I got to catch some New York Catholic League hoops on my last day and it was a high level matchup featuring a multitude of Division 1 prospects as highly-regarded Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) hosted FAB 50. No 19 Christ The King (Middle Village, N.Y.) on a Sunday afternoon.

CTK's roster consists of UCLA signee Brandon Williams, 2024 forward Qin Pang, 2025 wing Kiyan Anthony, St. John’s signee Brandon Gardner, (who didn’t play) and 2023 wing Devin Vanderpool.

Cardinal Hayes' roster contains 2024 guard and All-American candidate Ian Jackson, 2024 sharpshooter Elijah Moore and 2024 big man Steve Solano.

Both teams were tying to rebound from recent West Coast losses and it was Christ the King that won going away, 78-48. The team that won wasn't surprising but the victory margin was, as CTK rebounded nicely from its loss to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.). Cardinal Hayes has played tough competition, but it is going to have to go back to the drawing board going into 2023.

Let’s dive in on my notes and evals from the matchup.

Tale of Two Halves

If someone would have told me at half the score differential at the end of the game would have been 30 points, I would have called that person crazy.

The first half was a good one, as both teams ran their sets, executed and also competed on the defensive end. Quality shots were taken, with guys battling for rebounds and 50/50 balls and by intermission the score was 33-30 CTK’s way due to a half court heave by Brandon Williams.

The 2nd half started out ugly for Cardinal Hayes, as Christ The King went on a quick 10-0 run. CH started pressing offensively and took more contested shots from the perimeter in the second half, as CTK converted on the Cardinals' mistakes which led to transition finishes and open threes. Once the final buzzer went off, Christ The King outscored Cardinal Hayes 45-18 in the 2nd half.

Albeit the Cardinals having an up and down season, when they play together, advance the ball and value quality looks, they can compete with almost any team in the country. When they don’t, it goes south quickly. 2024 Elijah Moore missed shots he normally would make, but I do think the team goes away from what works which has resulted in its slow start.

Brandon Williams Perimeter Game is Upticking

Williams’ physique and size pops out immediately. The future Bruin was a matchup problem from the tip utilizing his bulky frame to finish in the paint through contact. But what impressed me most about Williams is he looks very comfortable on the perimeter and showed ability to create his own look off the bounce.

Williams displayed a nice stop-and-pop game, was able to connect on catch-and-shoot threes and when he did drive, he showed good balance and control navigating through traffic to avoid potential offensive fouls. The Bruins are getting a good one with Williams and he has a chance to contribute right away.

Qin Pang's Name Will Be Heard More From the next 6 Months

We dove in about how Brandon Williams was a mis-match problem but his front-court mate Qin Pang showcased his offensive versatility, too. There is alot to like with him. At 6-foot-9 with the ability to shoot it from deep, he puts it on the floor, hunts for rebounds and doesn’t evade contact. He collected a double double on Sunday and had a very solid performance in the star studded matchup vs. Sierra Canyon.

He isn't a complete unknown in the recruitment world, holding offers from Michigan, Illinois, Missouri and several other P5 level programs, but I do believe he has a chance of being a Top 100 player in his class. With more consistent performances I believe he can see a bigger jump in his recruitment.

Ian Jackson’s Naked Eye Game Recap

Obviously the physical tools are there when you look at Jackson. He has long arms, broad shoulders, and is an explosive athlete.

Jackson showed versatility on the offensive end playing on and off the ball. He is becoming a better and more willing passer off the bounce, allowing him to generate clean looks for himself and others. He showed creativity with his handle by utilizing hang dribbles and keeping defenders at bay. His ability to change speeds makes him a consistent visitor of the paint.

I thought he showed a sense of urgency on the glass early, rebounding and pushing pace which resulted in easy buckets in the paint.

He connected on a few threes, but still on the streaky side. His outside shooting can get better and I believe it will with time and work. That will open up his game even more down the road. His effort and energy was consistent, but his shot selection could have been better in the second half.

Regardless, Jackson showed why is one of the top prospects in the 2024 national class.

The post CTK-Cardinal Hayes: 4 Observations! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

By Ronnie Flores

RELATED:    | | The Future Of Big-Time HS Basketball | FAB 50 Rankings Criteria | How To Make A HS Version Of March Madness  | Final Southwest Region Top 20 | Final Midwest Region Top 20 | Final Southeast Region Top 20 | Final East Region Top 20

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section released its open division pool play matchups on Sunday and there were some surprises, but not at the top. Sierra Canyon, led by junior Amari Bailey, secured the top seed in the CIFSS Open Division playoffs by closing out the regular season with a 88-76 victory over Heritage Christian (Northridge, Calif.) on Saturday.

That game essentially knocked Heritage Christian out of the eight-team field comprised of two, four-team pools. Whomever wins each pool will play for the CIFSS open championship at the home site of the highest remaining seed.

The question was, who was going to be the No. 8 seed to open up against the Trailblazers? To our surprise, that team ended up being St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), which last week handed Trinity League rival Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) its first loss of the regular season, as the two teams split games in league play. That loss knocked the Monarchs out of this week's FAB 50 after they came into the game ranked No. 33.

The Monarchs did win their 33rd consecutive outright or shared league title, but in the process lost Nebraska-bound Wilhelm Breidenbach for the post-season. He was injured in a win over St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) on May 15 at the Nike Extravaganza and did not play versus St. John Bosco. We figured Mater Dei would be seeded above Bosco, but are surprised by the Braves' No. 8 seed. We don’t feel they have the weakest resume of the eight teams in the field nor the weakest roster.

The new team in this week for Mater Dei (which will be judged in the playoffs for the team it has on the floor, not the one that went 26-1 during the regular season) is No. 2 seed Centennial (Corona, Calif.) at No. 45. The Huskies only lost one regular season game to No. 37 Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.), which is the favorite to win the CIF San Diego Section open crown. Torrey Pines would get its crack at the top CIFSS teams in the SoCal Regional playoffs, which begin June 15.

Mater Dei got the third seed (which makes Bosco's No. 8 even more surprising) with Etiwanda (Calif.) grabbing the No. 4 seed. Ribet Academy, which has spent time in the FAB 50 and only lost to Centennial in overtime, is the No. 5 seed. The No. 6 seed in Damien (La Verne, Calif.), which lost twice to Etiwanda in league play, with talented Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) grabbing the No. 7 seed.

The first pool play games are scheduled for May 28, the second set (1 vs. 5, 4 vs. 8 in pool A and 2 vs. 6 and 3 vs. 7 in pool B) June 1 and the final set (1 vs. 4, 5 vs. 8 in pool A and 2 vs. 3 and 6 vs. 7 in pool B) June 4.

CHSAA Spring Tourney Finals Set

The New York Catholic High Schools Athletic Association (CHSAA) Spring Tournament concludes its six-week run of games that salvaged a season for New York parochial schools this week. On Thursday it will be FAB 50 bubble club Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) taking on bubble club Xavieran (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for the Class AA title in the Kevin Pigott / Ray Nash Division Championship.

Both teams were the No. 2 seed in their respective division and enter the title game with identical 5-1 records. Both teams lost their first pool play game, and both needed overtime to win their fifth consecutive game on Monday in the tournament semifinals.

Cardinal Hayes defeated St. Francis Prep (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) in OT, 60-57, as the Terriers lost their first game of the tournament. Tobe Awaka led the way for Hayes in its semifinal victory with 25 points.

Xavieran needed two overtimes to defeat Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), 57-53, as Nick Folk finished with 25 points. He canned six 3-pointers and made all six of his free throws. Samuel Gibbs added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the victors.

After the conclusion of the CHSAA Spring Tournament, we'll release the final East Region Top 20 rankings.

RELATED:    | | The Future Of Big-Time HS Basketball | FAB 50 Rankings Criteria | How To Make A HS Version Of March Madness |Final Southwest Region Top 20 | Final Midwest Region Top 20 | Final Southeast Region Top 20 |  Final East Region Top 20

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
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(23rd poll of 2020-21 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, May 23; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Does not include results vs. out-of-season opponents; ****Indicates season not complete.)

No.	Prev.	High School (City)	Record
1	1	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	24-1
2	2	Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)	20-4
3	3	IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)	22-3
4	4	DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.)	9-0***
5	5	Camden (Camden, N.J.)	13-0
6	6	Milton (Milton, Ga.)	28-3
7	7	Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.)	22-1
8	8	Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)	18-7***
9	9	Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)	3-0
10	10	Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)	12-0****
11	11	Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas)	29-1
12	12	Orlando Christian Prep (Orlando, Fla.)	28-0
13	13	Houston (Germantown, Tenn.)	21-3**
14	14	Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.)	26-3
15	15	Westlake (Austin, Texas)	30-2
16	16	Millard North (Omaha, Neb.)	27-2
17	17	Millbrook (Raleigh, N.C.)	19-0
18	18	Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.)	7-4
19	19	St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio)	25-2
20	20	Reading (Reading, Pa.)	26-2
21	21	Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.)	14-1
22	22	Carmel (Carmel, Ind.)	26-2
23	23	Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)	21-9
24	24	Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.)	24-3
25	25	Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.)	19-1
26	26	Waukee Senior (Waukee, Iowa)	16-2
27	27	Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.)	9-1**
28	28	Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas)	31-0
29	29	Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.)	28-3
30	30	Victory Rock Prep (Bradenton, Fla.)	27-6
31	31	Blair Academy (Blairstown, N.J.)	2-0
32	32	Clinton (Clinton, Miss.)	21-1
33	34	Central Pointe Christian (Kissimmee, Fla.)	31-7
34	35	Grand Blanc (Grand Blanc, Mich.)	15-2
35	36	Berkmar (Lilburn, Ga.)	26-6
36	37	St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)	15-1***
37	43	Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.)	24-0****
38	38	Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.)	28-2
39	39	Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.)	22-1
40	40	Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.)	24-3
41	41	Manasquan (Manasquan, N.J.)	12-0
42	42	Kingfisher (Kingfisher, Okla.)	25-1
43	44	Huron (Ann Arbor, Mich.)	20-1**
44	45	Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.)	21-1
45	NR	Centennial (Corona, Calif.)	18-1****
46	46	North Little Rock (North Little Rock, Ark.)	21-2
47	47	Wauwatosa East (Wausatosa, Wis.)	23-3
48	48	Centerville (Centerville, Ohio)	26-3
49	49	Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.)	19-2
50	50	St. Catherine’s (Racine, Wis.)	28-1

Dropped Out: Previous No. 33 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).

Bubble Teams:  Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 8-3; Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, N.C.) 10-1; Atascocita (Humble, Texas) 24-3; Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.) 15-0; Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 17-7; Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) 5-1****; Catalina Foothills (Tuscon, Ariz.) 19-1; Catholic Central (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 20-0; Central (Little Rock, Ark.) 23-5; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 22-2; Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Col.) 17-1; Cleveland (Rio Rancho, N.M.) 14-1; Creighton Prep (Omaha, Neb.) 23-3; Davis (Kaysville, Utah) 22-4; Del City (Del City, Okla.) 22-4; DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.) 14-2; Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.) 0-0; Edmond Memorial (Edmond, Okla.) 17-2; Elizabethtown (Elizabethtown, Ky.) 22-3; Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 0-2***; Green Run (Virginia Beach, Va.) 9-1; Highlands (Ft. Thomas, Ky.) 30-4; Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 14-0; Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) 0-0; John Carroll (Bel Air, Md.) 11-5; Kickapoo (Springfield, Mo.) 28-2; La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 10-10; Las Cruces (Las Cruces, N.M.) 14-1; Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 26-1****; Mentor (Mentor, Ohio) 25-1; Richardson (Richardson, Texas) 25-2; Ribet Academy (Los Angeles, Calif.) 11-1****; Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 12-3; South Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie, Texas) 21-1; Starkville (Starkville, Miss.) 21-3; St. Francis Prep (Fresh Meadows, N.Y.) 5-1; Stone Bridge (Ashburn, Va.) 16-1; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 15-1; St. Mary’s (Pheonix, Ariz.) 20-1; Thunderidge (Highlands Ranch, Col.) 13-2; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 15-1**; Waxahachie (Waxahachie, Texas) 20-3; Westlake (Saratoga Springs, Utah) 21-4; Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 27-5; Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.) 15-1; Wilson (West Lawn, Pa.) 20-2; Xaverian (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 5-1****.

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 21 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: @RonMFlores2

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