A last-minute tournament cancellation kept Kyle Anderson (second from left) and top-ranked St. Anthony off the court this weekend.
File photo by Lonnie Webb
NCAA bylaw 13.11.1.8 is about the only thing that has slowed down top-ranked
St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) over the past two years.
The Friars – winners of 46 games in a row – were scheduled to participate in the SNY Invitational over the weekend at Long Island University in Brooklyn. But the controversial new NCAA rule, which has thrown high school events off college campuses all over the country this season, forced a last-minute cancellation of the event.
Bylaw 13.11.1.8 states, "An institution...shall not host, sponsor or conduct a nonscholastic basketball practice or competition in which men's basketball prospective student-athletes...participate on its campus or at an off-campus facility regularly used by the institution for practice and/or competition by and of the institution's sports programs."
Events in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and several other states were canceled or relocated earlier this season in response, making the gaffe by event organizers and LIU officials a bit of a head-scratcher.
No SNY Invitational meant empty weekends for the Friars along with
Cardozo (Bayside, N.Y.),
Jefferson (Brooklyn) and
St. Raymond Boys (Bronx). St. Anthony and St. Raymond attempted to schedule each other on Saturday, but that contest ultimately fell through.
The Friars remain No. 1 in this week's Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard. Read on for a complete look at the rankings.
Xcellent 25 High School Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (13-0)Though the SNY Invitational mess kept the Friars out of action over the weekend, they did record a 68-28 win over East Orange on Tuesday.
2. (3) Grace Prep (Arlington, Texas) (20-2)The Lions coasted to easy wins over Pantego Christian (Arlington) and Fort Worth Christian (North Richland Hills) over the weekend. Outside of a possible meeting with Westbury Christian (Houston) in the TAPPS 4A title game, there aren't many major obstacles left on the schedule.
3. (4) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (27-2)The Marauders are hitting stride at the right time, winning their last four games by 20 points or more. Marcus is an incredible 103-6 over the past three seasons.
4. (5) Milton (Ga.) (18-4)After helping the Eagles beat Northview (Johns Creek), Centennial (Roswell) and Wheeler (Marietta) last week, Virginia-bound wing
Evan Nolte has been in uniform for 100 Milton victories.
5. (6) Simeon (Chicago) (20-1)The Wolverines – 50-3 over the past two seasons – have won four in a row since a loss two weeks ago at the Spalding Hoophall Classic to Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.).
