Xcellent 25 high school boys basketball rankings

The biggest statement of the weekend was delivered by head coach Mike Jones and his DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) Stags.

The storied Washington Catholic Athletic Conference program blasted DaJuan Coleman and four-time defending New York Class A state champs Jamesville-DeWitt 83-57 at the National High School Hoops Festival on Saturday. The victory erased some of the skepticism left over from last season when the Stags lost nine games after the New Year and were dominated in a pair of games against nationally-ranked opponents.

DeMatha ran off an 18-0 run in the first half to put away the Red Rams, who were ranked nationally themselves by several media outlets. Unheralded senior Kameron Taylor led the way with 17 points. Fellow guards James Robinson and Marcellous Bell combined for 27 more.

"When we run, I feel no team can stay with us because we have such good guard play," DeMatha big man BeeJay Anya told MaxPreps correspondent Jason Butt following the win.

Looking ahead to later this week, the State Farm City of Palms Classic will be the center of the high school basketball world as five teams in this week's Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard will head to Fort Myers, Fla., for the event. MaxPreps will publish an in-depth preview of the Classic on Wednesday.



Read on for a complete look at this week's rankings.

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

1. (No. 1 last week) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (13-1)
Marcus captured its second tournament title of the season, beating Coppell 60-36 in the final of the Marauder/Jaguar Classic. The Marauders shutout Western Hills (Fort Worth) 36-0 in the first half of an opening-round contest. Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) – No. 3 in last week's Academy Top 10 – comes to town Thursday for a major showdown.

2. (2) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) (5-0)
After a 71-56 win over Palm Desert on Saturday, the Monarchs will head to the City of Palms Classic with a perfect record for the second-straight season. Mater Dei opens play in Fort Myers late Saturday night against the Bishop Verot-Lake Wales winner.

3. (3) Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) (5-0)
Wolverine head coach Sharman White has a daunting week lined up for his program. Prior to heading to the City of Palms Classic, Miller Grove will meet Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) in an ESPN-televised affair Thursday. Like Mater Dei, the three-time defending Class AAAA state champions open play late Saturday in Fort Myers, getting a first-round bye and a date with the winner of Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone, N.J.) and Riverside Academy (Reserve, La.).

4. (4) Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) (3-0)
The Wolverines were pushed all the way to the final buzzer Friday night against Farragut (Chicago), getting a game-high 17 points from star junior Jabari Parker in a 50-43 win. Simeon will have its hands full Saturday against Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.).



5. (5) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) (1-0)
The Gaels finally made their debut Friday night and impressed with a 93-53 thrashing of Durango (Las Vegas). Top-ranked senior prospect Shabazz Muhammad led the way with 30 points. Gorman will have one final tune-up Wednesday against Desert Oasis (Las Vegas) before heading to the City of Palms Classic. A tough and proud South Florida program in Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach) is the first-round opponent.

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6. (6) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (0-0)
Opens season Dec. 16 vs. Fisher Charter (Trenton).

7. (7) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (3-0)
The Stags have a couple of games against Washington Catholic Athletic Conference opponents before heading to California for a tournament after Christmas.

8. (8) Grace Prep (Arlington, Texas) (7-1)
Like No. 1 Marcus last week, a loss to one of the nation's premier academy programs isn't enough to drop Grace Prep. The Lions led aforementioned Oak Hill Academy at the half before losing 68-59 at the National High School Hoops Festival over the weekend. Prior to heading to the City of Palms Classic, head coach Ray Forsett's squad will tangle with Prestonwood Christian (Plano), who is unbeaten and strangely enough also headed to Fort Myers.

9. (9) Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) (6-0)
The Eagles downed Woodward Academy (College Park) 53-28 last week and face Druid Hills (Atlanta) Tuesday in their final primer for the prestigious Chick-fil-A Classic in Columbia, S.C. Columbia opens that event Dec. 20 against West Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.).

10. (11) Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.) (8-0)
All eight of Loyola's victories have come in tournament play. The Cubs notched another tournament title Saturday in Santa Monica by topping league foe Alemany (Mission Hills) 82-69. Super sophomore Parker Jackson-Cartwright posted 20 points and six assists in the championship game victory.

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11. (12) Westbury Christian (Houston, Texas) (8-0)
The Wildcats have slipped under the radar a bit since posting a couple of big wins in November. That will change this week as Westbury Christian heads to the Iolani Classic in Hawaii, where a field including Montrose Christian, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), Lincoln (San Diego, Calif.) and Orlando Christian Prep (Orlando, Fla.) awaits.

12. (13) Chester (Chester, Pa.) (2-0)
After beating Coatesville 79-66 in their opener, the Clippers pounded City of Palms Classic-bound Constitution (Philadelphia) 70-46 on Saturday. Darius Robinson led four Chester players in double figures with 17 points.



13. (16) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) (5-0)
The Eagles make a bit of a jump this week after winning their own Gonzaga D.C. Classic, beating No. 17 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) in the final 56-52 behind 20 points from burly junior forward Kris Jenkins. Gonzaga reached the final with wins over Central Catholic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Sagemont (Weston, Fla.).

14. (10) Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) (3-0)
Although the Falcons got a serious test from Kapaun Mt. Carmel (Wichita) last week before winning in overtime, the nation's longest winning streak was extended to 47 games. Heights get a rare out-of-state test Saturday at the Hy-Vee Shootout against Raytown South (Raytown, Mo.).

15. (15) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) (3-0)
Junior phenom Aaron Gordon pumped in 33 points to help Mitty pass a tough test with a 74-61 win over Sheldon (Sacramento). The Monarchs' big hurdle this month will come at The Holiday Classic in Torrey Pines after Christmas.

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16. (18) Taft (Cincinnati, Ohio) (3-0)
The Senators kept rolling toward a Saturday showdown at the City of Palms against No. 8 Grace Prep by coasting past Hughes Center 106-69. Taft is averaging 91.6 points per game through three contests and has won each by 28 points or more.

17. (20) Neumann & Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) (2-1)
The Saints took on a tough task by opening their season at the Gonzaga D.C. Classic, taking the hosts to the wire in the final after beating Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) and Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) in the first two rounds. Sophomore guard Ja'Quan Newton was sensational in the event, averaging 19.6 points per game.

18. (21) St. Augustine (New Orleans, La.) (11-0)
The Purple Knights captured their second tournament victory in as many weeks Saturday night, beating host Newman (New Orleans) in the final of its own event 59-37. A trip to South Carolina for the Beach Ball Classic after Christmas will provide a real litmus test for the program.

19. (22) Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.) (8-1)
Junior JaJuan Johnson continued to fill it up for the Jaguars on Friday in a 76-66 win over Arlington, tossing in a team-high 21 points. Southwind also rolled Bolton (Arlington) earlier in the week 92-62.



20. (24) Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.) (4-0)
Michigan State-bound Gary Harris tallied 24 points to help the Royals get past Noblesville 70-52 Friday night. Hamilton Southeastern has a big one on the slate Saturday night against North Central (Indianapolis) – No. 17 in last week's rankings before falling to Carmel.

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21. (NR) Ridgeway (Memphis, Tenn.) (4-0)
The Roadrunners have already beat solid programs from Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky in addition to a 20-point win over perennial Memphis power White Station. Ridgeway knocked off Southwest DeKalb (Decatur, Ga.) 64-59 Saturday at the Memphis vs. Atlanta Roundball Classic behind 16 points from senior point guard Cameron Golden.

22. (25) Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) (1-0)
BYU commitment Nick Emery opened his junior season by exploding for a school-record 39 points as Lone Peak smoked Cottonwood (Salt Lake City) 83-53. The Knights head to Orem to face a sneaky-tough field at the Great Western Shootout this week.

23. (NR) Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, N.Y.) (5-0)
The Kangaroos got some key off-season transfers and made a statement by beating then-No. 14 Christ the King (Middle Village) on its home court Saturday night, 64-59. Leroy Fludd, a 6-foot-6 wing, out-dueled reigning NYC player of the year Omar Calhoun with 23 points.

24. (NR) DeSoto (Texas) (12-2)
For the sake of full disclosure, there are a handful of teams from the state of Texas in addition to No. 1 Marcus and No. 8 Grace Prep that could make a case for inclusion in the Xcellent 25 at this point. Making things messy, many of them have already met head-to-head and saddled each other with losses. Fort Bend Bush (Richmond) may have been on its way into this week's rankings, but got dropped by Fort Bend Travis (Richmond) in the final of a tournament Saturday. Clouding any judgment on that game was the fact that two of Bush's best players – Cameron Ridley and ShawnDre Jones – missed much of the contest while taking the ACTs (the best reason I've heard this year for a player missing action). Private school power Prestonwood Christian has also been impressive early but we'll get a better read on them this week after a Thursday meeting with Grace Prep, then a trip to the City of Palms Classic. DeSoto gets the nod for now, but the situation is fluid to say the least.

25. (NR) Sexton (Lansing, Mich.) (1-0)
Michigan's top-ranked Class B team opened with an 89-47 win over Grand Ledge on Friday night, getting 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists from Michigan State-bound Denzel Valentine.

Dropped out: No. 14 last week Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), No. 17 North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.), No. 19 Milton (Ga.), No. 23 Romulus (Mich.)