By Ronnie Flores

The FAB 50 mythical national champion the past two seasons have both finished the season unbeaten and this year there are some talented teams who can potentially lay claim to the No. 1 spot in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com should they finish unbeaten.

If season-long No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) finishes unbeaten by winning the 2018 GEICO Nationals in New York (March 29-31) against what should be a strong field of eight teams, the program will be in excellent position to capture its fourth FAB 50 crown in six seasons. Two years ago, it was Lonzo Ball and Chino Hills (Calif.) that worked its way up to No. 1 following a magical 35-0 campaign and last year Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.), led by Michael Porter Jr., finished 29-0 to lay claim to the No. 1 spot in a close decision over one-loss La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.).

Ironically, last year's FAB 50 championship coach, former NBA player Brandon Roy, was working on a personal 51-game winning streak entering Washington's SeaKing District 2 playoffs last week. Roy coached Hale to 29 consecutive wins last season before moving over to his alma mater, Garfield (Seattle, Wash.), for the 2017-18 season. Garfield was working on a 22-game winning streak to begin the season and were up to No. 18 in the FAB 50 before they were shocked in the district quarterfinals by Seattle Prep, 58-55.

Before their loss last week, the Bulldogs were one of the clubs looking to climb towards the Top 10 in the FAB 50, and should Montverde Academy falter in New York City, potentially put itself in position to contend for the mythical FAB 50 national championship. That scenario is basically over, although Garfield still deserves to be FAB 50 ranked since it owns an earlier 83-77 overtime win over Seattle Prep and still has an excellent shot to capture the WIAA Class 3A state crown. The Bulldogs fell 14 spots to No. 32 in this week's FAB 50.

Another Washington club that fell from the ranks of the unbeaten was bubble club Richland (Richland, Wash.), which lost 56-53 to still unbeaten Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.) in the District 8 4A championship game. With its win, Gonzaga Prep moved up five spots in the FAB 50 to No. 36, but like Garfield would seem to have only an outside shot at a Geico Nationals berth.

After Montverde Academy, the next highest ranked unbeaten team is No. 15 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), the defending CIF Open Division state champions. After losing to Montverde Academy at the 2017 Spaulding Hoophall Classic, the Knights won 15 consecutive games to close out the season, and won the coveted CIF Southern Section Open Division and state open crowns to finish ranked No. 6 in the FAB 50 and beginning No. 7 in the preseason.

This season Bishop Montgomery is 26-0 and riding a 41-game winning streak entering this Saturday's CIFSS Open Division semifinals versus No. 47 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.). California teams are not quite as strong as last season, but should the Knights win their upcoming section semifinal game and the open championship over either No. 33 Etiwanda (Etiwanda, Calif.) or bubble club Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), Bishop Montgomery will put itself in FAB 50 title contention even though CIF champions are currently ineligible for Geico Nationals.

How high can Bishop Montgomery climb if it remains unbeaten?

The same question can be asked of No. 17 Riley (South Bend, Ind.), No. 21 Upson-Lee (Thomaston, Ga.), No. 25 Warren Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) and No. 31 Plymouth-Whitemarsh (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.). Riley and Warren Central both compete in Indiana Class 4A, so one of those teams will fall in the state playoffs. The FAB 50's other unbeaten clubs may not be facing another unbeaten FAB 50 team, but the competition will be tougher and the pressure will mount, so whichever teams remain unbeaten will be rewarded accordingly in the rankings as the season wears on.

One club trying to climb back in the FAB 50 after injuries and a slow start knocked it out is Webster Groves (Webster Groves, Mo.). You can watch the Statesmen and their highly-regarded, uncommitted point guard Courtney Ramey take on Kirkwood (Kirkwood, Mo.) in a rivalry game to close out the Ballislife HS Basketball Weekly Showcase regular season, Friday February 23 at 8:30 pm (ET).

RELATED: Ballislife HS Basketball Weekly Showcase | Webster Groves (MO) vs. Kirkwood (MO) Game Link 

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
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(Tenth poll of 2017-18 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, February 18; Previous ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates foundation games not included)

Dropped Out: Previous No. 35 John Carroll (Bel Air, Md.), No. 46 Curie (Chicago, Ill.).

Bubble Teams:  Belleville West (Belleville, Ill.) 23-2; Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 21-2; Canton (Canton, Mich.) 16-0; Canton (Canton, Miss.) 26-3; Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 19-5; Curie (Chicago, Ill.) 23-4; Cypress Falls (Houston, Texas) 29-3; DeKaney (Houston, Texas) 31-3; Gate City (Gate City, Va.) 23-1; Hazel Park (Hazel Park, Mich.) 15-1; Hazelwood Central (Florissant, Mo.) 22-2; John Carroll (Bel Air, Md.) 26-7; Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) 20-1; Las Cruces (Las Cruces, N.M.) 26-0; Loundon Valley (Purcellville, Va.) 23-1; Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 21-6; McPherson (McPherson, Kan.) 17-1; Memorial (Tulsa, Okla.) 21-2; Mills University Studies (Little Rock, Ark.) 23-2; Morgan County (Madison, Ga.) 27-1; Mountain Brook (Mountain Brook, Ala.) 31-5; Newton (Covington, Ga.) 25-3; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 25-3; Northside-Jax (Jacksonville, N.C.) 24-0; Northwest Classen (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 24-1; Olive Branch (Olive Branch, Miss.) 22-4; Olympus (Salt Lake City, Utah) 22-0; Orr (Chicago, Ill.) 23-4; Oshkosh North (Oshkosh, Wis.) 20-1; Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) 26-3; Ranney School (Tinton Falls, N.J.) 22-4; Rayville (Rayville, La.) 30-0***; Richland (Richland, Wash.) 22-1; Riverside Academy (Reserve, La.) 30-1***; Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch, Col.) 21-2; Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.) 22-1; Skyline (Ann Arbor, Mich.) 16-0; South Central (Winterville, N.C.) 24-0; South Garland (Garland, Texas) 31-3; Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.) 27-1**; Trinity Episcopal (Richmond, Va.) 23-3; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 18-4; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 21-2; Webster Groves (Webster Groves, Mo.) 15-8.

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.

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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Former NBA All-Star guard and current coach of Nathan Hale High in Seattle, Brandon Roy, is expected to recover after being injured in a shooting this past weekend in Los Angeles.

According to USA Today's Sam Amick, Roy was shot in the leg while shielding some kids outside of his grandmother's house.

“Like many others, we’re just learning of the injury suffered by former Trail Blazers player Brandon Roy in a shooting over the weekend in California,” the Trail Blazers said in a statement. “According to those reports, Brandon was wounded as a bystander but is expected to recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with Brandon and his family during this time.”

The 32-year-old Roy only played six seasons in the league due to injuries but his impressive resume includes a Rookie Of The Year award, three All-Star appearances, two All-NBA honors and this 2010 quote from Kobe Bryant, when he was asked who the toughest player in the league is to guard: Roy 365 days, seven days a week. Roy has no weaknesses in his game.

In his first year of coaching high school basketball, Roy won the Naismith Coach Of The Year award after leading his team to an undefeated season and state championship.

The post Former NBA All-Star Brandon Roy Injured While Protecting Kids In LA Shooting appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

By Ronnie Flores

There are nine new teams in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com, including four that recently wrapped up state titles: No. 21 Cypress Falls (Houston), the UIL Class 6A state champions, No. 44 Edmond North, the OSSAA Class 6A champs, No. 48 Meridian, the MHSAA Class 6A title-winning club and No. 50 Basha (Chandler, Ariz.), who took the AIA Class 6A hardware.

Those four state champions have completed their 2016-17 season and their won-loss tally are marked with an asterisk (***). There are some state title-winning clubs that hope their season is still alive and they receive invites to the eight-team Dick's Sporting Good National High School Tournament March 30-April 1 at Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.).

Those include No. 15 Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.), No. 20 Tift County (Tifton, Ga.), No. 22 Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), and No. 27 Greenforest Christian Academy (Decatur, Ga.). Tift County captured the highly-competitive GHSA Class AAAAAAA title to move up 12 spots in this week's FAB 50. The Blue Devils knocked off No. 25 Norcross, 55-52, in the title game behind 24 points from Micah Johnson and 18 from Rashod Batemon. Tift County held on after a potential game-tying 3-pointer by Norcross' Kyle Sturdivant rimmed off, as a frantic Norcross comeback after trailing by 11 points with just under two minutes remaining in the game came up just short.

The question always looms of how much to drop title-game losers or teams that have great overall resumes. In the case of Norcross, coach Jessie McMillan's club actually moves up a spot. The reason? The team owns a win over GHSA Class A Private champ and No. 26 Greenforest Christian Academy (Decatur, Ga.), not to mention No. 29 Mae Jamison (Huntsville, Ala.), the Alabama Class 5A champions. Those results make Tift County, whose only two losses are to No. 5 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) and a split with Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.), the most attractive Dick's Nationals candidate among GHSA state champions.

Those results also push McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) back into the FAB 50 at No. 47. That club was up to No. 9 in the FAB 50 before losing its only game of the season, 56-49, to Tift County in the Class AAAAAAA semifinals. Another club in the FAB 50 that didn't capture a state title is No. 23 Skyline (Dallas, Texas), which lost to eventual UIL Class 6A state champ Cypress Falls (Houston) 46-43 in a wild triple overtime semifinal affair. There could be a few more highly-regarded teams to break back in after all playoff results from around the country have been tabulated. One of those is likely to be previous No. 11 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), which fell all the way out after falling to new No. 38 St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) 88-81 in a SoCal Open Division regional playoff game.

Now The Messy Stuff

The problem with dropping Sierra Canyon out of the FAB 50 is it has arguably the best set of regular season wins in the country, but fell flat against a CIF San Diego Section team in its regional playoff opener for the second consecutive season. Last season's upset loss was the primary reason why Sierra Canyon started out in the FAB 50 California preseason pecking order behind current No. 7 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.).

Sierra Canyon owns wins over current No. 2 La Lumiere, No. 3 Memphis East, No. 12 Findlay Prep, No. 13 Oak Hill Academy and No. 18 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), so the Trailblazers have a strong argument to be included in the final FAB 50. They lost by two points (67-65) to No. 1 Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.), which leads into our next rankings dilemma - the Raiders' recent decision to skip Dick's Nationals despite the WIAA granting its state champions the opportunity to play if selected.

When Hale defeated Sierra Canyon in the finals of the Les Schwab Invitational and rose to No. 1 thereafter, there was no quarrels or complaints about its ranking. It was deserved (as Sierra Canyon had already defeated preseason No. 1 Oak Hill Academy) and Sierra Canyon's January wins only strengthened Hale's rankings position. Only after Hale's decision to skip the end-of-season tournament is its ranking being questioned and it holds some validity. Hale's win over Sierra Canyon has lost some strength and the Raiders won't be playing anymore games while other highly-ranked teams duke it out for the Dick's Nationals crown.

Based on comments published by the Seattle Times, the WIAA Class 3A state champions are turning down the opportunity to play based on its rankings position and leverage in the situation. In other words, Hale already has a legit claim to the No. 1 rankings position, and has more to lose than gain by playing. The sentiments of the coaching staff and players would be different if it wasn't the current No. 1 ranked team in the country.

There are some points that need to be made clear about the situation:

1. Hale's ascension to No. 1 was based on results and it dropping from that position will be based on the same. In doing a version of the FAB 50 since the 1987-88 season, the most important factor in determining rankings have been the results of games. Trying to take the adult and business element out of the situation (injections, forfeits, defaults, state association regulations regarding travel, number of games, etc.) and relying of the results put forth by the student-athletes gives us the  best possible chance for accurate rankings and we'll stand by that policy and the track record it has produced. A good example of this is when Curie (Chicago) was forced to forfeit wins during the 2013-14 season, including one to national power Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.). We allowed it to play out on the court (as opposed to in the courts) and that's the route we'll follow in this situation.

2. This is not a similar situation to Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) last season with regards to a public school winning the mythical FAB 50 national title despite not playing at Dick's. The Huskies went 35-0 on the court and rose to No. 1, but didn't have the opportunity to get invited to play based on CIF rules. There is no telling how the Huskies would have fared, but Hale's situation shouldn't be compared to Chino Hills' at all. Hale had and has the opportunity to play.

3. This situation also isn't quite the same as the one in 2011-2012 when Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) turned down an opportunity to play in Dick's Nationals because we don't know yet for certain who will be in the running for the mythical national crown based on the results of that event and what common opponent factor that may produce. At the end of that season, Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) won Dick's Nationals in dramatic overtime fashion over Montverde Academy. Findlay Prep lost to La Lumiere by a point that season and Oak Hill beat that same team (which also participated in the 2012 event) by 18 points. At the conclusion of the 2010-2011 season, Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) won the event (then known as the NHSI) but lost to Linden (Linden, N.J.), a team unbeaten and FAB 50 No. 1 St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) defeated. We don't have the same situation here -- at least not yet -- as it relates to on-court results or common opponents.

4. In 2012, then first year Montverde Academy coach Kevin Boyle stated the decision by Oak Hill Academy to not participate was a bad precedent and we agreed with him and still do. That season, Oak Hill ventured to China before the event was scheduled to take place, but this time around Hale doesn't appear to have any extenuating circumstances preventing it from playing. As Michael Porter Jr. told the Seattle Times, he feels the team doesn't have anything to prove, although many of the players reportedly expressed a desire to play. Hale's decision gives a future team with a No. 1 resume the leverage to opt out and in our opinion, that is not good for high school basketball. The more results we have among ranked teams gives us a better opportunity for accurate national rankings, since there is no NCAA-type national championship tournament that includes a champion from every state association or something similar.

5. In our opinion, it's a great opportunity for programs to play in the event, and there are many state champions that would love the opportunity Hale had. In the bigger picture, Hale's decision is a step back in two of the FAB 50's goals -- to promote high school basketball on a national level and bring us closer to crowning a national champion on the court. One of the reasons we produce national rankings is to one day see a NCAA-type national tournament and to promote -- or critique -- its execution. Two immediate changes we'd like to see implemented are state associations and programs publicly stating its intentions to play in Dick's before the conclusion of its respective state tournament. Fans and pollsters have been eyeing Hale's participation before it won a state title. Don't give teams the leverage to play or opt out depending on its national standing in polls. Secondly, all state associations should adopt an open division or Tournament of Champions so it's clear which team would be invited (if eligible) and to bring us a step closer to open division champions from around the country meeting on the court.

We always think bigger picture, because we want high school basketball around the country to thrive, not set back by off-the-court decisions.

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
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(Thirteenth poll of 2016-17 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 12; Previous ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates season complete)

Dropped Out: Previous No. 11 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), No. 20 Union (Tulsa, Okla.), No. 24 Wise (Upper Marlboro, Md.), No. 25 Klein Forest (Houston, Texas), No. 36 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.), No. 41 Rock Creek Christian (Upper Marlboro, Md.), No. 48 First Love Christian Academy (Washington, Pa.), No. 49 North (Oshkosh, Wis.), No. 50 Wagner (San Antonio, Texas).

Bubble Teams:  Apple Valley (Apple Valley, Minn.) 26-2; Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) 30-1***; Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) 24-3***; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 22-9***; Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 22-3***; Butler (Matthews, N.C.) 30-1***; Clark (Las Vegas, Nev.) 27-5***; Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) 26-4***; DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 25-10***; Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 28-1; Evanston (Evanston, Ill.) 28-3; Fairport (Buffalo, N.Y.) 23-1; First Love Christian Academy (Washington, Pa.) 24-3***; Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) 21-6***; Godwin Heights (Wyoming, Mich.) 21-1; Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 31-7; Keller (Keller, Texas) 33-3***; Kentwood (Covington, Wash.) 27-3***; Klein Forest (Houston, Texas) 34-1***; Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 23-5***; Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas) 32-7***; Maple Grove (Maple Grove, Minn.) 26-2; Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 35-4***; Muskegon (Muskegon, Mich.) 23-0; Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 19-7; Newton (Covington, Ga.) 28-2***; North (Oshkosh, Wis.) 25-1***; North Side (Fort Wayne, Ind.) 27-2; Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) 30-2; Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.) 21-8***; Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio) 24-2; Rock Creek Christian (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 27-2; Rindge & Latin (Cambridge, Mass.) 22-0; Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 18-11***; Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 31-4***; Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) 29-3; Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 27-3***; Southwest Guilford (High Point, N.C.) 28-3***; Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 21-6; Union (Tulsa, Okla.) 28-1***; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 24-3; Wagner (San Antonio, Texas) 36-3***; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 24-4***; Wesley Christian (Allen, Ky.) 33-9***; West (Lee's Summit, Mo.) 24-2; Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) 18-11***; Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 21-9***; Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 24-6*; Wise (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 21-1***.

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 17 years ago.

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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Nothing against Damian Lillard, who is one of my favorite players in the league, but every time I see Lillard hit a game-winner, put up 50 or surprise us with an unexpected dunk while wearing a Trailblazers jersey, I can't help but think that should be Brandon Roy doing it.

The former Portland Rookie of the Year and All-NBA guard was on the path to greatness that Lillard is currently on. And I'm hoping Lillard reaches his full potential and the greatness he deserves for both him and for Roy. If you think I'm over-hyping the 3 x All-Star just because we didn't get to see him fulfill his potential, what do you think about Metta World Peace saying Roy is?better than Kobe and Kobe himself saying Roy had no weakness in his game?

“Roy 365 days, seven days a week. Roy has no weaknesses in his game.” Said Kobe when asked who the toughest player to defend in the Western Conference was. “I told him I don’t know of any player outside of myself that has no weaknesses besides him. If you think about it, he can go left and pull up and shoot. He can go right and pull up and shoot. He can fade left shoulder, he can fade right shoulder. He can shoot the long ball. He can finish at the rim. He can shoot free throws. He has no weaknesses in his offensive game." -

Unfortunately, his knees were as flawed as his game was flawless and we only got to see six seasons of him. But every time I watch Damian Lillard play well, I get to see a little of Brandon Roy, even if it is just memories.

ROY TRIBUTE MIX

GAME WINNER VS ROCKETS

52 POINTS

In 2017, Brandon Roy was shot in the leg while shielding some kids outside of his grandmother's house.

"It was crazy to look down at my leg and my sweats had holes in them," Roy said, per?Jayda Evans?of the?Seattle Times. "I just couldn't believe I was shot. It's scary. I thought about my kids the whole time."

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Check out Brandon Roy getting a run in at the Jamal Crawford Summer Pro-Am League in Seattle. Looks like Brandon's still got a little left in the tank.

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