By Ronnie Flores

All the state titles around the country have been decided and the results around the country proved it's not easy to complete a undefeated state championship season. Three teams went down in flames in their respective state championship game after entering the contest with a high spot in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com and without a loss.

The highest ranked team to lose was previous No. 9 Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio), which fell to talented Jackson (Massillion, Ohio), 39-38, in the Ohio Division I state title game before 11,750 fans at Value City Arena. Butler-bound Kyle Young of Jackson (our highest rated Ohio team in the preseason FAB 50 at No. 43) made his first of two free throws with 3.6 seconds left to account for the final points of the game, as Moeller's last-second heave was off the mark. Jackson was this week's highest rated newcomer at No. 33, while Moeller fell out of the top 10 to No. 37 with its lone loss.

In Minnesota, Apple Valley (Apple Valley, Minn.) ended Champlin Park's dream of an unbeaten championship season for the second time in three years with a 60-54 victory at Target Center. Tre Jones, the younger brother of Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Tyus Jones, led Apple Valley with 24 points, 18 rebounds and five assists, as the Eagles won their third Class 4A crown in five years.

Apple Valley entered this week's FAB 50 at No. 36, while Champlin Park (which split games with the Eagles this season) fell 23 spots to No. 39. In 2014-15, Champlin Park also entered the MSHSL Class 4A championship game 31-0 and lost to Apple Valley 64-61, as Apple Valley finished No. 40 in the final FAB 50 that season. Tyus Jones led Apple Valley to a state title in 2012-13 during his junior season.

Grand Rapids Christian (Grand Rapids, Mich.) was up to No. 18 in last week's FAB 50, but it came crashing down with a 75-69 loss to No. 35 Clarkston (Clarkston, Mich.) in the Class A state title game at the Breslin Center. Foster Loyer led longtime Clarkston coach Dan Fife to his first state title by scoring 29 points. Clarkston (which began the season No. 33 in the FAB 50) shot up to No. 19 this week, while the Eagles fell to one spot behind Champlin Park at No. 40.

The highest ranked team to win a state title last week was two-loss and No. 7 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), which defeated No. 36 Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.) in the CIF Open Division state title game, 74-67, behind 26 points from Oregon St.-bound Ethan Thompson. The Knights lost to an unranked club to begin the season, but in the post-season defeated No. 12 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) twice, No. 18 Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) and No. 21 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) in addition to the Timberwolves.

Bishop Montgomery did not lose to a team from Southern California and its only other loss was to No. 5 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), one of seven FAB 50 ranked teams and one bubble club still playing this season at Dick's Nationals, set for March 30-April 1 at Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.).

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
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(Fifteenth poll of 2016-17 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, March 25; Previous ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates season not complete)

Dropped Out: Previous No. 37 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.), No. 46 North Side (Fort Wayne, Ind.), No. 47 Simeon (Chicago, Ill.).

Bubble Teams:  Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) 24-3; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 22-9; Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 22-3; Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.) 21-3; Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 30-2; Bowling Green (Bowling Green, Ky.) 36-2; Butler (Matthews, N.C.) 30-1; Clark (Las Vegas, Nev.) 27-5; Cooper (Burlington, Ky.) 34-5; Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) 26-4; DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 25-10; Edwardsville (Edwardsville, Ill.) 30-2; Evanston (Evanston, Ill.) 28-4; Fern Creek (Louisville, Ky.) 35-3; First Love Christian Academy (Washington, Pa.) 24-3; Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) 21-6; Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 31-7; Keller (Keller, Texas) 33-3; Kentwood (Covington, Wash.) 27-3; Klein Forest (Houston, Texas) 34-1; L.C. Bird (Chesterfield, Va.) 27-1; Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 23-5; Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 23-4; Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas) 32-7; Morgan Park (Chicago, Ill.) 26-6; Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 35-4; Muskegon (Muskegon, Mich.) 23-1; Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 24-7; Newton (Covington, Ga.) 28-2; North (Oshkosh, Wis.) 25-1; North Side (Fort Wayne, Ind.) 27-3; Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) 31-3; Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.) 21-8; Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio) 26-3; Rock Creek Christian (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 28-4; Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 18-11; Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 31-4; Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) 30-4; Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) 30-4; Southwest Guilford (High Point, N.C.) 28-3; St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) 28-5; Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 23-7; Union (Tulsa, Okla.) 28-1; Wagner (San Antonio, Texas) 36-3; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 24-4***; Wesley Christian (Allen, Ky.) 33-9; West (Lee's Summit, Mo.) 25-3; Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) 18-11; Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 21-9; 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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So when Phil Jackson joined the "Waddle and Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 Chicago’s radio show last week, it was inevitable he’d hear it.  While there has been a long list of hopefuls as the “Next Jordan”, the last decade provided us with two, legitimate contender’s to Jordan's GOAT status.  Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have been serious enough challengers that even most Jordan loyalists would admit so.

Kobe is, and has been widely regarded as the closest thing to MJ.  He holds that title because of several similarities.  First it’s his physical likeness to MJ, as both shaped what became the prototypical body for 2-guards: 6”6-6”7, lanky, athletic, yet strong guards.  Kobe’s offensive arsenal also mirrors MJ’s: both bearing fatal fade-away and pull-up jumpers, strong footwork and post-play, and an inclination to occasionally put people on posters.

Kobe’s body of work in the clutch is also indisputable and straight Jordan-esque,  while being consistently referred to as “a cold blooded assassin” more than any real cold blooded assassin would hope, referring to a vicious drive and will compared to MJ’s.  Jordan vs. Kobe is a classic Apple’s vs. Orange’s: preference rules, so if you happen to like oranges, then you think they’re better than apples.

Then there’s LeBron’s case.  Most phenom’s playing the guard positions are measured by Jordan’s mold, but with LeBron it’s different.  He isn’t compared to MJ because of his likeness to Jordan’s game.  He breaks that mold.  He controls a game like MJ did.  LeBron is 6”8 of svelte, chiseled, coordinated basketball machinery. He doesn't stick his tongue out because he chews on a mouth guard that he wears down much like his opponents. He defies position and can best be labeled as point-forward.

Jackson, whose prolific coaching career allowed him the longevity to witness all three at their respective peaks (MJ, KB, LBJ), was asked if LeBron “has the potential to be better than Michael Jordan.”

“He's got all the physical attributes,” answers Jackson about James.  He continues, “He is a player that can play four positions. Except for perhaps the center spot, which he hasn't given a shot at yet, he can play those other four positions quite well. This is unique; Michael could play three and was very good at all three of those, but as a power player that LeBron can become, I think he has an opportunity to explore and advance some of the status that he has already gained.”

The Zen-Master also warns that “Winning six championships is an elusive thing out there and they haven't won two yet,” and that “I think he's there, I think he's at that position. He's got good things ahead of him and a lot of it depends upon if he's gonna be healthy for the remainder of his career.”

LeBron has a distinct game, dissimilar to MJ and Kobe in that LeBron looks to pass first, and always has.  Even with that mindset, LeBron still boasts the 3^rd highest all-time career PPG at 27 ppg (MJ, at 30 ppg, is of course first on that list).  So it’s not his game or mentality, but LeBron’s level of sheer dominance that has him being compared to MJ.  Finally for LeBron, it resulted in a ring.

Trying to fit LeBron in the MJ mold is largely why LeBron was viewed as failing in the past, falling short in drive, hunger, and clutch plays.  But perhaps no other perimeter players in NBA history can dominate a game, regardless of where on the 94x50 foot court, both offensively and defensively, with, or without the ball, like James and Jordan.  They both control almost every aspect of the basketball game and that’s what defines greatness for a guard in what was originally a game structured around the big men.

Jackson's answers express that sentiment exactly .  I love how the Zen-Master  educates us on two things: 1) only Jackson can maneuver around this question as gracefully (Scottie Pippen, please take notes), and 2) LeBron and MJ are different animals, and only time will tell if LeBron, or anyone else will combine personal achievement with the winning of six titles like MJ masterfully did.

Jackson doesn’t answer the question necessarily, but instead presents strength's that one was better at than the other , and offers hope that LeBron will stay healthy enough during his career to definitively answer such question.

The “Better than Jordan” notion, however,  is a question that while is fun to ask at times, needs to go away for good.  If Kobe vs. Jordan are Oranges vs. Apples, then LeBron is a hulking Pineapple in the analogy, and if you happen to like Pineapples, you've enjoyed LeBron’s past six months of ballin’.  Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron were/are each their own unique players.  While stats help put the argument on paper, the point is to enjoy what we’re experiencing for the once-in-a-generation art that it is.  Regardless of apples, oranges, or whatever crazy fruit you prefer (did I really just compare LeBron to a Pineapple just now?), please just enjoy the lot before they rot.

Thanks to the good folks at http://sportsradiointerviews.com/, you can read the transcript of the whole interview there.

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Check out "The Season". A new series we are doing on the Compton Magic AAU basketball tea. The Magic are consistently one of the top AAU programs in the country year in and year out. The talent of alumni that has played on this team rivals the best ever to put a travel ball team together. This year they come back with a killer team with Future first round draft pick, in 7 foot Isaiah Austin. Also leading the way is the quick rising Junior guard Gabe York. Joining the team this year will be Nino Jackson who is a top 50 talent. Once this team gels we are hoping to see magic happen on the court.

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