{"id":123888,"date":"2016-04-08T19:51:01","date_gmt":"2016-04-09T02:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilcomprd.wpengine.com\/?p=123888"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:36:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T21:36:35","slug":"final-expanded-2015-16-fab-50-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballislife.com\/final-expanded-2015-16-fab-50-rankings\/","title":{"rendered":"Final, Expanded 2015-16 FAB 50 Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

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All 50 ranked teams written up with explanations for why they were placed in these positions with comparisons to preseason ranking. The FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com is the official rankings of the National Sports News Service, which date back to the 1952 season. Chino Hills of California is the 2015-16 mythical national champion, the first from California since 1999-00 (Dominguez of Compton) and the first unbeaten California national champ since 1979-80 (Inglewood).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Compiled by Ronnie Flores<\/em><\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> All-Time FAB 50 No. 1 Teams<\/a> | East Top 20<\/a> | Southeast Top 20<\/a> | Midwest Top 20<\/a> | Southwest Top 20<\/a> | West Top 20<\/a> |<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Preseason ranking in parenthesis; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates default wins\/losses not included.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. (11) Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) 35-0<\/strong>
\nThe Huskies were California's preseason No. 1 ranked team, but quickly vaulted into the Top 10 and eventually to national No. 1 by defeating 11 programs that were ranked at some point in the FAB 50, including No. 36 Bishop Montgomery, No. 38 Foothills Christian and No. 43 High Point Christian more than once. Chino Hills, led by California\u2019s all-time assist leader Lonzo Ball, defeated teams from nine states and won three major holiday tournaments. In the playoffs, the Huskies were even more dominant against the toughest playoff competition in California, defeating eight opponents by an average of 29 points in the CIF Southern Section and SoCal Open Division playoffs, including Bishop Montgomery 84-62. We likely would have started the Huskies in the Top 10 of the FAB 50 had it won the CIF D1 state title in 2015, when it went 24-8 on the court. Ball did improve and had a fantastic individual season, but the addition of 6-foot-9 freshman Onyeka Okongwu and junior Eli Scott cannot be overlooked.<\/p>\n

2. (1) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 45-1 <\/strong>
\nIt was another amazing season for the Warriors, who battled injuries and some close calls to capture their first Dick\u2019s Nationals title with a 62-60 overtime win over No. 4 La Lumiere in the championship game. Oak Hill has competed in the end-of-season tournament seven times since it began in 2009 and previously lost in the title game four times. Oak Hill defeated No. 16 Miller Grove and No. 33 Wasatch Academy to advance to the tile game and also defeated No. 7 DeMatha Catholic, No. 14 Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (twice), No. 15 Chaminade, and No. 41 Sierra Canyon, among others, playing one of the nation\u2019s toughest schedules. What ultimately separated top-ranked Chino Hills and the Warriors was the latter\u2019s loss to 22-Foot Academy of South Carolina (which is not eligible for the FAB 50 because of post-graduates on its roster) and the buzzer-beating victory over Sierra Canyon in the title game of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. Chino Hills defeated the same club, 105-83. For Oak Hill, that was the team\u2019s fourth game of the season and fourth without preseason Mr. Basketball USA candidate Harry Giles. His ACL injury was a tough pill to swallow for head coach Steve Smith, but it was still a fantastic season for a program that has now finished No. 1 or No. 2 in the FAB 50 era (1987-88 through current) 15 times. Smith, a Naismith Hall of a Fame candidate, now owns a career 1,026-65 won-loss record.<\/p>\n

3. (14) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) 32-0<\/strong>
\nThe Friars, under Naismith Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr., performed a bit better than forecasted in the preseason, winning another NJSIAA Tournament of Champions crown with a 55-38 win over Linden (N.J.). St. Anthony also No. 3 at 32-0 in 2011-12, the season after it won its fourth FAB 50 national crown (2011, 2008, 1996, 1989). The Friars exercised demons of sort by defeating No. 32 Roselle Catholic, 53-37, in the Non-Public Group B championship game, as St. Anthony had been knocked out of the post-season by that club three consecutive seasons. A great defensive team, St. Anthony also beat No. 34 Patrick School, 60-56, and didn\u2019t allow more than 44 points in the Non-Public Group B playoffs. With the win over Roselle Catholic, Hurley won his 28th state title.<\/p>\n

4. (10) La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) 27-4<\/strong>
\nAs Dick\u2019s Nationals showed, La Lumiere had one of the biggest and most talented teams in the country, and nearly won its first tourney crown before falling to No. 2 Oak Hill Academy in the title game, 62-60, in overtime. The Lakers, which hadn\u2019t won a game at the event before this season, defeated No. 2 Montverde Academy, 55-47, in the semifinals and No. 22 St. Benedict\u2019s, 60-59, in the quarterfinals, the latter which avenged an earlier loss. The other losses for coach Shane Heirman\u2019s club were to Dick\u2019s Nationals participant and No. 33 Wasatch Academy and No. 41 Sierra Canyon. That loss to Sierra Canyon came at the Iolani Tournament in Hawaii when that team still had Ira Lee (which it didn\u2019t when it lost to No. 1 Chino Hills.). This team cracked the Top 10 in the preseason and with Brian Bowen, who made the Dick\u2019s all-tournament team, returning along with freshman point guard Tyger Campbell, this team is an early 2016-17 preseason No. 1 contender.<\/p>\n

5. (2) Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 26-2 <\/strong>
\nThe Eagles began the season No. 2 behind Oak Hill Academy, which was a more senior-laden club, and the youth showed at times for coach Kevin Boyle. Still, when the team added Canadian freshman R.J. Barrett after the season began, it was clear Montverde Academy would be in the thick of the mythical national title race once again. One of the biggest results of the year was the Eagles\u2019 83-82 loss to No. 1 Chino Hills in the City of Palms quarterfinal, a game in which they made a huge fourth quarter comeback and could have forced overtime had Barrett made three free throws. The team\u2019s inconsistent shooting was evident in the Dick\u2019s Nationals semifinal loss to La Lumiere, but there were plenty of positives, as Montverde Academy upped its record to 14-3 at the prestigious tournament and defeated 10 FAB 50 ranked programs during the season. With Barrett and a mammoth sophomore front line of Simi Shittu, Silvio DeSousa and E.J. Montgomery returning, expect the Eagles to be in thick of the national title race once again next season.<\/p>\n

6. (BB) University of Detroit Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) 28-0<\/strong>
\nThe Cubs were just outside of the preseason FAB 50 and is a team we\u2019re kicking ourselves for not ranking a bit higher. We knew U of D Jesuit would be good, just not this good, as the Cubs won their first state title in over 100 years of program history with a 69-49 victory over North Farmington (Farmington Hills, Mich.) in the Class A title game. Point guard Cassius Winston, Michigan\u2019s Mr. Basketball bound for Michigan State, saved his best game for last, making 14-of-16 shots from the field to finish with 31 points, four rebounds, nine assists and two steals. Winston averaged 27.6 ppg over the team\u2019s final three contests, including a 72-51 semifinal win over No. 35 Dakota. It looked like U of D, which also got solid inside play from 6-foot-9 stalwarts Ike Eke and Greg Eboigbodin, would finish in the Top 5, but the results of Dick\u2019s Nationals forced us to move up La Lumiere while keeping Montverde Academy above the Cubs because of its tougher national schedule.<\/p>\n