Top 25 high school basketball rankings

After winning its second-straight Class A state title in Michigan over the weekend, Kalamazoo Central landed a spot in this week's Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard.

The Maroon Giants are 77-6 in three years under head coach Michael Thomas and finished No. 20 in last season's Xcellent 25. Just a week away from crowning a national champion, a new arrival in the rankings hardly seems to qualify as the lead in this week's release, however.

But a bold decision by Thomas and subsequent result in Saturday's state championship game against Southeastern (Detroit) illustrated that not only do good guys not always finish last, they sometimes finish in the national top 25.

As detailed by Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press, Thomas suspended a starter and two key reserves prior to the game with Southeastern following a curfew violation. But shorthanded Central knocked off its Detroit foe featuring Michigan State-bound Brandan Kearney and Dayton signee Percy Gibson for the second time this season.

"It's a situation we try to run our program like a college program, and when guys make mistakes they're going to have to get disciplined," Thomas told McCabe. "The guys responded to it. They were hurt."



T.J. Buchanan, a 6-foot-3 senior headed to Rhode Island, led the Maroon Giants with 15 points.

Other nationally-ranked teams joining Kalamazoo Central as state champions over the weekend included Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.), Chester (Pa.), Bloomington South (Bloomington, Ind.) and La Salle (Cincinnati, Ohio).

Read on for a complete rundown of this week's rankings.

Xcellent 25 High School Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (No. 1 last week) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (33-0)
Season complete. Tournament of Champions winner.
Signature win: No. 4 St. Patrick

2. (2) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (39-1)
Season complete. Class 5A state champions.
Signature win: No. 16 Lakeview Centennial



3. (3) Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.) (30-1)
Season complete. Group AAA state champions.
Signature win: No. 18 Findlay Prep

4. (4) St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) (27-1)
Season complete.
Signature win: No. 14 Milton

5. (5) Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) (22-1)
National High School Invitational participant.
Signature wins: No. 11 Oak Hill Academy, No. 17 Arlington Country Day, No. 18 Findlay Prep

6. (6) Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) (32-1)
Class 5A state champions. National High School Invitational participant.
Signature win: No. 23 La Salle

7. (7) Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) (32-1)
Season complete. Class AAAA state champions.
Signature win: No. 14 Milton

8. (8) Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) (30-2)
Season complete. Class 4A state champions.
Signature win: Dunbar (Dayton, Ohio)



9. (9) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) (32-3)
Season complete. Division I state champions.
Signature win: No. 13 Long Beach Poly

10. (10) Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) (25-0)
Season complete. Class 4A state champions.
Signature win: Nixa (Mo.)

11. (11) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (27-3)
National High School Invitational participant.
Signature win: No. 17 Arlington Country Day

12. (12) Linn-Mar (Marion, Iowa) (26-0)
Season complete. Class 4A state champions.
Signature win: Madison Memorial (Madison, Wis.)

13. (13) Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) (31-2)
Season complete. Southern Section Division I-AA champion.
Signature win: No. 24 Lincoln

14. (14) Milton (Ga.) (29-3)
Season complete.
Signature win: No. 11 Oak Hill Academy



15. (15) Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) (31-1)
Season complete. Class AAAA state champions.
Signature win: Riverside University (Milwaukee, Wis.)

16. (16) Lakeview Centennial (Garland, Texas) (37-2)
Season complete. Class 5A runner-up.
Signature win: No. 20 Kimball

17. (17) Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.) (21-2)
Season complete.
Signature win: United Faith Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.)

18. (18) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) (28-3)
National High School Invitational participant.
Signature win: Yates (Houston, Texas)

19. (20) Chester (Pa.) (31-1)
Season complete. Class AAAA state champions.
Signature win: Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.)

20. (21) Bloomington South (Bloomington, Ind.) (25-2)
Season complete. Class 4A state champions.
Signature win: North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.)



21. (19) Kimball (Dallas, Texas) (38-3)
Season complete. Class 4A state champions.
Signature wins: Lincoln (Dallas, Texas), twice

22. (NR) McCluer North (Florissant, Mo.) (29-4)
Season complete. Class 5 state champions.
Signature win: Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.)

23. (NR) La Salle (Cincinnati, Ohio) (26-2)
Season complete. Division I state champions.
Signature win: Northland (Columbus, Ohio)

24. (25) Lincoln (San Diego, Calif.) (31-2)
Season complete. San Diego Section Division II champions.
Signature win: Centennial (Corona, Calif.)

25. (NR) Kalamazoo Central (Kalamazoo, Mich.) (25-3)
Season complete. Class A state champions.
Signature win: Southeastern, twice