MaxPreps Top 25 high school boys basketball rankings

Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (No. 1 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 14-0
After a dominant run through the Orange Holiday Classic, the Monarchs open what should be a highly competitive year in the Trinity League on Wednesday against JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano). Including state and sectional competition, Mater Dei went 23-0 in bracket play during the 2012 calendar year.

2. (2) Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), 10-1
The Knights are in the midst of an extended break that runs until Jan. 9, when they host Riverton.

3. (3) Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 12-1
A week after a grueling run at the City of Palms Classic, the Jackrabbits hit the road again and won the Whataburger Tournament in Texas. Senior USC signee Roschon Prince went for 21 points against Plano East in the final as Poly knocked off its fourth Lone Star State opponent in three days



4. (4) Whitney Young (Chicago), 10-1
Junior Paul White continued a breakout season with 14 points and seven boards in the final of the Beach Ball Classic on Monday night, helping the Dolphins beat Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 58-37. Whitney Young has been better than advertised this season.

5. (6) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 6-0
Once again, Bob Hurley's squad is suffocating teams on defense by allowing just 34.6 points per game. St. Anthony did get a good push at the Shooting Touch Shootout in Boston after Christmas, escaping with a 54-50 win over Central Catholic (Lawrence, Mass.).{PAGEBREAK} 6. (7) DeSoto (Texas), 19-1
The Eagles traveled to Raleigh, N.C., after Christmas and picked up a tournament victory at the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational, beating Karl Towns and St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.) in the final.

7. (8) Simeon (Chicago), 9-1
Recent Duke commit Jabari Parker appears to be returning to form after earning MVP honors at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. It was Simeon's third title in as many years at the event and 11th since 1996.

8. (9) Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.), 13-3
A three-loss team in Top 10? Those setbacks came against No. 2 Lone Peak, No. 3 Long Beach Poly and storied Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.).

9. (10) Chester (Pa.), 6-2
The Clippers bounced back from a pair of losses at the City of Palms Classic with victories over Abington and Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) at the Pete Nelson Classic.

10. (11) White Station (Memphis, Tenn.), 11-1
After a light holiday schedule, the Spartans jump back into action Jan. 2 against defending Class AAA state champ Memphis East.{PAGEBREAK} 11. (17) Germantown (Wis.), 11-0
"I don't think we've ever played a team that good," Arrowhead coach Craig Haase told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week after his one-loss team was dismantled by Germantown 100-47. The Warhawks have won 38 games in a row.



12. (NR) Lake Oswego (Ore.), 11-0
The Lakers knocked off then-No. 4 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) in the semifinals of the Les Schwab Invitational, then blasted rival Jesuit (Portland) in the final, 62-43. Lake Oswego is the first team from Oregon to win the Les Schwab Invitational – played annually in the Portland suburbs – since 2003. Calvin Hermanson, a 6-foot-6 wing headed to Saint Mary's, might be the most underappreciated star in the country.

13. (NR) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 13-0
Totally off the national radar to begin the season, Bishop Montgomery has emerged as one of the best teams in a state loaded with national-caliber programs. The Knights blew out Price (Los Angeles) 75-39 on Saturday to capture the Sea Hawk Classic title and also own quality wins over Serra (Gardena), MaxPreps Holiday Classic champ Westchester (Los Angeles) and Seattle Prep.

14. (13) St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), 8-1
The Braves have a huge stretch ahead over the next 10 days with games against Orange Lutheran, JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) and No. 1 Mater Dei.

15. (14) Olympic (Charlotte, N.C.), 11-0
The Trojans didn't lose until mid-February last season and could go deep with an unblemished record this winter, too. Olympic breezed through the WNC Holiday Classic after Christmas.{PAGEBREAK} 16. (15) Iowa City West (Iowa), 7-0
After a long layoff, West returns to action Friday against unbeaten Dubuque.

17. (22) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.), 10-1
For the fifth time this season, the Tigers held an opponent under 40 in winning the D-Hop Classic title with a 54-37 victory over Summit Christian (West Palm Beach).

18. (24) Pike (Indianapolis), 8-0
The Red Devils return to the floor Friday at Meridian (Indianapolis) after a light holiday slate.



19. (NR) Columbia (Decatur, Ga.), 12-1
After an early December loss to North Gwinnett (Suwanee), it looked like the Eagles would take a step back after the departure of legendary head coach Dr. Phil McCrary. But Columbia hasn't lost since and notched big wins over Wenonah (Birmingham, Ala.) and Norcross in overtime after Christmas to capture the Converse Invitational.

20. (25) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 7-2
The Panthers dip back into Washington Catholic Athletic Conference play this week with contests against Archbishop Carroll (Washington, D.C.) and Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.).{PAGEBREAK} 21. (NR) Midwest City (Okla.), 6-0
The Bombers are living up to their nickname, thrashing all six opponents thus far by 25 points or more. Putnam City (Oklahoma City) entered the season with more hype, but Midwest City has everybody's attention at the moment.

22. (NR) Pershing (Detroit), 7-0
Michigan signee Derrick Walton and Chandler Park Academy (Harper Woods) gave the Doughboys a good test at the Motor City Roundball Classic, but Pershing erased a nine-point halftime deficit to record a 70-60 victory.

23. (NR) Omaha Central (Neb.), 7-2
We may have been too quick to dismiss the Eagles from the Xcellent 25 after back-to-back losses at the City of Palms Classic against No. 3 Long Beach Poly and No. 4 Whitney Young. Since returning from Florida, Central has recorded a pair of angry-looking scores in blowout victories over local foes.

24. (NR) Centennial (Corona, Calif.), 15-1
No stranger to the Xcellent 25 in recent years, the Huskies are looking dangerous once again. The roster includes highly touted young guards in sophomore Sedrick Barefield (14.2 points per game) and freshman Jordan Griffin (10.1). But unheralded California-Riverside signee Sam Finley (21.3) and junior Deontae North (13.4) are taking care of much of the production and providing experience. Etiwanda, Inglewood (twice) and most recently then-No. 21 Bullard of Fresno are among Centennial's quality wins.

25. (NR) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 15-2
Remember these guys? The Gaels couldn't bring home the title at the Tarkanian Classic or Beach Ball Classic, but have wins over teams from Arizona, California, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin in addition to Nevada. Gorman's only losses have come at the hands of No. 1 Mater Dei and No. 4 Whitney Young. The Las Vegas powerhouse beat Proviso West Holiday Classic champ Morgan Park (Chicago) prior to Christmas.



Dropped out: No. 6 last week Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), No. 12 West Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.), No. 16 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore), No. 18 Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas), No. 19 Loyola (Los Angeles), No. 20 Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville, Tenn.), No. 21 Bullard (Fresno, Calif.), No. 23 Salesian (Richmond, Calif.)