Martin Luther King Jr. weekend action shuffles teams as many prepare for regular-season home stretch, playoffs.
The Martin Luther King Jr. weekend reshaped the MaxPreps Top 25 high school basketball rankings as four top 10 teams lost, including former No. 1 Camden losing twice.
The Spalding Hoophall Classic made many of the headlines as nine MaxPreps Top 25 teams competed, with No. 3 Calvary Christian Academy, No. 6 Cardinal Hayes and No. 8 Roselle Catholic each moving up after impressive showings in Springfield, Mass.
Newly minted No. 1 Richardson had a scare Tuesday, trailing Lake Highlands (Dallas) 78-76 before closing the game on a 9-0 run to escape with an 85-78 victory. The Eagles bolstered their resume prior to New Year's after capturing the Whataburger Tournament championship 60-58 over No. 2 Duncanville in overtime.
Other key events over the weekend included the Flyin' to the Hoop Invitational, which saw Ohio power No. 7 Centerville make their claim as a top 10 program, and the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions, where No. 17 St. Paul VI avenged an earlier loss to Sierra Canyon, beating the 10th-ranked Trailblazers 72-65 in the title game.
Many teams represented in MaxPreps Top 25 now enter the season's stretch run with postseason right around the corner.
LSU pledge Marvel Allen helped Calvary Christian Academy climb to No. 3 in this week's MaxPreps Top 25 basketball rankings.
Photo by Pete Wright
Record: 22-1 | Last week: No. 2
Four-star Alabama signee
Rylan Griffen (30) led the way in the Lake Highlands win and had the game-tying layup with under two minutes remaining. Senior
Tre Howell hit the go-ahead 3-pointer from the left wing with 55 seconds remaining before free-throws put things away late.
Record: 20-1 | Last week: 3
Five-star senior
Anthony Black dropped a career-high 31 points and nine rebounds on 12-of-13 from the field and all four 3-pointers in a 106-85 victory over Cedar Hill. The two-time defending UIL Class 6A state champions are on the home stretch with eight regular season games remaining.
Record: 12-1 | Last week: 6
Earned a signature victory over previously top-ranked Camden 66-48 at the Spalding Hoophall Classic behind five-star junior
Marvel Allen, who finished with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists. The Eagles held top-ranked junior D.J. Wagner, to 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting.
Record: 16-1 | Last week: 5
Record: 16-0 | Last week: 8
The Clark County School District ruled all schools were forced to take a five-day pause due to staffing shortages, postponing their anticipated in-state matchup with Coronado (Henderson).
Record: 12-0 | Last week: 10
Highly regarded sophomore prospect
Ian Jackson put on a show at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, finishing with 30 points, four rebounds and four assists on 11-of-18 from the field in the Cardinals' 81-40 victory over De La Salle (Chicago).
Record: 12-0 | Last week: 15
Make one of the biggest jumps in this week's rankings after a huge out-of-state victory over National Top 20 No. 7 Southern California Academy (Castaic, Calif.). Senior
Rich Rolf finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on 7-of-10 from 3-point range. The Elks have won 28 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Record: 12-1 | Last week: 13
Defeated No. 13 Long Island Lutheran 62-59 at the Metro Classic and Kenwood (Chicago) 79-70 at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. Three-star Nebraska signee
Jamarques Lawrence had a pair of impressive outings with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists against Long Island Lutheran and 20 points, six rebounds and three assists against Kenwood.
Record: 14-3 | Last week: 11
Five-star Arkansas signee
Nick Smith exploded for 28 first-half points in the Charging Wildcats' 87-46 win over Catholic (Little Rock, Ark.). After facing one of the toughest schedules in the nation prior to New Year's, North Little Rock looks to run the table against in-state competition en route to its second consecutive state championship.
Record: 17-2 | Last week: 4
Fell shy of capturing the 37th annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions title, losing 72-65 to No. 17 St. Paul VI in the championship game. The Trailblazers had three players make the all-tournament team in UCLA signee
Amari Bailey, Nebraska signee
Ramel Lloyd Jr. and USC signee
Kijani Wright.
Record: 8-2 | Last week: 1
Suffered first losses of the season, falling to National Top 20 No. 5 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 52-40 at the Metro Classic and 66-48 to No. 3 Calvary Christian Academy at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. After struggling against Montverde and Calvary Christian, top-ranked junior
D.J. Wagner responded with 21 points and five rebounds in a 63-55 victory over Milton (Ga.).
Record: 10-0 | Last week: 21
The Mustangs have quickly established themselves as a contender on the national scene as they sit atop the WCAC standings with a 5-0 record. Registered a 45-43 victory over previous No. 7 Gonzaga on Tuesday to strengthen their resume in a major way.
Record: 10-2 | Last week: 12
Slipped up against No. 8 Roselle Catholic 62-59 at the Metro Classic, before rebounding with an 88-40 victory over Chaminade (St. Louis). Senior Providence pledge
Jayden Pierre led the way in the win, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists on 7-of-10 from the field in 22 minutes of action.
Record: 21-2 | Last week: 16
Picked up a quality 68-61 overtime victory over Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) at the Hoophall, led by three-star junior
Jaydon Young, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-18 from the field.
Record: 20-0 | Last week: 17
The Hilltoppers face their biggest test of the season Saturday in an in-state showdown against Whitney Young (Chicago) at the Benet Shootout.
Record: 10-2 | Last week: 7
Started the week strong with an 87-73 victory over previous No. 9 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.). After a strong start to the season, the Eagles hit a rough patch in the season with consecutive losses against National Top 20 No. 8 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 70-56 and No. 12 Bishop McNamara 45-43. Gonzaga looks to respond Saturday against Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.).
Record: 12-3 | Last week: 22
Captured the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions title, defeating Springfield Catholic (Springfield, Mo.) 60-55, Milton (Ga.) 55-54 and previous No. 4 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 72-65 en route to the event crown. The Panthers lost to Bishop O'Connell 64-61 in their first game after the event.
Record: 16-2 | Last week: NR
The Falcons have reeled off nine straight victories, including a massive in-state victory over previous No. 19 Newton (Covington) 80-59. Unsigned senior
Kami Young led all-scorers with 25 points, while
Jaiun Simon went for 20 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
Record: 20-3 | Last week: 24
A big-time matchup awaits Friday as the Spartans take on National Top 20 No. 8 Oak Hill Academy. The Burlington School has seen a steady rise after capturing the John Wall Holiday Invitational back in December.
Record: 15-1
| Last week: NR
Join the rankings for the first time following an impressive week that included wins over Kenwood (Chicago) 85-79, Hyde Park (Chicago) 79-49, Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone, N.J.) 70-61 and Wilson (Washington, D.C.) 74-61. Unsigned senior
Jaylen Drane put together an impressive performance against Gill St. Bernard's at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, finishing with 22 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Record: 11-3
| Last week: 23
Following a pair of quality wins over Bishop Walsh (Cumberland, Md.) 61-49 and St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) 75-68, the Panthers lost a trap game against Abraham Lincoln (Philadelphia) 69-67 in overtime. The Panthers travel to the Ascender Classic this weekend to face National Top 20 opponents IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.).
Record: 20-3
| Last week: 14
Drop outside the top 20 after a 75-68 loss to No. 21 Imhotep Charter. The Panthers have built a strong resume with quality wins over Huntington Prep (Huntington, W. Va.) (twice), DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore) and Legacy Early College (Greenville, S.C.) on the year.
Record: 15-3 | Last week: NR
The difficult scheduling hasn't let up as the Panthers escaped with a 68-67 victory over Olympia (Orlando) before winning the Orlando Metro West Tournament with victories over Apopka (Fla.) 49-34 and Windermere (Fla.) 38-37. Senior Mississippi State signee
Riley Kugel led the way with 15 points in the Panthers' championship game win.
Record: 22-3 | Last week: NR
Return to the rankings following a one-week absence. The Timberwolves are the favorites to repeat as UIL Class 5A state champions after an unbeaten season in 2020-21. Four-star junior
Wesley Yates III leads the way, averaging 19.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 steals.
Record: 23-3 | Last week: NR
Talented group look to capture their first state championship since 2018-19. The Wolves jump into the national rankings for the first time this season following six straight wins. Two losses have come against top-ranked Richardson and No. 2 Duncanville.
Prior to the 2021-22 season, MaxPreps adopted a split approach to
the rankings. The MaxPreps Top 25 is a measure of public and private
schools belonging to recognized governing bodies that compete for state
championships. The National Top 20 encompasses a broad spectrum of
sub-collegiate programs that in most cases are not full members of
state-level governing bodies and do not compete for state championships.
