Video: Nick Richards highlightsPatrick School big man dominates over the weekend at the Boardwalk Showcase.MaxPreps High School Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Nathan Hale (Seattle), 11-0The Raiders will face Independent Top 10 No. 7 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) next Monday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. Nathan Hale won't meet another team outside the state of Washington after that showdown in Springfield, Mass.
2. (2) Chino Hills (Calif.), 16-0After three tournament wins in December, the Huskies – winners of 51 in a row – got a well-deserved week off after the New Year. They take the floor again Tuesday in what should be a serious test against Damien (La Verne).
3. (3) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 12-1Marvin Bagley III (24 points),
Cody Riley (15) and
Remy Martin (12) all hit double digits Saturday night as the Trailblazers hammered Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 84-52.
4. (4) Simeon (Chicago), 12-0Senior guard
Evan Gilyard continues to play big time basketball for the Wolverines, going for 32 points over the weekend in a win over formerly-ranked Cordova (Tenn.) at the ARS Rescue Rooter Penny Hardaway National Hoopfest.
5. (6) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 11-2It's tempting to move the Mustangs further up the ladder after a dramatic 75-73 win over Independent Top 10 No. 3 Montverde Academy (Fla.) at the ARS Rescue Rooter Penny Hardaway National Hoopfest. East avenged a Dec. 21 loss to the same team in the City of Palms Classic final.
Penny Hardaway (far left) is proving he is no novelty act as a high school basketball coach, knocking off Kevin Boyle and Montverde Academy over the weekend.
File photo by Jim Redman
6. (7) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 18-1Senior forward
Justice Sueing had 18 points and seven boards Friday night as the Monarchs knocked off St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 67-54. Mater Dei will be tough to beat the rest of the way in the regular season.
7. (8) McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), 12-0Weather wiped out a Friday game with North Paulding (Dallas, Ga.). The Indians are scheduled to take the floor next on Tuesday against Marietta.
8. (9) Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), 6-2The Celtics picked up a pair of impressive in-state wins last week, knocking off Linden 75-62 and previously-unbeaten Mater Dei (New Monmouth) 65-42.
9. (10) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 8-0A showdown with upstart Ranney School (Tinton Falls) fell victim to the weather but the Friars picked up a 52-48 win Sunday against an always-tough Blair Academy team featuring 6-foot-10 Miami signee Deng Gak.
10. (11) North Central (Indianapolis), 10-0Senior forward
Emmanuel Little is making a name for himself as a senior at North Central, delivering 23 points and 15 boards in a 68-57 win over Ben Davis (Indianapolis) on Friday night.
11. (13) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 12-2Head coach Steve Turner's team enhanced their resume last week with quality wins over WCAC rival St. John's (Washington, D.C.) and Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) at the Cancer Research Classic.
12. (15) Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.), 17-1Junior point guard
Ja'vonte Smart went for 40 points in the final of the Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic, leading Scotlandville past Kingwood (Texas) 66-63.
13. (16) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 11-1Senior wing
D.J. Harvey led the Stags past formerly-ranked Roselle Catholic (N.J.) on Saturday at the Cancer Research Classic with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
14. (17) Jonesboro (Ark.), 12-0The Hurricane were another High School Top 25 team impacted by weather as a Friday game with Marion was postponed. Jonesboro had a 33-point win over a 10-3 West Memphis team earlier in the week.
15. (18) Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia), 9-1A big matchup with 10-1 Math Civics & Sciences (Philadelphia) is on the slate for Thursday. The Panthers have wins over teams from five states outside of Pennsylvania.
16. (21) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 14-1The Knights appear to be hitting their stride, blowing past City Section power Westchester (Los Angeles) 71-41 on Saturday. Bishop Montgomery has won its last nine outings by 20 points or more.
17. (23) Shadow Mountain (Phoenix), 16-0After a week off, the Matadors return to the court Tuesday against Thunderbird (Phoenix).
18. (NR) Trinity (Louisville, Ky.), 15-1The Shamrocks debut in the High School Top 25 after tournament wins at King of the Bluegrass and the Arby's Classic. Trinity has won 12 in row since its only loss to Fern Creek (Louisville) back on Dec. 10 and avenged that setback a little over a week later in the King of the Bluegrass quarterfinals.
19. (NR) Evanston (Ill.), 14-2Both losses have come against heavyweights. The Wildkits took one on the chin at the Chicago Elite Classic to aforementioned Montverde Academy and fell in the Beach Ball Classic championship game at the buzzer to No. 15 Imhotep Charter.
20. (NR) Basha (Chandler, Ariz.), 19-0Watch out for the Bears, who are balanced and experienced with five seniors and two juniors in the rotation. Basha has wins over teams from California, Oregon and Utah behind two-sport star
Terrell Brown and Army pledge
Gabe McGlothan.
21. (NR) Klein Forest (Houston), 18-0Winners of 31 of their last 32 regular season games going back to December of 2015, the Eagles are the lone unbeaten remaining in the two largest classifications (6A and 5A) in Texas.
22. (24) East English Village Prep (Detroit), 5-0After a two-week layoff, EEVP will take the floor again Tuesday against Edison (Detroit).
23. (NR) Jackson (Massillon, Ohio), 7-0Fellow Buckeye State schools Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) and Pickerington Central (Pickerington) arguably have glossier resumes but we'll defer to resident expert Kurt Stubbs of JJHuddle, who has the Polar Bears pegged as Ohio's best.
24. (5) Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), 21-2The Bengals hang on by a thread after an upset loss to Charlotte Christian last week – their only setback to a High School Top 25-eligible team this season. Big games with Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) and No. 25 Wesleyan Christian Academy are on the schedule in the next two weeks.
25. (25) Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), 18-2Head coach Keith Gatlin's squad is in the same boat as league rival and No. 24 Greensboro Day. The Trojans split over the weekend at Mustang Madness in Kentucky, beating Conrad Academy (Orlando, Fla.) and losing to unbeaten Prolific Prep Academy (Napa, Calif.). Neither of Wesleyan's weekend opponents are High School Top 25 eligible.
Dropped out: No. 12
Westerville South (Westerville, Ohio), No. 14
Skyline (Dallas), No. 19
Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore), No. 20
Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.), No. 22
Greenforest (Decatur, Ga.)