MaxPreps High School Top 25 boys basketball national rankings

Video: Breaking down preseason No. 1 Sierra Canyon
Trailblazers open season next week.

Soooo … about those preseason rankings.

Time to hit reshuffle already as seven ranked teams went down over the weekend and five fall out of the High School Top 25 completely.

Don't panic previously-ranked Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), Althoff Catholic (Belleville, Ill.), Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), Pebblebrook (Mableton) and Westlake (Austin, Texas) – it's early.



Pebblebrook has the biggest gripe of that group with losses to preseason Independent Top 10 No. 3 Montverde Academy (Fla.) and soon-to-be-ranked IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). But considering 18 of last year's final Top 25 finished with two or fewer losses, it makes for an uphill climb this early in 2016-17.

That leaves room for fresh faces, including some that weren't on our radar a month ago when we compiled preseason rankings.

NOTE: MaxPreps will run separate high school boys basketball rankings for teams that compete for state championships as part of recognized governing body (High School Top 25) and those that do not (Independent Top 10). Look for the first regular season Independent Top 10 later this week.


2. (3) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 2-0
Penny Hardaway's team will get a big test Thursday against Independent Top 10-ranked Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga).

3. (6) Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), 0-0
Opens Dec. 16 vs. Sagemont (Weston, Fla.) at City of Palms Classic.

4. (19) Norcross (Ga.), 4-0
Nobody had a better weekend than the Blue Devils, who swept then-No. 4 Greenforest (Decatur) and another Georgia title contender in Westside (Macon) at Holiday Hoopsgiving in Atlanta.



5. (9) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 1-0
The Monarchs won their opener by 33 and jump into what should be a competitive run at the Diablo Inferno tourney Monday night.

6. (10) Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), 4-0
Coming off a breakout performance at the FIBA U17 World Championship over the summer, French import Jaylen Hoard looks like the real deal. The 6-foot-8 junior had 32 points in his last outing for the Trojans.

7. (12) Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), 7-0
Head coach Freddy Johnson's Bengals will have their hands full Tuesday against Providence Day (Charlotte).

8. (14) New Albany (Ind.), 1-0
Romeo Langford and the Bulldogs are no joke. New Albany smashed state Top 10 opponent Bloomington South in its opener Saturday night 61-38.

9. (4) Greenforest (Decatur, Ga.), 3-1
The Eagles are getting the benefit of the doubt here where other ranked teams did not thanks to extremely aggressive scheduling early on. Greenforest fell to new No. 4 Norcross on Friday night, then turned around and played No. 25 Westlake (Atlanta) on Saturday and won.

10. (11) Garfield (Seattle, Wash.), 0-0
Opens on Tuesday vs. Spanaway Lake (Spanaway).



11. (15) Chino Hills (Calif.), 0-0
Opens on Tuesday vs. Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley) at BattleZone Tournament.

12. (16) Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.), 0-0
Opens on Friday vs. West Seattle (Seattle).

13. (17) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 0-0
Opens on Saturday vs. Simeon (Chicago) at Chicago Elite Classic.

14. (18) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 0-0
Opens Dec. 10 vs. Constitution (Philadelphia) at Fred Pickett Classic.

15. (20) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 0-0
Opens Dec. 16 vs. Prestige Prep (New York, N.Y.).

16. (NR) Wagner (San Antonio, Texas), 6-0
The Thunderbirds received a big boost when Baylor pledge Tristan Clark (6-9, Sr., F) returned to the Lone Star State from Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.). Sophomores Jalen Jackson (5-9, G) and Kevin McCullar (6-4, G/F) are also big time players.



17. (21) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 0-0
Opens on Friday vs. Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.).

18. (22) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 0-0
Opens Dec. 6 vs. Cardozo (Washington, D.C.).

19. (23) Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), 0-0
Opens Dec. 17 vs. Pope John XXIII (Sparta) at Hoop Group Tip-Off Showcase.

20. (NR) Cordova (Tenn.), 4-0
Tennessee's Class AAA state runner-up in 2015-16, Cordova has wins over teams from Alabama and Mississippi already this season.

21. (NR) McNeil (Austin, Texas), 4-0
The Mavericks opened with a win over preseason No. 25 Westlake, who took Findlay Prep to overtime over the weekend. Oregon commitment Victor Bailey is the main man at McNeil.

22. (NR) Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.), 2-0
Talk about coming in way off the radar. The Wolverines went to Georgia for a weekend doubleheader and got the sweep – including a 69-67 win over then-No. 2 Wheeler (Marietta). Perhaps it shouldn't have been such a surprise as Vashon went 26-4 in 2015-16, reached Missouri's Class 4 semifinals and return Kansas State signee Levi Stockard, super sophomore Mario McKinney and senior point guard Daniel Ferris.



23. (NR) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 1-0
O'Dowd is in the same boat as Vashon. The Dragons went 17-15 a year ago and weren't regarded as a Top 10 team in California prior to this season. But based on accomplishment on the floor early on, Lou Richie's squad gets the nod for their huge win Saturday over Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), who went 28-3 in 2015-16 with two losses to eventual national champs Chino Hills and returned all five starters.

24. (24) Iowa City West (Iowa City, Iowa), 0-0
Opens on Friday vs. Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, Ill.).

25. (8) Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.), 1-1
A lack of potential replacements with convincing resumes means the Lions stick in the rankings – for now. Westlake put up 107 points in its opener.

Dropped out: No. 2 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), No. 4 Althoff Catholic (Belleville, Ill.), No. 7 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), No. 13 Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.), No. 25 Westlake (Austin, Texas)