As a member of the EYBL Scholastic conference and a program competing for the Federation state title in New York, Long Island Lutheran was in a unique spot – a gray area, if you will – in the high school basketball landscape.
With the Federation state tournament in the Empire State being canceled, that gray area became more black and white.
Based on our criteria established to separate independent/academy programs and traditional high schools in the national rankings, Long Island Lutheran aligns more closely with National Top 10 programs given its place in EYBL Scholastic and lack of in-state postseason play.
No. 4
Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey) is the last team in the MaxPreps Top 25 to get underway this season as action in New Jersey finally tips off this week.
Top 60 Duke signee Darren Harris led Paul VI with 26 points in an overtime victory against Myers Park. (Photo: Lonnie Webb)
Record: 5-0 | Last week: 2
Notched a pair of signature victories at the National High School Hoopfest over the weekend, defeating No. 8 Myers Park 78-70 in overtime paced by a team-high 26 points from four-star Duke signee
Darren Harris and knocking off previous No. 5 Sidwell Friends 65-47 guided by a team-high 15 points from top 20 sophomore
Jordan Smith.
Record: 9-0 | Last week: 3
Escaped with a 72-71 victory over St. Pius X-St. Matthias (Downey) led by 20 points from four-star USC signee
Trent Perry before blowing past King/Drew (Los Angeles) 79-51 behind 21 points from top 100 Harvard commit
Robert Hinton.
Record: 8-0 | Last week: 6
Four-star Purdue signee
Gicarri Harris surpassed 1,000 career points after tallying a game-high 19 points in a 76-56 victory over Mount Vernon (Atlanta). The Rams have a pair of games this week headlined by a showdown against top 100 opponent Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) on Dec. 16.
Record: 0-0 | Last week: 4
Begin the season with a contest against Eastside on Thursday before traveling to the City of Palms Classic, where they take on No. 21 McEachern in a first-round matchup on Dec. 18.
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 7
Top 50 Kentucky signee
Boogie Fland eclipsed 1,000 career points after producing 25 points, five rebounds and three assists in a 80-67 victory over St. Frances Academy (Baltimore).
Record: 3-2 | Last week: 9
No. 2-ranked junior
Cameron Boozer and twin brother
Cayden combined for 40 points in a 73-57 triumph over Riviera Prep (Miami, Fla.).
Record: 5-0 | Last week: 10
Four-star juniors
Nykolas Lewis and
Christian Gurdak each posted stat lines of 12 points and seven rebounds in a 55-47 win against Jackson-Reed (Washington, D.C.) to claim the Gonzaga DC Classic title.
Record: 3-2 | Last week: 8
Suffered a heartbreaking setback to No. 1 Paul VI 78-70 in overtime despite an impressive outing from four-star Notre Dame signee
Sir Mohammed, who finished with a game-high 30 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Record: 7-0 | Last week: 11
Claimed the Bosco Winter Classic title after knocking off La Mirada 79-60 led by 26 points and 11 rebounds from No. 2-ranked sophomore
Brandon McCoy Jr. and defeating Windward (Los Angeles) behind 27 points and 14 rebounds from under-the-radar junior
Kade Bonam.
Record: 4-1 | Last week: 12
Pulled out a signature victory over previous No. 5 Sidwell Friends 63-55 in overtime at the National High School Hoopfest paced by 21 points, four rebounds and two assists from junior guard
Aiden Argabright.
Record: 15-0
| Last week: 14
Won four games in three days to claim the River City Classic title culminating with a 53-42 victory over Rouse (Leander) in the championship game. Junior guard
Uzziah Buntyn surpassed 1,000 career points in the semifinal victory.
Record: 5-0 | Last week: 13
Notched a quality win over the weekend at the National High School Hoopfest, defeating St. Raymond (Bronx, N.Y.) 59-54 paced by 17 points, three assists and three steals from three-star senior
Jadyn Harris.
Record: 3-0
| Last week: NR
The biggest move in the national rankings this season comes after the Bulldogs upset National Top 10 No. 5 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) behind a team-high 20 points from four-star junior
Adrien Stevens.
Record: 2-2 | Last week: 5
Drop nine spots after suffering a pair of losses to top 10 opponents at the National High School Hoopfest, falling to No. 10 John Marshall 63-55 in overtime before losing to No. 1 Paul VI 65-47 the following night. The Quakers were without Georgetown signee
Caleb Williams in their contest against John Marshall due to illness.
Record: 5-0 | Last week: 17
Extended their win streak to 37 games with lopsided victories over South Rowan (China Grove) 99-28 and Carson (China Grove) 86-45. The Vikings are averaging 88.2 points per contest during their streak.
Record: 6-0 | Last week: 18
The Vikings scorched the nets with 21 3-pointers in a 94-57 victory over Holy Innocents Episcopal (Atlanta, Ga.). Five-star Duke signee
Isaiah Evans connected on 10 triples and finished with 36 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the win.
Record: 12-1
| Last week: NR
Knocked off previous No. 15 Hoover 72-54 to establish themselves as the team to beat in the Yellowhammer State. Junior guard
Brayden Rivers scored a team-high 21 points and senior center
Caleb Harrison chipped in 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the signature victory.
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 19
Three-star Pittsburgh signee
Brandin Cummings continued a strong start to his senior season with a game-high 27 points in a 97-67 victory over Beaver. The defending Class 4A state champions travel to the Capitol City Classic this week for an opening-round contest against Lake Oswego (Ore.) on Saturday.
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 20
Extended win streak to 33 games with three blowouts to open the season. The Redbirds are outscoring opponents by an average of 45.7 points per contest through three contests paced by 19.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists from three-star Wisconsin commit
Zach Kinziger.
Record: 6-0
| Last week: NR
Secured a statement victory over Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) 75-51 at the National High School Hoopfest paced by a team-high 23 points, five assists and four steals from sophomore guard
Ashton Meeks.
Record: 3-0 | Last week: 21
Defeated Norman North 60-38 to claim their 22nd consecutive victory dating back to last season. The Huskies have a matchup with Mustang tonight before traveling to Piedmont on Friday.
Record: 5-2 | Last week: 22
Five-star Rutgers signee
Ace Bailey erupted for 41 points, 26 rebounds and four assists to lead the Indians to an 84-64 victory over Pebblebrook (Mableton). McEachern has the week off before opening the City of Palms Classic with a first-round matchup against No. 4 Don Bosco Prep on Dec. 18.
Record: 14-0 | Last week: 23
Slipped past Silsbee 78-68 powered by a game-high 32 points from New Mexico signee
Kayde Dotson. The Timberwolves are 117-7 over the past four seasons with a pair of state titles during that span.
Record: 2-0 | Last week: 24
Four-star Connecticut signee
Ahmad Nowell has been the catalyst for the Panthers to star the year, posting 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 77-70 win over St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) and 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a 64-46 triumph against Overbrook (Philadelphia).
Record: 14-1 | Last week: NR
Bounced back from a buzzer-beating loss to No. 11 Stony Point with a 68-56 win against Westlake (Austin) led by 22 points, six rebounds and two blocks from four-star junior
Hudson Greer.
