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]]>Here are some of the top stock-risers from the 2024 Cactus Classic:
Iyayi Osunde, 6’0, PG, Canyon International Academy (AZ), 2026
When you talk about players who helped themselves at the Cactus Classic, it starts and ends with Iyayi Osunde. The Canadian guard is an insanely special finisher, can get to the rack at will, and has constantly grown over the years. Running with AZ Unity, Osunde is definitely a player who will break out on the 2024 EYBL circuit.
Tarik Watson, 6’8, PF/C, Hillcrest Prep (AZ), 2024
One of the most productive bigs at the Cactus Classic, Tarik Watson brought his upstate New York style of play for Hillcrest Prep. Watson was outstanding rebounding outside of his area, can play make from the post, and imposes his will on others defensively with his physical style of play. The high academic big has been hearing most from Northwestern, Brown, and Western Carolina as of late.
Ty Virgil, 6’5, PG/SG/SF, Phh Prep National (AZ), 2024
A combo guard with size, Ty Virgil showed the ability to play all three perimeter positions at the Cactus Classic. The lefty is a terrific athlete, excels pushing the rock up the floor in a hurry, and shows potential as a 3-point shooter. A native of Sacramento, Virgil is yet another NorCal player who has slid under the radar, but owns no shortage of D1 offers.
Jaelyn Lyn, 6’4, PG/SG, Hillcrest Prep (AZ), 2024
Another unsigned senior on the list is Jaelyn Lyn, a freak athlete combo guard out of New York. Lyn utilized his athleticism on both ends, really has the ability to put points on the board in a hurry, and puts immense pressure on the rock defensively. The Queens product ran with Wiz Kids on the AAU circuit and is going to make a college happy in the late signing period.
Adrien Isaac, 6’10, C, Hillcrest Prep (AZ), 2027
One of the more talented freshman bigs on the west coast, Adrien Isaacs showed his ridiculous upside at the Cactus Classic. The lefty is an imposing shot blocker, can really pass the rock for a young big, and showed good hands making tough catches. Isaac put the full package on display with a 16-point, 7-rebound, 5-block game against Ascending Life and is certainly a name to remember.
Nate Washburn, 6’8, PF/C, Phh Prep National (AZ), 2024
A throwback big, Nate Washburn definitely showed that he could hold his own in the paint at the Cactus Classic. He made a number of tough catches/conversions in the paint, controlled his area on the glass, and even showed potential as a shooter facing the rack. The Michigan native definitely has the game that fits in perfectly for a number of conferences within the Midwest at the collegiate level.
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]]>By Ronnie Flores
The program at Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) has been ranked in the final FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com each season since 2016-17, but that streak is now in jeopardy after the Gaels fell to defending NIAA Class 5A champion Liberty (Henderson, Nev.), 78-55, last Tuesday. The Gaels are one of four teams to fall out of this week's?FAB 50 and that was cemented after Liberty traveled to California to play in the marquee game of the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and lost to No. 7 Centennial (Corona, Calif.), 90-64.
Liberty handed California No. 2 and FAB 50 No. 13 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) its only loss of the season in the title game of The Classic at Damien in November. That common opponent result should make Centennial the top team in the upcoming CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs, provided the Huskies close out the regular season undefeated in Big VIII League play.
Speaking of Mater Dei, the Monarchs' 65-57 loss to St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) means the program's state record 34-year league winning streak (according to Cal-Hi Sports) will come to an end this season. The Monarchs also won't be selected for the eight-team CIFSS open playoffs, the first time the program won't be selected since its advent in 2013-14. St. John Bosco is leading the Trinity League by two games and now has defeated Mater Dei five consecutive times at home.
Another team that fell from the FAB 50 this week that has a long streak in jeopardy is previous No. 37 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.). The Trailblazers have appeared in the final FAB 50 each season since 2014-15, but fell out after falling to bubble club Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 66-62, before 7,500 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion on Friday. Sierra Canyon will participate in the Mission League tournament this week with top-seeded Harvard-Westlake and No. 2 seed Notre Dame, the latter being the team Sierra Canyon would meet in Wednesday's semifinal provided it beats Monday's Crepsi-Chaminade winner on Tuesday. Making the task difficult will be injuries to elite 2024 guard Isaiah Elohim and 2023 McDonald's All-American Bronny James. Elohim will not play this week and the earliest James would consider playing would be if Sierra Canyon advanced to Friday's championship game.
A big result this week's was Roselle Catholic's 68-60 victory over Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), one of the teams that handed Centennial one of its three out-of-state losses at the John Wall Holiday Invitational. When the , Roselle Catholic's Simeon Wilcher, who is headed to North Carolina, was considered one of the legitimate snubs along with Oregon-bound Jackson Shelstad of FAB 50 No. 25 West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) and Notre Dame's Caleb Foster, a talented guard headed to Duke. Wilcher made a loud statement vs. Don Bosco, scoring 11 consecutive points with his team trialing 58-55 with 2:46 remaining in the game to lead the comeback win. Wilcher finished with 20 points.
The Lions defeated Bergen Catholic (Bergen N.J.), 78-67, on Friday, but the festive mood after the two big wins went sour during a game versus FAB 50 No. 12 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) on Sunday afternoon in Long Island, N.Y. In the second quarter with LuHi leading Roselle Catholic, 21-10, Roselle Catholic 6-foot-7 junior forward Tarik Watson collapsed on the court. According to national scout Andrew Slater, 911 was immediately called, the teams were escorted to their locker rooms and the crowded gym went silent.
Watson reportedly lost consciousness momentarily, but regained it and was able to raise his arm and gave the crowd a "thumbs-up" as he was removed on a stretcher. It was a scary and surreal moment, as LuHi coach John Buck led the crowd in prayer before the game was canceled
"He's doing okay," Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff told www.ebooksnet.com on Monday. "We are waiting for results of tests, but he's doing well and the doctors have had good news for us so far."
Ballisife wishes Tarik Watson a speedy recovery from the scary incident.
As far as on-the-court, Roselle Catholic is now up to No. 21, one spot in front of Don Bosco Prep. The game with LuHi is a "no contest" as far as the FAB 50 goes. Roselle's three losses are to No. 5 Duncanville (Texas), No. 11 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) and to Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), which is another club that fell out of the rankings this week after taking back-to-back losses in WCAC play, including a 70-57 setback to FAB 50 No. 1 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.). The Panthers also defeated No. 15 St. John’s (Washington, D.C.), 69-60, to remain unbeaten in WCAC play.
RELATED: ?Preseason 2022-23 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | | ??
(7th poll of 2022-23 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, Jan. 29; *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.) | 20–1 |
| 2 | 2 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 19-2 |
| 3 | 3 | Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) | 22-0 |
| 4 | 4 | John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) | 19-0 |
| 5 | 5 | Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) | 23-1 |
| 6 | 6 | Columbus (Miami, Fla.) | 19-3 |
| 7 | 7 | Centennial (Corona, Calif.) | 23-3 |
| 8 | 8 | Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) | 22-0 |
| 9 | 9 | Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas) | 22-3 |
| 10 | 10 | Camden (Camden, N.J.) | 17-2 |
| 11 | 11 | Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) | 13-5 |
| 12 | 13 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 12-2 |
| 13 | 15 | Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) | 26-1 |
| 14 | 14 | Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 16-3 |
| 15 | 12 | St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) | 18-2 |
| 16 | 16 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 14-4 |
| 17 | 17 | AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) | 16-4 |
| 18 | 18 | Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas) | 25-1 |
| 19 | 21 | Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) | 20-0 |
| 20 | 22 | Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) | 23-1 |
| 21 | 25 | Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) | 10-4 |
| 22 | 20 | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) | 18-2 |
| 23 | 23 | Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) | 22-1 |
| 24 | 24 | West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.) | 25-1 |
| 25 | 26 | West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) | 17-1 |
| 26 | 27 | DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.) | 20-4** |
| 27 | 28 | Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) | 13-0 |
| 28 | 29 | Park Center (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) | 14-0 |
| 29 | 32 | Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 14-2 |
| 30 | 33 | Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) | 24-3 |
| 31 | 34 | Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 16-1 |
| 32 | 36 | St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) | 15-0 |
| 33 | 35 | Carter (Dallas, Texas) | 23-2 |
| 34 | 42 | Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.) | 15-0 |
| 35 | 38 | Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) | 16-0 |
| 36 | 39 | Pinson Valley (Pinson, Ala.) | 23-0 |
| 37 | 46 | Carmel Christian (Matthews, N.C.) | 24-3 |
| 38 | 47 | Bullis (Potomac, Md.) | 20-1 |
| 39 | 48 | Olympia (Orlando, Fla.) | 22-1 |
| 40 | 43 | Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas) | 20-3** |
| 41 | NR | Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) | 13-1 |
| 42 | 30 | Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) | 21-2 |
| 43 | 44 | Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) | 13-6 |
| 44 | NR | Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) | 12-6 |
| 45 | 40 | Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) | 15-4 |
| 46 | 45 | Lake City (Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho) | 15-0 |
| 47 | 49 | Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, Okla.) | 16-0 |
| 48 | 50 | Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) | 23-2 |
| 49 | NR | North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) | 19-1 |
| 50 | NR | Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) | 20-2 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 19 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), No. 31 Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.), No. 37 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), No. 41 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.).
Bubble Teams:??Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) 23-1; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 16-6; Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) 13-3; Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.) 16-1; Centerville (Centerville, Ohio) 16-2; Central (Little Rock, Ark.) 20-4; Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) 12-8; Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) 16-2; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 17-0; Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) 21-0; Eagle’s Landing (McDonough, Ga.) 21-1; Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 14-2; Ellison (Killeen, Texas) 27-3; Federal Way (Federal Way, Wash.) 18-1; Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 18-3; Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 15-5; Hayfield (Alexandria, Va.) 16-1; Jackson-Reed (Washington, D.C.) 22-6; Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ark.) 20-3; Kell (Marietta, Ga.) 18-2; Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 14-0; Kenwood Academy (Chicago, Ill.) 19-5; Kimball (Kimball, Texas) 22-2; Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 13-8; MacArthur (Decatur, Ill.) 22-2; Madison Prep (Baton Rouge, La.) 24-1; Martin (Arlington, Texas) 25-3; McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 16-6; Metamora (Metamora, Ill.) 22-2; Muskegon (Muskegon, Mich.) 12-0; Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) 16-4; Newton (Covington, Ga.) 13-7; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 19-3; Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 19-8; North Farmington (Farmington Hills, Mich.) 11-1; Northern Nash (Rocky Mount, N.C.) 20-0; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 19-11; Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.) 19-1; O’Dea (Seattle, Wash.) 15-4; Olympic (Charlotte, N.C.) 19-1; Penn (Wishawaka, Ind.) 16-1; Radnor (Radnor, Pa.) 18-0; Sacred Heart Griffin (Springfield, Ill.) 22-2; Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 19-6; Staley (Kansas City, Mo.) 17-2; St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) 20-4; The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.) 23-9; UOD Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) 12-2; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 11-7; Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) 19-1; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 10-9.
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
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