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Just as there is no dominant team in this season's FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com, there is no one dominant player in the country who outshines the rest as the latest Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com shows. The nation's elite individual talent has been identified, as far as having the most productive 2022-23 season is concerned, but among the 19 top national player of the year candidates there is no consensus as to whom is the best or most dominant.

Of the 19 candidates who appeared on the ballots of the 10-man Mr. Basketball USA Panel, eight received a first place (10 points) or second place vote (nine points). Six players earned at least one first place vote, with sophomore forward Cameron Boozer of FAB 50 No. 6 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) the top vote-getter with 70 overall points, besting USC-point senior point guard Isaiah Collier of FAB 50 No. 36 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) by two points and Kentucky-bound shooting guard D.J. Wagner of FAB 50 No. 10 Camden (N.J.) by eight points. Wagner was the leading vote-getter in the preseason (with 71 points) when garnered four of the 10 first place votes. He earned two in the latest voting, two second place votes and 62 total points.

The other candidates to receive first place are Texas-bound forward Ronald Holland of FAB 50 No. 4 Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas), Kentucky-bound Justin Edwards of Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Michigan State-bound forward Xavier Booker of Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.). Holland came in fourth place over all with 54 points, Edwards in fifth with 52 votes overall, while Booker appeared on two overall ballots, finishing first on one and third on the other for 18 total points.

Three things stand out with the voting results. One, Boozer is a sophomore and no tenth-grader has ever been named Mr. Basketball USA or a consensus national player of the year. Not Lew Alcindor, not LeBron James, no one, so the company Boozer is keeping is worth nothing. Two, Boozer's point total would represent a number significantly lower than the average total of the eventual annual honoree, who is often above 90 points overall. Not one single candidate, not even Boozer or Collier, appeared on all ten ballots. Three, the senior class still hasn't established a true pecking order and the ones who are most popular on social media, particularly Bronny James of Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) and Mikey Williams of San Ysidro (Calif.), did not receive any votes. James was named a McDonald's All-American, to the 13-man USA Team for the Nike Hoop Summit and is being pegged by ESPN as a 2024 NBA lottery pick.

One player who is certainly being rewarded for his senior season of high school is Oregon-bound point guard Jackson Shelstad of FAB 50 No. 20 West Linn (West Linn, Ore.). He did not appear on any preseason ballots, but appeared on four ballots this time around, including a second-place vote, for 25 overall points. Shelstad has been selected for the Nike Hoop Summit.

"With the obvious conclusion that this 2023 class has not met expectations, it is apparent that the creme of the current high school talent rests with several talented underclassmen with Cameron Boozer being exhibit A," said panel member Dinos Trigonis, Nothing But Net Magazine publisher and Pangos All-American Camp director. "While Boozer does not give max effort 100 percent of the time, his displays of dominance signals the arrival of a special player to track.

"What's also apparent here, as the voting results show, is the obvious disconnect between the day-to-day regional and local scouts and some of the national media, particularly ESPN. They have anointed players to "can't miss" status based on celebrity rather than accomplishment."

It's no secret that the 2023 class has been considered one of the weakest ones nationally in recent memory, in terms of NBA Draft prospects and projected collegiate impact. That is reflected in the voting totals of the latest Mr. Basketball USA Tracker. What is also apparent is the end-of-season playoff games and the national all-star circuit will hold as much importance as it has had in many seasons, in terms of individual accomplishment and honors and deciding whom are the best bets to standout at the next levels of the game.

This wide open Mr. Basketball USA race will be fun to track over the next month and a half.

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.

About Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel
www.ebooksnet.com's panel of 10 experts, which includes five 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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By Ronnie Flores

As did many of the nation's top teams, FAB 50 No. 1 ranked Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) ventured to the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mo., to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and play a showcase game. The Panthers took on battle-tested and then FAB 50 No. 23 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) and came away with a 72-59 victory. Mr. Basketball USA candidate DeShawn Harris-Smith had a big game for Paul VI with 23 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

While Paul VI left the birthplace of basketball with a victory, not all top-ranked teams were so lucky and the results at that four-day event, in addition to the games at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo., led to major changes in this week's FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

FAB 50 No. 3 Link Academy stamped itself as a major FAB 50 national title contender by defeating then No. 13 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) in the Bass Pro TOC title game, 72-66, to remain unbeaten. Baylor-bound shooting guard Ja'Kobe Walter knocked down key shots and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Coach Bill Armstrong also had high praise for junior point guard Elliot Cadeau, as the North Carolina-bound playmaker had 16 points and eight assists while controlling the game's tempo.

Sunrise Christian attempted the "Springfield Double" and traveled to the Eastern Seaboard on Sunday to take on No. 2 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) on MLK Monday after its TOC championship loss on Saturday. The Buffaloes were flat and Montverde Academy rolled to a 64-51 victory it was in control of the entire way. A balanced MVA effort included 13 points from junior junior guard Curtis Givens, 11 points from senior wing K.J. Evans and 10 points and eight assists from junior forward Liam McNeeley. The Eagles also defeated NIBC club La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) to remain at No. 2 in this week's rankings.

Miro Little, a 6-foot-4 guard bound for Baylor, was the lone offensive bright spot vs. MVA for Sunrise Christian Academy, netting 17 points of 7-of-9 shooting. The Buffaloes actually move up two spots in this week's FAB 50 because they own a NIBC victory over No. 16 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), which knocked off previous No. 5 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), 58-53, in the event's final game. It was the Dragons' second loss to IMG Academy in NIBC play this season, so the Dragons fall to No. 17 behind the Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) club it lost to earlier in the season. Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.), which beat bubble club Oak Hill Academy of Virginia in its Hoophall game, has losses to No. 2 MVA and to No. 16 IMG Academy, which remains ranked lower than LuHi because of losses to No. 12 St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) and unranked Huntington Prep of West Virginia.

St. John's fell from the ranks of the unbeaten and five spots to No. 12 after its Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) 72-64 loss to Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.). The Cadets can't fall any further, however, because of the quality of their schedule and an earlier victory over No. 16 IMG Academy. WCAC club Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) dropped its first game of the season to unranked Woodside (Newport New, Va.) at the DTLR MLK Classic on MLK Monday. The Purple Eagles, now at No. 20 in the FAB 50, were playing without sophomore point guard Nyk Lewis and remain tied for first place in the WCAC standings with top-ranked Paul VI and Bishop Ireton (Alexandria, Va.).

Two teams that moved up in the rankings following the Hoophall Classic are No. 6 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) and No. 7 Centennial (Corona, Calif.). Centennial defeated No. 10 Camden (N.J.), 66-62. Camden took a 39-38 lead mid-way through the third period, but Duke-bound guard Jared McCain answered with a 3-pointer and after a turnover and dunk by LMU-bound forward Aaron McBride, the Huskies kept their claws on the Panthers the rest of the way. McCain hit six dagger 3-pointers and scored 27 points, while McBride finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds and a handful of his trademark hustle plays that often make the difference in close games.

Mr. Basketball USA candidate D.J. Wagner finished with 27 points (12-of-23 field goal attmepts) in the loss to Centennial. On MLK Monday, the Panthers bounced back from the Centennial loss with a resounding 90-54 win over No. 39 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.). Six players netted double figures for Camden against a team that earlier defeated No. 41 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) at the event, 82-66.

Columbus also owns a win over Camden and left Massachusetts with two victories of its own. The Explorers easily downed unranked San Ysidro (Calif.), 74-67, as Mr. Basketball USA candidate Cam Boozer, a sophomore, finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. On MLK Monday, Columbus defeated No. 32 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) to move up three spots in the rankings right in front of Centennial, the season-long top ranked team in the Cal-Hi Sports state Top 25 rankings.

Sierra Canyon went on a 11-0 run to take a 42-32 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game. Columbus cut its deficit to one point (46-45) with 15.4 seconds remaining on two free throws by Boozer, and won the game 47-46 on a put-back layup off a Boozer miss by junior forward Malik Abdullahi with just over a second remaining after Sierra Canyon's Isaiah Elohim missed the front end of a one-and-one situation. Boozer finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Elohim scored 16 points for Sierra Canyon.

Columbus remains in front of Centennial mainly because of the Huskies' loss to Wheeler. Both clubs have lost to No. 5 Duncanville (Texas), with Centennial's third loss coming to No. 21 Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), a team that lost to Camden. Columbus' other losses are to No. 14 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.), which plays Camden on January 28, and to No. 4 John Marshall (Richmond, Va.).

Unbeaten John Marshall is able to hop Duncanville, the defending FAB 50 champions, after previous No. 12 West Linn (Ore.) was shocked at the MLK Holiday Classic at De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 63-53, by the host school. West Linn suffered its first loss and has earlier wins over Duncanville, Sierra Canyon and bubble club Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.).

The highest rated of the six newcomers this week is Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.) at No. 27. For the first time ever, Mike Irvin's club is the top-rated club in the greater Chicago Metro after downing previous No. 14 Simeon (Chicago, Ill.), 46-43, in a Chicago Public League showdown. Kenwood, which began at No. 39 in the preseason rankings and plays Camden on Jan. 20 at Depaul University’s McGrath-Phillips Arena, got two clutch free throws from leading player Dai Dai Ames with five seconds remaining to seal the win.

Kenwood guard calmly sank two free throws with five seconds left to seal the victory. Kenwood defeated Simeon for the first time in program history, as the Kansas St.-bound guard finished with 20 points, six rebounds and four steals. Irvin pointed to the rugged play of 6-foot-8 Solomon Mosley as a key to victory.

Shout out to Kenwood and the other clubs that broke into the nation's longest-running weekly national rankings. Kudos also go out to those event directors that took a moment during their busy events to honor Dr. King and his legacy.

RELATED:  Preseason 2022-23 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | |   

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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