The 2021-22 high school basketball season continues to produce unexpected results — and a host of COVID cancellations — as Camden becomes the third team to take over the No. 1 spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings. The Panthers jump to the top after previous No. 1 Duncanville slipped up to newly minted No. 2 Richardson 60-58 in the Whataburger Tournament championship game.
All storylines shifted to the back burner early in the fourth quarter when Duncanville's five-star guard
Anthony Black suddenly entered for the first time with the Panthers down by four points. According to the
Dallas Morning News,
a final verdict occurred during the third quarter and because Black's
name was in the scorer's book, he rushed into the locker room to suit
up.
Despite the unexpected boost, Richardson outlasted the Panthers behind a strong performance from tournament MVP
Cason Wallace who scored a game-high 23 points, including a game-tying layup at the 1:30 mark before being fouled and knocking down 1-of-2 from the line, to give the Eagles the lead and ultimately the win.
No. 5 Centennial captured the Classic at Damien title, while No. 8 Bishop Gorman won the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, No.11 North Little Rock won the King Cotton Holiday Classic, No. 12 Long Island Lutheran won the Arby's Classic, No. 19 Archbishop Stepinac won the Chick-fil-A Classic and No. 25 The Burlington School captured the John Wall Holiday Invitational.
Other holiday tournament champions include No. 17 Greensboro Day winning the HAECO Invitational, No. 18 Glenbard West taking home first place at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic and No. 22 Kenwood capturing the crown at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament.
COVID has started to impact the high school basketball landscape again as cases of the Omicron variant continue to surge worldwide. No. 6 Calvary Christian Academy, No. 7 Gonzaga, No. 9 DeMatha and No. 10 Cardinal Hayes each had to cancel games last week.
A busy January presents challenges to many top programs amid the new wave of COVID cases as major showdowns loom. As always, MaxPreps will be on top of all the latest developments from across high school basketball.
Richardson players celebrate their Whataburger championship win over former No. 1 Duncanville. The Eagles moved to No. 2 in the MaxPreps Top 25 after their title victory.
Photo by Tommy Hays
Record: 2-0 | Last week: 2
Defeated Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) 73-41 at Slam Dunk to the Beach behind
D.J. Wagner (21) and
Cian Medley (20). The Panthers take over the top spot after a Duncanville loss, but their standing atop the rankings will be tested this month with matchups against National Top 20 No. 3 Montverde Academy, No. 4 Sierra Canyon, No. 6 Calvary Christian Academy and Milton (Ga.) looming.
Record: 17-1
| Last week: 7
Secured a monster 60-58 overtime win over previous No. 1 Duncanville in the Whataburger Tournament championship game. The Eagles also knocked off Guyer (Denton), 67-54, South Grand Prairie, 57-43, and Waxahachie, 63-47 on their path the finals.
Record: 15-1 | Last week: 1
The Panthers won three games to advance to the Whataburger Tournament finals, knocking off St.
Mark's (Dallas), 81-43, Martin (Arlington), 61-55, and Mansfield
Timberview (Arlington), 83-49 before their overtime loss to No. 2 Richardson. They still have an impressive resume, boasting wins over No. 4 Sierra Canyon, No. 5 Centennial and National Top 20 No. 3 Montverde Academy.
Record: 14-1 | Last week: 3
The Trailblazers are nearing full strength as offseason additions
Isaiah Elohim and
Jeremiah Nyarko made their season debuts in a 83-49 victory over Venice (Los Angeles). A challenging month of games looms with a trip to the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions and showdown with No. 1 Camden upcoming. Five-star senior
Amari Bailey remains day-to-day rehabbing an ankle injury.
Record: 12-1 | Last week: 4
Captured the Classic at Damien championship with wins over Clovis North (Fresno) 89-28, St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 62-56, Etiwanda 67-61 and Crean Lutheran (Irvine) 66-56. New Mexico pledge
Donovan Dent led the way with 27 points in their win over St. John Bosco and 23 points against Etiwanda.
Record: 7-1 | Last week: 5
Following a strong week at the City of Palms Classic that saw them go 3-1, the Eagles were forced to pull out of the Battle at the Villages due to COVID issues within the program.
Record: 6-0 | Last week: 6
Unable to compete in the Les Schwab Invitational due to COVID complications, the Eagles are expected to return to the court Tuesday for a showdown against Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.).
Record: 14-0 | Last week: 10
Captured their second consecutive major tournament championship with an overtime victory over Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy (Dallas) 80-73 in the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic championship game behind a game-high 23 points from sophomore
Jase Richardson. The Gaels defeated Torrey Pines (San Diego), 67-49 Northgate (Walnut Creek, Calif.) 71-44 and Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 58-50 in their run to the event title.
Record: 6-1 | Last week: 9
Expected to host Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) on Tuesday after pulling out of the Torrey Pines Holiday Invitational due to COVID protocols.
Record: 6-0 | Last week: 12
Forced to cancel a highly anticipated Dec. 29 contest against Christ the King (Middle Village). The Cardinals battle Chaminade (St. Louis) and Parkview (Little Rock, Ark.) at Hoophall South on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Record: 11-3 | Last week: 13
Won the King Classic Holiday Classic championship after defeating Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport, La.) 77-46, Cane Ridge (Nashville, Tenn.) 86-59 and No. 25 Beaumont United 82-72. Five-star Arkansas signee
Nick Smith was named tournament MVP after averaging 28 points per contest in the Charging Wildcats' three wins.
Record: 8-1 | Last week: 14
Captured the Arby's Classic title with wins over Tennessee (Briston, Tenn.) 74-34, Tampa Catholic (Tampa, Fla.) 85-54, Armarillo (Texas) 62-42 and Berkmar (Lilburn, Ga.) 71-58. Tournament MVP
Jayden Pierre scored a game-high 22 points in the championship victory over Berkmar.
Record: 5-1 | Last week: 18
Picked
up three quality wins since the last rankings update, beating Wilson (Washington, D.C.) 85-65, Gray Collegiate Academy (West Columbia, S.C.) 75-59 and previous No. 23 Bergan Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 85-70. The Lions' lone loss was to No. 1 Camden in their season opener.
Record: 15-2
| Last week: 8
Following a first-round loss to Denver Prep Academy (Denver, Colo.) 73-64, the Panthers recovered with a pair of wins over Legacy Early College (Greenville, S.C.) 55-54 and Huntington Prep (Huntington, W. Va.) 74-49 to finish 2-1 at the Chick-fil-A Classic.
Record: 6-0 | Last week: 15
Secured a quality conference win at Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) 53-46 behind a game-high 23 points from senior forward
Rich Rolf. The Elks take on Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.) in the Chance Harman Classic on Saturday.
Record: 8-1 | Last week: 21
Rise three spots after beating No. 24 Imhotep Charter 59-50 at the Slam Dunk to the Beach last week. The Panthers have a trip to the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions looming over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
Record: 18-2 | Last week: 19
Racked up their 18th HAECO Invitational tournament championship with wins over Southeast Guilford (Greensboro) 71-33, Ben L. Smith (Greensboro) 63-35 and Grimsley (Greensboro) 64-49. Junior guard
Jaydon Young was named tournament MVP with 24 points and 10 rebounds in the title game victory.
Record: 14-0 | Last week: 20
Captured the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic championship with four blowout wins, defeating St. Patrick (Chicago) 67-40, Leo (Chicago) 69-46, Rolling Meadows 58-40 and Lyons (Lagrange) 60-28 behind tournament MVP
Braden Huff.
Caden Pierce,
Paxton Warden and
Bobby Durkin were also named to the all-tournament team.
Record: 7-1
| Last week: NR
Return to the rankings after bolstering their national resume with a Chick-fil-A Classic American Bracket title. The Crusaders downed Marshall (Richmond, Va.) 54-50, Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) 72-64 in overtime and Irmo (Columbia, S.C.) 79-56 en route to the tournament championship. Freshman guard
Danny Carbuccia earned tournament MVP honors after scoring a team-high 15 points in the Crusaders' title game victory.
Record: 6-1 | Last week: 11
After being outscored 22-5 in the first quarter of the Reading Invitational championship game, the Red Knights battled back to tie things up with under two minutes to play but were unable to avoid their first loss of the season in a 75-71 setback to Devon Prep (Devon, Pa.). Senior guard
Justin Walker led Reading with 16 points in the championship game.
Record: 9-1 | Last week: 16
Suffered their first setback of the season 76-63 against National Top 20 No. 10 Prolific Prep in their first game since Dec. 11. The Rams compete against a strong 16-team field in the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic from Jan. 5-8.
Record: 12-2 | Last week: NR
Won the Proviso West championship with a title game victory over Whitney Young (Chicago) 69-64. Senior Nevada signee
Trey Pettigrew scored a game-high 21 points in the championship game. Pettigrew averages 22.5 points, 6.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds on the season.
Record: 16-2 | Last week: 25
Finished
runner-up at the King Cotton Holiday Classic, defeating Watson Chapel
(Pine Bluff, Ark.) 66-18 and Christian Brothers (St. Louis) 67-59
before falling to No. 11 North Little Rock 82-72 in the championship
game. Top 40 junior prospect
Wesley Yates III leads the Timberwolves in scoring this season at 20.3 points.
Record: 6-2 | Last week: 22
Suffered a 59-50 setback against No. 16 St. Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) at the Slam Dunk the to the Beach. Five-star junior
Justin Edwards had 21 points and 13 rebounds in the Panthers loss. They travel to the Highland Shootout to face Vashon (St. Louis) on Saturday.
Record: 17-3
| Last week: NR
Won the John Wall Holiday Invitational Devonte Graham Bracket championship with wins over Millbrook (Raleigh, N.C.) 89-54, Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.) 72-63 and Life Christian Academy (Kissimmee, Fla.) 73-53. The Spartans also picked up a victory over Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) in a showcase contest at the event.
