The two wins in Chicago put The Crew's record at 33-5, but their season isn’t over just yet.

Sitting at No. 6 in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com, the Prolific Prep Crew is Indianapolis bound for the Chipotle High School Nationals (April 4-6), where they’ll be matched up against FAB 50 No. 11 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) in the opening round. While many are already looking forward to that, let’s focus on the outstanding performances that many of the Prolific players and others had to wrap up the Grind Session season.

Here are the top performers from the Grind Session World Championship Final Four:

A.J. Dybantsa, 6’8, SF/PF, Prolific Prep (CA), 2025
The top junior in the nation showed that he is just beginning to scratch the surface with his immense bag of talents, pacing Prolific Prep to the Grind Session World Championship with 24 points and eight boards in the title game. While his outside shot wasn’t falling at his typical rate, Dybantsa impacted the game in different ways, utilizing his size on both ends of the court. The USA Basketball gold medalist exploited mismatches by posting smaller defenders, was a beast on the offensive glass, and showed immense potential on the defensive end. A.J. will be running with Vegas Elite for his final season on the AAU circuit and will undoubtedly have all eyes on him for the remainder of his high school career.

Tyran Stokes, 6’7, SF/PF, Prolific Prep (CA), 2026
Considered by many to be the top player in the class of 2026, Tyran Stokes proved that he could be a remarkably effective player with limited touches at the Grind Session World Championship. The Louisville product was great on the offensive glass keeping plays alive, scoring within the flow of the offense, and facilitating for others. The 18 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three blocks that Stokes finished with in the championship game don't even begin to show the overall impact that he had on the game.

Ikenna Alozie, 6’2, PG, Dream City Christian, (AZ), 2026
While Dream City Christian came up short to Prolific in the title game, it certainly has nothing to do with the play of Ikenna Alozie. The sophomore dropped 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals, leaving everyone on notice that he is one of the better guards in the class of 2026. Ike used his strong frame and length to play unreal on ball defense, was a freakish shot blocker as a guard, and was elite finishing at the rim through contact. As Alozie’s 3-point shot continues to gain consistency, we will see him push his way up to five star status.

Emmanuel Stephen, 7’0, C, Dream City Christian (AZ), 2024
An absolutely massive individual, Emmanuel Stephen was the physical enforcer on both ends of the court for Dream City Christian. He used his ridiculous frame to carve out position deep in the paint, was great using his size to wall up as a rim protector, and dunked virtually everything that he got in the three second area. Heading to Arizona next year, “E-Man” is everything you look for out of a big as a rim protector and lob threat.

Sean Blake, 6’2, PG, Royal Crown Institute (CAN), 2024
A player I hadn't seen before, Sean Blake left it all on the floor and showed that he belonged against Grind Session champion Prolific Prep. The Canadian lead guard got into the paint at will, was excellent converting with creativity at the rack with both hands, and was the overall catalyst for Royal Crown with his 21- point, 5-assist showing versus Prolific Prep. Heading to Vermont next year, Blake is another key addition to the America East champs who took on Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Winters Grady, 6’6, SF, Prolific Prep (CA), 2025
The best junior prospect in the state of Oregon made local headlines when he was going to initially transfer from Lake Oswego to Tualtin before ultimately ending up at Prolific Prep. The move paid off for Grady, as he walked away with a Grind Session World Championship and firmly established himself as a top-100 player in the process. Winters is a versatile wing with deep 3-point range, provides a presence as a rebounder, and finds a way to make an impact on the game with minimal plays being ran for him. Since Grady emerged at the 2023 Crossroads Elite Invitational, he has quickly become a priority for numerous high major programs throughout the country.

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By Ronnie Flores

No high school team in the country wants to take a loss, of course, but when it does it's our job to make sure where it ends up in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com reflects its overall body of work. For teams that choose to avoid the most difficult competition, or are kept from playing in the events they would love to because of state association rules, it's simple. When they lose, they'll drop plenty and perhaps all the way out. For the teams fortunate to have played other FAB 50 ranked clubs, there are more barometers to accurately slot them in the following week's rankings. That's why strength of schedule is so paramount in any credible national rankings.

Teams don't always fall behind the team it just lost to, if it previously recorded other quality victories. That's the case this week for a select group of FAB 50 ranked teams that recently took losses.

For previous No. 3 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), it fell to then No. 45 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) at The Grind Session event in San Jose, Puerto Rico. Darius Acuff Jr., one of the top junior (2025) guard prospects in America, led the way with 28 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists. IMG's Khani Rooths, a 6-foot-8 forward committed to Michigan, also had a big game for the Ascenders with 30 points.

IMG Academy gets plenty of credit for the win, moving up 32 spots this week to No. 13, but doesn't move ahead of The Crew in the FAB 50. Prolific Prep other losses are to top-ranked Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) twice in relatively close games, an overtime loss to No. 2 Columbus and a loss to a team carrying post-graduate players. The Crew owns victories over No. 9 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) and No. 11 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), so they remain ahead of IMG Academy at No. 9, down six spots from last week.

IMG Academy remains behind the No. 14 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) team it lost to, but is able to leap frog other teams it lost to such as No. 43 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah), No. 42 Bullis (Potomac, Md.) and No. 18 Don Bosco Prep. The Ironmen of Don Bosco Prep lost to No. 17 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) in a showcase game at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, 74-67. Archbishop Stepinac had to take a one spot ding because it has a loss to No. 16 St. Rose (Belmar, N.J.), which lost to Montverde Academy, 84-55, at the Metro Classic in New Jersey last weekend. Stepinac lost to the top-ranked Eagles, 95-55.

Montverde Academy has defeated 14 teams currently ranked in the FAB 50, and the victory margins against those ranked teams helps us place teams after taking a loss.

While still unbeaten teams continue to move up, another team that has a loss that took a big jump up is new No. 23 Fishers (Ind.). The No. 1 ranked team among Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) clubs has a loss to a hot Carmel (Ind.) team hovering at .500, but Fishers just knocked off previous No. 28 Westfield (Ind.), 51-49, in a terrific team defensive effort. Keenan Garner, a 6-foot-6 senior, led the way with 15 points for Fishers. Two nights later, Fishers absolutely throttled No. 49 Homewood Flossmor (Flossmor, Ill.), the top-ranked team in Illinois, 78-57, at the Bank of O'Fallon Shootout in Illinois.

The highest ranked team to drop out of the FAB 50 this week is No. 18 Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.), which lost to the Bartlett (Tenn.) team that new No. 48 Cordova (Tenn.) recently avenged its only loss to, 49-43. Cordova lost to Bartlett in the first round of Class 4A, District 15 play in overtime, 63-60.

No. 20 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) also dropped out after losing to No. 12 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.), 60-56, in the Mission League Tournament semifinals. It was the Knights' third consecutive loss and they got left out of the eight team CIF Southern Section open division playoffs. Notre Dame, which split with Harvard-Westlake during the regular season, had a resume strong enough to be included. The section open field includes the Wolverines, No. 21 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 24 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.), No. 28 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), and No. 34 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.).

Two weeks ago before the three consecutive losses, Notre Dame was the highest ranked CIF club in the FAB 50.

RELATED: ?Preseason 2023-24 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | | ??

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

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By Ronnie Flores

Most of the nation's best teams are in league, conference or district play and most are winning as they gear up to earn favorable seeds in the post-season. That is reflected in the latest edition of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

There are only two newcomers to the fold: No. 28 Westfield (Westfield, Ind.) and No. 50 Alta (Sandy, Utah). Westfield is now the No. 2 ranked team in Indiana after previous state No. 1 Fishers (Ind.) fell to always-tough Carmel (Ind.), 54-46, as junior guard Alex Couto netted 26 points. Fishers always have trouble with Carmel on the road, and the win is the 22nd in a row by the Greyhounds at home. Fishers is now No. 3 in the state and falls 40 points in the FAB 50 to No. 48.

The highest ranked team that fell out after a loss last week was previous No. 22 Wayzata (Plymouth, Minn.), which fell to always-tough Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.), 80-69, in a Lake Conference match-up of traditional state powers. Junior Anthony Smith III led the way for Hopkins with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, while sophomore Jayden Moore added 12 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals.

Breaking in for Wayzata is Alta (Sandy, Utah), Utah's top-ranked team and the favorite to capture the Class 5A state title. The Hawks have done enough to overcome their 81-69 loss to unranked St. Pius X-Matthias (Downey, Calif.) in the quarterfinals of the Tarkanian Classic in December, an event in which that club eventually won the championship.

It would bode well for Alta if St. Pius X were to be selected to play in the upcoming CIF Southern Section open division playoffs, where the Warriors are one of approximately 10 teams being considered to play in one of the two pools of four teams each, with the winner of each pool meeting in the CIF Southern Section championship game. That's where playing in a strong league or conference comes into play in the FAB 50 formula. For the first time in over 40 years of weekly state rankings, the top three teams by Cal-Hi Sports are from the same league: the Mission League in the San Fernando Valley. This week, No. 15 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), No. 20 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and No. 22 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) will all be competing in the Mission League Tournament. One of the teams is going to win the tourney on February 2 and earn a top two seed in the CIFSS open playoffs. Either Notre Dame or Harvard-Westlake is going to lose in the semifinals and that team will be dropping down in the rankings. That drop, however, will not be happening until next week as those teams get rewarded for playing in tough conferences for now. For instance, Notre Dame lost to Sierra Canyon last week and dropped another showcase game to Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) at the Nike Extravaganza, but only drops one spot in the state rankings and nine in the FAB 50.

The Trinity League, which is made up of parochial schools primarily in Orange County, could also have three teams in the CIFSS open playoffs. No. 25 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) now has a split with unranked JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) after the Monarch lost the return match last week, 68-62, even though JSerra coach Keith Wilkinson was still serving a six-game suspension for tossing his shoes in protest of the officiating in the first round of league play. JSerra has lost twice to No. 33 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), but also owns a double overtime win over No. 26 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.). The best scenario for St. Pius X will be to win its Del Rey League title with an unbeaten slate, have unranked Centennial (Corona, Calif.) beat Roosevelt for the second time this week in the Big VIII League title game and for JSerra to lose to a unranked team in the Trinity League.

The tough league slates will undoubtedly change the FAB 50 next week, as the Mission League teams will not be 1-2-3 in California. Already we know some results from Monday that will also affect next week's FAB 50. In a Border Battle, bubble club Bartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.) downed No. 18 Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.), 58-53. Coming into the game, Huntsville had only lost to No. 1 Montverde Academy, which captured its own Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) with a 78-72 victory over No. 3 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.). It was the Eagles' second win of the season over The Crew. In other Monday action, St. John's (Washington, D.C.) downed No. 30 Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) in a contest that was a make-up game from the Capitol Hoops Challenge on January 20 that counts towards the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) standings.

RELATED: ?Preseason 2023-24 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | | ??

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

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RELATED: ?Preseason 2023-24 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | | ??| BIL McDonald's All-American Game Archives | ?

McDonald's All-American Game Notes & Tidbits

*The 2024 game will be played at the Toyota Center in Houston, April 2 (9 pm ET, ESPN). The 2023 game was also played in Houston after the 2022 game was played at Wintrust Arena in Chicago.?

*The first recognized team in 1977 had 15 players and actually played against the DMV team in the Capital Classic, which began in 1974. The actual East vs. West format began in 1978 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.

*Every NCAA championship team since 1978 has had a McDonald’s All-American on its roster except three: 2002 Maryland, 2014 UConn, 2021 Baylor.

*A majority of the teams that have finished No. 1 in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings or by the National Sports News Service before 1987-88 has had a McDonald’s All-American on the roster. The five mythical national championship teams that did not have a future McDonald’s All-American on its roster are: 2009-10 Yates (Houston, Texas), 1998-99 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 1994-95 St. Augustine (New Orleans, La.), 1985-86 Camden (N.J.) and 1985 Spingarn (Washington, D.C.). Five other teams didn’t have a senior McDonald’s All-American, but had a future one as an underclassmen: 2010-11 St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) with junior Kyle Anderson, 2004-05 Niagara Falls (N.Y.) with sophomore Johnny Flynn, 1999-00 Dominguez (Compton, Calif.) with junior Tyson Chandler, 1995-96 St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) with junior Anthony Perry and 1990-91 Simon Gratz (Philadelphia, Pa.) with sophomore Rasheed Wallace.

Programs with the Most McDonald’s All-Americans

35: Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of WIlson, Va.) 1980
17: Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), 2013
12: DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 1979
12: Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) 2016
11: IMG Academy (Brandenton, Fla.) 2017
10: Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 2009
8: St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) 1984
7: Dunbar (Baltimore, Md.) 1983
7: Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 1984
6: Camden (N.J.) 1981
6: Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) 1978
6: Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 1995

Note: Program listed by first year team member selected. Findlay Prep and St. Anthony are now closed. The only Oak Hill Academy McDonald’s All-American selection who wasn’t coached by retired coach Steve Smith was Glen Mayers in 1980. In the past two seasons since he retired as head coach, Oak Hill Academy has not produced a McDonald's All-American. Oak Hill has had some notable players that would be considered snubs as well, most notably Rod Strickland in 1985 and Cam Thomas in 2020. ?

*IMG Academy has produced all of its All-Americans selections since 2016-17 and was the first program to have three players selected in the same year, when the 2019 FAB 50 No. 1 team produced Armando Bacot Jr., Josh Green and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. IMG Academy produced three players for a single game once again in 2022 with Jaden Bradley, Jarace Walker and Keyonte George. IMG Academy produced one selection this year in Syracuse-bound Donnie Freeman. That brings IMG's total to 11 selections in the past eight seasons. ?

*The 2020 FAB 50 title team at Montverde Academy also had three selections: Mr. Basketball USA Cade Cunningham, first five Elite All-American Scottie Barnes and forward Day'Ron Sharpe. This season, Montverde Academy once again has three players selected in Mr. Basketball USA candidates Cooper Flagg (Duke) and Derik Queen (one of three undecided players) and Indiana-bound Liam McNeeley. Montverde Academy has produced the second most McDonald's All-Americans by one program after Oak Hill Academy with 17. With Georgia-bound forward Asa Newell and Baylor-bound point guard Robert Wright not selected for this year's game, it's highly unlikely more than three players from one school in the same season will ever get selected for the game. Wright, in particular, we feel is vastly underrated and rate as a national Top 10 prospect. ?

*Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) produced three selections this year and now is tied with long-time FAB 50 power DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) for third all-time with 12 selections, all in the past nine seasons. Those players are Zoom Diallo (Washington), Aiden Sherrell (Alabama) and Derrion Reid (Alabama). DeMatha's first McDonald's All-American was guard Sidney Lowe as part of the famed 1979 Class.

*In 1977, McDonald's All-American Game Founder Bob Geoghan tapped DeMatha coach Morgan Wootten?as the Selection Committee Chairman. Retired UCLA coach John Wooden was named McDonald's Game Chairman. Geoghan had Wootten coach the U.S. All-Star team in the first McDonald's Capital Classic in 1974. The Naismith Hall of Fame coach was also chosen by Sonny Vaccaro to coach in the first Dapper Dan Roundball Classic in 1965.?

*In 1978-79, DeMatha opened up as preseason No. 1 team in the country after capturing the mythical national title in 1977-78. The Stags finished 28-3 in 1978-79. Lowe's backcourt mate Dereck Whittenburg?wasn't originally selected for the 1979 McDonald's Game, but ended up playing as a late fill-in for injured Jimmy Braddock of Baylor Prep (Chattanooga, Tenn.). Whittenburg ended up making two free throws to send the game into overtime and nailed a jump shot in overtime to give the East team a lead it would not relinquish in a 106-105 victory. Whittenburg was also the hero for the D.C. metro team at the McDonald's Capital Classic against a star-studded U.S. team. He nailed a deep corner jumper with eight seconds remaining to secure the D.C. Metro Team's 86-85 victory. Lowe and Whittenburg both went to N.C. State and were almost joined by Wootten following their freshman season of college. Ultimately, he turned down the N.C. State job to stay at DeMatha. The DeMatha backcourt stars would go on to become NCAA champions under Jim Valvano. In the 1983 NCAA title game, Whittenburg let fly another long-range jumper as time was about to run out -- and it came up a bit short. Teammate Lorenzo Charles, however, slammed home the shot to give NC State a dramatic win over heavily favored Houston.? ?

*The first pair of high school teammates originally selected to the McDonald’s All-American Game were Arron Bain (Villanova) and George Lynch (North Carolina) in 1989 from Flint Hill Prep (Roanoke, Va.).?

*Since 2017, the teams that make up the EYBL Scholastic League (previously known as the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference), plus Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) and now defunct Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) account for over 29 percent (55 of a possible 192) of all the McDonald’s All-American selections. The high mark was 11 of the 24 in 2022.

Father-Son McDAAG Duos (In Order Prior):

Doc Rivers, Proviso East (Maywood, Ill.) 1980 & Austin Rivers, Winter Park (Fla.) 2011
Gary Springer, Ben Franklin (New York) 1980 & Jaden Springer, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 2020
Milt Wagner, Camden (N.J.) 1981 & Dajuan Wagner, Camden (N.J.) 2001
James Blackmon Sr., Marion (Ind.) 1983 & James Blackmon Jr., Marion (Ind.) 2014
Ricky Winslow, Yates (Houston) 1983 & Justise Winslow, St. John’s (Houston) 2014
Rick Brunson, Salem (Mass.) 1991 & Jalen Brunson, Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Ill.) 2015
Charles Bannon Sr., Artesia (Lakewood, Calif.) 1993 & Charles O’Bannon Jr., Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 2017
Lester Earl, Glen Oaks (Baton Rouge, La.) 1996 & Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 2019
Dujuan Wagner, Camden (N.J.) 2001 & D.J. Wagner, Camden (N.J.) 2023
LeBron James, St. Mary-St. Vincent (Akron, Ohio) 2003 & Bronny James, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 2023

Note: The Wagners are the first father-son-grandson combo to ever play in the game. All three of them played on nationally-ranked teams at Camden (N.J.).?

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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Capturing GEICO Nationals doesn't automatically mean the winner is the FAB 50 national champion at the end of the season, but the Eagles served notice, by virtue of their Top Flight Invite title, that they’ll likely be in the pole position when the 37th edition of the preseason FAB 50 rankings drop on October 29.

This event showed the Eagles have the talent and chemistry to win the program’s seventh FAB 50 crown in 2023-24. They also have something else: motivation. That comes from falling to Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) in the first round of GEICO Nationals last season.

"That’s our mindset, after losing last year (at GEICO) we wanted to come out here and start off with a win,” said Cooper Flagg, the nation’s top-rated senior (2024) who led five Eagles’ double-digit scorers with 20 points in the win over the Explorers. Flagg, who showed why he’s considered the nation’s best prospect throughout the three-day event, dominated the title game in various capacities on both ends of the floor, finishing with a game-high 11 rebounds, adding seven assists, four blocks and two steals. He was especially potent in the first half, hitting a variety of pull-up jumpers in situations any other high school-aged player in the nation would be hard pressed to execute, scoring 16 points of 7-of-8 shooting from the field as the Eagles built a 48-32 lead.

It’s not a given the FAB 50 title will be won by an academy-type program or one belonging to the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC). Columbus is a parochial program in Miami and showed it will be a major challenger for the 2023-24 FAB 50 crown after finishing No. 6 in last season’s final rankings. The Explorers didn’t go down without a fight and even though they won’t begin as preseason No. 1, they won’t be very far from the top.

After trailing big early in the second half, the Explorers cut their deficit to 57-47 with 11 minutes remaining in the game on a slashing lay-up by recent Michigan St. pledge Jase Richardson (11 points), a 2024 guard and transfer from Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas. The Explorers made one final push and cut the Eagles’ lead to three points. Cayden Boozer missed a contested, side step 3-pointer that would cut the Eagles’ deficit to two points when the score stood at 74-69 with under two minutes remaining. The Explorers would get no closer and had a few key missed shots and opportunities on fast breaks where they couldn’t convert that could have changed the game.

Boozer, a 6-foot-4 junior point guard, finished with 22 points, including 3-of-6 3-pointers with nine assists. His brother Cameron, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound power forward and last season’s Mr. Basketball USA as a mere 15-year old sophomore, also played a big hand in keeping the Explorers in range against the most talented lineup in high school basketball (the Eagles only played six players). Cam Boozer and Flagg had three memorable battles this summer during the grassroots season and Sunday evening before a national television audience was another epic battle. Cam Boozer dominates around the paint like no other player in the country, but he continues to improve his face up game and deep range. In this contest, he made 5-of-7 3-pointers and finished with 26 points and eight rebounds. Flagg is ultra-talented, but there is no doubt Cam Boozer could repeat as the national player of the year in 2023-24.

Liam McNeeley, who committed to Indiana during the event, finished with 16 points for the Eagles. Baylor commit Rob Wright, one of the nation’s best point guards, added 13 points and nine assists for the victors. In addition to Richardson and McNeeley, forward Pharaoh Compton of Arbor View (Las Vegas, Nev.) and guard Trent Perry of Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) also committed on live television during the event. Compton is headed to San Diego St. and Perry is headed to USC.

In the championship semifinals, The Explorers took on a Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) team that defeated Harvard-Westlake, the defending California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) open division champions, in the opening round, 81-70. It was a terrific test for Prolific Prep in terms of gauging its team against one of the true FAB 50 national championship contenders for 2023-24. It was also a contest involving the top-two ranked players in the national 2025 class. Now Cam Boozer and small forward A.J Dybansta don’t play the same position, but when Dybansta, a transfer from St. Sebastian’s (Needham, Mass.) and originally from Brockton, Mass., re-classified from the 2026 to the 2025 class a week ago and was elevated over Boozer in the mainstream recruiting network player rankings, this became a big matchup. Boozer showed why he’s not ready to give up the mantle as the top player in his class, putting forth a virtuoso performance with 29 points and 16 rebounds in the Explorers’ 83-61 win that was dominant as the score indicates.

Dybansta finished the contest with six points. Prolific Prep and Dybansta bounced back to win the third place game over AZ Compass Prep, 72-62. Dybanata and Tyran Stokes, a 6-foot-7 forward now considered the best prospect nationally in the 2026 class, both finished with 15 points for the victors.

Cam Boozer had 20 points and 16 rebounds versus Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) in the opening round to finish the three-game set with averages of 25.0 points and 13.3 rebounds per game.

As for the Eagles, they easily downed AZ Compass Prep in their semifinal contest, 85-51. McNeeley led the way offensively with 25 points and seven rebounds. In its quarterfinal opener, the Eagles downed Bishop O’Connell, 86-58, as Wright had 21 points and Flagg had 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field.

Perry averaged 20.3 ppg for Harvard-Westlake in its three games to come in second in tourney scoring behind Cam Boozer. Quincy Wadley, a talented 6-foot-4 sophomore (2026) for O’Connell, was third in scoring at 19.7 ppg, while Flagg came in fourth at 19.0 ppg.

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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Jalen Green Just Might Be The Most Productive Player In The Country

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard put fourth the most spectacular individual performance of the event, as he netted 33 points, including 10-of-10 free throws, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in Prolific Prep’s 88-71 dismantling of Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.). And the game wasn’t as close as the score indicated, as the Bruins trailed 71-45 before adding some garbage time points. It wasn’t so much Green’s scoring output, it was the fashion in which he scored and the timing of the shots, as they demoralized the opponent and showed to a national television audience who was the best player on the court. Green hit a 3-pointer at the first period buzzer and another field goal right before halftime. Green has always displayed the traits of a NBA guard, but it’s his body control and coordination that separates him from other elite high school players with similar athleticism. Green is now sprinting into his pull-up jump shot and getting tremendous lift on his jumper that gives him plenty of separation from even elite high school defenders. The added lift and on-the-move pull up has helped take his game up a notch as a senior. So is Green the best player in the country? One can make a compelling argument although the three major candidates for that title are quite different. He’s more explosive than OSU-bound Cade Cunningham of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), who came in No. 2 in the preseason Mr. Basketball USA Tracker behind USC-bound Evan Mobley of Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) by five points (95-90). Green was a distant third (44 points), but he impacts high-level games just as much as the other two. We had a chance to evaluate Mobley twice more in Phoenix and in many instances, he's reliant on teammates to get him the ball. For instance, Mobley had six points on three field goal attempts in the first half of the Eagles’ eventual 95-75 win over Rainier Beach (Seattle). Now, he did pick it up in the second half, finishing the game with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks, and he was the difference-maker in the Eagles' 77-74 win over Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) with 22 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks but the point remains: as a post player he’s often reliant on others to get the ball. That’s not the case with Green and so far the results have been spectacular, as Green is averaging over 25 ppg for 12-0 Prolific Prep.

Jalen Green went for 33 points, 4reb, 2ast vs Hillcrest Prep! Prolific Prep winning 88 - 71 at the @HoophallClassic west. @JalenRomande @ProlificPrep ? @WhosNextHS pic.twitter.com/Hr3aqu6lxx

— www.ebooksnet.com (@Ballislife) December 6, 2019

Prolific Prep Would Be Highly Ranked In The FAB 50

Based on how easily Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) dismantled a talented Hillcrest (Phoenix, Ariz.) team, the Crew (the program’s nickname) would firmly be a Top 15 team in our FAB 50 rankings with the ability to move up. It wasn’t just the performance of Green, as Prolific Prep rebounds well, plays terrific interior defense and has plenty of scoring options. Fallou Cisse, a 6-foot-7 2021, can score in a variety of ways, can defend both forward positions and can start the break off the glass. Frank Anselem, a 6-foot-10 2021, is a terrific interior rebounder who can clear space or go rebound outside of his area. While Hillcrest Prep came into the game as the No. 3 ranked team in one national poll where its eligible, the Bruins didn’t play anywhere near that level on Thursday night before a national television audience. Considering Hillcrest Prep lost by a sizeable margin in fall league ball to the Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) team that started No. 21 in the FAB 50 (and is currently unranked), the Bruins might have been in the 35-50 range of the FAB 50. Keep in mind, Prolific Prep played without two rotation players in Phoenix: starter and Rutgers-bound Mawot Mag (6-foot-7, 2020) and 6-foot-11 2022 Mouhamed Gueye, who was out with the flu. In case you’re wondering why Prolific Prep and Hillcrest Prep are not FAB 50 eligible, it’s because eligible programs must be recognized by a high school athletics governing body or be an associate member of a state association. Generally, that means independents must be allowed to play state association member programs in the state the independent program resides.

The Bronny James Experience Doesn’t Leave Fans Disappointed

Bronny James and his team at Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) had another overflow, sold-out crowd on hand as it continues to entertain curious fans around the country. Young fans filing in to Chaparral High School four hours before tip-off of the Sierra Canyon game told us “I can’t wait to see Bronny play.” Despite not being the team’s featured player or even a starter, the 6-foot-1 freshman guard gives fans their money’s worth because they just want to see him play and follow his growth as he looks to get from underneath the considerable shadow created by his famous father. James scored five points and added three rebounds in the Trailblazers’ 76-66 victory over FAB 50 No. 47 Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.). Kentucky-bound B.J. Boston led the way to victory for the No. 6 team in the FAB 50 with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals, which upped its record to 7-0. It will be fun for fans to see James’ growth over the course of his high school career, as he’s not some already peaked man-child or a kid without legitimate D1 skill. It would be interesting to see the hoopla surrounding Bronny if he was a JayVee player, or on the flip side, the consensus best player nationally in his class. Through the team’s first six games, Bronny was averaging 4.5 ppg. For some perspective on the situation, in four varsity seasons at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s (Akron, Ohio), his father scored under 10 points once: an eight-point effort versus Maple Heights (Ohio) as a freshman in 1999-2000. In his first season for the Irish, LeBron James averaged 17 points and six rebounds for a team that finished 27-0 and No. 43 in the FAB 50. He scored 25 points in the state title game. In James’ four seasons, The Irish went 102-5 on the court with three state titles and four FAB 50 rankings, including the mythical FAB 50 crown as a senior in 2002-03. James didn’t quite have the national notoriety of his son as a freshman, but by the middle of his sophomore season, after a superlative performance against No. 1 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), it was apparent James was the most talented player in the country. And no, the interest and hype surrounding this Sierra Canyon team hasn’t quite reached the level of that ’03 SV-SM national title team. Bronny, of course, has three more seasons of high school basketball to go.

Final: #FAB50 No. 6 Sierra Canyon 76, No. 47 Millenium 66

BJ Boston with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 4 asts, 2 steals; Amari Bailey 18 pts, 5 assists of the spectacular type

Daron Holmes with 20 pts, 9 rbs, 4 blks #HSBB #HoophallWest pic.twitter.com/z45HLjrxTK

— Ronnie Flores (@RonMFlores) December 8, 2019

More HoopHall West Tidbits

The three-day event was a nice platform for some breakout performances and sleepers to shine. The country’s most popular team and arguably the nation’s two best players were on display, but there definitely was other players who put their stamp on HoopHall West….Besides Jalen Green, the player that turned the most heads in the Prolific Prep-Hillcrest Prep game was Sadraque Nganga. The 6-foot-10 forward rates as one of the very best 2022 prospects in the West Region. Nganga has tons of natural talent, is a fluid athlete and can run the floor and finish well in stride. Nganga, who led the Bruins with 19 points in the loss, can handle the ball well for his size and has a solid stroke from the outside…Rainer Beach (Seattle) doesn’t have one of its vintage, FAB 50-level teams, but coach Mike Bethea has a bonafide sleeper on his roster in John Hart. The 6-foot-1 combo guard has a terrific body and could be a key national level JUCO recruit. He netted 26 points, including six 3-pointers, in the Vikings’ loss to Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.)….Even though he’s not a sleeper by any means, we have to give a shout out to Gonzaga-bound Julian Strawther of Liberty (Henderson, Nev.). The 6-foot-7 small forward set a HoopHall West single-game scoring record in a 88-74 victory over Apollo (Glendale, Ariz.), scoring 51 points on a variety of shots. He finished 19-of-29 from the field, including four 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals…Another breakout performance from an elite player came courtesy of Jaden Hardy of FAB 50 No. 40 Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) in a 95-60 win over Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.). The 2021 scoring point guard had 40 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Less than 24 hours earlier, Hardy had 27 points in a 85-62 victory over Paradise Honors (Surprise, Ariz.).

FAB 50 Update: No. 1 IMG Academy Goes Down 

The big news from other events around the country occurred at the DC Hoopfest in Maryland, as FAB 50 No. 1 IMG Academy (Brandenton, Fla.) fell to No. 4 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 67-56. Paul VI was led to victory by Trevor Keels with 25 points and Duke-bound Jeremy Roach with 16 points. Keels nailed 5-of-12 3-pointers in the game, as Paul VI nailed 10 for the game, while IMG Academy shot 1-for-9 as a team from behind the line.

The next FAB 50 update will be on Monday, December 16.

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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It's hard to deny the individual talents of 6-foot-8 small forward Josh Jackson of Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.). Despite playing for a program that didn't participate in Holiday events where the 10-man Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel congregated at such as the City of Palms Classic or Tarkanian Classic, and even though Prolific Prep won't compete for a state title, Jackson still is the leading vote-getter in the latest 2015-16 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

Through 17 games, Jackson is averaging 28.5 points, 12.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 3.4 steals, and 3.1 blocks per game against a national schedule. Jackson, who is reportedly considering Michigan State, Arizona, Maryland, Kansas and UNLV and will sign in the spring, was the only candidate among 20 to appear on all 10 ballots. Jackson collected 89 points and four first-place votes, the most of any candidate but down four from his total of eight in the preseason.

Two talented seniors who play for more traditional high school programs have made in-roads as serious challengers to Jackson for this prestigious award. Jayson Tatum, who plays for parochial program Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.), and Lonzo Ball, who has led public school Chino Hills (Calif.) to the No. 1 spot in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings, accounted for a combined five first place votes and are both within 22 overall points of Jackson after he led the voting by 35 points in the preseason.

Tatum, a 6-foot-8 wing headed to Duke University, has turned in monster individual games against a national schedule and moved up from third place to second place behind Jackson with 70 overall points. Tatum went for 27 points versus FAB 50 No. 3 Oak Hill Academy, had 40 points in a home victory over Mr. Basketball USA candidate Malik Monk and Bentonville (Ark.) and recently had a career-high 46 points in a win over Miles Bridges and his talented Huntington Prep team at the Cancer Research Classic. Tatum, who appeared on eight ballots, is currently averaging 30.3 ppg.

"Jayson Tatum has done a nice job opening this season with impressive personal performances and big teams wins for a school that doesn't normally play this type of national schedule," said panel member and NBC Sports national college basketball and recruiting analyst Scott Phillips. "His 3-pointer looks much improved since the summer and fall and he's now scoring efficiently from all three levels on the floor in many games."

Tatum garnered two first place votes, one less than Ball, who also appeared on eight ballots and garnered 67 points. Ball, a 6-foot-6 point guard known for serpentine full-court passes and court awareness rarely seen at the high school level, currently has Chino Hills 13-0 and atop the FAB 50. His production in the context of winning is clearly reflected in the ballots of the 10-man Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel. The MVP of three Holiday events, Ball went from appearing on four ballots and collecting 30 points to appearing on an additional four and finishing with 67 points.

Ball's 33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, 7 blocks and 4 steals in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic championship game win over Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) are not exaggerated (his assist total is more conservative than liberal) and the type of numbers he's put up on a consistent basis so far this season. Chino Hills defeated teams from eight different states during December.

"Lonzo Ball is the fastest rising senior and if he continues to dominate as he did at COP & MaxPreps Holiday Classic he may become the leading challenger to Tatum by February," said McDonald’s voter and The Basketball Channel Vice President of Basketball Operations Van Coleman.

"Lonzo Ball has been a force early this high school season and his Chino Hills team has the undefeated record to help prove it," Phillips added. "Although Ball's personal numbers might be a tad inflated with Chino Hills' up-tempo style of play, there is no taking away from the kinds of competition that Ball has outplayed and defeated."

The only other candidate to garner a first place vote was 7-foot junior DeAndre Ayton, last year's National Sophomore of the Year at Balboa City School (San Diego, Calif.) who is now at Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.). Jackson was awarded the same honor two seasons ago at Consortium College Prep School in Detroit.

Stay logged in to www.ebooksnet.com to track the progress of the nation's top individual players and the nation’s Top teams.

Editor's Note: Click on the "+" sign next to each player's number to view how many first, second, third or fourth place votes he got and his overall point total.

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1	1	Josh Jackson (10)	Prolific Prep (CA)	4	5	0	0	89
2	3	Jayson Tatum (8)	Chaminade (MO)	2	2	4	0	70
3	6	Lonzo Ball (8)	Chino Hills (CA)	3	1	1	2	67
4	5	DeAndre Ayton (7)	Hillcrest Academy (AZ)	1	1	0	3	51
5	2	De'Aaron Fox (6)	Cy Lakes (TX)	0	0	3	1	42
6	14	Markelle Fultz (6)	DeMatha (MD)	0	0	1	2	37
7	4	Malik Monk (5)	Bentonville (AR)	0	1	0	1	29
8	13	Bam Adebayo (3)	High Point (NC)	0	1	0	0	21
9	8	Miles Briges (3)	Huntington Prep (WV)	0	0	0	0	14
10T	NR	Charles Bassey (2)	St. John's (TX)	0	0	0	0	10
10T	11T	Mustapha Heron (2)	Sacred Heart (CT)	0	0	0	0	10
12T	NR	Carsen Edwards (2)	Atascocita (TX)	0	0	0	0	8
12T	7	Rawle Alkins (1)	Word of God (NC)	0	0	1	0	8
14	NR	Ty-Shon Alexander (1)	Oak Hill (VA)	0	0	0	1	7
15	NR	Seventh Woods (1)	Hammond (SC)	0	0	0	0	6
16T	NR	Li'Angelo Ball (1)	Chino Hills (CA)	0	0	0	0	5
16T	11T	Wendell Carter (1)	Pace Academy (GA)	0	0	0	0	5
16T	NR	T.J. Leaf (1)	Foothills Christian (CA)	0	0	0	0	4
19T	NR	M.J. Walker (1)	Jonesboro (GA)	0	0	0	0	4
19T	18	Ethan Thompson (1)	Bishop Montgomery (CA)	0	0	0	0	4

About Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel
www.ebooksnet.com's panel of 10 experts, which includes six McDonald’s All-American selection committee members, casts its vote for the top national player of the year candidates. Each panelist lists his top seven candidates regardless of class. The votes are then tabulated on a 10-point scoring system with a first-place vote equaling 10 points, a second-place vote earning nine points and down to four points for a seventh-place vote. The number in parenthesis refers to the numbers of ballots on which a player appeared and previous rankings refers to position in last season's final tracker.

The post POY Tracker: Jayson Tatum, Lonzo Ball Close Gap on Josh Jackson! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

There are plenty of factors that go into an individual award such as national player of the year: Playing for a winning team, where the team is located and whom it plays, and things such as eye-popping statistics are important -- especially when the nation's best players don't have an opportunity to play on same court too often.

When many of the best do get together under one roof to compete, however, the dynamics change. Then it's about whose skill level is the most advanced, who has the most confidence in his skill level and who has the proper mentality to rise to the occasion.

At the 2015 USA Basketball Junior National Team Minicamp in Colorado Springs, Col. in October, 6-foot-8 shooting guard/small forward Josh Jackson of Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) stood out among his peers. He was the most explosive wing-type with the ball skills to match. Jackson shot it well, displayed uncanny passing ability and a great feel for when to attack, pull back or direct teammates to an open spot. He had confidence in his arsenal and most importantly, the more intense the competition got, the more focused and better he played.

The Detroit native also displayed leadership abilities and was not afraid to jump a teammate for a missed opportunity or being out of position. It was a classic case of the cream rising to the top and a pecking order clearly being established.

Jackson's individual skill level is reflected in the preseason 2015-16 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

The tracker's voting results left no doubt as to whom the early favorite to capture Mr. Basketball USA honors for the 2015-16 season is. All 10 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel members had the Prolific Prep senior on their preseason ballot. Jackson was the only candidate to appear on every ballot. His 98 points are tied for second most in the nine-year history of the Mr. Basketball USA voting process (preseason, in-season or final tracker included). Detroit Pistons point guard Brandon Jennings, the only consensus national player of the year Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) has ever produced, tallied 98 points in the February 8, 2008 tracker.

Last season, current LSU freshman Ben Simmons of FAB 50 national champion Montverde Academy (Fla.) was a unanimous top vote-getter (earning 100 points) in every tracker published. He was the run-away Mr. Basketball USA honoree and is living up to his advanced high school billing so far in Baton Rouge.

Will Jackson approach that kind of dominance over his peers this season?

"He's the most NBA-ready player in the country," hoopscooponline.com Publisher and McDonald's All-American voter Clark Francis said of Jackson. "The No. 1 (Harry Giles) and No. 3 player (Thon Maker) in the 2016 class aren't eligible, and DeAndre Ayton had a 50-50 summer, so I think he's disproportionately lower than his talent level at this point. If you're a good player, and will be seen on the national circuit this season, it's there for the taking."

Ironically, Harry Giles was in attendance at the USA Basketball Junior National Team Minicamp with Jackson, but did not play. One has to assume last year's National Junior of the Year would have pushed Jackson throughout the season had he not torn his ACL in Oak Hill Academy's first game of the season. Maker doesn't play for an American program and Dennis Smith Jr., arguably the nation's top point guard coming into the 2015-16 season, won't play this season because of an ACL tear and will leave for N.C. State at the semester break. Those missing players have changed the dynamics of the national player of the year race.

Point guard De'Aaron Fox of Cypress Lakes (Katy, Texas), who recently announced for Kentucky, finished second to the uncommitted Jackson with 63 points while appearing on nine ballots. He garnered one first place vote, with the tenth one going to Duke-bound Jayson Tatum of FAB 50 No. 7 Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.). Tatum finished in third place with 60 points. He appeared on eight ballots and garnered three second-place votes. Ayton, last year's National Sophomore of the Year, appeared on half of the ballots, but two voters had him No. 2 behind Jackson.

"It's a bit of a strange year, with the major injuries and the players in flux, in school and out," said McDonald's voter and The Basketball Channel Vice President of Basketball Operations Van Coleman. "When we see who's playing well during the season, it will start to level out. Because it's the preseason voting, I strongly factored in what I saw through the July viewing period, but it's also a case of 'What have you done for more lately?' I think that's what you see with some of these candidates."

To begin the 2015-16 season, 18 players received recognition by the Mr. Basketball USA 10-man panel. Last year, there were 19 national player of the year candidates to begin the season.

Stay logged in to www.ebooksnet.com to track the progress of the nation's top individual players and the nation’s Top teams.

Editor's Note: Click on the "+" sign next to each player's number to view how many first, second, third or fourth place votes he got and his overall point total.

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1	NR	Josh Jackson (10)	Prolific Prep (CA)	8	2	0	0	98
2	NR	De'Aaron Fox (9)	Cy Lakes (TX)	1	1	1	2	63
3	15T	Jayson Tatum (8)	Chaminade (MO)	1	3	1	1	60
4	NR	Malik Monk (7)	Bentonville (AR)	0	0	3	2	49
5	5T	DeAndre Ayton (4)	Hillcrest Academy (AZ)	0	2	1	0	37
6	11T	Lonzo Ball (4)	Chino Hills (CA)	0	0	2	2	30
7	NR	Rawle Alkins (4)	Word of God (NC)	0	1	0	1	29
8	NR	Miles Bridges (4)	Huntington Prep (WV)	0	0	0	1	24
9T	NR	Trevon Duval (3)	API (TX)	0	0	1	0	16
9T	NR	Terrance Ferguson (3)	API (TX)	0	0	0	0	16
11T	NR	Wendell Carter (3)	Pace Academy (GA)	0	0	0	0	13
11T	NR	Mustapha Heron (2)	Sacred Heart (CT)	0	0	0	1	13
13	NR	Bam Adebayo (2)	High Point (NC)	0	0	0	0	12
14	NR	Markelle Fultz (2)	DeMatha (MD)	0	0	0	0	11
15T	NR	Mohamed Bamba (1)	Westtown (PA)	0	0	0	0	5
15T	NR	Frank Jackson (1)	Lone Peak (UT)	0	0	0	0	5
15T	NR	P.J. Washington (1)	Findlay Prep (NV)	0	0	0	0	5
18	NR	Ethan Thompson (1)	Bishop Montgomery (CA)	0	0	0	0	4

About Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel
www.ebooksnet.com's panel of 10 experts, which includes six McDonald’s All-American selection committee members, casts its vote for the top national player of the year candidates. Each panelist lists his top seven candidates regardless of class. The votes are then tabulated on a 10-point scoring system with a first-place vote equaling 10 points, a second-place vote earning nine points and down to four points for a seventh-place vote. The number in parenthesis refers to the numbers of ballots on which a player appeared and previous rankings refers to position in last season's final tracker.

The post Josh Jackson Tops 2015-16 Preseason POY Tracker! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

During the regular season, www.ebooksnet.com will publish the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker, an inside look at the nation's top on-court high school performers, according to a panel made up of 10 high school basketball and recruiting experts, including six McDonald's All-American selection committee members.

Every season the race for national player of the year is altered by an early season occurrence. For instance, early in the 2012-13 season, current Los Angeles Laker forward Julius Randle (Prestonwood Christian Academy, Plano, Texas) suffered a broken foot. There's no telling how strongly he would have challenged eventual Mr. Basketball USA honoree Andrew Wiggins, last year's NBA Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Sometimes the occurrence is injury, other times it's ineligibility or a player re-classifying up and leaving for college early (current Duke freshman Derryck Thornton Jr. and N.C. State freshman Maverick Rowan come to mind).

We can't recall a preseason like this one where the race has been so significantly altered before it really even has gotten started.

First, athletic point guard Dennis Smith Jr. of Trinity Christian (Fayetteville, N.C.) tore his ACL at the second-to-last major Grassroots event of the summer (adidas Nations). He was presumably one of the top candidates coming into the fall. Then, in the opening minutes of the opening game for preseason FAB 50 No. 1 Oak Hill Academy, its best player, forward Harry Giles, tore his ACL. One has to figure he was a favorite considering he was last year's National Junior of the Year.

Then in the past week, Marvin Bagley III, last year's National Freshman of the Year at Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), left Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.), a relatively new program with national aspirations. Even though the prep school Bagley attended was not formally recognized by the residing state athletic association (in this case the Arizona Interscholastic Association), therefore making it ineligible for the FAB 50, the sophomore power forward was still eligible for the nation's highest individual honor because he presumably was a student in good standing with three years of regular high school eligibility remaining.

For now, Bagley is not eligible for any individual honor because he's not enrolled at a school, nor is he currently playing for a varsity program. Reports have surfaced that Bagley's family is inquiring about the possibility of him returning to Corona del Sol. Then the next natural question is, does he regain his athletic eligibility?

As if that wasn't enough, last year's National Sophomore of the Year, 7-foot DeAndre Ayton, joined the Hillcrest Academy program after playing his sophomore season at Balboa City School (San Diego, Calif.). For now Ayton is eligible for Mr. Basketball USA, but you have to wonder how playing with Bagley for a few games and then seeing Bagley leave the program, and the general uncertainty surrounding the program, is going to affect his candidacy.

Stay tuned.

For now, we present some of the eligible candidates who figure to factor in the 2015-16 Mr. Basketball USA race.

The Early Favorites*

DeAndre Ayton, Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.) 7-0 Jr. C

Resume: The 2014-15 national sophomore of the year averaged 21.1 points, 16.0 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals for Balboa City School (San Diego, Calif.), a private institution that played mainly prep school and academy program competition. Ayton didn't always get the ball in prime spots, but still put up impressive numbers.

Why He Could Win: This talented center was a second five All-American by GrassrootsHoops.net last season as a mere sophomore. At the time, some respected prep evaluators felt the Bahamian native might have the best long-term potential of any player in high school basketball regardless of class, sans Ben Simmons, the 2015 Mr. Basketball USA whom some feel is already one of the nation's top college basketball players. Ayton has that much potential.

Why He Wouldn’t: It seemed Ayton was a surefire national player of the year candidate with Ben Simmons moving onto college, but over the summer he wasn't as dominant and he seemed to labor at times. He has since left Balboa for another prep school situation where the program is not recognized by the residing state athletic association, and that could hurt his chances. He was supposed to team up with super sophomore Marvin Bagley III to form one of the best 1-2 big man punches in high school we've ever seen, but Bagley is now gone and the situation seems a bit shaky and that could scare the Mr. Basketball USA panel.

Lonzo Ball, Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) 6-6 Sr. G

Resume: The Cal-Hi Sports State Junior of the Year averaged 24.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 4.5 steals and 3.5 blocked shots per game for a team that advanced to the CIF Division I state title game. He was a third five All-American with now graduated standouts Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard, Dedric Lawson and Caleb Swanigan.

Why He Could Win: One word that describes this UCLA commit is “unique.” He is a pin-point passer all 84 feet of the court and has grown to a true small forward size with uncanny rebounding ability for a true point guard. Ball is the CIF's best player (Josh Jackson's Prolific Prep team is an independent program), he's one of the state's best scorers, the best passer and could very well be the best rebounder. He's that good.

Why He Wouldn’t: Ball is one of the most polarizing elite players on social media, as some feel the style in which Chino Hills and his travel ball club play doesn't translate to the next level. Others feel he is a generational talent at the point guard position. Because of the mixed bag of opinions, Ball might be high on some lists and lower and others. Regardless, he's going to have to play his best at the City of Palms Tournament and winning a CIF state title would go a long way, too.

Josh Jackson, Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) 6-8 Sr. G

Resume: After earning National Sophomore of the Year honors two seasons ago at Consortium College Prep in Detroit, Jackson made the decision to leave the state of Michigan and attend an academy-type program based in Northern California. On a team that played a national schedule, Jackson averaged 28 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists per game. He also led his travel team, 1Nation, to the Las Vegas FAB 48 invitational title in July.

Why He Could Win: With his size, explosiveness, passing and rebounding ability, Jackson is clearly one of the elite players in the country. At the USA Basketball Mini-Camp in October, he was the best performer and showed the alpha male mentality and competitive instincts to be a long-time NBA player.

Why He Wouldn’t: Jackson wasn't eligible for end-of-the season honors as a junior because the players on Prolific Prep's team attended various high schools (which made them an after-school academy). This season, all the players attend Justin-Siena High School, so Jackson returns as a serious candidate. The Mr. Basketball USA panelists were made aware Jackson is eligible, but some might favor a candidate from a traditional high school. Other than that or the injury bug, Jackson should be in the thick of the race.

Jayson Tatum, Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 6-8 Sr. F

Resume: As a junior, Tatum averaged 26 ppg, 11 rpg and 3 apg for a 25-4 team. Tatum was named Gatorade State Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, but his team was shocked in the state semifinals.

Why He Could Win: The Chaminade Red Devils, ranked No. 7 in the preseason FAB 50, is a team that really has a chance to challenge the academy-type powers for the FAB 50 national title because of their national schedule. The Duke-bound Tatum is a household high school basketball name and will be on national TV versus No. 1 Oak Hill Academy and No. 5 DeMatha Catholic. If Tatum plays well in those games, plus at the City of Palms Tournament, it could catapult him to the top of the Mr. Basketball USA conversation.

Why He Wouldn’t: Perhaps Chaminade falters from a team perspective and that could hurt him from an individual perspective. Winning the state title would clearly help Tatum's candidacy because expectations are so high from a national perspective for his team. It's not too often Missouri has a bonafide Mr. Basketball USA candidate (only Crystal City's Bill Bradley has been honored from the state for the 1960-61 season).

Strong Cases*

Edrice Adebayo, High Point Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) 6-9 Sr. C

Resume: As a junior, Adebayo averaged 32.1 ppg and 21.0 rpg against small-school competition at Northside (Pinetown, N.C.). He was named an Underclass All-American by GrassrootsHoops.net.

Why He Could Win: This summer, Adebayo was one of the top five performers at the prestigious NBPA Top 100 Camp and showed why he's considered one of the top true post players in the country. This winter, his new high school team will play in enough big games for "Bam" to become a serious candidate. High Point opens up No. 25 in the preseason FAB 50 with "Bam" on board. His team plays in the NCISAA Class 3A ranks, which offers good competition and is good for his candidacy.

Why He Wouldn’t: Bam may not put up prolific numbers as he did last season, because he'll be facing better competition and has more talented teammates. Eye-popping numbers, especially for a big man, always help. There has only been one true post player to earn this honor in the last 25 years (Greg Oden in 2005-2006) as the game has gone away from the big man. That could hurt "Bam" because analysts and fans are more drawn to skill, rather than size, than in the past.

Rawle Alkins, Word of God Academy (Raleigh, N.C.) 6-5 Sr. F

Resume: He was arguably the best player on the summer Grassroots circuit after an impressive junior season at Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), which he led to the CHSAA Class AA title after helping the Royals win New York Federation titles as a freshman and sophomore. Alkins shared Pangos All-American Camp MOP honors with fellow Mr. Basketball USA candidate Mustapha Heron, led the New York Rens to the title of the adidas Uprising Gauntlet Finale championship and later led his team to the championship of adidas Nations.

Why He Could Win: Alkins helped Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) win big time games, but eligibility issues loomed so he decided to take his talents to North Carolina, where he leads one of the better independent schools in the country. Alkins wins in whatever setting he plays in and that combination of production and winning could put him in the national player of the year conversation.

Why He Wouldn’t: The Holy Rams have a talented roster and open up No. 37 in the FAB 50, but should they falter it could hurt Alkins' candidacy. Word of God doesn't compete for a state title, and playing an independent schedule could be a hindrance for Alkins, especially if Word of God is not selected for Dick's Nationals.

Trevon Duval, Advanced Prep International (Dallas) 6-2 Jr. G

Resume: This fast-rising point guard averaged 15.9 points per game last season in leading St. Benedict's (Newark, N.J.) to the Prep A title. He also was stellar in the Under Armour Association and in Las Vegas at the Fab 48. Duval decided to leave the Garden State for API and joins a strong nucleus of players at a brand new program.

Why He Could Win: An Underclass All-American last season at St. Benedict's, Duval has elevated his game to the point where where he's now considered the best underclass point guard in the nation and arguably the best overall 2017 prospect. API opens up No. 8 in the FAB 50 and with Duval as the catalyst, the Bulldogs like their chances to move up in the rankings. The better API does, the better Duval's chances are.

Why He Wouldn’t: Duval could lead his new team to a memorable season, or he could get outshined by another elite talent on his own team. Some Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panelists could feel junior forward Billy Preston or senior wing Terrence Ferguson is the more viable candidate on API's team. Sometimes teammates help, and sometimes they cancel each other out when it comes to individual awards.

Mustapha Heron, Sacred Heart (Waterbury, Conn.) 6-5 Sr. F

Resume: Heron led Sacred Heart to its second consecutive state title and a perfect 28-0 record. Only the second junior ever named New Haven Register State Player of the Year, Heron averaged 22 ppg and 5.3 rpg. He also had an excellent summer, earning co-MOP honors at the Pangos All-American Camp with Rawle Alkins.

Why He Could Win: You have to like the best player returning from an undefeated state championship team who is clearly one of the best players in his region. If Sacred Heart builds an unbeaten record and remains FAB 50 ranked (it opened the season No. 21), Heron could gain traction in the race over the course of the season.

Why He Wouldn’t: Position factors and regional factors. There is a lot of shooting guards/small forwards types in this year's crop of candidates and perhaps the panel might like another one just a bit more. There's been only one Mr. Basketball USA from Connecticut and that was in 1965-1966 (the great Calvin Murphy) and no panelist will see Sacred Heart during its league/conference schedule.

Malik Monk, Bentonville (Bentonville, Ark.) 6-3 Sr. G

Resume: He averaged 26.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 2.6 apg and also had a solid showing on the summer Grassroots circuit. Monk was one of only three juniors named All-American (along with Jayson Tatum and Lonzo Ball), so he definitely has an opportunity to impress the panel.

Why He Could Win: Monk led Bentonville to the Arkansas Class 7A title game, where it lost. This season, Bentonville has a lot of firepower and opened up No. 24 in the preseason FAB 50. Winning a state title and some big scoring outputs would keep Monk in the conversation with the other candidates.

Why He Wouldn’t: They will play in some big tournaments and showcase games, but if Bentonville doesn't win those games, Monk could fall on ballots even if he puts up numbers. Some of these games will be potential head-to-head matchups against other guards and sometimes too much emphasis (good or bad) can be placed on one game.

OTHER SENIOR CANDIDATES
FROM STRONG PROGRAMS

G — Bryce Aiken, The Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) 5-11
C — Udoka Azubuike, Potter’s House Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) 6-10
G — Tyus Battle, St. Joseph's (Metuchen, N.J.) 6-5
F — Braxton Key, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 6-7
F — Miles Bridges, Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.) 6-6
G — Tony Carr, Roman Catholic (Philadelphia) 6-3
G — Anthony Cowan Jr., St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 5-11
G — De'Aaron Fox, Cypress Lakes (Katy, Texas) 6-3
F — Markelle Fultz, DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) 6-5
G — Alterique Gilbert, Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) 6-0
F — Dewan Huell, Norland (Miami, Fla.) 6-9
G — Frank Jackson, Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 6-2
G — Andrew Jones, MacArthur (Irving, Texas) 6-4
F — Mario Kegler, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 6-7
F — V.J. King, Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 6-6
G — Josh Langford, Madison Academy (Madison, Ala.) 6-5
F — T.J. Leaf, Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) 6-9
G — Shamorie Ponds, Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 6-1
G — Kobi Simmons, St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.) 6-5
G — Xavier Simpson, Lima Senior (Lima, Ohio) 6-1
G — Seventh Woods, Hammond (Columbia, S.C.) 6-1

JUNIORS TO WATCH

C — Mohamed Bamba, Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) 6-10
G — Alex Barcello, Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) 6-2
F — Brian Bowen, La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) 6-6
G — Troy Brown, Centennial (Las Vegas, Nev.) 6-5
C — Zach Brown, Miami Senior (Miami, Fla.) 7-0
C — Wendell Carter Jr., Pace Academy (Atlanta) 6-10
G — Jalek Felton, Mullins (Mullins, S.C.) 6-2
G — Quade Green, Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) 5-11
G — Jaylen Nowell, Garfield (Seattle) 6-5
F — John Petty, J.O. Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) 6-6
G — Michael Porter, Father Tolton (Columbia, Mo.) 6-5
F — Billy Preston, Advanced Prep International (Dallas) 6-9
G — Paul Scruggs, Southport (Indianapolis, Ind.) 6-3
F — Cody Riley, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 6-7
C — Jeremiah Tillman, La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) 6-10
G — Gary Trent Jr., Apple Valley (Apple Valley, Minn.) 6-4
G — Jarred Vanderbilt, Victory Prep (Houston) 6-7
F — James “M.J.” Walker Jr., Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ga.) 6-5
F — P. J. Washington, Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 6-8
G — Trae Young, Norman North (Norman, Okla.) 6-2

IMPACT SOPHOMORES

F — De’Sean Allen-Eikens, Williston (Williston, N.D.) 6-5
C — Jordan Brown, Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.) 6-9
G — Marquis Brown, Simeon (Chicago) 6-0
F — Silvio De Souza, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-9
F — E.J. Montgomery, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-9
G — Cameron Reddish, Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) 6-10
F — Naz Reid, Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 6-8
G — Javonte Smart, Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 6-3
F — Robert Woodard, Columbus (Columbus, Miss.) 6-5

*Editor's note: Listed alphabetically; The Mr. Basketball USA honor is based on high school accomplishment, not future college/pro potential. www.ebooksnet.com does not knowingly select fifth-year players, and those ineligible due to age or academics, as Mr. Basketball USA or to the various All-American teams it publishes.

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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The post Josh Jackson Is The #1 Player In 2016! Elite Athlete Crazy Official Mixtape! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

The Detroit native has amazing scoring ability from anywhere or in almost any situation on the court. He plays hard on both ends & is electric after a big time dunk of block. He's a unique talent that I've never seen before in the Northern California area, it's going to be a pleasure to cover him for the rest of this season.

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