The greatest high school basketball teams of all-time

Video: Chino Hills - MaxPreps National Champions

Chino Hills completed a 35-0 season with a California Open Division state championship and a No. 1 ranking in the final MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Basketball Rankings presented by Army National Guard.

So where do the Huskies rank among the all-time great high school basketball teams?

Comparing teams from different eras is always difficult, but using some criteria, we can make some judgements. First, only teams that finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation (by ranking services that include MaxPreps, USA Today, Student Sports, and the National Sports News Service, among others) and also finished undefeated on the court.

Teams were also compared based on their star power (future NBA or college greats), their schedule (how tough it was and how did they fare against those opponents) and staying power (were they a one-year wonder or did they sustain their success over several seasons).

Here's a look at MaxPreps' rankings of the nation's all-time greatest high school boys basketball teams.


1. Dunbar (Baltimore), 1983
Record: 31-0
Star power: The Poets had three eventual No. 1 NBA draft picks in Reggie Williams, who was the national player of the year, point guard Muggsy Bogues, and Reggie Lewis, who was actually a reserve player on the 1983 team.
Schedule: Dunbar played many of the top teams in the country and won by an average of 30 points. Included among those games was a 29-point victory over New Jersey powerhouse Camden.
Staying power: Over the course of two seasons, the Poets went 60-0, with the 1982 team led by future NBA player David Wingate.

2. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 1993
Record: 36-0
Star power: The Warriors had future NBA standout Jerry Stackhouse, along with Jeff McInnis and Makhtar Ndiaye, who played with Stackhouse at North Carolina. A total of eight players went on to Division I teams with four playing in the NBA.
Schedule: The Warriors won their games by an average of 32 points per game. They won the Holiday Prep Classic in Las Vegas, which included the top team from New York and some of the top teams from California.
Staying power: The Warriors are perennially ranked among the top teams in the country with national titles in 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2012.

3. St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 1989
Record: 32-0
Star power: Bobby Hurley, the coach's son, went on to win two national titles at Duke while Terry Dehere and Jerry Walker starred at Seton Hall.
Schedule: The Friars defeated teams from 10 states and won three national tournaments. They also became the first New Jersey team to win the season-ending Tournament of Champions, which matches all the divisional winners in the state.
Staying Power: Over three seasons, St. Anthony went 89-2. The Friars have also won national titles in 2011, 2008, 1996 and 1989.

4. Chino Hills (Calif.), 2016
Record: 35-0
Star power: Lonzo Ball, who has committed to UCLA, is in the running for MaxPreps National Player of the Year. The team also includes his brothers LaMelo Ball (freshman) and LiAngelo Ball (junior) who are also committed to UCLA.
Schedule: The Huskies won the City of Palms Classic beating No. 3 Montverde Academy (Fla.) in the process. Chino Hills also defeated Mater Dei (Santa Ana), Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth) and Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), all teams ranked high in the MaxPreps Computer Rankings, in the state playoffs. The Huskies averaged 98 points per game and scored at least 100 points 18 times.
Staying power: With Lonzo Ball the only senior on the roster, Chino Hills likely still has several great years ahead.

5. Power Memorial (New York City), 1964
Record: 30-0
Star power: Lew Alcindor, later known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar, was a junior during the 1964 season. He averaged 33 points per game that season, including 35 points in a big win against DeMatha. Alcindor went on to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
Schedule: Power Memorial won the New York City CHSAA championship.
Staying power: The Panthers were 116-1 in Alcindor's final three seasons on the varsity squad, with the lone loss coming in 1965. That loss prevented Power Memorial from a possible three straight national No. 1 rankings since DeMatha was ranked No. 1 that year.

6. McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.), 1960
Record: 22-0
Star power: The Warriors featured future NBA great Paul Silas along with NBA player Joe Ellis. Aaron Pointer also played on the team. The older brother of the musical Pointer Sisters, Aaron went on to a baseball career and was an NFL referee.
Schedule: Bay Area basketball, particularly San Francisco, was much more competitive in the 1950s and early 1960s. McClymonds played many of the top teams in the area and also won the Northern California Tournament of Champions six straight seasons.
Staying power: The Warriors went 65-0 between 1958 and 1960 and were ranked No. 1 in the nation by the National Sports News Service for each of those three seasons.

7. Thornridge (Dolton, Ill.), 1972
Record: 33-0
Star power: Thornridge had one of the nation's top athletes in Quinn Buckner, who was also a standout in football. Buckner went on to play on Indiana's undefeated squad in 1976, won an Olympic gold medal in 1976 and was a member of the Boston Celtics' NBA title in 1984.
Schedule: The Falcons averaged 88 points per game and never won by less than 14 points in 1972. Thornridge won the Class AA state title over Quincy that year 104-69.
Staying power: Thornridge won back-to-back state titles and won 58 games in a row.

8. Washington (East Chicago, Ind.), 1971
Record: 29-0
Star power: Washington featured longtime NBA player Junior Bridgeman, and he wasn't even the team's best player. That would be 6-foot-6 senior Pete Trgovich, who averaged 22 points per game and went on to play at UCLA.
Schedule: Washington averaged 91.1 points per game and scored over 100 points eight times in winning the Indiana state tournament. The team was ranked by the Indianapolis Star in 2015 as the state's best high school basketball team ever.
Staying power: Washington won only one state championship during its run, due mainly to the fact that Indiana had only one classification until 1997-98.

9. Lawrence North (Indianapolis), 2006
Record: 29-0
Star power: The Wildcats had two future NBA players on the roster in 7-foot center Greg Oden and point guard Michael Conley. Oden was the No. 1 overall player chosen in the 2007 NBA Draft, but has had a career plagued with injuries. Conley, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2007 draft, has earned a reputation as one of the NBA's top defensive guards.
Schedule: The Wildcats did not travel outside of Indiana due to state restrictions, but they did play the top teams in Indiana including North Central (Indianapolis), led by future NBA player Eric Gordon.
Staying power: The Wildcats won three straight Class 4A state titles in Indiana along with 45 wins in a row.

10. St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio), 2003
Record: 26-0 (one forfeit loss)
Star Power: LeBron James culminated his career by being named National Player of the Year by several publications. Controversy surrounded James his senior year, as he was ruled ineligible for accepting two throwback jerseys and St. Vincent-St. Mary was forced to forfeit a game. Although James sat out two games before being reinstated, St. Vincent-St. Mary won both games. James went on to be the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Schedule: The Fighting Irish played a national schedule that included a nationally televised game against Oak Hill Academy, which St. Vincent-St. Mary won 65-45. The Fighting Irish also knocked off west coast powerhouse Mater Dei.
Staying power: St. Vincent St. Mary won three state championships during James' run, losing only during his junior season in the semifinals.