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Chipotle Nationals: Can Anyone Beat Montverde Academy?

Ronnie Flores — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 01:15:17 +0000

Will Chipotle Nationals be a coronation for the No. 1 team in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings? Or will another ranked squad in the eight-team field give the Eagles a serious run for their money? We give a quick breakdown of the matchups and some insight to Chipotle Nationals (formerly known as GEICO Nationals).

The program at Montverde Academy in Florida has won Chipotle Nationals, the end of-season tournament founded in 2009 when it was known as the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational, a record six times. The program, which will make its record 13th appearance this April, won the event in 2013-15, 2018, 2021-22. Those years do not coincide with the years Montverde Academy captured its six FAB 50 national titles. That’s because in 2020, the program put together its best team, only to be denied a chance for a coronation at the event because the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 version of the event never took place.

In 2022, Kevin Boyle’s Eagles won the event for the sixth time, downing Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) in the title game, 60-49. That season, however, MVA finished No. 2 in the FAB 50 behind Duncanville (Texas), which beat them in a head-to-head matchup on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Panthers junior guard Aric Demings.

Many fans and scribes felt the 2020 event would be a coronation for that Cade Cunningham-Scottie Barnes led club that defeated its foes, including 12 FAB 50 ranked teams, by 39.0 ppg, one of the largest winning margins among elite high school basketball programs we’ve covered over the years. This year’s unit, which has another terrific starting five led by Mr. Basketball USA candidates Cooper Flagg (Duke) and Derik Queen (Maryland) and three other players who were serious McDonalds’ All-American candidates, hasn’t been that dominant in its winning margin, but some feel Chipotle Nationals (April 4-6 in Brownsburg, Ind.) is a coronation of sorts.

One aspect of its resume this year’s MVA club has over previous title teams, even the 2019-20 unit that will go down as one of the best in high school history, is its strength of schedule. Flagg, Queen, Liam McNeeley (Indiana) and company defeated a whopping 21 teams that have been FAB 50 ranked at some point during the regular season. Obviously that number could grow to 24 in this eight-team bracket. One interesting aspect of the field is Montverde Academy has beaten all seven of its potential opponents at this event, outscoring the other seven participants by nearly 15 ppg (the Eagles have beaten FAB 50 No. 4 Long Island Lutheran of New York and No. 6 Prolific Prep of California twice).

To answer the question, yes, Montverde Academy can be beat. There is just too much talent and familiarity within the teams in this field.

Will it be easy? No. Would it be an upset? Yes, but not a big one it that occurred after its first round game with FAB 50 No. 12 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), the No. 8 seed. This AZ Compass Prep team is gritty and fearless. Led by junior (2025) guard Jeremiah Fears, it just doesn’t have the elite scoring talent the Eagles have across the board. MVA beat the Dragons, 58-46, in a December meeting in Las Vegas that was fairly competitive.

Whoever wins the No. 4 vs No. 5 seed quarterfinal matchup between Long Island Lutheran and FAB 50 No. 2 Columbus (Miami, Fla.), could potentially give MVA all it can handle in the semifinals. Columbus’ seeding really doesn’t match the quality of wins it has, even though Cameron Boozer and company have losses to unranked Wasatch Academy and No. 17 Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), along with losses to No. 6 seed Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) and to Montverde Academy in a game that wasn’t very competitive (89-61). Columbus does have a win over No. 2 seed and FAB 50 No. 3 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) and over Long Island Lutheran (which lost to AZ Compass Prep).

Boozer, last year’s Mr. Basketball USA as a sophomore, his twin brother Cayden Boozer and Jase Richardson, a talented guard headed to Michigan St., played more cohesively over the last month of the season and are motivated to show the Explorers can play with Montverde, but beating Long Island Lutheran a second time won’t be an easy task. V.J. Edgecombe could have a breakout tournament and LuHi has plenty of depth, including standout juniors such as Kiyan Anthony, Nigel James, Jacob Ross and Kayden Mingo. Whoever survives that first round game should have plenty of confidence vs. Montverde Academy in a potential semifinal on April 5.

Last year, we felt Paul VI had a tough draw against Link Academy, the eventual Chipotle Nationals champ and FAB 50 No. 1 team. We felt whoever won that No. 4 vs. No. 5 quarterfinal matchup had a chance to win the whole tournament and Link ran the tables after a 68-65 win over the Panthers. This year, Paul VI is the No. 2 seed and could be even better. The Panthers return most of their cast, including Duke-bound Darren Harris, one of the better talents in this tournament. The individual numbers don’t do Harris justice on this deep and balanced team that could be the one that gives Montverde Academy all it can handle in the championship game.

Paul VI opens up with No. 7 seed IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), the lowest ranked team in the field (No. 14) which already has a loss to the Panthers. With junior guard Darius Acuff Jr., the Ascenders will always have a chance because of his penchant for scoring and play-making. In fact, he led the EYBL Scholastic League (which includes five Chipotle Nationals participants) in scoring at 21.3 ppg. The key to the No. 2 vs. No. 7 seed game will be if IMG Academy’s front court players, such as Donnie Freeman, can slow down Paul VI on the boards and keep the Panthers from second shot opportunities.

Montverde Academy has played in the most overall tournament games by far (26-6 record in 12 appearances), but No. 6 seed Link Academy actually has the best winning percentage in the event’s history (5-1) after advancing to the title game in 2022 in its first year of eligibility and winning it all last year. Coach Billy Armstrong will have his team ready in its matchup with No. 3 seed Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), a dangerous club that could win it all if it’s healthy and in sync. Link Academy has a legitimate Mr. Basketball USA candidate in Tre Johnson that could help the Lions pull off a minor upset against a team it has already lost to, 77-76, in the first game of the season super sophomore Tyran Stokes played for The Crew after missing the team's first nine games. During the middle portion of its schedule (nearly two months), McDonald’s All-American Derrion Reid was out with injury, but he’s an indispensable piece if Prolific Prep is to defeat Link Academy, potentially Paul VI and possibly meet Montverde Academy in the finals.

Nobody has played Montverde Academy tougher than Prolific Prep. Playing the Eagles tough, however, and beating this year’s team, are two different things. Montverde Academy’s unit knows what’s at stake in trying to live up to the lofty standards that previous MVA units set. The field, however, is as talented as it’s ever been and these teams know each other inside and out. Whoever emerges will be a worthy champion and if that is one of the top four seeds, it willl likely finish at No. 1 in the final FAB 50 on April 8.

Chipotle Nationals April 4 Lineup

No. 1 Montverde Academy (1) vs. No. 12 AZ Compass Prep (8), 8 pm ET
No. 4 Long Island Lutheran (4) vs. No. 2 Columbus (5), 4 pm ET
No. 6 Prolific Prep (3) vs. No. 11 Link Academy (6), 6 pm ET
No. 3 Paul VI (2) vs. No. No. 14 IMG Academy (7), 2 pm ET

Note: Seeds listed in parenthesis. All quarterfinal games televised on ESPNU. The semifinals on April 5 will be televised on ESPN2, as will the title game on April 6 (12 pm ET).

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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Final, Expanded 2022-23 FAB 50 Rankings!

Ronnie Flores — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 21:49:47 +0000

All 50 ranked teams written up with explanations for why they were placed in these positions with comparisons to preseason ranking. The FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com is the official rankings of the National Sports News Service, which date back to the 1952 season. Link Academy of Missouri is the 2022-23 mythical national champion, as the program captured the FAB 50 title in only its second year of eligibility in the nation's longest-running weekly rankings.

Compiled by Ronnie Flores

(Preseason ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included.)

1. (11) Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) 27-1
It was quite a remarkable season for the Lions considering they were breaking in a new coach in Bill Armstrong, a former assistant at LSU, and a new crop of players. The talent was there to begin a bit higher, but considering the coaching change and its status as a program eligible for the FAB 50 for only the second year, No. 11 seemed like the correct range. That point was highlighted when Link Academy met preseason No. 1 Montverde Academy of Florida at the Metro Classic in N.J. Link Academy had started off the season 23-0, but couldn’t overcome early 15-0 and 12-0 MVA runs in a 84-58 loss. Link’s two best victories up to that point were a 72-66 win over No. 14 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) and a 30-point shellacking of No. 32 Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas). Coach Armstrong’s team was able to make up for the awful first quarter against Montverde Academy at GIECO Nationals by capturing the tournament MVA was part of. Montverde Academy, the top seed, fell in its quarterfinal contest to the same Sunrise Christian Academy team Link Academy beat during the regular season. Despite being No. 2 in the FAB 50, the Lions were awarded the No. 4 seed and downed No. 5 seed and FAB 50 No. 18 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.), a team that spent some time at No. 1, 68-65, behind All-American Ja’Kobe Walter’s 34-point performance. Armstrong’s crew defeated Sunrise Christian Academy for the second time in the tourney semifinals, 67-61, behind 16 points and 10 assists from All-American point guard Elliot Cadeau. Tennessee-bound guard Cameron Carr also had a big game for the Lions in the win over Sunrise Christian Academy with 18 points. Link Academy was able to secure the top spot in the rankings with a dominant 73-55 title game win over No. 9 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) in a contest the Lions were in control of throughout. Walter, bound for Baylor, netted a game-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 3-point shots, while Tyler McKinley, a 6-foot-9 junior, had a big outing with 17 points and six rebounds. In all, the Lions defeated seven FAB 50 ranked foes during a season in which it did one game better than its first FAB 50 eligible club, as the 2021-22 Link club lost in the GEICO Nationals title game to Montverde Academy and finished No. 2. Cadeau, a junior, eventually re-classed up to attend North Carolina, but the momentum from the GEICO Nationals run should pay dividends in 2023-24.

2. (1) Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 23-3 ?
It was another successful season for a program that has won more high level games than any other program in the past decade. Coach Kevin Boyle’s club started out as preseason FAB 50 No. 1 for the eighth time in the past 11 seasons and for the second consecutive season finish No. 2 after starting out on top. The Eagles lost the preseason No. 1 spot with a November 65-54 loss to No. 9 AZ Compass Prep and in December suffered a 56-55 setback to No. 27 Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii. Yes, the Eagles lost in the GEICO Nationals quarterfinals to No. 14 Sunrise Christian Academy, but deserve major rankings credit for three reasons. One, they beat Sunrise Christian Academy twice during the regular season, finished 11-1 and in first place in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) and handed No. 1 Link Academy its only loss. Boyle’s club made a big statement in that game with a 29-7 lead after one period. Link Academy tried in vain to get back in it, but could get no closer than 12 points in the second quarter of its lone 84-58 setback. The scoring in that game displayed MVA’s balance and versatility, as junior forward Derik Queen had a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. Junior wing Liam McNeeley netted 15 points, while junior guard Curtis Givens added 13 points. Oregon-bound forward K.J. Evans added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while junior forward Asa Newell added 10 points and nine rebounds. On top on that, the team’s most highly-honored and talented player was sophomore forward Cooper Flagg (9.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.0 apg 2.2 bpg). This balanced team had four players average between 9-14 points, with McNeeley the leading scorer, and could field its best team in 2023-24 since the dominant 2019-20 that is considered one of the sport’s best of all-time.

?3. (8) Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) 28-1?
It was another remarkable season for a program that finished as the University Interscholastic League’s (UIL) best for the fifth consecutive season. Based on its on-court results, Duncanville captured the FAB 50 title in 2021-22, but the UIL later stripped the Panthers of their Class 6A state title after ruling forfeits of all games in which an ineligible player (recent NBA draftee Anthony Black) participated in. Last November after the preseason rankings dropped, Duncanville opted out of participating in the 2022-23 UIL playoffs, but did go on to defeat eventual Class 6A champ and No. 8 Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas), 53-52, in November. The only loss for a Panthers club that played tough out-of-state competition was a 62-50 setback to No. 30 West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) in the championship of the Les Schwab Invitational in what was essentially a road game. That loss likely cost the Panthers back-to-back FAB 50 crowns, even if this club was a shade below the 2021-22 juggernaut. Without the luxury of the state playoffs, Duncanville recorded quality wins over 6. Columbus (Miami, Fla.), No. 21 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) and No. 23 Centennial (Corona, Calif.). McDonald’s All-American Ronald Holland, a forward who will play for the G League Ignite next season, took over down the stretch vs. Centennial and finished with 24 points. The next night he had 25 points and eight rebounds vs. Columbus and Cameron Boozer. A two-time District 11-6A Player of the Year, Holland was a key cog in Duncanville’s rise to national prominence and the team went 123-6 in his four years on the varsity.

4. (BB) Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) 33-0?
The Giants were the first team from the Midwest Region outside the preseason FAB 50 behind No. 47 Pewaukee (Wis.) and obviously should have been given more credence among those teams. Cathedral started out as the FAB 50’s highest ranked Midwest Region and Indiana High School State Athletic Association (IHSAA) team at No. 13, but the Giants downed that club in December, 62-50, while Cathedral went on to defeat preseason Midwest No. 2 and FAB 50 No. 16 Pickerington Central of Ohio, 65-61, in January. As for Ben Davis, it rolled along and made it all the way to the Class 4A state title game unbeaten. Basketball is still king in the Hoosier State and over 15,000 people showed up at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to watch the Giants take on bubble club Kokomo, which downed then No. 22 Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.), 58-57, in the state semifinals. Behind 20 points from Ball State signee Zane Doughty and 16 points from sophomore Mark Zackery, the Giants rolled to a 53-41 victory and its fourth IHSAA state crown. The last time an unbeaten Indiana team finished as the state’s No. 1 ranked team was in 2019-20 when Bloomington South finished 26-0, but didn’t get to win an on-court state crown because of COVID-19. Ben Davis’ last won a state crown in 2016-17 when it finished No. 45 in the FAB 50. This Ben Davis team was much more dominant, winning 29 games by double-digits with a averaging winning margin of 18.3 points. Doughty was first team all-state, averaging 13.5 ppg, 9.2 rpg and 2.8 bpg while shooting 61.1 percent from the field.

5. (22) John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) 28-0
If there was ever a state association that needs an open division or Tournament of Champions, it's the Virginia High School League (VSHL). The Justices were expected to be good, but were even more dominant that expected, capturing their second consecutive Class 2A state crown and their fifth since 2014 under coach Ty White. The state title game was a coronation (the entire Class 2A playoffs were actually), as the Justices rolled past Radford, 91-34. The team’s average margin of victory in the post-season was a whopping 65.5 ppg in six contests. From a rankings standpoint, the VHSL competition did not help John Marshall, as it won its 20 games vs. in-state competition by an average of 46.5 ppg. The Justices, however, recorded key victories over No. 6 Columbus (50-47) and No. 20 Wheeler (68-55) at the Chick-fil-A Classic in South Carolina. North Carolina-bound Dennis Parker Jr. (20.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2,4 spg) and Vanderbilt-bound Jason Rivera (15.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 3.5 spg) led the way, while junior Damon Thompson Jr. (14.6 ppg, 3.4 apg) and freshman Latrell Allmond (13.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.5 bpg) stepped up all season long. This team began the season ranked two spots higher than the 2020-21 John Marshall club that Parker was supposed to play a big role on and perhaps could have been the best in program history, but wasn’t able play after Richmond Public Schools cancelled the entire season because of the pandemic.

6. (18) Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 26-4?
Last season, Columbus put itself on the FAB 50 map by capturing the FHSAA Class 7A state title to finish No. 45 in the FAB 50 with a 29-2 record. The 2022-23 team returned en masse, but the expectations were much higher and the schedule tougher. The Explorers did lose two more games than in 2021-22, but two of those were to teams ranked higher (No. 3 Duncanville and No. 5 John Marshall). Columbus also lost to No. 13 Imhotep Charter, but defeated No. 12 Camden (N.J.), No. 18 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) and No. 20 Wheeler. The Explorers’ 66-64 loss to unranked Palmetto (Fla.) in overtime of the Class 7A, District 16 title game didn’t end up costing them much from a rankings perspective because it defeated that club twice by a combined 67 points, was still the No. 1 seed in the FHSAA playoffs and ended up capturing their second consecutive state crown. Of course, sophomore forward Cameron Boozer and his twin brother Cayden grab most of the headlines, but this was a well-rounded team with many contributors as evidenced in the state title run. The Explorers defeated Winter Haven, 50-48, and sealed the state title when junior forward Malik Abdullahi came up with a steal that led to the game-winning lay-up by senior Garyn Bess with six seconds remaining. Cayden Boozer (15.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.3 apg) had 21 points in the win and his improvement was one of the top storylines for a team that could challenge for preseason No. 1 next season. Cameron’s historic tenth-grade season saw him average 21.1 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 4.2 apg and 2.0 bpg, while shooting 62.1 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from the 3-point line and 89.1 percent from the charity stripe.

7. (NR) Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) 32-0 ?
We had the Vikings as the No. 2 team in our Southeast Region pecking order among North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) programs behind Myers Park of Charlotte. The Southeast Region, however, is that strong where the Vikings just missed the Top 20. Myers Park went on to capture the NCHSAA Class 4A title, but Central Cabarrus ended up as the state’s best team and the highest-ranked one nationwide which didn’t crack our preseason rankings. We knew the Vikings would be good, but they ended up unbeaten, closing out their season with a 65-51 Class 3A state title game victory over Northwood of Pittsboro to capture their second state title since 2020. The program will enter 2023-24 having won 62 of its last 63 games. Senior guard Adriel Miller (5.4 ppg) got the Vikings off on the right foot, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the opening period. Junior forward Desmond Kent Jr. (12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.3 bpg) also netted 16 points vs. Northwood, whom the Vikings’ defense forced 19 turnovers against. Central Cabarrus easily downed West Charlotte, 78-51, in the 3A West Regional final to extract a measure of revenge after last year’s playoffs loss to the same club. The ringleader of a team with five double-digit scorers was six-foot, Charleston Southern-bound Jaiden Thompson, who averaged 19.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.0 apg and 4.3 spg.

?8. (34) Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas) 34-3
The Wildcats were considered the biggest threat to Duncanville’s UIL Class 6A supremacy and when the four-time defending champs opted out of the 2022-23 playoffs, Lake Highlands did what was expected of it. Coach Joe Duffield’s club went on to capture the UIL Class 6A title while finishing as the No. 2 ranked UIL club behind Duncanville after losing to the Panthers, 53-52, in its third game of the season. Lake Highlands fell to No. 18 Paul VI (64-58) at the City of Palms Tournament in Florida and to No. 23 Centennial (70-64) at the John Wall Invitational in North Carolina, but were able to finish ranked above those clubs by defeating then No. 13 Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas), 55-44, at the Alamodome in San Antonio to capture the program’s first state crown since 1968. Beaumont United cut its deficit to 44-42 with five minutes remaining in the game, but the Timberwolves did not score a field goal in the final 4:54 of the game. All-American Tre Johnson (21.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.7 spg, 52-42-91 split), the Dallas Morning News Player of the Year and TABC Mr. Basketball as a junior, led the way with 29 points and eight rebounds for the victors. Samson Aletan, a 6-foot-10 Yale bound center, was key to Lake Highland’s defensive prowess throughout the season and finished the title game with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a Class 6A state title game record seven blocked shots. A third key cog was junior guard Jaylen Washington.

9. (4) AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) 23-7
In its first season as a FAB 50 eligible team team, the Dragons were considered a legit FAB 50 title contender. They came up a bit short of that, but did spend some time at No. 1 after defeating preseason No. 1 Montverde Academy, 65-54, in its first National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) game. Coach Ed Gipson’s club also defeated No. 14 Sunrise Christian Academy, 53-47, the next evening, but had some ups and downs in conference play. AZ Compass Prep finished tied for fourth place with No. 10 Long Island Lutheran in the NIBC standings, but finish ranked ahead of LuHi after avenging the regular season loss with a 73-71 victory in the GEICO Nationals quarterfinals. The Dragons then mauled No. 19 IMG Academy, 68-50, in the semifinals before losing in the championship game to No. 1 Link Academy, 73-55. Incredibly, no Dragon made an official all-NIBC club but Oregon-bound Mookie Cook did receive All-American acclaim and New Mexico-bound Tru Washington was arguably the nation’s best sixth man.

10. (25) Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 23-3
The Crusaders finished in second place in the NIBC standings at 10-2, one game behind conference champ Montverde Academy, but must remain behind No. 9 AZ Compass Prep after losing to that club in the quarterfinals of GEICO Nationals by two points, 73-71. They did beat AZ Compass Prep during conference play, but also lost to the IMG Academy team the Dragons beat by 18 points (68-50) with the third loss coming to No. 2 MVA (56-51). LuHi did defeat PIAA Class 6A state champ and No. 13 Imhotep Charter (65-55) and No. 14 Sunrise Christian Academy (58-53). For the first time since 2019, the New York State Federation Tournament of Champions took place and LuHi won the Class AA title by downing then No. 49 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), 81-57. Junior V.J Edgecomb led the NIBC in scoring (15.5 ppg) and earned first team all-NIBC honors, while senior guard Jayden Reid, who scored 43 points in two TOC games, earned second team laurels, with UConn-bound forward Jayden Ross earning third team honors.

11. (15) Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) 33-2
The Wolverines started off as the No. 2 team from California and No. 3 in the West Region right behind No. 23 Centennial, the best team from the Golden State in both 2021 and 2022. Harvard-Westlake ended up ranked in the range expected of them in the preseason, but more importantly for their supporters, won their final game of the season to win the program’s first CIF Open Division state title after previously winning three in lower CIF divisions. The Wolverines’ state title game win in the North vs. South format came over St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.), 76-65, but the two big wins from a rankings perspective came in the prior two games. Coach Dave Rebibo’s club downed season-long California No. 1 Centennial, 80-61, in the SoCal open final after avenging its CIF Southern Section pool play loss to No. 31 St. John Bosco. Centennial, if you recall, won its third consecutive CIFSS open crown on a wild steal and dunk at the buzzer at the Honda Center, while Harvard-Westlake failed to make it out of pool play. The only other loss for the Wolverines was to regionally-ranked Liberty of Las Vegas in the championship game of The Classic at Damien. Led by Mission League MVP Trent Perry, a junior, and St. John’s-bound forward Brady Dunlap, this team was one of the most balanced and well-rounded on both ends of the floor that we've been in CIF play over the past 40 years and is the program’s second highest-rated team ever. In 1996-97, the Collins twins (future NBA players Jason and Jarron) led Harvard-Westlake to the CIF D3 state title (the open division was still 15 years away) and No. 5 final ranking in the National Prep Poll (FAB 50 precursor). That team lost one game to a Tracy McGrady-led Mt. Zion club from North Carolina by four points in the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational Tournament title game.

12. (7) Camden (Camden, N.J.) 23-2**
Despite fielding a veteran team that only lost to two ranked clubs and finished in the range expected of it in the preseason, this season has to be considered a disappointment for the Panthers. On the court, Camden only lost to No. 6 Columbus in a game played in Florida and to No. 23 Centennial at the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts. Camden did defeat No. 13 Imhotep Charter in a local showdown, but it’s what didn’t occur that hurt The High the most. The favorite to win the 2023 South Jersey Group 2 and state title wasn’t allowed to defend its state title after a melee in the first-ever Camden County Tournament final versus Eastside (Camden, N.J.). With four minutes, 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Camden’s Cornelius Robinson, a Bryant recruit, hit Eastside’s Titus Bacon as he was trying to set a screen near the right elbow. Bacon retaliated, which led multiple Panther players, including McDonald’s All-American D.J. Wagner, to chase after Bacon and other Tigers players. Almost immediately, the melee brought players from the benches, coaches and fans onto the court. Camden was leading, 30-17, when game officials canceled the remainder of the game. Per NJSIAA bylaws, any varsity team accumulating three or more player or coach disqualifications prior to the start of the NJSIAA state tournament will not be permitted to participate in it. Before the NJSIAA could rule on the incident, the Camden City School District decided to pulled both clubs from the state tournament. It was a bittersweet ending for a great Camden era, especially since a regular season game with eventual NJSIAA Non-Public B state champ and No. 21 Roselle Catholic wasn’t scheduled. Wagner (22.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg) scored 32 points vs. Columbus and 27 points vs. Centennial and was a Gatorade State POY three times and led The High to a 94-5 record in his four seasons. Center Aaron Bradshaw (12.0 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.4 bpg), who will join him at Kentucky, also earned All-American acclaim.

??13. (10) Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 30-3 ?
The Panthers had another terrific campaign and were just as good as advertised in the preseason. Veteran coach Andre Noble (472-99) runs a program that has now won six of the past seven Philadelphia Public League titles (and 11 overall) after downing West Philadelphia, 72-42, in the 2023 City tile game. Along the way to its second consecutive Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 5A state crown, the Panthers downed Archbishop Ryan of Philadelphia (a club that beat then No. 41 Radnor in the quarterfinals) in the semifinals, 72-50, and Exetor Township of Reading in the title game, 78-40. Kentucky-bound All-American forward Justin Edwards (17.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg) had 16 points and Florida Gulf coast-bound senior guard Rahmir Barno chipped in 15 points in the title game victory. The losses came against No. 10 Long Island Lutheran, No. 12 Camden and to unranked Simeon of Chicago. Edwards and company were able to offset the Simeon loss by capturing the title at the prestigious City of Palms Tournament in Florida, where it defeated No. 6 Columbus and No. 20 Wheeler.

14. (2) Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 22-8
The Buffaloes had national title aspirations, but suffered a few too many overall losses to be in contention. After GEICO Nationals, the Buffaloes got a slight bump up in the final rankings after losing by only six points (72-66) during the regular season to eventual GEICO Nationals champ Link Academy and for beating No. 2 Montverde Academy once in three games. The Buffaloes split with No. 19 IMG Academy, but are ranked higher after that club was routed by GEICO Nationals runner-up AZ Compass Prep in the semifinals. Coach Luke Barnwell’s club lost to the Dragons, 53-47. Outside of NIBC play, the best win for the Buffaloes was a 73-62 victory over No. 21 Roselle Catholic in the Bahamas. A nice core of seniors led the charge for Sunrise Christian, including All-American Matas Buzelis (15.6 ppg, 54-42-78 split), Arkansas-bound guard Layden Blocker (11.7 ppg, 1.7 spg) and Ohio St.-bound wing Scotty Middleton (10.9 ppg). Sunrise Christian is now 2-4 all-time at GEICO Nationals.

15. (37) Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas) 36-2
The Timberwolves, similar to No. 8 Lake Highlands, did as expected from a preseason statewide perspective, but were even better from a national scope. After capturing back-to-back UIL Class 5A state crowns in 2021 and 2022, Beaumont United was moved up to Class 6A to challenge Duncanville and Lake Highlands for statewide supremacy. The Timberwolves were one game away from a 3-peat, falling to Lake Highlands, 55-44, in the UIL Class 6A title game. Beaumont United was down by two points with five minutes to go, but had a cold spell offensively at the most unfortunate of times, failing to convert another field goal the rest of the way. All-American and Washington-bound Wesley Yates III led the way in a losing effort with 21 points for a team that recorded wins over No. 16 Sidwell Friends (49-20), No. 42 Jonesboro (41-38) and No. 45 Corner Canyon (72-57) with its first loss vs. Washington of Houston coming in the second game of the season. Yates (20.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.4 spg) had to be accounted for at all times, while senior Trealyn Porchia (14.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, 2.4 spg) and junior Kayde Dotson (11.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.4 apg) also played key roles.

16. (21) Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) 29-4 ?
This is a perfect spot for the Quakers since it lost to No. 15 Beaumont United at the King Cotton Tournament in Pine Bluff, Ark., after Christmas. The 49-20 final score is quite deceiving, as junior forward Caleb Williams was out with injury and the team was feeling the affects of a flu bug. Coach Eric Singletary’s club eventually got Williams back and jelled down the stretch. The results of getting healthy include a win over No. 18 Paul VI (75-68), capturing a second straight DCSAA Class AA title and winning the second annual State Champions Invitational (SCI) to overcome losses to unranked Newton of Georgia and St. Andrews’ Episcopal of Maryland, the latter whom the Quakers split with. Sidwell Friends defeated cross-town Jackson-Reed, 62-47, in the DCSAA title game behind a 20-point, 7-rebound, 6-assist, 4-steal performance from Lehigh-bound Cam Gillus. In the SCI, the second-seeded Quakers downed No. 45 Corner Canyon, 60-53, in the semifinals and No. 20 Wheeler, 57-53, in the title game. Gillus had 19 points and seven steals vs. Corner Canyon while Williams, named CSI MVP, had 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals and came back with a 24-point performance vs. Wheeler.

17. (33) St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) 32-4
It makes sense for the Cadets to finish in this spot, as they downed then No. 7 Paul VI, 65-63, in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship game. St. John’s, which lost to Jackson-Reed (a team No. 16 Sidwell Friends defeated) in the DCSAA Class AA semifinals, 66-63, captured its first WCAC title since 2016 when it finished No. 19 in the FAB 50. Similar to that club, this Cadets club also started No. 2 in our WCAC pecking order, but was able to upend Paul VI when junior point guard Daquan Davis scored the game-winning basket on a driving lay-up with time winding down when the Cadets chose not to take a timeout. St. John’s did finish second in the WCAC standings behind Paul VI while splitting with both them and DeMatha Catholic of Maryland. Davis scored a team high 21 points, while Donnie Freeman, another junior, had 16 points. Harvard-bound Malik Mack added 15 points, eight assists and three rebounds for a club that won the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic in San Diego, Calif. It was also an extremely motivated group with regards to capturing the WCAC crown after head coach Pat Behan was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease in early summer of 2022 at age 34.

18. (3) Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) 31-4
The Panthers were serious FAB 50 national title contenders and their positioning here and loss amount shouldn’t detract from that fact they were easily one of the nation’s best teams. After a two point loss (57-55) to No. 6 Columbus, the Panthers were able to rebound and rose to No. 1 in the FAB 50 until falling to No. 16 Sidwell Friends by seven points, 75-68, their largest loss margin of the season. Paul VI went into that game with little on the line, in terms of conference standings, and was playing without 6-foot-7 senior wing Isaiah Abraham. At halftime, Sidwell-Friends led 32-30, but Paul VI was outscored by eight points in the third period and to make matters worse, standout freshman guard Jordan Smith broke his wrist. Still. The Panthers had a chance to become the first team to go through their WCAC slate unbeaten since the 2012 Paul VI team that finished No. 12 in the FAB 50, but came up just short when DeShawn Harris-Smith’s long 3-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer in the 65-63 WCAC title game loss to No. 17 St. John’s. Paul VI split with St. John’s and also had a bit of bad luck with their seed at GEICO Nationals. The Panthers drew the No. 5 seed against No. 4 seed Link Academy, who entered the event No. 2 in the FAB 50. Predictably, the Panthers gave the eventual champions their toughest game of the tournament, falling 68-65. Harris-Smith had a game-high 24 points in the WCAC title game and a team-high 18 vs. Link Academy. The WCAC MVP bound for Maryland averaged 17.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 6.3 apg and 2.6 spg.

19. (6) IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 17-8
The Ascenders are another NIBC club that was quite formidable throughout the season, but took a high loss count because of the competitive nature of the conference. Coach Sean McAloon’s club finished tied for third place in conference play at 8-4 with No. 9 AZ Compass Prep. The Dragons lost twice to IMG, but finished ranked higher by beating the Ascenders, 68-50, in the semifinals of GEICO Nationals. IMG did defeat No. 10 Long Island Lutheran and split with No. 14 Sunrise Christian Academy, but in the final analysis drop a few notches because of losses to unranked clubs Wasatch Academy of Utah, Huntington Prep of West Virginia and DME Academy of Florida. The team’s biggest victory was its 66-63 win over Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) to open GEICO Nationals, as first team all-NIBC performer Blue Cain (Georgia) scored 21 points. Cain’s backcourt mate Jacob Hutchinson, headed to George Wahington, was also a steady performer for a club that lost talented junior Bryson Tucker mid-way through the season.

20. (12) Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 27-7
The Wildcats showed why they were so highly-regarded in the preseason (the highest-ranked non-NIBC team in the Southeast Region) with their showing at the State Champions Invitational. After capturing the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAAAAAA title with a 78-58 win over Cherokee of Canton, Wheeler advanced to the SCI championship game without the services of USC-bound point guard Isaiah Collier. He had 22 points and seven assists in the state title game, but more than that was the nation’s best guard and arguably the best senior. Wheeler’s two-deep team showed what it could do without him, as the Wildcats downed No. 21 Roselle Catholic, 78-68, in the SCI semifinals with center Arrington Page, who will join Collier at USC, scoring 24 points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking three shots. Iowa St.-bound Jelani Hamilton contributed 22 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. Wheeler led the title game vs. No. 16 Sidwell friends, 47-40, entering the fourth period, but just couldn’t sustain its lead and lost control of the contest in the final minute and a half before falling, 57-53. Regardless, the Wildcats moved up 11 spots in the rankings after the completion of the SCI. With Collier (19.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg. 6.8 apg, 2.3 spg) in the lineup, Wheeler did lose to unranked Sierra Canyon of California and Bishop Gorman of Nevada, with its other losses all to higher ranked clubs: No. 5 John Marshall, No. 6 John Marshall, No. 13 Imhotep Charter and No. 18 Paul VI.

21. (5) Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 23-6
The Lions weren’t quite as good as forecasted in the preseason, but they only ended up losing once game to an unranked team in Gonzaga of Washington, D.C. (76-66). Gonzaga is no slouch and from a national perspective Roselle Catholic has been consistently relevant, earning a preseason ranking each season since 2013-14 and finishing outside the FAB 50 in a full season only once in that time period. Roselle Catholic captured the final NJSIAA Tournament of Champions title in 2021-22 and that core of players went on to capture this season’s NJSIAA Non-Public B state title with a 68-59 victory over St. Rose of Belmar. Akil Watson led the way vs. St. Rose with 23 points, while Duke-recruit Mackenzie Mgbako added 13 points and nine rebounds. Roselle Catholic defeated No. 41 Curtis (University Place, Wash.), 84-82, in a play-in game at the CSI, before falling in the semifinals to No. 20 Wheeler, 78-68. Two-time first team all-stater and All-American Simeon Wilcher had 29 points, five assists and three blocks in a highly-anticipated matchup with Curtis’ Zoom Diallo, but the offense sputtered in the loss to Wheeler. Wilcher averaged 15.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 5.7 apg for a team that did not lost in-state and went 17-0 in the NJSIAA state tournament during his stellar career.

22. (BB) Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) 30-1
After all the games were complete in April, Perry fell two spots to make room for two teams that finished strong, particularly No. 16 Sidwell Friends and No. 21 Wheeler at the SCI. Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) state champs have competed in sanctioned end-of-the season national events, but Perry did not participate at the SCI even though AIA state champs are eligible. One season after capturing the program’s first Class 6A state crown, Perry won the first ever AIA open division state crown with a 74-58 win over Sunnyslope of Phoenix. We certainly knew about the Pumas in the preseason, but started them below Owyhee of Idaho and Liberty and Durango of Nevada partially because of their lack of a national schedule. Had Perry not dropped one game to Pinnacle of Pheonix, it certainly would have cracked the Top 15. Colorado bound Cody Williams (18.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.0 apg) was a McDonald’s All-American, but the team’s best player was sophomore Koa Peat. He finished with 35 points in the state title game and averaged 19.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.7 bpg and 1.3 spg as one of the best overall players in high school basketball.

23. (9) Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 30-4 ?
The Huskies were at No. 7 in the FAB 50 entering the CIF SoCal open final, where it fell to No. 11 Harvard-Westlake, 80-61, at home. The loss ended Centennial’s two-year reign as California's best team. Had it 3-peated in one of the nation’s toughest playoff brackets, the Huskies’ losses to No. 20 Wheeler and unranked Don Bosco Prep of New Jersey (lost to No. 21 Roselle Catholic) would have been overcome. Centennial’s other loss was to No. 3 Duncanville, 59-57, in Texas. The Huskies were able to capture their third consecutive CIF Southern Section open title in incredible fashion when LMU-bound senior forward Aaron McBride (13.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.3 bpg) jumped a passing lane and went straight downhill for a game-winning dunk at the buzzer in the big venue setting of the Honda Center. Coach Josh Giles called McBride the most irreplaceable player in program history. A terrific senior class also included California Mr. Basketball Jared McCain, a Duke recruit who averaged 18.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and 4.0 apg while shooting 36 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the line.

24. (BB) Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) 29-0
The Thunderbirds opened up at No. 10 in the Southwest Region preseason rankings, behind two Texas teams and Staley (Kansas City, Mo.). We knew they were going to be good, but Bellevue West exceeded expectations and capped a dominant season with a 64-41 win over playoff rival Millard North of Omaha in the Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) Class A state title game. Bellevue West won 28 of 29 games by double-digits with a average winning margin of 26 ppg. Bellevue West and Millard North met in the title game for the fourth consecutive season, as Millard North won last season and finished No. 20 in the Southwest Region rankings. As a comparison, Millard North’s 2020-21 team had one of the most talent-laden rosters in NSAA history and won the state title game in overtime, 84-78, to finish No. 15 in the FAB 50. Josiah Dotzler netted 16 points in this year’s state final and was named Gatorade State Player of the Year after averaging 16.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 5.0 apg, and 2.1 spg, while junior Jaden Jackson averaged 14.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.3 apg and 1.8 spg. The Thunderbirds became the first unbeaten Class A state champ since Omaha Central in 2011-12, a team that finished No. 31 in the FAB 50.

25. (NR) De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 29-0
Defending Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) D2 champ Pewaukee opened up as the state’s highest FAB 50 ranked team at No. 47, but it was the Redbirds that went to be the state’s best unit by capturing the D1 state crown with a 69-49 win over Arrowhead of Hartland. De Pere defeated Pewaukee along the way, 70-63, and set a WIAA record for most win in an unbeaten season while winning its first state crown since 1934. Senior guard John Kinzinger led the way in the state final with 24 points, while his young brother, sophomore Zach Kinzinger, added 19 points. Junior big man Will Hornseth added 17 points and 11 rebounds. The elder Kinzinger is headed for Illinois St. after earning all-state laurels for the third consecutive season and sharing Mr. Basketball honors with Pewaukee’s Milan Momcilovic.

26. (NR) Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.) 28-1 ?
The Technicians burst onto the scene and capped their historic season by capturing the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) D1 crown with a 78-63 victory over Muskegon (Mich.). Cass Tech used its “36 Minutes of Hell” full court pressure defense to take control in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Darius Acuff and senior Travon Cooper each netted 19 points for the Technicians, who lost one game in overtime, 66-65, to highly-regarded Brother Rice of Bloomfield Hills in the Operation Friendship game to close the regular season between the top team from Detroit’s Catholic and Public School Leagues. The big win was the state semifinal contest where Cass Tech outlasted Grand Blanc in overtime, 62-56, after Acuff banked in a game-tying 35-footer with two and a half seconds remaining in regulation. A 8-2 run keyed overtime for a team that made its first title game appearance since 1974. Acuff, the Public League’s Mr. Basketball as a sophomore, had 19 points and the Technicians also got a big performance off the bench from freshman Corey Salter Jr., who had 13 points and two key steals down the stretch in regulation.

27. (28) Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 38-4 ?
The Gaels fell one spot in the final rankings, but finish right in the range predicted of them in the preseason. We pegged coach Pat Clatchey’s club as the team to beat in the Baltimore Catholic League (BCL) in the preseason over St. Frances Academy and Mt. St. Joseph went on to capture their second consecutive BCL title with a 59-50 victory over St. Maria Goretti (Hagerstown, Md.) at Goucher College in Baltimore. The Gaels defeated Goretti two out of three times during the season and also beat St. Frances twice in three tries. The other losses came against Philadelphia Catholic League runner-up Neumann-Goretti (which spent time FAB 50 ranked) and to No. 18 Paul VI with the big regular season win coming against No. 2 Montverde Academy at the Iolani Classic. All-American Amani Hansberry had 17 points and 21 rebounds in the BCL title game, while power forward Tyrone Farrell (17 points) and veteran guard Ace Valentine (17 points, 6 rebounds) also played well. With that win, the Gaels tied the BCL record for most victories in a single-season.

28. (NR) Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio) 29-0
The Spartans were not on our preseason radar, but were able to jump into the FAB 50 when they defeated then No. 40 St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio), 83-80, to cap off an unbeaten regular season. Richmond Heights took over as the state’s top ranked overall team and remained there after capturing the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) D4 state crown. The Spartans led Convoy Crestview 31-22 at halftime, but completely blew open the game with a massive third quarter run, as the program won its second consecutive state title. Sophomore Dorian Jones went bonkers from 3-point range and nearly outscored Convoy Crestview by himself, making 7-of-10 3-pointers and finishing with 25 points in the 70-26 victory. The 6-foot-5 Jones (20.1 ppg) was named D4 State Player of the Year while another sophomore, 5-foot-11 De’Erick Barber (8.9 ppg) also earned all-state laurels. Sophomore Demarris Winters Jr. and junior Jeremy Wilson will also return next year as double-digit scorers.

29. (NR) Tualatin (Tualatin, Ore.) 24-5
At first glance it might appear the Timberwolves are ranked too high, but taking a deeper look they deserve plenty of rankings credit for the timing of their wins. Tualatin defeated No. 30 West Linn in the title game of the Oregon Schools Activities Association (OSAA) Class 6A state tournament to avenge three earlier losses to that club. Keep in mind, West Linn was ranked No. 20 at that time and had a win over No. 3 Duncanville. West Linn would have been ranked much higher, too, if not for a loss to De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), a team that lost to No. 31 St. John Bosco. Tualatin pulled off the 60-47 championship upset win behind a terrific defensive performance and 20 points from senior point guard Josiah Lake. Tualatin held West Linn to one field goal in the first quarter and out-rebounded the top seed, 37-23. It’s not as it was a total fluke either, as Tualatin could have beat the Lions in regulation in the quarterfinals of the Les Schwab Invitational, but missed some free throws and lost in overtime. Tualatin's core played together since middle school and won two consecutive Class 6A state crowns.

?30. (NR) West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) 28-2
The Lions were expected to be a quality team, but no OSAA club was placed in the preseason West Region rankings. Even if West Linn and/or Tualatin were, there was no way we’d have forecasted the type of season West Linn had under first-year coach Robert Key. West Linn defeated preseason West No. 5 Modesto Christian (Calif.), FAB 50 No. 31 St. John Bosco and West preseason No. 6 Sierra Canyon (Calif.). The win over Sierra Canyon came in the semifinals of the Les Schwab Invitational, and the next night the Lions became the first OSAA team to capture the prestigious tourney title since 2012 when it handed No. 3 Duncanville its only loss of the season, 62-50. Three-time Three Rivers League Player of the Year and two-time Gatorade State POY Jackson Shelstad played a big role in the LSI crown netting 30 points vs. Duncanville and averaging 33 ppg in four tourney games. With the Oregon-bound Shelstad (28.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 2.0 spg) leading the way, the Lions defeated Tualatin three of four times, but in the state title game Tualatin out-rebounded West Linn and beat them to 50-50 balls. Some of the luster was taken off those LSI results when West Linn fell to host De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) in a MLK showcase game when it was No. 12 in the FAB 50. West Linn, however, never was ranked higher than Duncanville.

31. (NR) St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 26-7
Coach Matt Dunn’s program had a terrific season and could be even better in 2023-24 after exceeding 2022-23 preseason expectations. Bosco was able to crack the FAB 50 after advancing to the CIF Southern Section open division title game vs. No. 23 Centennial despite losing a pool play game to then No. 35 West Ranch (Valencia. Calif.). Bosco defeated eventual CIF open champ Harvard-Westlake in its second pool play game and advanced after Harvard-Westlake defeated West Ranch in the final pool play game. It took a memorable play for Centennial to down Bosco in the section final, 58-56. Harvard-Westlake then got its avenging win over Bosco in the SoCal open semifinal, 69-64. From a national perspective, Bosco only had one bad loss (a Trinity League split with JSerra) and was able to end the 34-year run of league titles by SoCal kingpin Mater Dei of Santa Ana. Sophomore Elzie Harrington was named Trinity League Player of the Year, junior and Loyola-Chicago-bound guard Jack Turner was often the leading scorer in big games and freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. is a star in the making.

32. (BB) Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas) 31-3**
For the second consecutive season, the Eagles were on the FAB 50 bubble but played their way into this range of the rankings. For the second consecutive season, they ventured to the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, where they fell to host Bishop Gorman by two points (82-80) and lost a heart-breaking third place game at the buzzer to Mater Dei (63-61), the club No. 31 St. John Bosco bested for the Trinity League crown. Faith Family didn’t keep up with No. 1 Link Academy, falling 70-40, but as expected won their second consecutive University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 4A state crown. Faith Family downed Houston Washington (a team that defeated No. 15 Beaumont United) in the title game, 70-56, as all-state and New Mexico-bound forward J.T. Toppin shined. He scored 14 of Faith Family’s 15 first quarter points and finished with 20, as the Eagles pulled away in the second half. Junior center Doryan Onwuchekwa also had a big game with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Faith Family’s final ranking is easy to place, as it defeated Dallas Carter (a team No. 33 Kimball lost to in overtime) in the state quarterfinals, 71-61 and owns a win over No. 34 Edmond North.

33. (BB) Kimball (Kimball, Texas) 33-2 ?
The last team in the preseason Southwest Regional rankings, the Knights got the last laugh after losing their season opener in overtime to Dallas Carter, which opened at No. 8 in the region, one spot behind Oak Cliff Faith Family. The only other team coach Nicholas Smith’s club lost to was FAB 50 No. 20 Wheeler. Kimball rolled to the UIL Class 5A state crown with a 69-48 victory over Ellison of Killeen. Kimball’s defense held Ellison to 33 percent shooting from the field and the Knights had four players in double figures, led by the 17 points of senior guard Tyler Hankamer (10.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.7 spg). Senior guard T’Johnn Brown (17.8 ppg, 5.2 apg, 3.5 spg) and senior forward DaCannon Wickware (11.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg) also were named to the Class 5A all-tournament team. Kimball won its seventh overall state title and first since 2014 when it finished No. 20 in the Southwest Regional rankings.

34. (BB) Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 26-2
The Huskies started out No. 11 in the preseason Southwest Regional rankings right behind Bellevue West of Nebraska. That club went on to win a state title and was the best team in its state and so was Edmond North. The Huskies earned that designation by downing Broken Arrow, 58-49, in the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) Class 6A title game. They lost a holiday tournament game to Crossings Christian of Oklahoma City and to No. 32 Oak Cliff Faith Family in their second game by one point, 52-51. Coach Scott Norris felt his team did a good job of handling expectations as they were expected to repeat as state champions with the core of the team still underclassmen. In the state title game junior guard T.O. Barrett led the way with 17 points and three steals, while Dylan Warlick turned in a triple-double performance with 16 points and 17 rebounds. Junior Tatum Ridge added nine points off the bench, while junior guard Dontrell Yearby did an excellent defensive job of Oklahoma St.-bound Connor Dow of Brown Arrow. Warlick was one of two juniors named to the long-running and prestigious Oklahoman Super 5 and could be an All-American in 2023-24.

35. (NR) Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.) 36-1
The only Bluegrass team in the preseason FAB 50 was No. 43 George Rogers Clark (Winchester, Ky.), which defeated the Dragons by one point (43-42) in last year’s Kentucky High School Athletics Association (KHSAA) Sweet 16 championship game. The Dragons had plenty of motivation all season long, especially when a missed throw likely sealed their fate in that game. As fate would have it, Warren Central got another shot at the defending champions in this year’s UK HealthCare Sweet 16 title game and wouldn’t be denied, recording a 64-60 win. Kade Unseld, the son of Warren Central coach Will Unseld, hit two clutch free throws with 8.1 seconds remaining to seal the win and give the Dragons their first Sweet 16 title since 2004, when they finished No. 35 in the FAB 50. Unseld, a 6-foot-5 junior who averaged 16.1 ppg and 17.4, joined Sweet 16 MVP and Fourth Region Player of the Year Chappelle Whitney, a 6-foot-4 senior, on the all-state team. Whitney (16.7 ppg, 7.9 rpg) is headed to Auburn-Montgomery.

36. (NR) Christ School (Arden, N.C.) 31-4
The Greenies captured the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISAA) Class 4A state crown with a 53-48 victory over Carmel Christian (Matthews, N.C.). Carmel Christian had opened the season as the top-rated NCISAA club and were the defending champions, but the Greenies wouldn’t be denied as they hit their free throws down the stretch. Carmel Christian, which jumped out to a 16-7 first quarter lead, had three players in double figures: Emmanuel Richards (16 points), Jamari Briggs (12) and Bryson Cokley (10). Christ School, which owned a win over No. 39 Dorman, was led in the scoring department by junior Keenan Wilkins (14.1 ppg, 4.5 apg), while Briggs (12.5 ppg) is also a junior.

37. (NR) Reading (Reading, Pa.) 32-1
The Red Knights were not on our preseason radar, but perhaps they shouldn’t have been doubted, as they closed out the season on a 23-game winning streak while capturing the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 6A crown. Reading got plenty of rankings credit for defeating then No. 23 Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.), 62-56, in overtime in the championship game, as seniors Aris Rodriguez (16 points) and Myles Grey (14 points) led the way offensively. The Red Knights’ ranking makes sense since Roman Catholic defeated No. 39 Dorman and only lost one game to Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) power Gonzaga of D.C., which was regionally ranked to begin the season and owned a win over No. 21 Roselle Catholic. In 2021, Reading won the Class 6A crown and finished No. 19 in the FAB 50.

38. (NR) Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) 27-4
Similar to No. 37 Reading, the Cahillites moved up four spots in the final rankings after results played out in other states and the State Champions Invitational. Roman Catholic lost the regular season Philadelphia Catholic League game to Neumann-Goretti, but came back to beat that club to win the city title, 57-52, in overtime. Roman was down five points with a minute to go and it seemed over, but the Cahillites stormed back and got the game to overtime on an incredible bank shot by senior guard Xzavier Brown, who iced the game with free throws in the final seconds. Brown finished with 20 points, while Anthony Finkley added 13 points. Neumann-Goretti missed five free throws in the final minute of regulation, including two by standout guard Robert Wright that led to Brown’s banker. Even though the Cahillites won the Philly Catholic League crown for the 33rd time, they fell in overtime, 62-56, to No. 37 Reading in the PIAA Class 6A state title game. Roman must stay ahead of No. 39 Dorman because of a 56-54 head-to-head victory. Another feather in Roman’s cap was an early season win over No. 16 Sidwell Friends.

39. (NR) Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) 29-2 ?
The Cavaliers continued their Palmetto State dynasty by capturing a fifth South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) state championship in seven seasons. Despite the graduation of big man Noah Clowney (a 2023 NBA first round draft choice), Dorman utilized team ball to become a dominant in-state team and captured the Class AAAAA title with a 58-56 win over Goose Creek. All five starters netted double figures for Dorman, as Clooney’s replacement, 6-foot-8 senior Jamarcus Wilkins, had 14 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while the five starters scored all 58 points in the championship game. From a national standpoint, it’s easy to know where Dorman lands, as the Cavaliers lost to No. 38 Roman Catholic (56-54) and to No. 36 Christ School (52-45).

40. (NR) Lake City (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) 26-0
We wanted to make a splash in the preseason by ranking a team from Idaho for the first time in 36 years of weekly polls. Based on their track record and national schedule, we placed Owyhee (Meridian, Idaho) at No. 50. We had the right idea, but the wrong team, as the Timberwolves let it be known they would be a force to be reckoned with by defeating Owyhee in their third game, 80-60. Three games later they downed No. 41 Curtis, 77-65, in the title game of the Curtis Winter Classic, as Blake Buchanan and Kolton Mitchell combined for 48 points. Lake City rolled from there on out, culminating its campaign with the Idaho High School Activities Association (IDHSAA) Class 5A state title. Lake City finished undefeated via its 75-61 victory over Meridian to secure the first ever FAB 50 ranking for an Idaho team. Mitchell, a point guard headed to Idaho State, was named 5A Inland Empire League MVP while averaging 18.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 5.1 apg and 2.8 for his career. The Virginia-bound Buchanan (15.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.9 bpg) was named Idaho Mr. Basketball and Gatorade State Player of the Year.

?41. (NR) Curtis (University Place, Wash.) 28-4 ?
The Vikings played a tough schedule and were able to repeat as Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA) Class 4A champions. Curtis defeated South Puget Sound League rival Olympia in the state title game, 49-43, as the Vikings got a big game from superb junior guard Zoom Diallo (21 points) despite his father Siaka being hospitalized the night before the game. Tyce Paulsen, a Carolina Baptist recruit, also did a great job defensively on Olympia star Parker Gerrits, holding the WSU recruit to seven points. The two teams know each other well, as Olympia was able to win one of four matchups with its SPSL rival. As a state champ, Curtis was invited to play in the State Champions Invitational, where it fell to No. 21 Roselle Catholic, 84-82, despite 25 points and eight assists from Diallo and 24 points from Devin Whitten. Curtis also lost to No. 40 Lake City in its own Winter Classic and to No. 11 Harvard-Westlake in the Classic at Damien semifinals.

42. (NR) Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ark.) 30-3
Bentonville started off as our highest rated Arkansas High School Activities Association (AHSAA) club in the Southwest Region, but it was the Hurricane that took the state by storm. They went on to defeat Springdale, 48-43, to capture the Class 6A state crown after moving up from 5A, where Jonesboro won state titles in 2021 and 2022. Deion Buford-Wesson, a 6-foot senior, keyed the 3-peat by hitting a clutch 3-pointer to put Jonesboro’s lead at seven with 1:16 remaining and finished with a game-high 15 points. As for Bentonville? The Hurricane plowed right through them in the state quarterfinals, 61-28. Jonesboro lost its first two matchups with North Little Rock, but beat that club in the third meeting, with its third overall loss coming against No. 15 Beaumont United. Sandwiched in between the loss to Beaumont United at the King Cotton Tournament, Jonesboro defeated Georgia powers Newton and McEachern of Powder Springs.

43. (NR) Central Pointe Christian (Kissimmee, Fla.) 30-11
The White Tigers are FAB 50 ranked for the second time in three years after finishing No. 35 in 2020-21. The big difference? This time Central Pointe Christian captured the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association (SIAA) championship after losing to Victory Rock Prep in the 2021 semifinals. The White Tigers defeated top-seed DME Academy, 69-66, in the SIAA Final Four before defeating second seed West Oaks Academy in the title game, 63-60. Senior guard Carlos Cortijo led Central Pointe in the title game with 17 points, junior wing Eric Mejias added 13 points, and 6-foot-7 all-SIAA senior Vuk Vukcevic was named tourney MVP after scoring 10 points, including nine in the third period. SIAA play is very balanced and difficult to navigate through, so many times the conference’s top teams has many more losses than the other teams in its FAB 50 range. The teams often play in the Grind Session and at this year’s Worlds Championships, the White Tigers were seeded third and advanced to the Elite 8 before losing to Bella Vista Prep of Arizona.

?44. (BB) Durango (Las Vegas, Nev.) 21-6
The Trailblazers opened up third in the pecking order among Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) clubs behind Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas and Liberty of Henderson. Despite some tough losses during the holiday tournament season and the resignation of head coach Chad Beeten on the eve of the post-season, Durango rallied to capture the program’s first NIAA title since 1996. Two days after the resignation, Durango lost to Gorman, 68-64, but rallied to beat the Gaels in the South regional semifinals, 63-55. The Trailblazers then beat Liberty, 65-59, in the South final before beating them for the third time in four tries in the NIAA Class 5A state title game, 57-47. Long Beach St-bound point guard Tyler Riley and junior wing Taj Degourville were both first team all-Southern Nevada choices and led a gritty group that believed it could win each outing.

45. (BB) Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) 25-3**
The Chargers began right behind Durango in the preseason West Regional Rankings at No. 15, and that’s the same club they finish behind on a national scale. Corner Canyon captured the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) Class 6A title with a 66-51 victory over American Fork. The Chargers got 61 of their points from senior guards Max Toombs and Jaxson Roberts, and junior forward Brody Kozlowski. Roberts finished with 24 points while Tombs added 21 points and eight rebounds. As a result, the Chargers were invited to the SCI, where they defeated Mississippi entrant Yahoo City, 89-62, before losing to No. 16 Sidwell Friends in the semifinals, 60-53, despite 14 points and 14 rebounds from Kozlowski. Corner Canyon also lost to No. 15 Beaumont United, but must remain behind No. 44 Durango because of a loss to Liberty of Nevada.

46. (38) Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 27-10
The Knights finish just a shade below preseason expectations and were able to stay FAB 50 ranked despite a high loss count. The two reasons they land in this spot is playing one of the toughest schedules in the country and by rolling to a CIF D1 state title after not getting picked for the CIF SoCal open regional playoffs. After not being chosen, it was pretty evident Notre Dame had a good chance at a D1 state title, provided it got past Mission League rival Sierra Canyon. It did for the fourth time in the SoCal D1 final before defeating Granada of Livermore, 67-58, in the state title game. Mission League champ Harvard-Westlake won the state open crown and beat Notre Dame twice, as did No. 23 Centennial and West Ranch of Valencia, which spent most of the season FAB 50 ranked. Notre Dame’s ranking is predicated by losses to American Fork (which lost to No. 45 Corner Canyon in its state title game) and to Liberty of Nevada, which lost in the same playoff division as No. 44 Durango. In four victories over Sierra Canyon, Duke-bound guard Caleb Foster averaged 20.5 ppg and for the season averaged 21.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.9 apg and 1.2 spg, while Gonzaga-bound Dusty Stromer averaged 17.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 apg and 1.2 spg.

47. (NR) Moline (Moline, Ill.) 35-3
In terms of results, Illinois and Chicago had a down year, but the Maroons deserve a spot in the FAB 50 after defeating Benet Academy of Lisle, 59-43, to win the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 4A state crown. The Maroons rode a dominant performance and season from 6-foot guard Brock Harding and 6-foot-10 center Owen Freeman, long-time travel ball teammates and both headed to Iowa. Harding finished with 28 points, including 11-of-14 from the free throw line, while Freeman had six points, one rebound and three assists in the title game. Harding (18.5 ppg, 5.6 apg) was named Illinois Mr. Basketball for a team that lost its first game to Wisconsin Lutheran of Milwaukee and Chicago clubs Mt. Carmel and Simeon, the latter whom also beat Benet Academy.

48. (NR) Kell (Marietta, Ga.) 28-2
The Longhorns put forth a terrific season, concluding it by winning the GHSA Class AAAAA state crown with a 61-53 victory over 29-2 Eagle’s Landing of McDonough. Kell trialed entering the fourth quarter, but got back in the game and took control when coach Jermaine Sellers inserted star big man Peyton Marshall back into the lineup with 3:36 to play and his team trialing by a point. Marshall scored the next five points and helped the Eagles pull away from Eagle’s Landing down the stretch. Kell gets the nod as the No. 2 GHSA team and final team from the Southeast Region, as it owns a win over Liberty of Nevada and St. Augustine of California, with its only losses to Grayson of Loganville in overtime and to West Ranch of California, which captured the Tarkanian Classic but lost to St. Augustine in the SoCal open playoffs. Kell will be formidable once again in 2023-24 as Marshall, a center, and fellow junior C.J. Brown, a guard, are returning all-staters.

49. (NR) Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) 26-3
The Knights get the nod as the final Midwest Region team in the rankings in front of Illinois club Metamora, which defeated Simeon of Chicago for the Class 3A state crown and Indiana Class 4A semifinalist Kokomo. Archbishop Hoban won the OHSAA D1 state crown, 53-47, over Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio). Pick Central was the defending D1 state champ and looking to finish FAB 50 ranked for the second consecutive season. Senior Logan Vowles led the way offensively for Hoban in the title game with 17 points, while senior Will Scott Jr. (13 points) and freshman Sam Greer (12 points) also hit double figure scoring. The Knights’ defense, meanwhile, held Ohio Mr. Basketball Devin Royal to 5-of-15 shooting. Hoban lost three in-state games, but gets rankings credit for winning one of the toughest playoff divisions in the Midwest while beating St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio), which spent time in the FAB 50, along the way.

50. (NR) Lincoln Park (Midland, Pa.) 30-1
The Leopards get the nod as the twelfth and final team from the East Region after they knocked off then No. 24 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.), 62-58, to capture the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 4A state crown. Sophomore Maleek Thomas, one of the best guards in the country regardless of class, hit the game-winning basket (a driving, 12-foot runner) with 11 seconds remaining. Junior Brandin "Beebah" Cummings made clutch free throws down the stretch, including two with 0.5 seconds left in the game. Thomas (24.9 ppg) finished with 22 points while Cummings (23.1 ppg) netted 25. The Leopards, which lost only to Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) by five points, won the program’s third state crown and should be formidable once again in 2023-24.

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 Final, Expanded 2022-23 FAB 50 Rankings! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Salute to All-Time FAB 50 No. 1s

Ronnie Flores — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 06:06:43 +0000

A detailed listing of the all-time No. 1 nationally-ranked high school basketball teams

Note: The FAB 50 National Team Rankings 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 they were compiled by the late Art Johlfs of Minnesota. They were compiled for many years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 for the 1999-2000 season. The FAB 50 is the longest-running weekly national rankings.

(Each school listed with win-loss record, head coach and source of ranking. Rankings key: BIL - FAB 50 powered by Ballislife; GR - Grassroots Hoops FAB 50; SS - Student Sports FAB 50; ESPN - POWERADE/ESPN RISE FAB 50; Rivals - Rivals FAB 50; Fox - Fox FAB 50; NSNS - National Sports News Service; NPP - National Prep Poll -- The Associated Press, ESPN, The Sporting News; USA - USA Today Super 25; BW - Basketball Weekly.)

FAB 50 ERA

2023 -- Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) (27-1); HC-Bill Armstrong; BIL-- The Lions began the season No. 11 in the FAB 50 and had the talent to start even higher, but were breaking in a new coach and cast of players after Rodney Perry left for an assistant coaching position at Kansas St. In 2021-22, Perry led the program to the GEICO Nationals title game, losing to Montverde Academy and finishing No. 4 in the FAB 50. This season the independent program on the campus of Camp Kanakuk had lofty aspirations and the talent level to meet those goals under new coach Bill Armstrong. The Lions started off the season 23-0 before losing by a wide margin to preseason No. 1 Montverde Academy, 84-58, at the Metro Classic in N.J. Link Academy just couldn’t overcome early 15-0 and 12-0 runs, but it bounced back at GEICO Nationals to make up for that awful first quarter against the Eagles. Led by Baylor-bound guard Ja'Kobe Walter and junior guard Elliot Cadeau, who is committed to North Carolina, Link Academy defeated three top 20 foes to claim the program’s first GEICO Nationals crown in its second year as an eligible program. In the quarterfinals, the Lions were involved in a tough No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed contest, as Link Academy was a surprise No. 4 seed and downed FAB 50 No. 18 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.), 68-65, behind Walter's 34 points (including four 3-pointers). Top seeded Montverde Academy fell in its quarterfinal contest to FAB 50 No. 14 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) by a point (46-45) and the Lions were able to atone for their lone regular season loss by downing the club that just knocked off the top seed, 67-61, as Cadeau had 16 points and 10 assists. Tennessee-bound guard Cameron Carr came up big for the Lions in the win over Sunrise Christian Academy with 18 points. Link Academy, which entered the eight-team tournament No. 2 in the FAB 50, was able to secure the top spot with a dominant 73-55 championship game victory over No. 9 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.). The Lions were in control throughout the title game, taking a 35-25 halftime lead and extending it to 44-26 after starting out the second half on a 9-1 run. Walter netted a championship game-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 3-point shots while, Tyler McKinley, a 6-foot-9 junior, had a big outing with 17 points and six rebounds. Walter averaged 21.3 ppg in three GEICO Nationals games, while Cadeau averaged 9.7 ppg, 9.7 apg, and 2.3 spg, while his 29 total assists broke the event record held by Montverde Academy's Andrew Nembhard, who had 28 in 2018. Coach Armstrong’s club actually defeated Sunrise Christian Academy during the regular season, 72-66, as the Lions defeated seven FAB 50 ranked foes, including No. 32 Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas) by 30 points, 70-40. Like many outstanding ball clubs, Armstrong had a balanced attack throughout the season, with Walter (14.4 ppg, 37.8 3-PT FG, 4.0 rpg, 1.7 spg), Cadeau (10.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 7.3 apg, 1.9 spg) and Carr (11.6 ppg, 75.0 2-PT FG, 87.2 FT, 3.1 rpg) leading the way in the backcourt, while LSU-bound power forward Corey Chest (7.3 ppg, 76.3 2-PT FG, 3.2 rpg) and Phillips (6.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.2 bpg) playing key interior roles.

2022 -- Duncanville (Texas) (35-1); HC-David Peavy; BIL-- The Panthers began the season No. 7 and had aspirations to compete for the FAB 50 title after finishing as Texas' top-ranked team three years running. The team got its big chance when it faced No. 1 and defending FAB 50 champ Montverde Academy (Fla.) at Hoophall West in Pheonix after it moved up to No. 5. Duncanville battled back from a 21-8 deficit after one period to win the game at the buzzer, 67-66, on a 3-pointer by junior guard Aric Demings. At that point in the season, Duncanville had beaten six FAB 50 ranked foes in 10 games. The Panthers did lose in overtime by two points (60-58) to Richardson (Texas) and that team got as high as No. 7 in the FAB 50, but the Panthers never fell behind Montverde Academy in the rankings. Duncanville was behind No. 1 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) for the second half of the season, but when the Buffaloes were upset in the first round at GEICO Nationals and Montverde Academy went on to win the prestigious end-of-season tournament over five teams that were in the Top 10, it opened the door for the Panthers to re-gain the top position after the Richardson loss. In all, Duncanville won seven games against teams that were FAB 50 ranked at the time, including No. 33 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 80-73, No. 5 Centennial (Corona, Calif.), 75-50, and No. 26 McKinney (Texas), 69-49, in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A title game after that club downed Richardson by two points (54-52) in the regional quarterfinals. In addition to Demings (9 ppg, 42 percent 3-point), junior forward Ashton Hardaway (9 ppg, 66 3-pointers), junior power forward Cam Barnes (6 ppg, 5 rpg, 53 percent FG) and senior forward Davion Sykes (9 ppg, 5 rpg) made first team all-district. McDonald's All-American Anthony Black (13 ppg, 58 percent FG, 5 rpg, 3.5 apg) was named District 11-6A Offensive Player of the Year and junior Ron Holland (15 ppg, 60 percent FG, 8 rpg, 2 spg) its overall player of the year. There is a bit of a misnomer that public school programs belonging to state associations cannot compete with academy-type programs, but Duncanville's resume means a third public in seven years finishes as the top-ranked team in the country. Duncanville is also the third UIL program to capture the FAB 50 title in 20 years, joining Lincoln (Dallas) in 2001-02 and Yates (Houston) in 2009-10. All of Texas' other mythical national championships occurred before the advent of weekly, in-season national rankings (1975-76).

2021 -- Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) (24-1); HC-Kevin Boyle; BIL-- It wouldn't be fair to compare this unit to the 2019-20 team that is considered one of high school basketball's all-time greats, as this team carved out its own niche in FAB 50 lore. The Eagles began the season at No. 1 and stayed there throughout, even when their 44-game winning streak was snapped by FAB 50 No. 2 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) in the two powers' second meeting of the regular season. By virtue of joining the newly-formed National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC), nearly every game on the regular season schedule was against a team of national or regional significance. All the teams in the NIBC played each other more than once and Montverde Academy won the inaugural NIBC title game with a 61-57 victory over Sunrise Christian Academy. The Eagles closed out the season by winning their fifth GEICO Nationals title, after last season's team was denied the opportunity to compete in the season-ending tournament for elite teams because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eagles bested No. 23 Oak Hill Academy of Virginia (85-64) in the quarterfinals, AZ Compass Prep of Arizona (51-49) in the semifinals and Sunrise Christian Academy for the third time during the season in the title game (62-52). They not only went 4-1 against No. 2 Sunrise Christian Academy and No. 3 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), the Eagles won 16 games against teams that were FAB 50 ranked at some point in the season. That 16-game total doesn't include AZ Compass Prep, the only other team to defeat Sunrise Christian Academy. MVA beat AZ Compass Prep without Dayton-bound big man DaRon Holmes at GEICO Nationals and also with him in the lineup in overtime, 76-65, at the Montverde Academy Invitational. This team's defining moment came when it went 12-of-12 from the field in the decisive third quarter of the GEICO Nationals title game that broke it open in favor of the Eagles. Montverde Academy got quality, inside looks from junior center Jalen Duren and back-breaking 3-pointers from Creighton-bound Ryan Nembhard in those eight minutes. It was truly a team effort throughout the year for a program that has now won six mythical FAB 50 national titles in the past nine seasons. Duren (14.3 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 2.2 bpg) was dominant inside all season long and Nembhard (6.5 ppg, 6.0 apg) emerged as an elite floor general. Michigan-bound Caleb Houstan, the only returning starter from last year's historical unit, (13.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg), shot nearly 53 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line. Baylor-bound Langston Love (12.7 ppg), the third returning senior along with Nembhard, was one of four double-digit scorers along with junior Dariq Whitehead (10.4 ppg). As a team, the Eagles shot 55.1 percent from the field.

Cade Cunningham

6'7" - PG - 2020

2020 -- Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) (25-0); HC-Kevin Boyle; BIL-- In the preseason, defending FAB 50 champ IMG Academy edged the Eagles for the No. 1 spot by the slimmest of margins. As stated in the preseason, had Montverde Academy not blown a 16-point lead (63-47) to IMG Academy entering the fourth quarter of their GEICO Nationals semifinal contest, Montverde Academy would have started as preseason No. 1. IMG Academy went on to win the game and earn the 2019 FAB 50 No. 1 ranking with a GEICO Nationals championship. With

Jaden Springer back and a host of other talented players, on paper the Ascenders had the talent to play with Montverde Academy, which returned Cade Cunningham and Moses Moody and also had a plethora of available talent on deck. When Scottie Barnes joined the Eagles' roster, it turned a potential juggernaut into a virtual machine, as Montverde Academy ran roughshod through a national schedule with an average winning margin of 39 ppg. When the Eagles and IMG Academy met in the City of Palms Classic title game, the Ascenders gave Montverde Academy its toughest game of the season, falling 63-55 despite no true facilitator and highly-regarded Jalen Johnson not part of the equation. The Eagles opened the season with a 84-51 win over No. 20 Duncanville (Texas), defeated No. 4 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 76-56 and beat IMG Academy two more times. In addition, Kevin Boyle's club defeated No. 29 Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 81-48 and No. 13 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 83-47. In all, the Eagles defeated 12 FAB 50 ranked clubs (at the time of the matchup) and could have potentially faced three more had GIECO Nationals not been cancelled because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Despite not being able to participate at that event, Montverde Academy captured its fifth FAB 50 title in the past eight seasons, and fielded its best overall team in that time frame. Video-centric younger fans will want to compare this team to the 2016 Chino Hills (Calif.) that dominated its playoff competition and produced an average margin of victory of 28.4 ppg, but the all-time great team that is a better comparison is the undefeated 1993 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) team. The Warriors had a huge front line, had a Mr. Basketball USA talent (Jerry Stackhouse), beat one high school team 96-8 and beat six college teams. Oak Hill's average margin of victory was 37.3 ppg. From the standpoint of producing an all-time great team that also had success at the next levels, this Montverde Academy team may one day be favorably compared to the undefeated 1983 Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.) team. The Poets also had a large winning margin (36.5 ppg) and produced three of the top 22 picks in the 1987 NBA Draft. Similar to Dunbar, this year's Eagles team was incredibly balanced with seven players averaging 8.3 ppg or more led by Cunningham’s 13.9. He also averaged 4.2 rpg and 6.4 apg, while Barnes was third on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg), second in rebounding (6.5), second in assists (4.6 apg) first in deflections (1.7 dpg), and first in steals (1.9 spg). While the average margin of victory stands out, the individual numbers doesn't do this team justice and it will interesting to follow how the players develop on the next levels of the game.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

6'8" - PF - 2019

2019 -- IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) (31-1); HC-Sean McAloon; BIL-USA.-- In the preseason, defending FAB 50 champ Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) was No. 1, but during the regular season preseason No. 6 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) beat the Eagles twice to rise to No. 1. The Lakers remained No. 1 until the final game of the season, when they were defeated, 66-55, by then No. 4 IMG Academy in the GIECO Nationals title game. By virtue of their win over a previously unbeaten No. 1 team, two additional quality victories at GEICO Nationals and six victories over teams that finished in the Top 12, the Ascenders moved up three spots in the final rankings to claim their first ever FAB 50 title. They join Montverde Academy as the only two Florida programs to win a mythical national dating back to 1952, which marks the beginning of the end-of-season National Sports News Service Rankings. IMG Academy defeated Montverde Academy in the GEICO Nationals semifinals, 74-73, after storming back from a 16-point deficit to begin the fourth quarter behind the play of junior guard

Jaden Springer, who averaged 21.3 ppg in the three victories at the event. IMG Academy edges McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) for the FAB 50 crown, as the Indians were No. 2 when they received an invite to GEICO Nationals, then chose not to participate in the event. McEachern, the GHSA Class AAAAAAA champions, had an incredible season, defeating eight teams in the final FAB 50. Only one, however (No. 5 Mountain Brook of Alabama), finished in the Top 10. That was a significant win because Mountain Brook handed IMG Academy its only loss, a 72-67 setback that prevented a McEachern-IMG Academy game during a holiday tournament. The Ascenders were able to overcome that loss by defeating six FAB 50 ranked teams. The main difference between their resume and McEachern's being that all six of those wins came against teams ranked in the Top 12: No. 3 La Lumiere, No. 4 Montverde Academy, No. 8 DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.), No. 10 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), No. 11 Sunrise Christian Academy and No. 12 University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). IMG Academy defeated Sunrise Christian Academy, 65-50, in the quarterfinals of GEICO Nationals behind Springer's 26 points, the same total he had in the comeback win over Montverde Academy. Had McEachern (which beat Sunrise Christian Academy in overtime) accepted the GEICO Nationals bid, not only could it have potentially met IMG Academy, it could have bolstered its resume to include wins over 11 FAB 50 clubs. As it stands, the quality of IMG Academy's victories, including two over Top 5 teams that went into the game ranked higher, was enough to edge an unbeaten team with the common opponent factor in its favor. In addition to Springer, McAloon's club was led by three McDonald's All-Americans, GEICO Nationals MVP forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Villanova), wing Josh Green (Arizona) and post player Armando Bacot (North Carolina).

RJ Barrett

6'7" - SG - 2018

2018 -- Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) (36-0); HC-Kevin Boyle; BIL-USA-NPP.-- In the preseason, there was a huge rankings decision to determine if No. 1 should be the Eagles or Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.). After beating Montverde Academy twice in three games in 2016-17 and finishing with the highest ranking ever for a team from Tennessee (No. 3), it was completely logical to place Memphis East at No. 1. We ultimately went with Montverde Academy because we reasoned it would be difficult for Memphis East to have the ball bounce its way and get the breaks for two consecutive seasons, while also factoring in the Eagles' motivation level after coming up short the previous two seasons. When the dust settled there was no controversy, as Montverde Academy defeated 15 opponents who were ranked or previously ranked in the FAB 50 en route to an undefeated campaign. Memphis East lost three games and ended up ranked No. 4. By defeating No. 2 University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 76-58 in the GEICO Nationals title game, Montverde Academy not only captured its fourth mythical national title in six years, it finished undefeated for the first time since head coach Kevin Boyle took over for the 2011-12 season. In each of those four championship seasons, the Eagles began their season as preseason FAB 50 No. 1. This is the first time MVA did not fall in the rankings and regain the top spot. In 2012-13, the Eagles lost back-to-back games, while the 2013-14 team lost on-court to Curie (Chicago, Ill.) in a game that was later forfeited by the Condors, and rose back to No. 1 after Curie lost on the court. The 2014-15 team lost one game in December (to Wheeler of Marietta, Ga.) before returning to No. 1 in the second poll of January. The ring-leader for Boyle's club this season was Duke-bound left-handed big guard

RJ Barrett, who broke Ben Simmons' all-time GEICO Nationals scoring mark and averaged 26.7 points and 10 rebounds in his team's three victories. Barrett had 25 points and 15 rebounds in the title game win over University, which defeated preseason No. 3 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 80-65 in the tournament semifinals to avenge an earlier loss.

2017 -- Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) (29-0); HC-Brandon Roy; BIL-NPP.-- The Raiders played above pre-season expectations and captured the WIAA Class 3A state title with an unbeaten mark. The mythical national crown came into focus after the Raiders defeated preseason No. 9 Sierra Canyon 67-65 to win the Les Schwab Invitational when that team was battling for a legitimate shot at No. 1. By that point in the season, Hale had already defeated Metro League rivals Rainier Beach and Garfield (both of whom started out the season FAB 50-ranked) and went on to defeat Garfield four times, including 68-51 in the state title game.

Michael Porter Jr. grabbed 27 points and 17 rebounds and the Mcdonald's All-American Game MVP finished his senior season with averages of 37.6 ppg, 14.5 rpg, and 5.2 apg. The Raiders edged out La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) for top rankings billing in a decision that was heightened when Hale was invited but decided not to participate in Dick's Nationals, an end-of-season tournament the Lakers won over a field that included six other FAB 50-ranked teams. Similar to Oak Hill Academy in 2012 when it finished No. 1 but did not play at the event but owned a win over a La Lumiere team that No. 2 Findlay Prep lost to, the common opponent factor became paramount in Hale's championship season. Hale (which also beat Oak Hill Academy of Virginia at the Hoophall Classic) defeated the Sierra Canyon team that La Lumiere suffered its only loss to. Oak Hill Academy was the preseason No. 1 and La Lumiere was No. 2. This was only the second time in the FAB 50 era that the FAB 50, the National Prep Poll and USA Today Super 25 didn't name a consensus national champion, as Hale dropped in the USA Today poll after declining the Dick's Nationals invite to No. 4, one spot behind a Findlay Prep team Sierra Canyon defeated 76-47.

Lonzo Ball

6'6" - PG - 2016

2016 -- Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) (35-0); HC-Steve Baik; BIL-USA-NPP.-- The Huskies started out as California's No. 1 ranked team, but a national title became in reach after the Huskies defeated preseason FAB 50 No. 1 and three-time defending champion Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) by a point in the quarterfinals of the City of Palms Tournament in Florida and went on to win that tourney title. After that, the Huskies won the Maxpreps Holiday Classic and defeated seven preseason ranked FAB 50 teams after New Year's, including No. 36 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) 71-67 in one of California's most anticipated regular-season games in recent memory. In the playoffs, the Huskies were even more dominant against the toughest playoff competition in California, defeating eight opponents by an average of 29 points in the CIF Southern Section and SoCal Open Division playoffs, including Bishop Montgomery 84-62. By winning the CIF Open Division state title, Chino Hills became the sixth public school since 2000 to earn the mythical national title and the first team ever from California's Inland Empire region to earn national No. 1 honors. The last unbeaten team from California to finish No. 1 was Inglewood (29-0) in 1979-80, led by Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball Ralph Jackson (UCLA) and future NBA guard Jay Humphries. By finishing unbeaten with 35 wins, the Huskies tied the state record for most wins by an unbeaten team first set in 2013-14 by Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), according to Cal-Hi Sports. That Mater Dei team finished No. 2 in the FAB 50 behind Montverde Academy. Led by UCLA-point

Lonzo Ball, Chino Hills averaged 98.5 points per game and tied a state record with 18 100-point games.

2015 -- Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) (31-1); HC-Kevin Boyle; GR-USA-NPP.-- For the second consecutive season, the Eagles defeated No. 2 Oak Hill Academy in the finals of the Dick's Sporting Goods National High School Tournament. Senior

Ben Simmons, led the way with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in the 70-61 win over Oak Hill Academy, which fell to 0-4 in Dicks Nationals championship games. Montverde Academy became the first team in the weekly poll era (1976-current) to win three consecutive mythical national titles and only the second program following the legendary McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.) teams of 1958-60 led by future NBA standout and head coach Paul Silas. Simmons was a fixture on all three of Montverde's championship teams and played a different role on each. He was a key reserve as a sophomore, the team's best frontcourt and overall player as a junior and a facilitator and all-around threat as a senior. Montverde was the preseason No. 1 for the third consecutive season and fell from the top spot for one week this season after losing to Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) in the City of Palms Tournament championship game. Wheeler later lost to a West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) team the Eagles defeated 70-58. Oak Hill Academy then took over the top spot for a week before losing to Hamilton (Memphis, Tenn.) in a game that was later overturned in the Warriors' favor via forfeit. Oak Hill and Montverde then met in the last game of the season to decide the mythical national title in the court. In all, Kevin Boyle's club defeated 17 teams that were at some point ranked or included in the final FAB 50.

2014 -- Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) (27-1*); HC-Kevin Boyle; SS-USA-NPP.-- The Eagles defeated No. 3 Oak Hill Academy 71-62 in the finals of the Dick's Sporting Goods National High School Tournament to capture their second consecutive mythical national title. Montverde Academy becomes the first repeat national champion in the FAB 50/National Prep Poll era since Oak Hill Academy in 1993-94. The Eagles' championship at Dick's Nationals capped off a season in which it beat 16 teams that were at some point ranked or included in the final FAB 50. That does not include Huntington Prep of West Virginia, which it defeated in the Dick's Nationals semifinals, or Curie of Chicago, which beat the Eagles on the court only to have that game forfeited later on in the season. As it did the previous season, coach Kevin Boyle lined up a daunting schedule in late December and January and the Eagles came away 10-1 on the court playing around the country against some of the nation's top teams. Montverde Academy also captured the tournament title at the prestigious City of Palms Classic. Boyle's club wasn't as strong on the interior as it 2013 club, but junior Ben Simmons had a breakout campaign. He averaged 20.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game at the Dick's Nationals while McDonalds' All-American shooting guard

D'Angelo Russell often took over point guard duties and led the team in crunch time. In all, Boyle's club carried seven Division I bound seniors.

2013 -- Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) (26-2); HC-Kevin Boyle; SS-USA-NPP.-- The Eagles defeated No. 22 Oak Hill Academy of Virginia (77-71, OT), Prime Prep Academy of Dallas (57-55) and No. 2 St. Benedict’s of New Jersey (67-65) to capture the 2013 National High School Invitational (NHSI) in North Bethesda, Md. to conclude the season. Montverde Academy defeated St. Benedict’s on a last-second 3-pointer by Jalyn Patterson. In the NHSI semis, St. Benedict’s ended the 54-game winning streak of No. 3 Findlay Prep, which beat Montverde Academy at the buzzer at the Hoophall Classic. Montverde’s other loss was also at the buzzer against unranked Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) two nights before the Findlay Prep game. The Eagles are the first FAB 50 No. 1 team to lose two games in 13 years, but not many teams around the country would have taken on the daunting January schedule coach Kevin Boyle lined up for his teams and both losses came in the game's closing seconds. Montverde Academy started off as the nation’s preseason No. 1 team in the FAB 50, the only credible outlet to start the Eagles at No. 1, and their overall schedule and key wins were enough to overcome the two close losses to become the first ever Florida to finish ranked No. 1 in the nation since the National Sports News Service began end-of-the-season ratings in 1952. It’s also the first ever mythical national title for Boyle, who had two teams at now closed St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) open preseason No. 1 and a few others come within a buzzer beater of the No. 1 ranking.

2012 -- Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (44-0); HC-Steve Smith; ESPN-USA-NPP.--It was a remarkable comeback for No. 2 Findlay Prep in the championship game of the ESPNHS National High School Invitational, but going to overtime to beat No. 3 Montverde Academy is not what the Pilots needed to create a change at the top of the final POWERADE FAB 50. Oak Hill’s 44-0 record, including a win over the La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) team Findlay Prep lost to, is the best in school history. It is second-best all-time for a mythical national champion after the 46-0 mark for Kashmere (Houston) in 1974-75. On their way to perfection, the Warriors defeated teams from 13 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, including five FAB 50 ranked teams. Leading the way for coach Steve Smith, now with a 27-year 860-53 record, were 5-foot-11 point guard and McDonald's All-American Tyler Lewis, a North Carolina State commit, plus 6-foot-5 Jordan Adams (UCLA), 6-foot-3 D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Georgetown) and 7-foot A.J. Hammons (Purdue). For Smith and the program at Oak Hill Academy, this year’s FAB 50 national crown is the seventh since 1993. The Warriors claimed their last one in 2007 with a 40-1 record. Their other No. 1 finishes were in 2004 (38-0), 2001 (33-0), 1999 (31-0), 1994 (30-1) and 1993 (36-0). Oak Hill Academy was invited to play in the NHSI, but declined this year, citing the team’s recent tour of exhibition games in China. The No. 1 team won’t always come as a result of the NHSI championship game, but we won’t always automatically rank an unbeaten club that declines an invite No. 1, or move up a team to No. 1 after it finishes an unbeaten season while turning down an invite to an event it is eligible for. Every situation like this one requires a deep examination of the circumstances.

Kyle Anderson

6'7" - PG - 2012

2011 -- St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (33-0); HC-Bob Hurley, Sr.; ESPN-USA-NPP.--Montrose Christian felt if it won the end-of-season ESPN RISE National Invitational (NHSI), it would consider itself national champions. No one would deny the Mustangs those feelings and the winner of the NHSI did indeed win a national championship. But it’s not the same as being considered national champion among every state champion in the land and it’s not the same as a mythical national champion based on national rankings. According to criteria that have been used for over 20 years by the POWERADE FAB 50 rankings compilers, Montrose ends at No. 2 in final rankings behind St. Anthony, which did not compete at the NHSI. The Friars capped the school's sixth unbeaten season with their 11^thTournament of Champions state crown and fourth national poll championship. International Basketball Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley, who surpassed 1,000 career wins during the season, won his 24th Non-Public B state crown with a 62-45 win over FAB 50 No. 3 St. Patrick. The Friars' victims also included FAB 50 ranked Mount Vernon (Mount Vernon, N,Y.), Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Friends Central (Wynnewood, Pa.) plus DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) by a 75-25 margin and Linden (Linden, N.J.), the only team to defeat FAB 50 No. 2 Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.). The Friars were led by 5-foot-9 senior point guard Myles Mack, a Rutgers recruit, and 6-foot-7 junior

Kyle Anderson, who had a terrific game vs. Mr. Basketball USA Michael Gilchrist in the big showdown 62-45 win over St. Patrick.

2010 -- Yates (Houston, Texas) (32-0); HC-Greg Wise; ESPN-USA-NPP.--The Lions are the first from Texas to end No. 1 in the nation since 2002 when Lincoln (Dallas) won the Class 4A state title and went 40-0 behind future NBA star Chris Bosh. En route to winning its own Class 4A state crown, Yates set a national record with 15 straight 100-point games and also established a new state record with 170 points in a single outing. Despite the high-scoring antics, Yates didn’t come close to having the best record of an unbeaten team from Houston that finished No. 1 in the nation. That total is 46-0 for Kashmere High, which the National Sports News Service (FAB 50 precursor) named the No. 1 team for 1974-75 in the end of the season poll. In this year’s Class 4A state final, the Lions swamped Lancaster, 92-73, and won their second straight title. They also extended their two-year winning streak to 58 games. A 97-96 victory over No. 2 Neumann-Goretti in the final game at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii wound up being the mythical national title decider. Key players for head coach Greg Wise’s team were senior Joseph Young (Providence), senior Brandon Peters (Western Kentucky) and senior Darius Gardner (Stephen F. Austin). Wise's team, with depth and a signature full-court defense that never let up, captured its second straight Class 4A title and had an average winning margin greater than 40 points per game.

2009 -- Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) (33-0); HC-Michael Peck; ESPN-USA-NPP.-- The Pilots captured the inaugural ESPN RISE National High School Invitational in North Bethesda, Md., beating previous No. 1 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 74-66. Avery Bradley Jr. (20 points) and junior Cory Joseph (18) combined to score 38 points and both were named to the all-tournament team, which Bradley copping tourney MVP honors. A Mr. Basketball USA finalist headed to Texas, Bradley Jr. played lockdown perimeter defense in three victories and veteran Oak Hill Academy coach Steve Smith praised Bradley as the best guard his program has faced. Coach Michael Peck’s two-year old program competed as a team that did not allow postgraduates for the first time and topped No. 5 Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.), 60-43, in the semifinals, as Bradley scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the first quarter and had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 76-55 first round win over Mountain State Academy (Beckley, W.Va.). The three-day tournament had six ranked teams and two regional ones, playing to packed arenas at Georgetown Prep's Hanley Center. Other big contributors were seniors D.J. Richardson and Victor Rudd.

2008 -- St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (32-0); HC-Bob Hurley, Sr.; Rivals-USA-NPP.--The Friars capped an unbeaten season with their 10th state Tournament of Champions title. It was the fifth unbeaten season, and third national crown, for 36-year coach Bob Hurley, who guided No. 1 teams in 1989 and 1996. Hurley has a 933-101 career record with 22 of the school's 25 North Jersey Non-Public B crowns. The Friars defeated Science Park, 69-36, in the TOC final after routing Immaculata, 76-41, in the semifinals. During the season, the Friars defeated two Top 25 teams in Utah champion Lone Peak and state rival St. Patrick. The team was led by 6-foot-3 senior guard Mike Rosario, an EA SPORTS All-American candidate and Rutgers recruit. Hurley's son, Danny, coached the No. 2 team in the country at St. Benedict's in nearby Newark. Hurley Sr. was recently elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame, only the second high school coach ever selected following six-time mythical national title winning coach Morgan Wootten of DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.).

2007 -- Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (40-1); HC--Steve Smith; SS-USA-NPP.--The Warriors captured their sixth national ranking title by recording their second straight 40-1 record season and winning 96 of their last 98 games. This season, Oak Hill defeated six of seven teams ranked in the top 30 of the FAB 50. The Warriors defeated No. 8 Norcross, No. 9 South Medford, No. 13 Mater Dei, No. 22 Liberty Tech, No. 23 Fairfax, and No. 27 Montrose Christian. Oak Hill's lone loss was by 78-75 to No. 5 Simeon in Chicago. Three Warriors will earn All-America honors including McDonald's All-American Nolan Smith, a Duke recruit, who averaged 22 points and 4.5 assists a game. Other A-A honorees are Michigan recruit Alex Legion and Brandon Jennings. Coach Steve Smith has a 22-year record of 684-40 with previous national titles in 2004, 2001, 1999, 1994 and 1993. Why wasn't Oak Hill No. 1 last year despite an identical 40-1 season? Because they lost their last game to Kevin Durant and Montrose Christian plus Lawrence Central of Indianapolis went unbeaten with Greg Oden and Mike Conley and went wire-to-wire as our No. 1 team. The FAB 50 was the only national ranking last year that had that squad No. 1 from the start and considering what that duo is doing this season at Ohio State our rankings look even more credible.

Greg Oden

7'0" - C - 2006

2006 -- Lawrence North (Indianapolis, Ind.) (29-0); HC--Jack Keefer; SS-USA-NPP.--The Wildcats went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 ranked FAB 50 team and stamped itself among the legendary squads in the basketball-rich Hoosier State. As a comparison, USA Today had them No. 5 in its preseason rankings. Lawrence North became only the third state team to win three consecutive state crowns by capturing the Class 4A title with an 80-56 finals' romp over eight-time champion Muncie Central. The other two teams were Marion from 1985-87 and Franklin from 1920-22. The win streak of 45 games ties the state mark set by the Oscar Robertson-led Indianapolis teams of 1955-56 at Crispus Attucks. The average winning margin was 20.3 points and victims included Ohio Division II champion Dayton Dunbar, No. 19 in the FAB 50, and defending Illinois Class AA champion Glenbrook North, No. 30 in the FAB 50. Leading North were two four-year regulars, and Ohio State recruits, who helped teams compile a 103-7 record --

Greg Oden, the 7-foot consensus National Player of Year honoree, and guard Mike Conley. Oden averaged 22 points, 10.5 rebounds and shot 74% from the floor. Conley averaged 16.5 points. Coach Jack Keefer won his fourth state title. North is the first Indiana mythical national champion since Washington of East Chicago captured the 1971 crown.

2005 -- Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) (28-1); HC--Dan Bazzani; SS-NPP.--Our FAB 50 national championship nod to Niagara Falls is as much a nod to how strong New York teams were this year than any other factor. The Wolverines won their first mythical national championship on the strength of titles at the City of Palms tourney in Florida and the New York Federation state playoff tourney. In Florida, Niagara Falls defeated FAB 50-ranked Arlington Country Day of Jacksonville, Fla., the Florida 2A state champion, and Raines of Jacksonville, a 4A power. On their way to the New York Federation championship, the Wolverines defeated FAB 50-ranked New Rochelle and regionally ranked John F. Kennedy and Xaverian. The only loss for the Wolverines was to FAB 50-ranked Vashon of St. Louis, 69-66, in OT. Leading the way for Niagara Falls was junior wing Paul Harris, arguably the nation’s best on-ball defender who scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists with a broken thumb on his shooting hand in the state title game. He averaged 19.7 points and 12.6 rebounds while sophomore point guard Johnny Flynn contributed 15.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds.

Rajon Rondo

6'2" - PG - 2004

2004 -- Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (38-0); HC--Steve Smith; SS-USA-NPP.--The Warriors claimed their fifth mythical national ranking title by going wire-to-wire as No. 1 and posted the winningest season in team history. Two All-Americans led the way -- Josh Smith (6-8), an Indiana recruit, and

Rajon Rondo (6-1), a Kentucky signee. Smith, who might declare for the NBA Draft, averaged 23 points, eight rebounds and six blocked shots a game and is probably the most athletic player in school history. Rondo set a school record by averaging 12 assists per game, including single-game efforts of 31, 27 and 27 while chipping in 20 points per night. The Warriors defeated teams from 13 states, including FAB 50 No. 7 Mount Vernon, No. 8 Westchester and No. 11 Fairfax. While the legendary 1993 Oak Hill team had more depth than this club, the starting five on this club matches up with any previous team, according to head coach Steve Smith. The closest winning margins were by five points over Dougherty and 10 points versus Moeller (Ohio) and the Warriors claimed titles at Iolani Prep Classic in Honolulu, the GlaxoSmithKline Invitational in Raleigh, N.C., the Mountain State Coal Classic in Beckley, W.Va., and won marquee games at the NIKE Extravaganza in Los Angeles and the Prime Time Shootout in Trenton, N.J. Smith now has an 19-year record of 570-36.

LeBron James

6'8" - SF - 2003

2003 -- St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) (26-0x); HC--Dru Joyce, Sr.; SS-USA-NPP; x-forfeit losses not included. --Irish capped unbeaten, on-court season with third state title in four years -- the Division II title this time -- and defeated teams from seven states: California, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Included in those wins were victories over three Top 10 ranked teams -- No. 3 Mater Dei, No. 8 Oak Hill Academy and a dominating 78-52 win over California Division I state champ and No. 4 Westchester of Los Angeles.

LeBron James made a statement by scoring 52 points in the win over the Comets in his first game back with the team after being suspended for two games for accepting two "throwback" jerseys from a local sporting goods store. The Fightin' Irish also made a statement by beating Oak Hill by 20 points on national television, one of the worst losses in the Steve Smith-era for the Warriors. It was a season that wound up even better than expected, if that's possible, with James in the lineup. King James’ team played one of the most ambitious schedules ever and did not lose on the court. The MVP in the McDonald's and EA SPORTS Roundball Classic All-Star games and the probable No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, James averaged 30.6 points for the season and ended with 2,646 career points, third best in Ohio history, while the Irish went 102-5 on the court with four FAB 50 rankings. This team wasn’t just James, either, as the nucleus of the team played together since middle school. Forward Romeo Travis, point guard Dru Joyce Jr., the son of the head coach, and the role players meshed well with James and this team has to be considered among the all-time best considering the teams they beat during an unbeaten season. St. Vincent-St. Mary’s started No. 7 in the FAB 50 (as a comparison the Irish began No. 23 by USA Today) and had it not been upset in the Division II state final in 2002 (James’ only in-state loss in four years) and finished No. 40, this year’s team would have began at No. 3 instead of four spots lower. In our rankings system it goes to show that what a program accomplished prior can affect pre-season positioning and play in role in how fast or high a team can rise in the FAB 50. Obviously with the schedule and results this team played, those four spots became a moot point as that loss fueled the fire more than anything else.

2002 -- Lincoln (Dallas, Texas) (40-0); HC--Leonard Bishop; SS-USA-NPP.--The Tigers won the Class 4A title by routing nationally-ranked and defending champion Beaumont Ozen, 71-51, in the final. Lincoln, led by center Chris Bosh (Georgia Tech recruit) and Bryan Hopkins (Southern Methodist), went unscathed against a schedule that included three other FAB 50 teams besides Ozen. An early-season win over FAB 50 ranked Midwest City (Okla.) vaulted the Tigers into the rankings and they also recorded wins over No. 23 Fort Worth Dunbar and No. 24 Cedar Hill. They took over the No. 1 spot when defending national champion Oak Hill Academy suffered its only loss versus No. 28 Mater Dei in the Golden State. In 2001, Sugar Land Willowridge was an impressive large class state champ from Texas with a perfect record. This year Lincoln did it again, but unlike Willowridge, the Tigers were able to finish No. 1 in the nation instead of No. 2 to become the first Texas boys basketball team in 27 years to claim a mythical national rankings championship. The last Texas team to claim No. 1 honors was the 46-0 record Houston Kashmere team, which was crowned No. 1 in 1975 by the National Sports News Service. Two other Houston teams also captured titles in the 1970s. Legendary coach Jackie Carr guided Wheatley High to top spots with 43-1 and 39-0 records in 1973 and 1970, respectively.

2001 -- Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (33-0); HC--Steve Smith; SS-USA-NPP.--The Warriors went wire-to-wire as the nation’s No. 1 team and completed its march to the mythical national crown with a 93-79 victory in late February over Notre Dame Academy of Winchester, Va. Steve Smith’s club posted wins over five state champions and beat programs from 11 states overall. Three of those teams -- No. 3 St. Vincent-St. Mary of Akron, Ohio; No. 8 Salem of Salem, Va.; and No. 13 Osseo of Osseo, Minn. -- lost their only games of the season to Oak Hill. There were two close results for a program that has now won 98 of its last 100 games. The first was Billy Edelin's last minute layup that proved to be the winning points in a 79-78 victory over St. Vincent-St. Mary and super sophomore LeBron James on Jan. 13. Three weeks later, DeSagana Diop scored with six seconds left, pushing a Feb. 3 game against Blue Ridge (Dyke, Va.) to overtime, which the Warriors won 76-69. Oak Hill defeated schools from 11 states, including four teams in the final FAB 50 and numerous regionally ranked teams. Oak Hill won five tournaments, including national events in Las Vegas, St. Louis and Raleigh. Seniors Rashaad Carruth (Kentucky), Edelin (Syracuse) and Diop (possibly NBA bound) led the Warriors. This team set school records for field goal percentage (62.1), three-point percentage (45.5) and assists per game (24.5). Diop averaged 14.6 points, 13.1 rebounds (387). Mario Boggan (14.4 ppg), the top junior contributor, shot a staggering 81.6 percent from the field and had 32 points and 12 rebounds in the final win. Edelin, the leading scorer (21.2 ppg), shot 73.6 percent. Rashaad Carruth (18.5 ppg) hit a school-record 118 3-pointers and Justin Gray (10.1 ppg) rounded out the lineup for a program that won the program’s fourth mythical national title since 1993 and set school records for field goal percentage (62.1), three-point percentage (45.5) and assists per game (24.5).

Tyson Chandler

7'0" - PF - 2001

2000 -- Dominguez (Compton, Ca.) (35-2); HC--Russell Otis; Fox-USA-NPP-NSNS.--The Dons took over the No. 1 spot in the FAB 50 after a 60-47 victory in February over defending national champion Oak Hill Academy of Virginia. That 13-point victory avenged an earlier 54-50 loss to the Warriors at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii. The Dons' other loss was in their fourth game in overtime to No. 17 Clovis West of Fresno, which played in the California Div. I state final. They did not avenge that defeat, but beat No. 23 Artesia of Lakewood 72-63 in the finals of the Best of the West Tournament one day after the Pioneers defeated Clovis West in the semifinals, 72-47. The Dons capped their season by winning a fourth state Division II state title in last five years and finished with a 28-game win streak. The ringleader for Dominguez was 7-foot center Tyson Chandler, who dominated state and numerous national opponents as well with athletic play and shot-blocking ability. “The Franchise” scored 18 points in limited minutes against Philadelphia’s Eddie Griffin in a matchup pitting the nation’s best junior (Chandler) versus an elite All-American senior (Griffin) and led Dons to a 21-point win over Roman Catholic. He also had 17 points and defended well in the return win over Oak Hill, which finished No. 2 in the FAB 50, and finished with game norms of 20.1 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.7 blocks and 3.2 assists while earning National Junior Player of the Year honors. Steve Moore and point guard Micah McKinney were other key players although McKinney missed the state tournament final with a broken hand. "I've said all year that this was a team of great chemistry,” head coach Russell Otis remarked. “I've had some teams before that had better talent, but what separates these guys is that basketball-wise they do whatever it takes to win.”

National Prep Poll Era

1999 -- Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (31-0); HC--Steve Smith; NPP-USA-NSNS.--The routine was the same almost every week for the Warriors from Oak Hill Academy -- study hard and go to class the first four days of the week. On Fridays, it was time to hit the road, venturing to such places as Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Minneapolis. On every one of its trips this year, the “Road Warriors” came home a winner as they won five tourney titles in five different states, including the 54-team Reebok Holiday Classic in Las Vegas. The team’s closest game of the season was a 61-60 victory over No. 5 Christ The King of Middle Village, N.Y., at the Glaxco-Wellcome tourney. Other close calls came against Minnetonka, Minn., and No. 3 Dominguez of Compton, Calif., 64-60. Six-foot-7 Ronald Slay led Oak Hill in scoring with 16.3 points per game and also collected 6.5 rebounds per game. Slay also was MVP at the Reebok Holiday Classic, where the Warriors rolled past No. 7 Mt. Zion of Durham, N.C., 81-50, in a title match up performance that head coach Smith called ”our best game of the year" against a team Oak Hill beat twice. Travis Watson, also 6-foot-7, set a school single season rebound record with 386 (12.5 per game) and scored at a 15.3 ppg clip. The backcourt also was strong with Jerry Reynolds (12.7 ppg), junior Cliff Hawkins (11.7 ppg) and senior point guard Steven Blake (8.8 ppg, 7.3 apg.). The 31-0 record marked the school’s third undefeated season in the last nine years, following the 29-0 record established in 1989-90 and the 30-0 mark from 1992-93. “To be honest I didn’t think at the beginning of the season we would be as good as we have over the past four or five years,” Smith said. “Talent-wise, it’s not the best we’ve had. But once they got on the floor they were great.”

1998 -- St. John's (Frederick, Md.) (25-0); HC--Stu Vetter; NPP-USA-NSNS.--On Saturday, February 28 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., St. John’s at Prospect Hall laid claim to the mythical national title with a 32-25 victory over Oak Hill Academy of Virginia. The game was played without a shot clock and marred by poor shooting, but salvaged by St. John’s tenacious defense and a court-ordered appearance from junior Damien Wilkins, who had previously been suspended from school. He scored eight points and helped neutralize the Warriors’ tall frontline. No. 5 Oak Hill had its 23-game winning streak snapped and besides No. 23 Liberty, Mo., no other top 25 ranked team besides St. John’s finished the season undefeated. All-American Jason Capel iced the game with two free throws with 19.5 second left as the 6-foot-8 Duke recruit led a team that won tournaments in Hawaii, North Carolina and Maryland. The Vikings beat two other top 25 teams and finished the season having won 36 games in a row and 50 of their last 51 games. It was the second mythical national crown for head coach Stu Vetter, as he led Flint Hill Prep of Oakton, Va. to a 23-0 record in 1987 and No. 1 ranking by the National Sports News Service (National Prep Poll precursor) and USA Today.

1997 -- Manual (Peoria, Ill.) (31-1); HC--Wayne McClain; NPP-USA-NSNS.--The Illinois High School Association coined the phrase “March Madness” years ago, but this year the moniker really hit home as the Manual Rams has to survive – and win – three games within a 24-hour period to claim the mythical national title. Manual dropped an overtime game to Carver of Chicago in December and needed some divine intervention to set up a historic Class 2A semifinal showdown with Thornton on Harvey. Defending national champion St. Anthony’s of New Jersey was knocked off in overtime 82-80 by Rice of New York after sophomore Kenny Satterfield drained a 17-footer to send the game into overtime. St. John’s Prospect Hall of Maryland was then moved up to No. 1, but the next weekend they were stunned by St. Francis of Baltimore, 75-74, at the Charm City Classic as All-American pivot Mark Karcher swished a 25-footer with 2.9 seconds left. Manual was in position to claim the mythical national title after that as it beat Chicago Public League champ Whitney Young in the quarterfinals, although a shoulder injury to emotional leader Sergio McClain put a scare in Rams’ fans. In the titanic meeting with No. 14 Thornton before 11,522 fans, the Rams fell behind 18-4 but junior Frank Williams got them back in the game and Manual led 29-26 at halftime. Thornton then took a 37-29 lead but an injured McClain led a 20-0 charge and his team took a 49-37 lead. Amazingly, Thornton made one last push before falling, 65-62. The Rams then beat West Aurora 47-41 in the final, their 24 consecutive victory and 32nd consecutive playoff win that secured a unprecedented fourth straight Class AA state title. The coach’s son led the team with a 18 ppg., but his value really wasn’t measured by stats. In addition to McClain and Williams, McDonald’s All-American center Marcus Griffin contributed to the team’s historic run.

1996 -- St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (31-0); HC--Bob Hurley, Sr.; NPP-USA-NSNS.--St. Anthony wore a bulls eye on its back every night, but the preseason No. 1 boys basketball team lived up to its billing. The Friars captured the New Jersey Group and overall championships, extending their winning streak to 53 in a row. St. Anthony's 61-57 overtime win over No. 23 Shawnee in the New Jersey TOC was a fitting end to a dominant season in which Garden state teams were the most talk-about nationally. Head coach Bob Hurley Sr. won his 600th game early in the season when the Friars downed Crenshaw of Los Angeles, 90-74, in the finals of the Above the Rim Tournament in San Diego as tourney MVP Ajmal Basit netted 36 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. No. 15 Crenshaw went to win the California Div. I state title and St. Anthony also downed St. Raymond's of the Bronx at Madison Square Garden, No. 6 St. John’s of Prospect Hall, No. 24 St. Patrick of Elizabeth and also recorded a win over a

Kobe Bryant-led Ardmore (Pa.) Lower Merion team. Hurley’s team snuck up on opponents when it won the TOC in 1995 with wins over Paterson Catholic, St. Patrick of Elizabeth, and unbeaten and nationally-ranked Shawnee of Medford, but this team played up to lofty expectations every game. National Junior of the Year Anthony Perry paced the team with averages of 20.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists and has led the Friars team in scoring all three of his seasons on the varsity. Six-foot-5 leaper Ike Williams and 6-foot-3 sharpshooter Mike Frey and Basit also played key roles in St. Anthony’s championship season.

1995 -- St. Augustine (New Orleans, La.) (37-1); HC--Bernard Griffith; NPP-USA-NSNS.--The Purple Knights opened the season unranked in the National Prep Poll Top 25, but climbed to the No. 1 spot during the season and capped their improbable run to the top of the polls with a 57-33 victory over Catholic-Baton Rouge in the Class 5A state title game. St. Augustine lost its second game of the season to in-state rival Glen Oaks and top-notch junior Lester Earl, but won two holiday tournaments and finished the season riding a 36-game winning streak. Bernard Griffith upped his record to 242-36 in his eight seasons at St. Augustine and has been selected district coach of the year six times and was also named Student Sports National Coach of the Year this year. Leading the Purple Knights to their third state title overall was 6-foot-5 forward Maurice Robertson, the Times-Picayune's All-Metro Large Schools most outstanding player who averaged 17.0 ppg. The other bookend forward was 6-foot-7 junior Eugene Edgerson, a no-nonsense type that checked in with norms of 15.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. The preseason No. 1 team, St. John’s of Prospect Hall, finished No. 2 after losing in overtime to Laurel (Md.) Baptist, which received 40 points and six assists from Louis Bullock to pull out a 62-56 victory. Preseason No. 2 Oak Hill Academy lost three times, but beat preseason No. 4 Mater Dei in the finals of the Las Vagas Holiday Classic while preseason No. 3 Farragut of Chicago, led by consensus national player of the year Kevin Garnett and super junior Ronnie Fields, was stunned in the Class 2A state quarterfinals by a Thornton of Harvey team led by Tai Streets.

1994 -- Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (30-1); HC--Steve Smith; NPP-USA-NSNS.--Oak Hill had the fire power to finish unbeaten for the second consecutive season, but they were stunned 65-48 at the Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic by Dominguez of Compton, a team that finished regionally ranked at 28-4. Since Dominguez did not win a California Div. II state title, the Warriors needed some help to climb back to the top of the polls and that exactly what they got when previously unbeaten King of Chicago was upset by Westinghouse, 59-58, and Mater Dei of Santa Ana suffered its first and only loss to No. 2 Crenshaw of Los Angeles, 71-67, in a much-anticipated Div. I SoCal Regional final. Those results allowed Oak Hill to finish No.1 after the early loss in Las Vegas. Leading the way for the Warriors was the stellar backcourt of 6-foot-2 Curtis Staples and 6-foot-5 Tarik Turner, both transfers from St. John’s Prospect Hall in Maryland. Staples, a Virginia commit, averaged 24 points and four assists while Tuner will join Mr. Basketball USA Felipe Lopez at St. John’s. Six-foot-11 Mark Blount, 6-foot-6 Tavares Johnson and 6-foot-7 Alex Sanders, holdovers from Oak Hill’s dominant 1993 club, were the leaders up front. Sanders actually was the only returning starter for a club that won the Above the Rim Tournament in San Diego with wins over St. John’s Prospect Hall and Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland as Oak Hill has now won 157 of its last 161 games. No. 2 Crenshaw had a team with a comparable resume and comparable talent to Oak Hill, but they lost to Simon Gratz of Philadelphia, 70-65, and then to Columbia (S.C.) Richland Northeast, 74-65, in the third place game of the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. when all-state forward Kris Johnson was suspended for violating a team rule.

Jerry Stackhouse

6'6" - SF - 1993

1993 -- Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (30-0); HC--Steve Smith; NPP-NSNS; Philadelphia, Pa., Simon Gratz (31-0); HC--Bill Ellerbee; USA.--The Class of 1993 produced a ton of quality individual talent and three dominating teams, but when it was all said and done the best team was judged to be Oak Hill Academy. Coach Steve Smith had his first unbeaten club in 1990, when 6-foot-10 Elite All-American Anthony Cade led the Warriors to a 29-0 mark and No. 2 ranking. Despite a No. 3 finish in USA Today’s Super 25, this was clearly Smith’s best team in his eight years as Oak Hill’s head coach. In 1990, Oak Hill played second fiddle to Chicago King, but this season the Jaguars, with twins towers Rashard Griffith and Thomas Hamilton, finished No. 3 at 32-0 behind No. 2 Simon Gratz of Philadelphia, which finished 31-0. Gratz was led by Mr. Basketball USA Rasheed Wallace and was named the third best team all-time in city history by the Daily News, but Oak Hill was simply on another level. The Warriors rolled to the tournament title at the Las Vegas Holiday Prep Classic and tournament director Larry McKay remarked, “It was like men playing against boys as the Warriors dominated a talented field of teams.” In all, Oak Hill beat teams from 11 states and Australia and finished 30-0 against high school competition and 36-0 overall. First team Elite All-American

Jerry Stackhouse, who scored 27 points in the McDonald's All-America Game, averaged 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Point guard Jeff McInnis set a school record with 303 assists and averaged 17 points and will join Stackhouse at North Carolina. Center Makhtar Ndiaye averaged 10.3 rebounds and 8.1 blocks a game and depth was provided by the likes of guard Jermaine “Sunshine” Smith, center Mark Blount and forwards Alex Sanders and Tavares Johnson. In all, nine players are considered Div. I recruits.

1992 -- Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.) (29-0); HC--Pete Pompey; NPP-USA-NSNS.--The Poets went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team and have won 52 consecutive games. Considering No. 2 Oak Hill Academy finished with two losses, including one to the Poets, there’s no question Dunbar is the top team in the land but ultimately this team is going to be judged against the Poets’ legendary 1983 unit, the club most veteran observers feel is the best high school team of the modern era. "With the '92 team, it was almost like 'now it's my turn to take over the game' with each of the players," explained Sam Davis of the Baltimore Sun, who followed both teams on the prep beat for the Baltimore Sun and traveled to see them play in showcase games. "The 1992 team wasn't always on the same page. They were a free-spirited team with their own goals. (Pete) Pompey is a good coach and a good man, but doesn't have (1983 head coach) Bob Wade's dominant personality." This year’s Poets faced tougher competition overall than the 1983 unit as they won a tournament in Erie, Pennsylvania, played at the KMOX Shootout in St. Louis and also played at the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dunbar defeated No. 12 Simon Gratz of Philadelphia in the Beach Ball finals after Gratz had defeated No. 7 St. Joseph’s of Alameda, California in the semifinals, 60-53. Jason Kidd and company from St. Joseph’s were edged in the finals of the Great Florida Shootout by St. Raymond’s of the Bronx, but that New York club was no match for Dunbar as they beat the New Yorkers, 93-82, in the semifinals of the Charm City Classic. In finals, Pompey’s club beat No. 14 St. Anthony’s of New Jersey and also embarrassed highly regarded Vashon, 75-49, in front of that school's hometown fans at the KMOX Shootout. Leading the way for Dunbar was a pair of McDonald All-Americans in 6-foot-6 Donta Bright, the National Sophomore of the Year in 1990, and 6-foot-2 Michael Lloyd. 6-foot-6 junior Keith Booth will likely play in the McDonald’s game next year and Davis also points to the play of unsung hero Cyrus Jones as a main reason Dunbar was able to survive its moments of individualism.

1991 -- Simon Gratz (Philadelphia, Pa.) (27-1); HC--Bill Ellerbee; NPP; Detroit, Mi., Southwestern (26-1); HC--Perry Watson; USA-NSNS.--The Bulldogs repeated as the Public League champion with a 47-43 victory over Franklin Learning Center at the Civic Center. A year earlier, Gratz had rolled past Franklin LC, 80-60, as then 6-foot-8 freshman Rasheed Wallace scored 23 points in the easy win. Gratz didn’t seal the win this year, however, until second team all-city guard Levan Alston (11.4 ppg.) sealed the game with two free throws after no-nonsense post presence Wilfred Kirkaldy drew an offensive foul on FLC's Faron "Meatball" Hand with eight seconds left. Alston and National Sophomore of the Year Wallace (13.8 ppg.) were the double-digit scorers in a balanced starting lineup that included forward Andre Griffin, center Calvin Wingfield and junior guard Contrell Scott. The 6-foot-9 Kirkaldy, a Brooklyn native who played his junior season at Oak Hill Academy, actually didn’t start but played the important minutes at center and averaged 14.1 ppg., and the Bulldogs often got a spark off the bench from freshman dynamo Shawn ''Reds'' Smith, a 5-foot-8 guard. Speaking of Oak Hill, the No. 4 Warriors handed Gratz its only loss, 67-59, in the semifinals of the Great Florida Shootout. The Bulldogs, however, won the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina with a 44-40 victory over St. Joseph’s of Cleveland and were able to move back in front of the Warriors in the polls after Oak Hill suffered an uncharacteristic 28-point loss to a Robert Hughes-coached club at Dunbar of Fort Worth, Texas.

1990 -- King (Chicago, Ill.) (32-0); HC--Landon Cox; NPP-USA-NSNS.--Chicago Public League power Martin Luther King opened up the season as the National Prep Poll's and USA Today's No. 1 ranked team. King, under Landon "Sonny" Cox, then went wire-to-wire as the nation's top team and won the Illinois Class AA state title with a 65-55 victory over cross-town Gordon Tech. In the first all-city final in state tournament history, 6-foot-4 McDonald’s All-American Jamie Brandon netted 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while bruising 6-foot-6 forward Johnny Selvie added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Selvie was a four-year starter as was Brandon, who ended his career with 3,174 points, second on the state's all-time career scoring list and was called the, “Money player every truly great team has,'' by veteran talent scout Bob Gibbons. Although the Jaguars played down to the competition at times, they indeed faced tough teams in the public league and during the Windy City Classic while remaining undefeated despite the distractions of Selvie’s arrest on drug charges. The IHSA also made King forfeit 13 games for using an ineligible player, a ruling that was overturned after an appeal by King. Cox had a senior-oriented team, as five of the top six players were seniors, including Brandon, Selvie, 6-foot-3 guard Ahmad Shareef, 5-foot-10 Fred Sculfield and top sub Damian Porter, a 6-foot-10 center. Sculfield backed up 6-foot-11 Rashard Griffith, the National Freshman of the Year who is expected to help keep King in the national rankings picture over the next three years and also expected to be Chicago’s next great prep player as Brandon departs for the University of Illinois.

1989 -- St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (32-0); HC--Bob Hurley, Sr.; NPP-USA-NSNS.--The Friars capped an unbeaten season by winning the first state Tournament of Champions with a 62-55 victory over regionally-ranked Elizabeth. Six-foot-7 Jerry Walker, a Seton Hall recruit, was named tourney MVP and 6-foot-4 wing Terry Dehere, also headed to Seton Hall, scored a team-high 20 points in the title game while 6-foot point guard Bobby Hurley Jr., a Duke recruit, adding 16 points for the Friars. St. Anthony had to overcome some adversity throughout the season and came through with flying colors. In the preseason, Bobby’s younger brother Danny, 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. Later in the season, 6-foot-7 Sean Rooney, the team’s top rebounder, tore ligaments in his ankle during a 64-43 win over All Hollows of the Bronx. Six-foot-6 junior Jose Ortiz stepped in the lineup for Rooney and the Friars didn’t miss a beat, defeating teams from 10 states in addition to winning the TOC and finishing the season riding a 50-game winning streak. Highlighting the regular season was a tournament victory at the Great Florida Shootout and an impressive 64-45 victory, in front of a national television audience, over No. 9 Flint Hill Prep of Oakton, Va. in the finals of the King Cotton Classic in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The Friars even recorded a 68-59 victory over Solesbury Prep of Pennsylvania, a school with post-graduates, to close out the regular season. Rounding out the team’s excellent starting line up is 6-foot-5 freshman Rodrick Rhodes, who edged California phenom Jason Kidd, from St. Joseph’s of Alameda, for National Freshman of the Year honors.

1988 -- Tolentine (Bronx, N.Y.) (30-1); HC--John Sarandrea; NPP-USA-NSNS.-- There was little doubt the Big Apple fielded the best crop of teams nationally among cities known for producing basketball talent this season. Most veteran observers also considered the CHSAA the best league in the country and it was the Wildcats that captured the school’s first CHSAA title since 1982. The season opened on a good note for Tolentine as the Wildcats defeated two-time defending CHSAA champ Archbishop Malloy of Queens, 76-72, before an overflow crowd. Tolentine was led to victory by 6-foot-7 Elite All-American Malik Sealy with 19 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Sealy, New York’s Mr. Basketball, was the ringleader all season as he finished the season shooting 65.4 percent from the field with norms of 21.4 points and 10.2 rebounds and was named tourney MVP of both the CHSAA and state championships. In the CHSAA final, the Wildcats had an expected return match up with No. 8 Malloy. Malloy took a 37-36 halftime lead, but Sealy responded by scoring six straight points to tie the game at 49. He eventually scored 18 of the Wildcats’ final 27 points, including a resounding dunk that gave his team a 63-61 lead, in an eventual 70-65 victory. Tolentine went on to win the Class A state title with a 95-69 win over Our Savior Lutheran of the Bronx as sophomore forward Brian Reese netted 23 points with Sealy adding 21 points. Reese was one of two standout sophomores on Tolentine’s squad, the other being guard Adrian Autry. The CHSAA’s also had a third 10th-grader, Cardinal Hayes’ Jamal Mashburn, considered among the top 10 nationally and two of the 10 best juniors nationally in Malloy's Kenny Anderson and Christ the King’s Jamal Faulkner. Outside the Big Apple, the Wildcats only lost to No. 2 St. Anthony of Jersey City, N.J., 62-58, but that contest was actually played in Hawaii in the championship game of the Iolani Prep Classic. In the semifinals St. Anthony downed Dunbar of Baltimore, 84-71, while the Wildcats mauled No. 17 Flint Hill Prep of Virginia, 97-69, to end that program’s 59-game winning streak. Tolentine was then able to jump back in front of St. Anthony in the polls after the Friars were upset by Ferris of Jersey City after leading by nine points with just under two minutes remaining.

All-Time No. 1's

1987 -- Flint Hill (Oakton, Va.) (23-0); HC--Stu Vetter; NSNS-USA.

1986 -- Camden (Camden, N.J.) (30-0); HC--Clarence Turner; NSNS-USA.

1985 -- Spingarn (Washington, D.C.) (31-0); HC--John Wood; NSNS; Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.) (28-1); HC--Bob Wade; USA.

1984 -- Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) (31-2); HC--Ron Palmer; NSNS; DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (39-2); HC--Morgan Wootten; USA.

1983 -- Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.) (31-0); HC--Bob Wade; NSNS-USA.

1982 -- Calvert Hall (Towson, Md.) (34-0); HC--Mark Amatucci; NSNS-BW.

1981 -- Quincy (Quincy, Ill.) (33-0); HC--Jerry Leggett; NSNS-BW.

1980 -- Inglewood (Inglewood, Calif.) (29-0); HC--Vince Combs; NSNS-BW.

1979 -- Southwest (Macon, Ga.) (28-0); HC--Don Richardson; NSNS-BW.

1978 -- DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (28-0); HC--Morgan Wootten; NSNS-BW.

1977 -- West Philadelphia (West Philadelphia, Pa.) (30-0); HC--Joey Goldenberg; NSNS-BW.

1976 -- Dunbar (Washington, D.C.) (29-0); HC--Joe Dean Davidson; NSNS; Canarsie (Brooklyn, N.Y.) (24-0); HC--Mark Reiner; BW.

1975* -- Kashmere (Houston, Texas) (46-0); HC--Weldon Drew; NSNS; Verbum Dei (Los Angeles, Calif.) (28-1); HC--George McQuarn; BW.

1974 -- Verbum Dei (Los Angeles, Calif.) (30-2); HC--George McQuarn.

1973 -- tie: Wheatley (Houston, Texas) (43-1); HC--Jackie Carr; Verbum Dei (Los Angeles, Calif.) (29-2); HC--George McQuarn.

1972 -- Thornridge (Dolton, Ill.) (33-0); HC--Ron Ferguson.

1971 -- Washington (East Chicago, Ind.) (29-0); HC--John Molodet; Schenley (Pittsburgh, Pa.) (25-3) HC--Spencer Watkins.

1970 -- Wheatley (Houston, Texas) (39-0); HC--Jackie Carr.

1969 -- Compton (Compton, Calif.) (30-0); HC--Bill Armstrong.

1968 -- Compton (Compton, Calif.) (32-0); HC--Bill Armstrong.

1967 -- tie: Ambridge (Ambridge, Pa.) (27-0); HC--Charles DeVenzio; Newark (Newark, N.J.) (26-0).

1966 -- DeWitt Clinton (New York, N.Y.) (21-0); HC--Robert Buckner.

1965 -- DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (28-1); HC--Morgan Wootten.

1964 -- Power Memorial (New York, N.Y.) (30-0); HC--Jack Donahue.

1963 -- Power Memorial (New York, N.Y.) (27-0); HC--Jack Donahue.

1962 -- DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (29-3); HC--Morgan Wootten.

1961 -- Collinsville (Collinsville, Ill.) (32-0); HC--Vergil Fletcher.

1960 -- McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.) (22-0); HC--Paul Harless.

1959 -- McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.) (22-0); HC--Paul Harless.

1958 -- McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.) (21-0); HC--Paul Harless.

1957 -- Middletown (Middletown, Ohio) (27-0); HC--Paul Walker.

1956 -- tie: Middletown (Middletown, Ohio) (25-0); HC--Paul Walker; Crispus Attucks (Indianapolis, Ind.) (31-0); HC--Ray Crowe.

1955 -- Crispus Attucks (Indianapolis, Ind.) (31-1); HC--Ray Crowe.

1954 -- Pampa (Pampa, Texas) (28-0); HC--Clifton McNeely.

1953 -- Pampa (Pampa, Texas) (26-0); HC--Clifton McNeely.

1952 -- Compton (Compton, Calif.) (32-0); HC--Ken Fagans.

*All selections prior to 1975 by National Sports News Service (unless noted)

National Negro High School Tournament

A national tournament for segregated Black high schools took place from 1929-1967. It was held at Hampton, Va., Institute (now Hampton University), 1929-33; Gary, Ind., 1934-35, Roanoke, Va., 1936-1937, Fayetteville State College (N.C.), 1938-44, Tennessee State (Tenn.), 1945-65, and Alabama State College (Ala.), 1966-67. It was known as the The Southern Interscholastic Basketball Tournament from 1949 until the final year in 1967.

Source: Charles Herbert Thompson, LSU Historial Dissertations and Theses, 1980

1929 -- Armstrong (Washington, D.C.) d. Douglass (Huntington, W.Va.), 20-19

1930 -- Armstrong (Washington, D.C.) d. Douglass (Huntington, W.Va.), 32-23

1931 -- Phillips (Chicago) d. Genoa (Bluefield, W.Va.), 39-14

1932 -- No Tournament

1933 -- Roosevelt (Gary, Ind.) d. Henderson Institute (N.C.), 37-6

*1934 -- Roosevelt (Gary, Ind.) d. Central Colored School (Louisville, Ky.), 39-24

*1935 -- Roosevelt (Gary, Ind.) d. Kelly Miller (Clarksburg, W.Va.), 21-19

**1935 -- Genoa (Bluefield, W.Va.) d. Interurban Heights (Jefferson County, Ala.), 19-17

*1936 -- Roosevelt (Gary, Ind.) d. Kelly Miller (Clarksburg, W.Va.), 37-17

**1936 -- Rosenwald (Harlan County, Ky.) d. Dorchester Academy (Midway, Ga.), 20-19

**1937 -- Avery Institute (Charleston, S.C.) d. Mayo-Underwood (Frankfort, Ky.), 21-20

**1938 -- Xavier University Prep (New Orleans, La.) d. Garnet (Charleston, W.Va.), 12-9

*1939 -- Roosevelt (Gary, Ind.) d. E. E. Smith (Fayetteville, N.C.), 28-21

**1939 -- Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) d. Cuyler Beach (Savannah, Ga.), 31-29

*1940 -- Roosevelt (Gary, Ind.) d. Gary District (Gary, W.Va.), 37-24

**1940 -- Lincoln (Evansville, Ind.) d. Cuyler Beach (Savannah, Ga.), 31-29

*1941 -- Morningside (Statesville, N.C.) d. Armstrong (Richmond, Va.), 34-32

**1941 -- Booker T. Washington (Sand Springs, Okla.) d. Booker T. Washington (Seminole, Okla.), 38-24

*1942 -- Sumner Academy (Kanas City, Kan.) d. Garnet (Charleston, W.Va.), 31-26

**1942 -- Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) d. Southern Lab (Baton Rouge, La.), 42-19

*Sponsored by the National Interscholastic Athletic Association

**Sponsored by Tuskegee Institute

1943 -- No Tournament (World War II)

1944 -- No Tournament (World War II)

*1945 -- Douglass (Oklahoma City, Okla.) d. Elkhorn (Switchback, W. Va.), 36-33

*1946 -- Booker T. Washington (Cushing, Okla.) d. Middleton (Tampa, Fla.), 44-40

*1947 -- Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) d. Middleton (Tampa, Fla.), 51-42

*1948 -- Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.) d. Don Thompson Vocational (Tampa, Fla.), 52-29

*Sponsored by the National High School Athletic Association

1949 -- St. Elizabeth (Chicago, Ill.) d. Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.), 57-36

1950 -- St. Elizabeth (Chicago, Ill.) d. Ballard-Hudson (Macon, Ga.), 56-49

1951 -- St. Elizabeth (Chicago, Ill.) d. Booker T. Washington (Cushing, Okla.), 46-40

1952 -- Central Colored School (Louisville, Ky.) d. Wheatley (Houston, Texas), 41-38

1953 -- Western (Paris, Ky.) d. Booker T. Washington (Montgomery, Ala.), 70-41

1954 -- Laurinburg Institute (Laurinburg, N.C.) d. Dunbar (Summerset, Ky.)

1955 -- Central Colored School (Louisville, Ky.) d. Burt (Clarksville, Tenn.), 85-61

1956 -- Central Colored School (Louisville, Ky.) d. Douglass (Lexington, Ky.), 81-61

1957 -- St. Elizabeth (Chicago, Ill.) d. McKinley (Baton Rouge, La.), 61-53

1958 -- Pearl (Nashville, Tenn.) d. Carver (Dothan, Ala.), 68-58

1959 -- Pearl (Nashville, Tenn.) d. Scipio Jones (North Little Rock, Ark.), 76-72

1960 -- Pearl (Nashville, Tenn.) d. Roosevelt (West Palm Beach, Fla.), 74-50

1961 -- Burt (Clarksville, Tenn.) d. Webster (Minden, La.), 73-70

1962 -- Booker T. Washington (Memphis, Tenn.) d. Carter Parramore (Quincy, Fla.), 66-61

1963 -- Pearl (Nashville, Tenn.) d. Jim Hill (Jackson, Miss.), 64-55

1964 -- Parker (Birmingham, Ala.) d. Armstrong (Richmond, Va.), 81-79

1965 -- Lanier (Jackson, Miss.) d. Booker T. Washington (Suffolk, Va.), 58-55

1966 -- Coleman (Greenville, Miss.) d. Dunbar (Lynchburg, Va.), 81-54

1967 -- Booker T. Washington (Montgomery, Ala.) d. Temple (Vicksburg, Miss.), 71-56

National Interscholastic Tournament Finals (at University of Chicago, Bartlett Gym)

1930 -- Athens (Athens, Texas) d. Jena (Jena, La.), 22-16; HC--Jimmy Kitts.

1929 -- Athens (Athens, Texas) d. Classen (Oklahoma City, Okla.), 25-21; HC--Jimmy Kitts.

1928 -- Ashland (Ashland, Ky)., d. Canton (Canton, Ill.), 15-10; HC--James Anderson.

1927 -- Morton (Cicero, Ill.) d. Batesville (Batesville, Ark.), 18-16; HC--H. K. Long.

1926 -- Fitchburg (Fitchburg, Mass.), d. Fargo (Fargo, N.D.), 25-14; HC--Clarence N. Amiott.

1925 -- Wichita (Wichita, Kan.), d. El Reno (El Reno, Okla.), 27-6; HC--A. R. Young.

1924 -- Windsor (Windsor, Colo.), d. Yankton (Yankton, S.D.), 25-6; HC--Joseph E. Ryan.

1923 -- Kansas City (Kansas City, Kan.), d. Rockford (Rockford, Ill.), 43-21; HC--C. W. Corsant.

1922 -- Lexington (Lexington, Ky.), d. Mt. Vernon (Mt. Vernon, Ohio.), 46-28; HC--John Barclay.

1921 -- Washington (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) d. West Lafayette (West Lafayette, Ind.), 43-19; HC--Leo V. Novak.

1920 -- Wingate (Wingate, Ind.), d. Crawfordville (Crawfordville, Ind.), 22-16; HC--Merrill Eaton.

1918-19 -- not staged because of World War I.

1917 -- Township (Evanston, Ill.) d. Freeport (Freeport, Ill.), 27-22, ot.; HC--James W. Bixby.

Note: Head coaches (HC) listed for championship team.

National Catholic Interscholastic Tournament Finals
(at Loyola University, Chicago; Alumni Hall)

1941--Leo (Chicago, Ill.) d. St. Francis Mission (St. Francis, S.D.), 49-41, ot.

1940--Catholic (Fort Wayne, Ind.) d. St. Michael (Santa Fe, N.M.), 35-33.

1939--Catholic (Fort Wayne, Ind.) d. Leo (Chicago, Ill.), 44-37.

1938--St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) d. Loyola (Winnetka, Ill.), 31-22.

1937--Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.) d. Catholic (Joliet, Ill.), 30-27.

1936--De La Salle (Chicago, Ill.) d. St. Mary (Anderson, Ind.), 45-29.

1935--St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) d. St. Mel (Chicago, Ill.), 29-24.

1934--Catholic (Joliet, Ill.) d. St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 30-17.

1933--Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) d. St. Rita (Chicago, Ill.), 31-10.

1932--St. Patrick (Chicago, Ill.) d. St. Mel (Chicago, Ill.), 22-20.

1931--De La Salle (Minneapolis, Minn.) d. Academy (Jasper, Ind.), 23-21.

1930--De La Salle (Chicago, Ill.) d. Academy (Jasper, Ind.), 25-14.

1929--De La Salle (Chicago, Ill.) d. St. Stanislaus (Bay St. Louis, Miss.), 25-16.

1928--De La Salle (Joliet, Ill.) d. University (St. Louis, Mo), 32-11.

1927--De La Salle (Joliet, Ill.) d. Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.), 26-11.

1926--St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) d. Aquinas (Rochester, N.Y.), 18-16.

1925--St. Mel (Chicago, Ill.) d. Marquette Academy (Milwaukee, Wis.), 15-7.

1924--Spalding (Peoria, Ill.) d. Marquette Academy (Milwaukee, Wis.), 21-7.

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 Salute to All-Time FAB 50 No. 1s appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

UPDATED FAB 50: Link Academy Rises!

Ronnie Flores — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 23:06:03 +0000

With Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) capturing GEICO Nationals for the first time, there is a new No. 1 team in this season's second-to-last FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com. GEICO Nationals results affected the Top 25 of the rankings this week, with the State Champions invitational (set for April 6-8) the only games remaining in the 2022-23 season.

Last season Link Academy, on the campus of Camp Kanakuk in Branson, Mo., was a new four-year program eligible for the FAB 50 for the first time. After starting No. 40 in the FAB 50 that season, the Lions surprised the basketball world by advancing to the title game of GEICO Nationals, where they lost to Montverde Academy of Florida.

After head coach Rodney Perry left for an assistant coaching position at Kansas St., it would have been easy for new coach Bill Armstrong to curtail expectations. After all, he was a new coach with a new crop of players taking on a tough national schedule. The exact opposite happened for a team that opened up No. 11 in this year's preseason rankings, as the Lions took it one step further to put the program in position to earn their first FAB 50 national title. Link Academy, which entered the eight-team tournament No. 2 in the FAB 50, won its last game of the season, capturing 2023 GEICO Nationals with a dominant 73-55 victory over then FAB 50 No. 22 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) Saturday afternoon in Ft. Myers, Fla. It was obviously the program's first GEICO Nationals crown and it won three game over three days after entering the event as the No. 4 seed (despite being No. 2 in the FAB 50 for weeks leading up to the event).

"Our guys practiced extremely hard over the month of March to prepare for these three games," Armstrong told www.ebooksnet.com. "Their approach each day of GEICO was tremendous. They came and set the tone defensively with their energy, focus and toughness.

The Lions were in control of the championship game, taking a 35-25 halftime lead and extending it to 44-26 after starting out the second half on a 9-1 run. AZ Compass, which knocked off No. 19 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 68-50 in the semifinals and then No. 8 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) in the quarterfinals, 73-71, never got back in the game as Link Academy ended its successful campaign with only one regular season loss. That came against the same Montverde Academy program it lost to in last season's GEICO Nationals title game.

The catalysts for coach Armstrong (who previously was an associate head coach at LSU) throughout the tournament was Baylor-bound Ja’Kobe Walter and junior guard Elliot Cadeau, who is committed to North Carolina. Walter netted a championship game-high 21 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 3-point shots. Tyler McKinley, a 6-foot-9 junior, also came up big with 17 points and six rebounds for Link Academy. Cadeau finished with 11 points and five assists, which gave him 29 for the event, breaking the event record (according to the record book published by www.ebooksnet.com) held by Montverde Academy's Andrew Nembhard, who had 28 in 2018 when the Eagles won the event and FAB 50 national crown.

Walter averaged 21.3 ppg in three GEICO Nationals games, while Cadeau averaged 9.7 ppg, 9.7 apg, and 2.3 spg for the team that moved up one spot in this week's FAB 50 to the top spot.

Cadeau had 16 points and 10 assists in the 67-61 semifinal victory over then No. 17 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.), which moved up three spots this week after knocking off top seed Montverde Academy in the quarterfinals, 46-45. Tennessee-bound guard Cameron Carr came up big for the Lions in that game with 18 points, including 3-of-6 3-pointers. In the quarterfinals, Link Academy needed all of Walter's 34 points (including four 3-pointers) to knock off then No. 16 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 seed game, which was by far the best matchup of the quarterfinals considering the Panthers spent some time at No. 1 in the FAB 50 earlier in the season. Cadeau broke the single-game GEICO Nationals assist mark in the hard-fought win over Paul VI with 14.

They stepped their games up on the biggest stage which is what great players do," Armstrong said. "When you have the best back court in the country you have a chance to win every game and they wouldn’t be denied this opportunity to win a championship. That’s as good a performance from a backcourt in tournament time as I have ever seen. They made every big play each and every time we needed one made. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for these two future superstars."

Now What?

The State Champions Invitational, which is set for April 6-8 at McDonough Arena at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., is all that's left for the 2022-23 season. The highest ranked team competing is No. 16 Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.), which has lost to No. 15 Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas). Sidwell Friends will take on the winner of No. 45 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) and bubble club Yazoo City (Yazoo City, Miss.) on April 7. No. 38 Curtis (University Place, Wash.) plays No. 21 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) with the winner set to meet No. 31 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) in the semifinals. The SCI championship game is set for 12 pm ET on April 8.

As for the rest of the teams that competed in GEICO Nationals, Montverde Academy gets credit for being the only team to hand Link Academy a loss and is down a spot to No. 2 this week. The Eagles also beat the Sunrise Christian Academy team it was upset by two out of three times this season. We decided to reward AZ Compass Prep for making it to the championship game and moved the Dragons up to No. 9 in front of new No. 10 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) for avenging the loss in National Intersholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) play. Long Island Lutheran has to finish ranked higher in next week's final FAB 50 in front of Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Class 6A state champ and No. 13 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) because of a head-to-head victory. Sunrise Christian Academy moves up three spots this week to No. 14 after losing to new No. 1 Link (for the second time this season) by only six points and for beating No. 2 MVA once. The Buffaloes are rated higher than No. 19 IMG Academy, whom they slit with, as the Ascenders were routed in their semifinal contest by runner-up AZ Compass Prep after defeating Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) in the quarterfinals.

The SCI will affect next week's final poll, but it will be hard to top what Link Academy accomplished over Final Four weekend and over the course of the season.

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by www.ebooksnet.com

(16th poll of 2022-23 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, April 2; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates season not complete)

No.	Prev.	High School (City)	Record
1	2	Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)	27-1
2	1	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	23-3
3	4	Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas)	28-1
4	5	Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.)	33-0
5	3	John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)	28-0
6	6	Columbus (Miami, Fla.)	26-4
7	9	Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.)	32-0
8	7	Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas)	34-3
9	22	AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)	23-7
10	8	Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)	23-3
11	12	Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)	33-2
12	10	Camden (Camden, N.J.)	23-2**
13	11	Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.)	30-3
14	17	Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)	22-8
15	13	Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas)	36-2
16	14	Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.)	27-4***
17	15	St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)	32-4
18	16	Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)	31-4
19	19	IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)	17-8
20	18	Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.)	30-1
21	20	Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.)	22-5***
22	21	Centennial (Corona, Calif.)	30-4
23	23	Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.)	29-0
24	24	De Pere (De Pere, Wis.)	29-0
25	25	Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.)	28-1
26	26	Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.)	38-4
27	27	Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio)	29-0
28	28	Tualatin (Tualatin, Ore.)	24-5
29	29	West Linn (West Linn, Ore.)	28-2
30	30	St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)	26-7
31	31	Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)	26-6***
32	32	Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas)	31-3**
33	33	Kimball (Kimball, Texas)	33-2
34	34	Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.)	26-2
35	35	Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.)	36-1
36	36	Christ School (Arden, N.C.)	31-4
37	37	Lake City (Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho)	26-0
38	38	Curtis (University Place, Wash.)	28-3***
39	39	Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ark.)	30-3
40	40	Central Pointe Christian (Kissimmee, Fla.)	30-11
41	41	Reading (Reading, Pa.)	32-1
42	42	Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.)	27-4
43	43	Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.)	29-2
44	44	Durango (Las Vegas, Nev.)	21-6
45	45	Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)	24-2**
46	46	Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)	27-10
47	47	Moline (Moline, Ill.)	35-3
48	48	Kell (Marietta, Ga.)	28-2
49	49	Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio)	26-3
50	50	Lincoln Park (Midland, Pa.)	30-1

Dropped Out: None.

Bubble Teams: Andover (Andover, Kan.) 23-2; Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 22-10; Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) 35-2; Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.) 21-4; Bondurant-Farrar (Bondurant, Iowa) 24-0; Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.) 29-3; Briarcrest Christian (Eads, Tenn.) 32-3**; Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 27-2; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 22-2; Carmel Christian (Matthews, N.C.) 28-4; Carter (Dallas, Texas) 31-4; Catholic B.R. (Baton Rouge, La.) 28-6; Centerville (Centerville, Ohio) 25-4; Cherokee (Canton, Ga.) 25-7; Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 23-5; East (Denver, Col.) 26-2; DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) 26-8**; Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) 29-1; Eagle’s Landing (McDonough, Ga.) 29-2; Ellison (Killeen, Texas) 38-4; Farmville Central (Farmville, N.C.) 30-1; Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) 25-2; Grand Blanc (Grand Blanc, Mich.) 25-3; Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 24-6; Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.) 30-5; Hayfield (Alexandria, Va.) 30-1; Highland (Warrenton, Va.) 30-3; Highland Park (Topeka Kan.) 21-0**; Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 31-4; Isidore Newman (New Orleans, La.) 32-6; Kapun Mt. Carmel (Wichita, Kan.) 23-2; Kokomo (Kokomo, Ind.) 24-5; Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 21-10; McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 23-7; Metamora (Metamora, Ill.) 34-2; Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.) 27-7; Muskegon (Muskegon, Mich.) 26-3; Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) 28-4; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 26-5; North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) 29-3; Northside (Roanoke, Va.) 27-1; Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 26-4; Park Center (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) 28-3; Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.) 28-2; Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio) 25-6; Reidsville (Reidesville, N.C.) 26-1; Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 33-4; Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) 32-4; Staley (Kansas City, Mo.) 30-2; St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) 28-5; St. Maria Goretti (Hagerstown, Md.) 27-7; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 24-7; Valley (West Des Moines, Iowa) 21-5; Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) 29-1; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 19-10; Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.) 27-4; West Oaks (Orlando, Fla.) 21-9; West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) 29-3; Yazoo City (Yazoo City, Miss.) 30-5***.

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 23 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

The post UPDATED FAB 50: Link Academy Rises! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

UPDATED FAB 50: Playoff Madness!

Ronnie Flores — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 01:16:11 +0000

The playoffs are here and this is the time in the season when a team's spot in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com will be challenged. There are going to be some great opportunities for teams to move up, or in, the industry's longest-running weekly national rankings over the next month. There are four newcomers to this week's FAB 50 led by No. 40 Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.)

While high school basketball doesn't have a March Madness type national playoff tournament like college basketball does, there is certainly plenty of excitement around the various state playoff tournaments that begin this week in selected states around the country. There will be crazy storylines, upsets and the ability for teams in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com to make a statement, or for team's to quickly move up from the vast bubble list.

The team that made the loudest statement last week was No. 2 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), which took on No. 3 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) in the marquee game of the Metro Classic at Kean University in Union, N.J. This was a rematch of last year's title game at GEICO Nationals in which Montverde Academy won its sixth event crown and finished No. 2 in the FAB 50.

In this game, Link Academy came in undefeated and ready to stake its claim to the top spot in the rankings, but the Eagles had other ideas and showed once again how hard it is to climb all the way to the top of the FAB 50, something Montverde Academy was able to do six times between 2013 and 2021. Montverde Academy jumped all over the Lions, storming out to a 17-2 lead highlighted by a 15-0 run.

Before the first quarter was even over, Montverde Academy went on another 12-0 run and led 29-7 after one period. Link Academy tried to make up the stagger, but could get no closer than 12 points in the second quarter, as the Eagles posted a dominant 84-58 victory.

Improved junior forward Derik Queen led a balanced attack with a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. Junior wing Liam McNeeley netted 15 points, while junior guard Curtis Givens added 13 points. Oregon-bound forward K.J. Evans had a good all-around game with 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while junior forward Asa Newell added 10 points and nine rebounds.

Montverde Academy has now won 14 consecutive games (including a 84-62 win over No. 24 and Metro Classic host Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) the night after the Link Academy win) since a 56-55 loss to No. 28 Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii in December. So what has made the difference since the Mt. St. Joseph game?

"We made a decision to reduce the rotation from 10 players to eight," Montverde Academy coach Kevin Boyle told Ballislife. "We challenged the players toughness and commitment to meet Montverde's standard. We also implemented our full court press that has allowed us to speed the game up."

Montverde Academy, which is 10-1 in National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) play, has one conference and regular season game remaining versus No. 20 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)on February 10. Should the Eagles win that game against a club it has already beaten once this season, MVA will be the top seed at GEICO Nationals, set for March 30-April 1.

For the FAB 50 ranked clubs that will participate in that end-of-season event, the key is to remain engaged and be ready for tough competition after a long break. While some clubs have made a concerted effort to schedule a few extra games into late February or early March, Boyle and has staff have handled being ready after the layoff better than any other academy-type program. Montverde Academy is 26-5 (.839) all-time at the event.

Midwest Region Breaks Through

All four newcomers to this week's FAB 50 hail from the Midwest Region, led by No. 40 Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.). The Kingmen are the No. 2 ranked team in basketball-crazed Indiana and have only lost one game, 65-53, to still unbeaten and FAB 50 No. 8 Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.).

Wisconsin's No. 1 ranked team, unbeaten De Pere (De Pere, Wis.), checks in at No. 43, while Kentucky's top-ranked club, Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.), checks in at No. 50.

It's not very often over the year's that the top team in the Chicago Public League (CPL) is not FAB 50 ranked, but that's the case this week as previous No. 42 Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) fell to bubble club Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.), 56-46, at the Bank of O'Fallon Shootout in Illinois. With seven overall losses, Vashon is not quite a FAB 50 club right now and this week we go against local rankings that kept Simeon as No. 1 in its metro area.

Replacing Simeon in the FAB 50 is our No. 1 team from the same region: No. 48 Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.). The Redwings have won each outing since the turn of the New Year after taking a 52-49 loss to Simeon on December 30.

The most early anticipated playoff games will come from the CIF Southern Section open division playoffs in Southern California, which being February 10. There are two pools of four teams each with the winner of each pool squaring off at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., on February 25.

If the seeds hold up (the higher seed hosts each of the three pool play games), it would be No. 7 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) vs. No. 11 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.). Centennial is the top seed, so FAB 50 No. 34 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) is in the Huskies' pool at No. 4, while FAB 50 No. 19 West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) is in the Wolverines' pool at No. 3

The field also includes two teams that have been previously FAB 50 ranked: No. 5 seed Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and No. 8 seed Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), both of whom play in the Mission League alongside Harvard-Westlake. Rounding out the field are No. 6 seed St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), the champions of the rugged Trinity League, and No. 7 seed St. Bernard (Playa Del Rey, Calif.), the co-champions of the Del Rey League alongside Bishop Montgomery. All eight teams will be part of the SoCal regional tournament, which culminates in the NorCal vs. SoCal CIF State Championships, March 10-11, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by www.ebooksnet.com

(8th poll of 2022-23 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, Feb. 5; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)

No.	Prev.	High School (City)	Record
1	1	Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)	22-1
2	2	Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)	22-2
3	4	John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)	20-0
4	5	Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas)	24-1
5	3	Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)	23-1
6	6	Columbus (Miami, Fla.)	20-3
7	7	Centennial (Corona, Calif.)	25-3
8	8	Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.)	22-0
9	9	Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas)	24-3
10	10	Camden (Camden, N.J.)	19-2
11	13	Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)	28-1
12	12	Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)	14-2
13	14	Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.)	19-3
14	15	St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)	21-2
15	11	Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)	14-6
16	19	Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.)	22-0
17	18	Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas)	27-1
18	23	Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.)	25-1
19	24	West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.)	27-1
20	16	IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)	16-6
21	17	AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)	17-5
22	25	West Linn (West Linn, Ore.)	19-1
23	29	Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.)	16-2
24	21	Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.)	12-5
25	22	Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)	20-2
26	27	Garfield (Seattle, Wash.)	18-0
27	28	Park Center (Brooklyn Park, Minn.)	17-0
28	30	Mt. St. Jospeh (Baltimore, Md.)	27-3
29	34	Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.)	17-0
30	26	DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)	22-5**
31	35	Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.)	19-0
32	33	Carter (Dallas, Texas)	24-2
33	31	Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.)	18-2
34	20	Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.)	25-2
35	36	Pinson Valley (Pinson, Ala.)	26-0
36	37	Carmel Christian (Matthews, N.C.)	25-3
37	41	Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.)	14-1
38	40	Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas)	20-3
39	43	Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)	16-6
40	NR	Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.)	17-1
41	44	Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)	15-6
42	45	Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.)	18-4
43	NR	De Pere (De Pere, Wis.)	19-0
44	32	St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)	15-1
45	46	Lake City (Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho)	18-0
46	47	Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, Okla.)	17-0
47	48	Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.)	27-2
48	NR	Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.)	25-1
49	50	Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.)	22-2
50	NR	Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.)	22-1

Dropped Out: Previous No. 38 Bullis (Potomac, Md.), No. 39 Olympia (Orlando, Fla.), No. 42 Simeon (Chicago, Ill.), No. 49 North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.).

Bubble Teams:??Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 19-6; Bullis (Potomac, Md.) 21-2; Cardinal Ritter (St. Louis, Mo.) 18-3; Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) 13-4; Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.) 17-1; Centerville (Centerville, Ohio) 17-2; Central (Little Rock, Ark.) 20-4; Chambers (Charlotte, N.C.) 17-5; Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) 17-2; Eagle’s Landing (McDonough, Ga.) 23-1; Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 15-2; Ellison (Killeen, Texas) 29-3; Farmville Central (Farmville, N.C.) 20-1; Federal Way (Federal Way, Wash.) 20-1; Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 20-4; Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 17-5; Hayfield (Alexandria, Va.) 19-1; Horn Lake (Horn Lake, Miss.) 26-1; Jackson-Reed (Washington, D.C.) 24-6**; Joliet West (Joliet, Ill.) 22-5; Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ark.) 21-3; Kell (Marietta, Ga.) 20-2; Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 16-0; Kenwood Academy (Chicago, Ill.) 21-5; Kimball (Kimball, Texas) 23-2; Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 15-8; MacArthur (Decatur, Ill.) 24-2; McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 17-6; Metamora (Metamora, Ill.) 24-2; Muskegon (Muskegon, Mich.) 13-1; Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) 18-4; Newton (Covington, Ga.) 15-7; Nixa (Nixa, Mo.) 19-0; Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 20-9; North Farmington (Farmington Hills, Mich.) 13-1; North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) 20-2; Northern Nash (Rocky Mount, N.C.) 22-0; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 20-12; Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.) 20-1; O’Dea (Seattle, Wash.) 15-5; Olympic (Charlotte, N.C.) 21-1; Putnam City North (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 17-1; Radnor (Radnor, Pa.) 20-0; Reading (Reading, Pa.) 20-1; Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio) 20-0; Sacred Heart Griffin (Springfield, Ill.) 24-2; Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) 23-3; Staley (Kansas City, Mo.) 19-2; Starkville (Starkville, Miss.) 22-4; St. Andrew’s (Potomac, Md.) 17-3; St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) 22-4; UOD Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) 15-2; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 12-7; Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) 21-1; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 12-10.

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 23 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

The post UPDATED FAB 50: Playoff Madness! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

LINK ACADEMY PUT ON A SHOW!! DUEL IN THE DESERT!!

Cazzie Luz — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 13:58:39 +0000

Top 5 Link Academy led by McDonalds All American Ja'Kobe Walter put on a show!!

The post LINK ACADEMY PUT ON A SHOW!! DUEL IN THE DESERT!! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

McDAAG Case: Ja'Kobe Walter

Ani Umana — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 18:10:52 +0000

At this time of the year, teams are jostling for playoff position in district or conference play, continuing to build up their resumes in hopes for a high playoff seed or for a GEICO Nationals invite. From a player perspective, especially ones that are high end 4 and 5-star recruits, the goal is to see their names appear on the McDonald’s All American Roster, which this year is set to be announced on Jan. 24 between 3-4 pm ET.

Ja’Kobe Walter of unbeaten and FAB 50 No. 3 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) is one whose resume gives him a strong chance.

The Baylor signee has accumulated over 2,000 points in his high school career, received NBPA & Wooten Camp invites, 1st Team UIL All-District and region honors for multiple seasons, 1st Team TABC All-State honors, led McKinney (Texas) to its first ever state title game in 2021-22 and was third in points per game in Adidas 3SSB with Team Trae Young. Walter has stayed consistent with his production throughout high school.

“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to be a McDonald’s All American," Walter told Ballislife. "The players that have played in that game, the meaning of it. It’s just always been a dream of mine to play in the same game as the ones before me.”

Walter talks about why he feels he’s earned a spot.

"I just feel like I’ve always been consistent on the court; if that was in school ball or in AAU,” Walter said. “And I’ve won a lot of games at both levels. Went to state with McKinney, right now we are top 3 in the country even though we should be No. 1 and my stats have transferred to winning as well.”

Walter leads FAB 50 No. 3 Link team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and is third in rebounding (3.9 rpg). He also can add MVP honors from his performance at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions, as Link Academy defeated No. 11 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) in the title game to push its record to 18-0. The future Baylor Bear compiled 17 points and brought massive energy on the court.

Game Breakdown

A scoring guard with a strong frame. Scores it in limited dribbles but a promising decision maker off the live dribble due to awareness and passing accuracy. He’s naturally strong, which allows him to get to his spots to elevate and launch. The savvy shooting guard keeps defenders at bay utilizing advanced triple threat game, plus length, and has been someone that can consistently make tough shots off the bounce. There’s a lot of upside with his defense. A formidable on-ball defender currently, but he has another tier on the defensive end he will unlock down the road which will show more of his versatility. He really uses his length, strength and lateral mobility to guard well on-the-ball and does a good job as a team defender.

Final Thoughts

When looking at the major national recruiting network player rankings, Walter’s name appears generally in the top 20 range. That’s fits with where I believe he falls and honestly I feel he’s a bit higher, especially with his play this season with arguably the No. 1 team in the country.

The McDonald’s All-American Game announces its team of 24 players on Jan. 24 and he’s performed as one of them. Although he currently resides in Branson, Mo., Texas is home for Walter. I don’t see five Texas natives in the 2023 class representing the state as was the case in 2021-22. But of the few that will be, however, it would be a surprise if Ja’Kobe Walter isn’t one of them.

The post McDAAG Case: Ja'Kobe Walter appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

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Salute to All-Time FAB 50 No. 1s

UPDATED FAB 50: Link Academy Rises!

Updated FAB 50 National Team RankingsPowered by www.ebooksnet.com

UPDATED FAB 50: Playoff Madness!

Updated FAB 50 National Team RankingsPowered by www.ebooksnet.com

LINK ACADEMY PUT ON A SHOW!! DUEL IN THE DESERT!!

McDAAG Case: Ja'Kobe Walter

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by www.ebooksnet.com

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by www.ebooksnet.com