Stanley Johnson is the ringleader for No. 1 Mater Dei, but junior transfer Rex Pflueger (pictured) is beginning to find his groove with the Monarchs as well. Pflueger poured in 30 points Monday in a win at the Spalding Hoophall Classic over Neumann-Goretti.
File photo by Nick Koza
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 2 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 19-0Following a 79-67 win over Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) on Monday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., the Monarchs are in familiar territory: The top. A showdown in two weeks with No. 19 Whitney Young – a winner at Hoophall over then-No. 3 Oak Hill Academy – just got a lot bigger.
2. (5) Rainier Beach (Seattle), 15-0There will be readers and fans in an uproar that this spot didn't go to No. 3 Curie. But Rainier Beach and Curie have a common opponent and the results lean heavily in the Seattle school's favor. Curie beat Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 66-62 at the Chicago Elite Classic back on Dec. 7. Twenty-three days later the Vikings also faced Gorman and ran away with a 95-67 victory in the championship game of the Les Schwab Invitational. Beach received so-so reviews in a 65-60 win over Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) at the Hoophall Classic, but the Knights came in red hot with recent wins over two nationally ranked WCAC rivals.
3. (8) Curie (Chicago), 16-1The Condors shocked the world Monday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, taking down then-No. 1 Montverde Academy 73-69. Senior power forward
Cliff Alexander may have established himself as the frontrunner for National Player of the Year honors by taking over the game late and finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Curie is unbeaten this season with Alexander in the lineup.
4. (1) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 18-1After winning the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in impressive fashion, the Eagles may have run out of gas late in the fourth quarter against Curie. Montverde Academy's setback on Monday marks the second year in a row it has lost on "Big Monday" at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. The good news is the Eagles bounced back a year ago to win the National High School Invitational and the now-defunct Academy Top 10 national title.
5. (4) White Station (Memphis, Tenn.), 16-1The Spartans went toe-to-toe with then-No. 1 Montverde Academy for 24 minutes in the final of the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo., before falling 73-60. White Station dispatched No. 8 Paul VI impressively in the semifinals of the event.
