
F — Kamaka Hepa, Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) 6-9
F — Jaylen Hoard, Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) 6-9
G — Prentiss Hubb, Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.) 6-3
F — Brandon Johns, East Lansing (Mich.) 6-8
G — Tre Jones, Apple Valley (Minn.) 6-2
G — Tavon Jones, Linden (N.J.) 6-4
G — Romeo Langford, New Albany (Ind.) 6-4
F — Gerald Liddell, Steele (Cibolo, Texas) 6-7
G — Alex Lomax, East Memphis (Memphis, Tenn.) 5-11
G — Foster Loyer, Clarkston (Mich.) 5-11
G — Jordan McCabe, Kaukauna (Wis.) 5-10
F — Khavon Moore, Westside (Macon, Ga.) 6-8
F — Jontay Porter, Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) 6-8
G — Immanuel Quickley, John Carroll (Bel Air, Md.) 6-3
G — Jahvon Quinerly, Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.) 6-2
G — Courtney Ramey, Webster Groves (Mo.) 6-3
G — Desi Sills, Jonesboro (Ark.) 6-1
G — Javonte Smart, Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, La.) 6-4
F — Jalen Smith, Mt. St Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 6-10
G — Joe Wieskamp, Muscatine (Iowa) 6-6
F — Zion Williamson, Spartanburg Day School (Spartanburg, S.C.) 6-7
F — Robert Woodard, Columbus (Miss.) 6-6

2017 National Junior of the Year: Marvin Bagley III
Nipped Zion Williamson for this honor mainly because of similar production against much better overall competition. In fact, no team recorded as many quality regular-season wins as Sierra Canyon did, and Bagley was a big reason, averaging 24.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg while shooting 66 percent from the field. He might be the most talented all-around frontcourt player to play in California since 1984 Mr. Basketball USA John Williams of L.A. Crenshaw. Prior to Bagley, the last player from a California program to earn top honors among juniors was Tyson Chandler of Dominguez (Compton, Calif.) when the Dons were named FAB 50 national champions at the end of the 1999-2000 season.

Sophomores to Watch (2019)

G — Avery Anderson, Northwest (Justin, Texas) 6-3
G — Bryan Antoine, Ranney School (Eatontown, N.J.) 6-3
G — Cole Anthony, Archbishop Malloy (Queens, N.Y.) 6-2
F — Armando Bacot, Trinity Episcopal (Richmond, Va.) 6-9
G — LaMelo Ball, Chino Hills (Calif.) 6-2
G — R.J. Barrett, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-7
C — Charles Bassey, St. Anthony (San Antonio, Texas) 6-10
F — Keion Brooks, North Side (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) 6-8
G — Tyger Campbell, La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) 6-0
F — Vernon Carey Jr., University (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 6-9
G — Joe Girard III, Glens Falls (N.Y.) 6-1
G — Jaelen House, Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.) 6-1
F — Matt Hurt, John Marshall (Rochester, Minn.) 6-9
F — D.J. Jeffries, Olive Branch (Miss.) 6-7
F — Chandler Lawson, Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) 6-9
F — Michael Moreno, Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.) 6-6
F — Wendell Moore Jr., Cox Mill (Concord, N.C.) 6-6
F — Paul Mulcahy, Gill St. Bernard’s (Gladstone, N.J.) 6-3
C — Onyeka Okongwu, Chino Hills (Calif.) 6-9
G — Isaac Okoro, McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 6-5
G — Marvin Price, Patterson (Baltimore, Md.) 6-5
F — Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 6-8
G — Cassius Stanley, Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) 6-4
F — Trendon Watford, Mountain Brook (Birmingham, Ala.) 6-8
F — Romeo Weems, New Haven (Mich.) 6-6

2017 National Sophomore of the Year: R.J. Barrett
Last year’s top player among freshman, Charles Bassey, had a tumultuous season in terms to his team’s eligibility status and by missing the TCAL playoffs because of injury. That opened up the door wider for Barrett, and he was so impressive this season the issues Bassey dealt with may not have mattered anyway. For a team vying for the mythical national championship every season, it’s quite impressive to see a tenth-grader dominate games in the fashion this smooth and talented guard did. In addition to being Montverde’s leading scorer the past two seasons, Barrett averaged 18.4 ppg and 4.6 rebounds for Team Canada’s 17U club last summer. He’s the first sophomore selection from a Florida program dating back to the 1974-75 season, as 2015 Mr. Basketball USA Ben Simmons of Montverde Academy did not join the Eagles until late in the 2012-13 season.

Freshmen to Watch (2020)

G — Nimari Burnett, Morgan Park (Chicago) 6-2
G — Sharife Cooper, McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 5-9
F — Jyare Davis, Sanford (Hockessin, Del.) 6-5
G — Jalen Green, San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno, Calif.) 6-4
G — R.J. Hampton, Little Elm (Texas) 6-5
G — Nico Mannion, Pinnacle (Phoenix, Ariz.) 6-1
G — Jaden Springer, Rocky River (Mint Hill, N.C.) 6-3
G — Jalen Suggs, Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.) 6-3
F — Isaiah Todd, Marshall (Richmond, Va.) 6-9
F — Kyree Walker, Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.) 6-5

2017 National Freshman of the Year: Jalen Suggs
There wasn’t a dominant or potential generational big man entering high school basketball like there was the past two seasons with Charles Bassey (2016) or Marvin Bagley (2015), so this pick was a bit more difficult. It came down to a stellar group of guards and wings that handle the ball and score a ton. At the end of the day, we decided to go with Suggs for his production on a winning team and his mature disposition. A smooth and tight ball-handler who makes the game look easy at times, Suggs led Minnehaha Academy to the state Class AA title by averaging 21.5 points a game while handling point guard duties. Also a great prospect at quarterback on the gridiron, Suggs is already one of the most watched players on the 17U travel ball circuit and could develop into one of Minnesota’s best players in a generation. He’s is the first ever ninth-grade honoree from the state dating back to the 1976-1977 season.

National Coach of the Year: Freddy Johnson, Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.)

Ronnie Flores is the Publisher and Editor of GrassrootsHoops.net. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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Jay-Z's Nephew, Nahziah Carter, Dunks Over The #1 Player In 2018 & 7'0 Bol Bol

David — Tue, 30 May 2017 14:18:27 +0000

Jay-Z was a surprise spectator at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League's "Session IV" in LA on Saturday.

The hip-hop mogul and former Brooklyn Nets minority owner was in the house to watch his nephew, Nahziah Carter of the Albany City Rocks. The 6'6 Nahziah is the son of Jay's older brother, Eric Carter, and has more bounce than track #9 on "Vol.2...Hard Knock Life" or any member of the Nets not named KJ McDaniels and Archie Goodwin.

On Saturday, during a six-point loss to Cal Supreme Elite, which features NBA sons Shareef O'Neal and Bol Bol, Carter scored 20 points, grabbed 6 boards, dished out 4 assists and showed off his bounce by throwing down a dunk over the 7 foot Bol.

Nahziah Carter going after dudes @_ClutchCarter @TheCityRocks #2017EYBL #NikeEYBL pic.twitter.com/Tvf0Gz8xFm

— Overtime (@overtime) May 27, 2017

On Sunday, against Nike Phamily, which features the #1 player in the Class of 2018, Marvin Bagley III, Carter threw down a vicious 1-hand dunk over Bagley.

The dunk was Carter's only field goal of the game but his team came away with a 10-point victory. Here's his full highlights, which included a few nasty blocks.

As for Bagley, he had 20 points, 15 boards and 4 blocks in the loss but showed why he's the best player in his class by toying with most of the league's competition. Click here to watch him put up 36 points and 11 boards in a win against #1 team Howard Pulley.

Back to Carter, here's some information about the straight A student?via the AintNoJigga Instagram account.

He attends the Bishop Kearney High School in Irondequoit, New York. Late last year he committed to the Dayton Flyers and due to begin attending the University of Dayton in Ohio. In a Twitter statement Naz stated: "I'd like to thank God for blessing me with abilities and talents that have accumulated many scholarships for me in the sport of basketball. But with options comes choice, and I am proud to announce I have committed to the University of Dayton, a place with a great atmosphere and campus and a place where I plan to continue to develop myself academically and athletically for the next four years." In April 2017 Naz reopened his recruitment after coach Archie Miller left for the Indiana Hoosiers. He is now in the Class of 2018 and visiting multiple different universities.

And here's Carter talking to B/R about the time his Dad was shot by Jay, who has talked about it in?the song 'You Must Love Me"?and interviews

My father tells me some great stories from when they were growing up, and so does my grandma, but they don't really talk about that one too much. My dad did something and they fought, but we don't talk about it. My brothers and my sisters all know. Honestly, we usually laugh about it. I don't know why, but we find it kind of funny. I mean, Jay Z shot our dad. That's pretty crazy.

Back to Jay-Z the spectator, here's a cool throwback video of him, sitting with an 18-year old LeBron James in 2003, checking out a Rucker game with a young shifty Lamar Odom.

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#1 Player Beats #1 Team In EYBL!! Marvin Bagley Goes OFF Against Howard Pulley!

Tom — Mon, 29 May 2017 22:15:19 +0000

Here's the highlight between Marvin Bagley vs Howard Pulley in a intense match-up that everyone thought would be a blow out game. Nike Phamily has been the last place team of their division since the beginning of the EYBL season and it was frustrating for everyone to watch them getting beat by double digits. As the match-up began, top guard; Tre Jones wasn't available to play due to an ankle injury that occurred earlier that day during his game which Tre will be sitting out to recover for peach jam. Throughout the course of the half, Marvin Bagley kept the game close by attacking inside the paint, and giving Howard Pulley a hard time with foul trouble. Going towards the second half, Howard Pulley maintain to get the lead for a good few minutes but Marvin Bagley stepped up to lead his team for a huge upset victory over the number one team in the division. Even though that was Nike Phamily's second win, they are still happy that the win was against the number team.

Final Score 67-57

Marvin Bagley Finishes with 36 points and 11 rebounds.

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Future NBA Pros Marvin Bagley III & Cam Reddish DOING WORK! Top 5 Juniors BATTLE at Nike EYBL!!!

Staff — Sat, 13 May 2017 21:32:43 +0000

Saturday's morning session of the Nike EYBL gave fans an entertaining battle between Team Final and the Phoenix Phamily. This matchup also featured the no. 1 player in the country, Marvin Bagley III, and the no. 4 player, Cam Reddish. Both were as good as advertised as Bagley III went for 29 points and 17 rebounds while Reddish added 35 points of his own. Team Final was able to pull away at the end as Reddish got help from Top 50 2018, Louis King, as he added 29 points to the effort.

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Collin Sexton & Jaylen Hands STEAL THE SHOW at 2017 Ballislife All American Game!! B.McCoy Co-MVP!

Arek Kissoyan — Mon, 08 May 2017 02:16:50 +0000

Editor's Note: You can CLICK HERE to view the complete 2017 Ballislife All-American Game broadcast on Facebook Live. A condensed version of the broadcast will be available on www.ebooksnet.com in 48 hours.

Long Beach, Calif. – For the second consecutive year, the Ballislife All-American Game presented by Eastbay was a one possession game at halftime, with the winning club pulling away down the stretch. It was Team Elite that pulled away in the 153-134 victory over Team Future in the seventh annual national all-star game played before a capacity crowd at Long Beach (Calif.) City College.

The players most responsible for helping Team Elite pull away in the last 10 minutes of the game were guards Isaiah Washington of St. Raymond's (Bronx, N.Y.), Ethan Thompson of Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) and Collin Sexton of Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.).

Team Elite was up nine points when Washington was inserted following a media timeout and he immediately made a difference, scoring or assisting on 12 consecutive points for his team to give it a sizable cushion. The biggest lead for Team Elite was 140-119. Washington, a point guard headed to the University of Minnesota, was an early fan favorite with his "Jelly" finger-rolls and moves around the basket. He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

While Washington had his Jelly going, the crowd fell in love with Sexton, the ultra-competitive scoring guard headed to Alabama. Sexton wasn't interested in creating a bunch of memories or making new friends, he wanted to get the win and torture any player in his way while putting on a show for the paying customers. Sexton developed a friendly rivalry with UCLA-bound Jaylen Hands (Foothills Christian, El Cajon, Calif.) that began in Thursday's practice and it carried over into the game. Down the stretch the two got entangled into isolation matchups and Sexton won over the crowd with a couple of finishes, his bravado, dancing and flair for the dramatic. The crowd booed when he left the game and cheered wildly when he checked back in for the final two minutes.

Sexton finished with 27 points and four assists for Team Elite. Thompson was the most consistent performer of the game, as he helped Team Elite jump out to a an early 12-4 lead and consistently hit shots or finished plays around the basket. He finished with a game-high 32 points and added four rebounds and three assists. His scoring output was the third highest in the event's history.

Team Elite out-rebounded Team Future, 50-35. Team Future kept pace for as long as it could by hitting 15-of-40 3-pointers, including three apiece from guard Trae Young of Norman North (Norman, Okla.) and Li'Angelo Ball of Chino Hills (Calif.). Team Elite made 6-of-28 from behind the arch.

Sexton, who goes by the nickname "Young Bull", was awarded with the co-MVP trophy along with UNLV-bound center Brandon McCoy of Team Future. The Chicago native and Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.) product scored a team-high 30 points and finished with a team-high seven rebounds. After a slow start offensively, the 6-foot-11 McCoy was energized by the crowd and by trying to get his team back in the game. He made 14-of-18 shots from the field, including a 3-pointer.

"It was great to compete against a talented group of guys like these...I'm thankful and blessed that I was put in position to shine and win MVP," McCoy said. "I thought the game was pretty fun...the crowd got really into it and it really got me going."

The other player that went over 20 points for Team Future was Arizona-bound Brandon Randolph of Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.). He finished with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Press row's choice for game MVP was Thompson.

"It was a great experience to be able to play in this event," said Thompson, who made 14-of-18 shots from the field, including 3-of-6 3-pointers. "I'm glad I got the opportunity to finish my high school career playing with and against highly-skilled players."

Hands, who finished the game with 16 points, won the BILAAG Slam Dunk Contest presented by Eastbay. The 3-point contest was captured Washington.

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Marvin Bagley III vs Bol Bol BATTLE at Nike EYBL!!! MUCH Anticipated Match-Up!!

Arek Kissoyan — Sun, 30 Apr 2017 14:00:58 +0000

Here are highlights of the Marvin Bagley III and Bol Bol match up at Nike EYBL in Indianapolis yesterday. Marvin finished the game with 24 points and 14 rebounds for Nike Phamily and Bol Bol had 26 points and 12 rebounds for Cal Supreme who ended up winning the game 85-68.

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