High school basketball rankings: Camden climbs in the MaxPreps Top 25 after win over Imhotep Charter

By Jordan Divens Jan 31, 2023, 9:30am

Garfield becomes fifth unbeaten team in MaxPreps Top 25, joining John Marshall, Ben Davis, Dwyer and Bellevue West.

Nationally-ranked showdowns and upsets continue to shape the MaxPreps Top 25 high school basketball rankings. Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) strengthened its hold on the top spot in the after taking down No. 15 St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 69-60 and No. 18 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 70-57 in a pair of Washington Catholic Athletic Conference contests.

Camden (N.J.) re-enters the top 10 after picking up a signature victory over No. 8 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) 60-57 in front of a sold out crowd at St. Joseph's University. The other matchup between ranked teams that led to some re-shuffling was a Garden State showdown that saw previous No. 25 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) knock off previous No. 13 Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) 68-60.

Major upsets continued to roll in last week also as previous No. 5 Simeon (Chicago) was defeated by Curie (Chicago) 50-48 and fell nine spots in the rankings. Previous No. 24 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) was taken down by St. Bernard (Playa del Rey, Calif.) 70-61 to drop out of the rankings.

Multiple nationally-ranked teams close out regular season play this week.
Five-star Kentucky signee D.J. Wagner leads Camden back into the top 10 after signature win. (Photo: Jerrell Jordan)
Five-star Kentucky signee D.J. Wagner leads Camden back into the top 10 after signature win. (Photo: Jerrell Jordan)
MaxPreps Top 25 basketball rankings

Record: 20-1 | Last week: 1
Maryland signee Deshawn Harris-Smith continued to shine with 23 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in the win over St. John's and 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists against Gonzaga.



Record: 19-0 | Last week: 2
Continued their dominance against in-state opponents with wins over Glen Allen 89-44, Thomas Jefferson (Richmond) 100-57 and Lake Taylor (Norfolk) 83-48. The Justices have outscored their opponents by 25.8 points this season with two games remaining in regular-season play.

Record: 23-1 | Last week: 3
Five-star Texas signee Ron Holland piled up 25 points and 20 rebounds in a 98-70 victory over Cedar Hill. Holland also chipped in 17 points and 18 rebounds while Arizona signee K.J. Lewis had 20 points and 14 rebounds in a 69-62 win over Lake Ridge (Mansfield).

Record: 12-2 | Last week: 4
Showdown with No. 19 Roselle Catholic was discontinued with 6:16 remaining in the second quarter after a Roselle Catholic collapsed and was taken off on a stretcher. Long Island Lutheran was ahead 21-10 when the game was called off. The Crusaders face Bishop Walsh (Cumberland, Md.) on Thursday and Rumson-Fair Haven (Rumson, N.J.) on Saturday at the Metro Classic.

Record: 19-3 | Last week: 7
Top-ranked sophomore Cameron Boozer continued his dominant season with 29 points and 18 rebounds in an 81-47 win against Southridge (Miami) last week. The Explorers complete their regular season schedule over the next six days with home contests against Southwest (Miami) on Wednesday and Flanagan (Pembroke Pines) on Monday.

Record: 23-3 | Last week: 8
Notched an out-of-state victory over Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 90-64 at the Nike Extravaganza paced by 34 points from junior Eric Freeny. The Huskies close out regular season play this week with contests against Roosevelt (Eastvale) on Tuesday and Corona on Thursday.

Record: 17-2 | Last week: 11
Scored a signature victory over No. 8 Imhotep Charter 60-57 paced by 22 points from five-star Kentucky signee D.J. Wagner in front of a sold out crowd of over 4,000 people at St. Joseph's University. The Panthers have four games remaining in regular season play beginning with a showdown against Paul VI (Haddonfield, N.J.).

Record: 16-3 | Last week: 6
Fell to No. 6 Camden 60-57 despite receiving a balanced effort from their three stars as four-star junior Ahmad Nowell had 20 points, Florida Gulf Coast commit Rahmir Barno contributed 17 points and five-star Kentucky signee Justin Edwards chipped in 16 points in the loss. The Panthers have two games remaining in the regular season, facing Master Charter North-Pickett (Philadelphia) tonight and Sankofa Freedom Academy (Philadelphia) tomorrow.



Record: 26-1 | Last week: 9
Wrapped up regular season play with wins over St. Francis (La Canada) 68-55 led by a game-high 17 points from senior Brady Dunlap and De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 63-42 behind a game-high 22 points from Harvard commit Robert Hinton.

Record: 22-0 | Last week: 12
Remain unbeaten after escaping with a 46-45 victory over Carmel led by 17 points and eight rebounds from Valparaiso pledge Zane Doughty and defeating Indianapolis Crispus Attucks (Indianapolis) 62-39 behind 13 points and eight rebounds from senior Clay Butler and 12 points and 11 rebounds from Doughty.

Record: 25-1 | Last week: 16
Knocked off Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) 78-68 at the Nike Extravaganza behind a balanced effort. Senior Jaqari Miles had 23 points and four assists, Boise State signee Andrew Meadow contributed 20 points and five rebounds and four-star senior Jaiyon Gardner chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Record: 22-3 | Last week: 17
All three losses have come against top 10 opponents. The Class 6A state title contender has five games remaining in the regular-season slate.

Record: 17-1 | Last week: 14
One of the biggest McDonald's All-American Game snubs, Oregon signee Jackson Shelstad is averaging 28.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.4 steals during his dominant senior campaign. The Lions take on Tigard on Tuesday and Tualatin on Thursday as they look to remain unbeaten against in-state opponents.

Record: 21-2 | Last week: 5
Despite picking up a signature victory over No. 8 Imhotep Charter earlier in the month, the Wolverines have now suffered a pair of upset losses against in-state opponents. The Chicago powerhouse bounced back with a 70-57 victory over Central (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) guided by 24 points and six assists from senior Jalen Griffith.



Record: 18-2 | Last week: 15
Despite suffering a tough road loss against top-ranked Paul VI 69-60, the Cadets remain at No. 15 in the MaxPreps Top 25 this week. They have three contests this week, facing Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) on Tuesday, Archbishop Carroll (Washington, D.C.) on Friday and Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.) on Saturday.

Record: 25-1 | Last week: 18
Four-star Washington signee Wesley Yates III had a big week for the Timberwolves, going off for 32 points and four steals in a 64-56 win over Atascocita (Humble) and finishing with 31 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals in an 86-60 victory over King (Houston).

Record: 17-1 | Last week: 19
Put their unbeaten 9-0 record in Philadelphia Catholic League play on the line on Friday against No. 21 Neumann-Goretti. The Cahillites have won 14 consecutive games since their lone loss against Jackson-Reed (Washington, D.C.) on Dec. 10.

Record: 18-3 | Last week: 10
Drop eight spots in the rankings after suffering back-to-back losses against Our Lady Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) 74-58 and No. 1 Paul VI 70-57 last week. The Eagles look to bounce back strong with upcoming games against DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) tonight, Bishop Ireton (Alexandria, Va.) on Thursday and St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) on Saturday.

Record: 10-4 | Last week: 25
Secured a pair of quality in-state victories last week, defeating previous No. 13 Don Bosco Prep 68-60 behind 20 points, four rebounds and four assists from North Carolina signee Simeon Wilcher and taking down Bergen Catholic (Oradell) 78-67 guided by 22 points, 13 rebounds and four assists from Duke signee MacKenzie Mgbako.

Record: 18-2 | Last week: 13
The Ironmen bounced back from the Roselle Catholic loss with a 78-51 win over Northern Highlands (Allendale) powered by 33 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks from Dylan Harper.



Record: 14-2 | Last week: 21
Baylor commit Robert Wright III filled the stat sheet with 23 points, six assists, five steals and four assists while senior Sultan Adewale pumped in 21 points and 10 rebounds in a quality victory over St. Joseph's Prep 69-54. The Saints take on No. 17 Roman Catholic on Friday in a significant Philadelphia Catholic League showdown.

Record: 21-0 | Last week: 20
Senior Blake Wilson knocked down a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining to give the Panthers a 46-45 victory over Suncoast (Riviera Beach) to preserve their perfect record. Another challenge awaits tonight against Lake Worth, who comes into the contest with just one loss on the season.

Record: 25-3 | Last week: 22
Moved to 10-1 in Baltimore Catholic League play after blowing past Calvert Hall (Baltimore) 82-35 and Archbishop Spalding (Severn) 81-49. The Gaels are in position to capture their first league title since 2016-17.

Record: 16-0 | Last week: 23
The Thunderbirds take on fellow unbeaten Sioux City East (Sioux City, Iowa) tonight. Junior Jaden Jackson tallied 18 points, four rebounds and three assists in West's last outing, a 69-44 victory over Omaha Central.

Record: 17-0 | Last week: NR
Head coach Brandon Roy's team is outscoring opponents by 24.5 points per game this season despite winning three of their past four contests by eight points or less. The Bulldogs finish up regular season play Tuesday against O'Dea (Seattle).