With the high school basketball season still two months away and football dominating the headlines, we finally took the time to get caught up on e-mails and answer a few of our reader's questions.
This week we tackle player rankings, weigh in on top teams for 2009-2010 and attempt to solve the "team of the decade" argument. To have your basketball questions answered by MaxPreps, e-mail Jason Hickman at jason@maxpreps.com.
Thanks to Jammar, Adam and Brady for passing along these great questions;
Photo by Nicholas Koza
Harrison Barnes
Jammar – Coral Springs, Fla.: Is Brandon Knight (Pine Crest/Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) a lock to remain the No. 1 player in the class of 2010?
Jason Hickman: Not with Harrison Barnes in the picture. We had the opportunity to observe Barnes at close proximity for three days in August at the Nike Global Challenge. The Ames (Iowa) star is a special player and a unique personality.
Barnes erupted for 46 points and 14 rebounds in a win against the Serbian entry in the event, but it was his fire in a meaningless consolation game the next day that was really impressive. His team was blown out and as the clock wound down, the opponents continued to fire up 3-pointers.
When the final horn sounded, most players casually returned to the locker room and began to mentally unwind after a long summer on the court. Not Barnes. After what was essentially an exhibition game, he was distraught over the loss and let the other team know he wasn’t thrilled with the late-game 3-point display.
This isn’t painting Barnes as a poor sport or a whiner. Quite the opposite, the 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard is a focused, self-motivated stud with an ultra-competitive streak that will serve him well as his career progresses. He’s the total package.
Much the same could be said about Knight. The duo’s respective senior seasons will decide who ultimately comes out as the No. 1 prospect.
Adam – Highlands Ranch, Colo.: Give me your top five high school teams in the country for next season?
JH: Our preseason rankings won’t be released until mid-November, but research began before last season ended and the picture at the top is beginning to take shape as the transfer circus that took place in the offseason looks to have finally ended (knock on wood).
Let the debate begin on how to handle schools like Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) in the national rankings, but it’s difficult to imagine another team beginning in the No. 1 spot – even without European sensation Enes Kanter, who made a brief stop at the school before moving on to Mountain State Academy in West Virginia.
The Pilots capped an unbeaten campaign with a win in the inaugural ESPN Rise National High School Invitational a year ago. Top 20 prospects Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph are back from that team, and despite the loss of Avery Bradley, the talent from top to bottom will probably be better than a year ago.
There will be plenty of capable challengers to Findlay Prep’s reign, however. We don’t want to spoil what’s in store for November, so listed alphabetically, here are 10 other schools we love headed into 2009-2010; Bloomington South (Bloomington, Ind.); Holmes (Covington, Ky.); Melrose (Memphis, Tenn.); Milton (Alpharetta, Ga.); Northland (Columbus, Ohio); Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.); St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.); Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.); Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.); and Yates (Houston, Texas).
Brady – Hemet, Calif.: Who is high school basketball’s team of the decade?
JH: Great question. The easy answer is aforementioned Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, which was named national champion by one media outlet or another four times (2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007) and compiled a record of 353-19 (.948) during the decade under head coach Steve Smith.
But going beyond Oak Hill and looking at programs that measure their success with state championships, Lawrence North of Indianapolis, Ind., St. Anthony of Jersey City, N.J., Westchester of Los Angeles, Calif., and White Station of Memphis, Tenn., are all viable contenders for that crown.
Behind arguably the decade’s best duo in Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden, Lawrence North became the first team in basketball-crazy Indiana to repeat – let alone three-peat – at the 4A level since the state went to multiple classifications 1997. The Wildcats won state titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and were widely regarded as the nation’s top team in the final year of that run. Since 1911, just two schools (Franklin, Marion) in addition to Lawrence North have gone back-to-back-to-back in Indiana.
St. Anthony captured the Garden’s State’s Tournament of Champions title four times (2001, 2002, 2004, 2008) and fielded one of the decade’s most dominant teams in 2008 that earned consensus national No. 1 acclaim. Under legendary head coach Bob Hurley, the Friars were also among the nation’s top programs in the 1980s and 1990s.
Westchester was a mainstay in the national rankings throughout the last 10 years and went 4-0 in CIF Division I state championship games (2002, 2003, 2005 and 2009). The Comets also captured seven Los Angeles City Section titles – no small task considering that usually meant going through rival powerhouse Fairfax.
White Station may have the most impressive 10-year resume and built it under three different head coaches. The Spartans won 305 games and five AAA state titles in six championship game appearances. Under Terry Tippett from 2002-2004, the program went 111-6 with three state titles, finishing in the top 10 nationally by USA Today in each season.
Photo by Kevin Yen
St. Anthony's 2008 team (pictured) won the national title and was one of four Friar squads under Bob Hurley to win New Jersey's Tournament of Champions.