In the fifth episode of our all-new In The Paint Show," hosts Ronnie Flores and Devin Ugland?discuss the recent holiday tournaments around the country and how the results affected the FAB 50 National Rankings. Our guys break down The Classic at Damien in Southern California, Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, The City of Palms Classic in Florida, the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina, and Iolani Tournament in Hawaii.

Flores and Ugland also discuss how many state associations are barring their member programs from playing independent FAB 50 powers and talk individual standouts from each tournament, including unsigned senior guard and Beach Ball Classic MVP Jordan Brinson of Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.).

The guys also bring on a special guest: Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) head coach Steve Baik to talk the UCLA coaching situation, The Classic at Damien and the impending Los Angeles Unified School District strike, which could mean no games for Westchester, Fairfax and all L.A. City Section programs as early as the week of January 7.

To learn more about our hosts, Ronnie Flores and Devin Ugland, and to get more information about what "In The Paint" is all about, check out our intro below!

Subscribe to our new Podcast on iTunes here

The post Talking Holiday Hoops: "In The Paint" Podcast 5th Episode! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Chino Hills of California captures the FAB 50 national crown presented by www.ebooksnet.com by winning 35 games without a loss and defeating 11 programs who were ranked in the FAB 50 this season en route to the CIF Open Division state title to edge Oak Hill Academy of Virginia. Oak Hill Academy, which does not compete for a state title, closed out its season by winning the Dick’s Nationals tournament in New York. Read on for an explanation of Chino Hills-Oak Hill Academy decision and check back at the end of the week for expanded FAB 50 rankings with write-ups for all 50 teams.

By Ronnie Flores

RELATED: All-Time FAB 50 No. 1 Ranked Teams | East Top 20 | West Top 20 | Southwest Top 20 | Southeast Top 20 | Midwest Top 20

Entering the Dick’s Sporting Goods National High School Tournament in New York, two teams had a realistic chance to finish No. 1 in the final 2015-16 FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com and capture the mythical national title for boys high school basketball: FAB 50 No. 1 Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) and No. 3 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.).

Chino Hills defeated No. 2 and three-time defending FAB 50 national champion Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 83-82 in the quarterfinals of the City of Palms Tournament in Ft. Myers, Fla., so the head-to-head factor eliminated the Eagles from the race. California Interscholastic Federation member schools are not allowed to compete at Dick's Nationals.

In New York, top-seeded Montverde Academy fell to FAB 50 No. 9 La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) 55-47 in the semifinals to set up a Saturday championship showdown at Madison Square Garden with Oak Hill Academy, which advanced to the title game via victories over FAB 50 No. 28 Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) in the semifinals (47-46) and No. 25 Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah) in the quarterfinals (81-64). Since the event began at the conclusion of the 2009 season, Oak Hill Academy has been snakebite at the event, losing in the final four times, including the past two seasons to Montverde Academy.

It looked like Oak Hill Academy was going to cruise to its first-ever Dick's Nationals title, as the Warriors led by 18 points midway through the third period. Oak Hill, however, allowed La Lumiere to crawl back in the game despite the Lakers losing 6-foot-11 junior forward Jeremiah Tilmon to a dislocated shoulder early in the contest. The Lakers took a 52-50 lead in regulation before Braxton Key of Oak Hill was able to tie the game on two made free throws with 6.6 seconds remaining. La Lumiere, which defeated No. 7 St. Benedict's (Newark, N.J.) 60-59 in the quarterfinals to avenge an earlier loss to the Gray Bees, didn't get the field goal look it wanted from leading scorer Brian "Tugs" Bowen in the closing seconds.

In overtime, La Lumiere led by as many as three points with possession, but Oak Hill tied the game on a conventional 3-point play by Lindell Wigginton with 35.2 seconds remaining. After that sequence, there was a five-second differential between the 30-second shot clock and the game clock, and La Lumiere's field goal attempt allowed Oak Hill's Matt Coleman to race up the court for the potential game-winning 3-point field goal. His shot was off, but Virginia Tech-bound big man Khadim Sy tipped in the carom at the buzzer to give the Warriors the tourney title and a 45-1 final record.

Key, bound for Alabama, finished with 20 points and was named Dick's Nationals Most Valuable Player, while Wigginton, a junior, earned all-tourney honors after finishing with 16 points. Coleman, also a junior, added eight points, seven assists and two steals. Bowen (20 points) earned all-tourney honors for a La Lumiere team that will return six rotation players in 2016-17.

Why Chino Hills?

With Oak Hill Academy getting the win and finishing its season 45-1, its resume had to be weighted against that of Chino Hills, which did not taste defeat in 35 outings. Oak Hill Academy defeated 13 programs that were ranked in the FAB 50 at some point during the season, including three teams in New York.

Chino Hills defeated 11 programs that were ranked at some point and actually beat three of those teams -- No. 36 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), No. 38 Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.), No. 43 High Point Christian (High Point, N.C.) -- more than once. In its much anticipated first meeting with Bishop Montgomery  (ranked No. 7 at the time), the Knights actually had a late lead on the Huskies before allowing it to slip away, as Chino Hills recorded a 71-67 win. In the rematch in the SoCal Open Division regional finals, Chino Hills dominated even more than the 84-62 score indicates, as the Huskies won their eight playoff games against the toughest competition in the nation's largest and most populous state by an average of 29 points.

Oak Hill's lone loss came against 22-foot Academy (Greenville, S.C.) in November. Because that program includes post-graduates on its roster, the result of that 70-67 loss had to be scrutinized even deeper. Oak Hill and other academy-type programs built for national schedules regularly play and defeat teams with players who have exhausted their regular high school eligibility. There are advantages for academy-type programs over traditional high schools and having to defeat post-grad teams is one of the challenges it deals with.

We had a chance to evaluate 22-foot Academy (Greenville, S.C.) at the Tarkanian Classic in December and while talented, it's not a team a program gunning for a mythical national crown can ill-afford to lose to when compared against a unbeaten team with multiple wins over other FAB 50-ranked teams from a traditional power state (in this case California). 22-foot Academy lost to unranked programs Evelyn Mack Academy (Charlotte, N.C.) and Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.) and to regionally-ranked Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) and Victory Rock Prep (Sarasota, Fla.).

We also took a look at the common opponent factor between Chino Hills and Oak Hill Academy. No. 41 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), playing without junior Ira Lee, led Oak Hill the entire game before losing on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, 49-48, in the championship game of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. Chino Hills defeated that same team sans Lee, 105-83, in the CIFSS Open Division title game. Oak Hill defeated regionally-ranked Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 74-55, at the Hoophall Classic, while the Huskies defeated the Monarchs by 48 (102-54) in the CIFSS Open Division semifinals. Oak Hill's 74-50 victory over Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ga.) also didn't provide any further compelling evidence to make the rankings switch, as coach Steve Baik's club defeated M.J. Walker and company, 124-93, at the Maxpreps Holiday Classic.

Oak Hill led La Lumiere by 18 points in the third quarter and, ironically, also led 22-foot Academy by the same margin before losing. Oak Hill was able to pull out the win over La Lumiere to make its argument in the race for No. 1 compelling, but not enough to knock Chino Hills from the rankings position it held since the turn of the calendar year.

The Harry Giles Factor

While Chino Hills, which started the season No. 11 in the FAB 50, seemed to have plenty of rankings factors go its way during the course of the season, Oak Hill dealt with adversity most of the season. Harry Giles, the Duke bound recruit who likely would have challenged Chino Hills' Lonzo Ball and Josh Jackson of Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) for Mr. Basketball USA honors, was lost for the season early in Oak Hill's first game. Considering Oak Hill went 45-1 without him, it was a remarkable season for the preseason No. 1 ranked team. Oak Hill also played plenty of games without Penn State-bound forward Joe Hampton, whereas Chino Hills basically played five players and didn't run into significant injuries or fouls outs during key games.

We'll never know for sure, but if Giles was in the lineup, Oak Hill might have finished 46-0 and been favorably compared to its best teams ever -- the 1992-93 edition led by Jerry Stackhouse that finished 36-0 and the 2003-04 team led by Josh Smith and Rajon Rondo that finished 38-0. Oak Hill also won FAB 50 national titles in 1994, 1999, 2001, 2007 and 2012.

One coach whose team participated at Dick's Nationals said Chino Hills should be No. 1 -- and said that before the conclusion of the event. It was a remarkable season for California's first FAB 50 No. 1 club since Dominguez (Compton, Calif.) in 1999-00. Chino Hills averaged 98.5 points per game and dominated California’s top teams behind the play of the UCLA-bound Ball, California's all-time assist king who is scheduled to play in the 6th Annual Ballislife All-American Game April 30. The 35 victories ties the state record for most wins in a season by an unbeaten club, according to Cal-Hi Sports. That was first accomplished in 2013-14 when Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) went 35-0 and finished No. 2 in the FAB 50 behind one-loss Montverde Academy. Chino Hills' victory over the three-time defending champions was a key turning point in the Huskies believing a national crown was a real possibility.

"The biggest thing is the guys have been so hungry," Baik said. "They kicked it up a notch after we beat Montverde Academy. After we won that tournament (City of Palms), it was like, 'Whoa, we have something here.' Credit to the guys, they kicked it up a notch defensively during the playoffs."

RELATED: All-Time FAB 50 No. 1 Ranked Teams | East Top 20 | West Top 20 | Southwest Top 20 | Southeast Top 20 | Midwest Top 20

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

(Sixteenth and final poll of the 2015-16 regular season; Through games played on Saturday, April 2; Previous ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; Final 2015-16 Region-by-Region Top 20 Rankings will be published Tuesday, April 5.)

Dropped Out: None.

Final 2015-16 Region-by-Region Top 20 Rankings will be published Tuesday, April 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 16 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 FINAL FAB 50: Chino Hills Crowned National Champs! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

By Ronnie Flores

When 6-foot-6 freshman R.J. Barrett of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) was fouled by Lonzo Ball of Chino Hills (Calif.) in the closing seconds of a quarterfinal game at the City of Palms Tournament in Ft. Myers, Fla., it looked like it would send a frantic game into overtime. The talented freshman ended up missing the final of three tries, as the Huskies held on for a 83-82 victory.

That result propelled coach Steve Baik's club to victories over FAB 50 ranked High Point Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), in a 94-82 game that wasn't as close as the score indicates, and a gut check 66-60 overtime win over Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) to capture the COP title.

This came on the heels of RUN GMZ winning The Battlezone in Corona, Calif. over previously FAB 50 ranked Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.), 106-86, in the title game. After Christmas, Chino Hills bested the field at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Bubble clubs Jonesboro (Ga.) and Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) actually played and shot the ball well, but were unable to keep pace with a team that has hit the century mark six times so far this season. In all, the preseason Cal-Hi Sports top-ranked team in California has defeated teams from eight states and still have some land mines coming up.

The three tournament titles didn't automatically jump Chino Hills over eight other elite clubs, as results dictated the Huskies begin the New Year as America's top-ranked club. The win over Montverde Academy was huge, as it's hard to envision the Ball brothers and company going to No. 1 without facing that team in the COP. After all, the Eagles are the three-time defending FAB 50 champs and an incredible seven of their 15 wins so far have come against currently FAB 50-ranked clubs, so they check in at No. 2.

The head-to-head criteria is the most important rankings factor in this scenario. In a similar situation in 2013-14 involving a one-loss Montverde Academy team and an unbeaten CIF Southern Section power (in that case Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif.), unfortunately the head-to-head never came into play.

We also seriously considered No. 3 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) for the top spot and longtime Washington Catholic Athletic Conference power DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) played heavily into what we ultimately decided to do with the top of this week's rankings. Oak Hill lost, 70-67, to 22-Foot Academy of South Carolina in its fourth game of the season. Now, we are fully aware that program carries post-graduates and that made the decision tougher. However, we had a chance to evaluate 22-Foot Academy at the Tarkanian Classic and it isn't a team the current top-ranked team can afford to lose to, as 22-Foot has multiple losses of its resume so far.

Mike Jones' club at DeMatha defeated No. 9 Garfield (Seattle, Wash.), 74-64, in the semifinals of the Les Schwab Invitational in Portland, Ore. on Dec. 29 and faced Oak Hill Academy the next day. Had the Stags won that game, they would have went into their Jan. 2 game at the Cancer Research Classic in Wheeling, W. Va. versus Montverde Academy playing for the No. 1 FAB 50 spot. DeMatha lost to Oak Hill 82-66, and fell to the Eagles three days later, 74-41, after that rankings scenario had already taken care of itself.

We applaud Jones for taking on the schedule his program has and despite the two losses, DeMatha stays put at No. 5 because it would be really difficult for any high school program in the country to beat those two teams in back-to-back games. Not to mention DeMatha has upcoming WCAC games with No. 8 St. John’s (Washington, D.C.), No. 21 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) and No. 33 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), the latter one of nine newcomers this week.

As for Chino Hills, the Huskies have rematches with bubble club Foothills Christian and High Point Christian in the next two weeks, not to mention a California No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with No. 15 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) at the James Sampson Fairfax State Preview on Jan. 30.

Of course everyone knows about the Lonzo Ball-LiAngelo Ball-LaMelo Ball trio for the Huskies, but Baik had plenty of complimentary things to say about the contributions of junior Eli Scott and freshman Onyeka Okongwu after the Maxpreps event (see highlights above and below). Scott gives them a dimension of athleticism on the wing the Huskies lacked last season and Okongwu has been a first-rare rim protector against national level competition.

(Full Raw Footage Highlights Of Chino Hill at Maxpreps Holiday Classic)

Also potentially looming in the CIFSS Open Division playoffs is No. 18 and one-loss Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), which put its season opening loss to Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.) behind it by winning the Iolani Prep Classic championship over No. 19 La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) before Christmas. Sierra Canyon had its boat rocked a bit over the last three days, as last year's National Freshman of the Year, 6-foot-10 Marvin Bagley III, has enrolled at the school.

The eligibility of Bagley, one of the nation's best players regardless of class, has yet to be determined by the CIF, but he arrival has already created repercussions. Highly-regarded junior forward Ira Lee checked out of the program Monday. A starter and one of the better juniors in California, there is no guarantee Bagley will replace him in the starting lineup pending his eligibility.

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

(Third poll of the 2015-16 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, January 3; Previous ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included)

Dropped Out: Previous No. 19 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 22 Bentonville (Bentonville, Ark.), No. 23 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), No. 28 Althoff Catholic (Belleville, Ill.), No. 29 Mustang (Mustang, Okla.), No. 32 Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.) 8-3, No. 41 Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.), No. 47 Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), No. 48 Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.).

Bubble Teams: Advanced Prep International (Dallas, Texas) 15-7; American Fork (American Fork, Utah) 10-1; Beecher (Flint, Mich.) 4-1; Bentonville (Bentonville, Ark.) 7-3; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 9-4; Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 7-2; Brandeis (San Antonio, Texas) 19-0; Brentwood (Brentwood, N.Y.) 5-0; Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 10-4; Copper Hills (West Jordan, Utah) 9-0; Crespi (Encino, Calif.) 14-1; De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 9-1; Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 7-0; Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio) 9-0; Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) 12-1; Fenwick (Fenwick, Ill.) 11-1; Folsom (Folsom, Calif.) 11-2; Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) 8-2; Fort Bend Elkins (Missouri City, Texas) 18-1; H.D. Woodson (Washington, D.C.) 15-0; J.O. Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) 15-3; Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ga.) 10-3; Lancaster (Lancaster, Texas) 16-2; Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 7-2; Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 13-2; Memorial (Tulsa, Okla.) 10-0; Meridian (Meridian, Miss.) 16-2; Merrillville (Merrillville, Ind.) 10-0; Mesa (Mesa, Ariz.) 10-2; Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) 12-2; Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.) 10-1; Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) 9-1; Mustang (Mustang, Okla.) 5-2; National Christian Academy (Ft. Washington, Md.) 10-1; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 12-2; Norman North (Norman, Okla.) 5-2; Omaha South (Omaha, Neb.) 9-0; Park School of Buffalo (Snyder, N.Y.) 7-0; Quality Education Academy (Winston Salem, N.C.) 11-2; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 11-3; Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Col.) 7-0; Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 4-2; Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 15-1; Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.) 10-4; Shenendehowa (Clifton Park, N.Y.) 10-0; Steele (Cibolo, Texas) 18-1; Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 8-2; Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 10-6; Victory Rock Prep (Sarasota, Fla.) 12-1; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 12-2; Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) 9-0; Westfield (Chantilly, Va.) 7-2; Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) 11-3; Wichita East (Wichita, Kan.), 5-0.

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 16 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 New FAB 50: Why Chino Hills is No. 1 (Raw HLs!) appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.