Xcellent 25 high school boys basketball rankings

After six days of upsets and unlikely stories at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., there's plenty of movement in this week's Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard.

But one month into the 2011-12 season, there's also some consistency and order developing with a trio of teams at the top of the rankings – Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) and St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.).

Marcus used a win over national power Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) and the chaos at City of Palms to retain its No. 1 ranking. The Marauders finished No. 2 in the final Xcellent 25 last season.

Simeon has won 38 of its last 40 games and is the reigning two-time Class 4A champion in Illinois. The Wolverines were ranked No. 9 nationally by MaxPreps to close out the 2010-11 season.

St. Anthony, the defending national champ, has won 37 games in a row. Legendary head coach Bob Hurley and the Friars rolled to a pair of victories this week by a combined 110 points.



Could be an interesting three-horse race for the final No. 1 ranking, though there's a long way to go and several teams – like DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) – would be slighted by the notion that a mythical national title is out of reach.

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) (16-1)
After a big win over Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) last week, the Marauders open Dec. 28 against Northwest (Justin) at the Whataburger Tournament.

2. (4) Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) (8-0)
In front of former Wolverine Derrick Rose and Kentucky head coach John Calipari, it was Kendrick Nunn's turn to take the lead in a 62-55 win over rival Whitney Young (Chicago) on Thursday night. Nunn scored a team-high 19 points while Jabari Parker added 15.

3. (6) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (4-0)
The Friars are really, really good. Again. The defending national champs cruise into Christmas after two laughers this week, beating Newark Central 78-21 and Morris Knolls (Rockaway) 91-38.



4. (7) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (5-0)
The Stags continued to put up points in bunches Thursday night in an 86-66 win over St. Mary's Ryken (Leonardtown). A dozen DeMatha players got on the board led by 13 apiece from Marcellous Bell and Syracuse-bound forward Jerami Grant.

5. (NR) Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) (10-1)
Many were surprised to see the Lions capture the title at the City of Palms Classic. But with a 6-foot-9 senior headed to Kansas in Zach Peters, arguably the best junior in the country in Julius Randle and freshman sensation Mickey Mitchell, perhaps it was just a talented, young team coming of age. PCA heads to the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina after Christmas with a huge target on its back.
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6. (8) Grace Prep (Arlington, Texas) (9-2)
Less than a week after beating Prestonwood Christian by 15 points, Grace Prep struggled against the same team in the City of Palms final. The trip to Fort Myers still has to be considered a success for the Lions, who's only other loss came against Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.).

7. (2) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) (8-1)
The Monarchs will return to Orange County bitterly disappointed about not bringing home the City of Palms title. But bouncing back from a loss to No. 6 Grace Prep with wins over St. Raymond (Bronx, N.Y.) and No. 16 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) was impressive. Head coach Gary McKnight notched his 900th victory on the final day of the event against Gorman.

8. (11) Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.) (8-0)
The Cubs will be looking for their third tournament crown of the season next week at the Father George National Jesuit Christmas Classic in Maryland. Loyola opens with Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.) in first-round play Dec. 28.

9. (12) Chester (Pa.) (4-0)
The Clippers close out their pre-Christmas slate with a game against Newark (Del.) tonight.

10. (13) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) (6-0)
The Eagles head into the holidays feeling good after opening Washington Catholic Athletic Conference play with a 68-46 win over Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), getting a team-high 17 points from recent North Carolina commitment Nate Britt.

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11. (15) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) (5-0)
Aaron Gordon was in beast mode Wednesday night in an 80-70 win over San Leandro, going for 40 points and 16 rebounds. The Monarchs will participate in the same San Diego-area tournament as No. 4 DeMatha next week, opening with Compton in the first round.

12. (11) Westbury Christian (Houston, Texas) (11-1)
Westbury Christian blasted Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 93-69 Wednesday night to take third place at the Iolani Classic in Hawaii. The Wildcats suffered their first setback of the season in the semifinals against aforementioned Montrose Christian.

13. (14) Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) (4-0)
After extending their win streak to 48 games, the Falcons are off until Jan. 3 when they meet Bishop Carroll (Wichita).



14. (17) Neumann & Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) (4-1)
Twelve Saints scored in their latest outing, an 87-36 win over Conwell-Egan Catholic (Fairless Hills). A key game with No. 4 DeMatha comes after the New Year at the Cancer Research Center Classic in West Virginia.

15. (19) Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.) (10-1)
The Jaguars haven't played in a while, allowing for the opportunity to think about what could have been with the addition of 6-8 forward Jarnell Stokes, who was denied eligibility at Southwind this season and announced his decision to enroll in college early at Tennessee on Thursday.

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16. (5) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) (4-2)
For the second year in a row, Bishop Gorman's performance at the City of Palms was a little underwhelming. After narrowly escaping against Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.) in the first round, the Gaels came up short against Prestonwood Christian and Mater Dei. The other win came against then-No. 3 Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.), who shockingly went 0-3 in Fort Myers.

17. (21) Ridgeway (Memphis, Tenn.) (6-0)
The Roadrunners took care of Starkville (Miss.) at the Joe Horne Christmas Classic on Saturday, getting a game-high 22 points from senior guard Cameron Golden.

18. (24) DeSoto (Texas) (14-2)
The Eagles will join No. 1 Marcus at the Whataburger Tournament next week. Since losing to Richland (North Richland Hills) on Nov. 22, DeSoto is limiting opponents to 45.1 points per game.

19. (NR) Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) (6-0)
After a key overtime victory over Aquille Carr and Patterson (Baltimore, Md.) last Saturday, the Railsplitters will head to Palm Springs, Calif., for the MaxPreps Holiday Classic after Christmas. Lincoln will be in a pool with two-time defending event champion Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood).



20. (25) Sexton (Lansing, Mich.) (4-0)
The Big Reds have a big test Friday in Romulus, who was the state's preseason Class A No. 1 before getting humbled by Pershing of Detroit in the opener.

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21. (NR) Riverside Academy (Reserve, La.) (10-3)
The Rebels have played a brutal schedule and lost top senior guard Louis Dabney for the season, so grinding it out for a fourth-place finish at the City of Palms Classic was a major accomplishment.

22. (NR) North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) (5-1)
The Panthers won a showdown last Saturday against then-No. 20 Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers) in front of over 3,000 fans, receiving 27 points from Purdue signee Ronnie Johnson. North Central has another big game tonight against Indiana signee Kevin Ferrell and Park Tudor (Indianapolis).

23. (NR) Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) (16-1)
The Hornets' only loss this season came against No. 15 Southwind at the Rumble on the Ridge in Arkansas back in November. Scotlandville beat McKinley on Thursday night 79-66 and looks to be on its way to a fourth 30-win season in as many years.

24. (NR) Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) (5-0)
Bolstered by transfers Anrio Adams and Will Dorsey, the Vikings have been impressive in December. Beach pasted defending Class 4A state champ Gonzaga Prep (Spokane) by 19 points in its opener, then knocked off Class 3A preseason No. 1 Seattle Prep and No. 2 O'Dea (Seattle) over a seven-day span.

25. (9) Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) (8-1)
There are a handful of one- and two-loss teams that could have easily occupied this spot. The Eagles, who went 30-3 with virtually the same roster a year ago, get the nod despite a setback to three-loss West Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.) in the first round of the Chick-fil-A Classic in South Carolina. Columbia bounced back with wins over Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.) and Southwest DeKalb (Decatur).

Dropped out: No. 3 last week Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.), No. 16 Taft (Cincinnati, Ohio), No. 18 St. Augustine (New Orleans, La.), No. 20 Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.), No. 22 Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), No. 23 Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, N.Y.)