No. 13 Bishop O'Dowd has more to offer than just 6-foot-9 junior forward Ivan Rabb.
Photo by Jann Hendry
When it was learned that star junior guard
Isaiah Briscoe would have to sit 30 days after transferring over the summer, we cringed a bit at having the Lions ranked this high. Then Roselle went out and smashed The Patrick School (Elizabeth) 74-44 in its opener Friday night. With or without Briscoe, New Jersey's defending Tournament of Champions titlist looks formidable.
12. (14) Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.), 9-0James Demery (16 points) and
Keyshawn Woods (15) led the way in NCA's latest outing, an 88-45 thrashing of Effingham County (Springfield, Ga.) in a showcase game at the Chick-fil-A Classic.
13. (NR) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 4-1Ivan Rabb emerged as a potential first team All-American candidate at the Tarkanian Classic, but the 6-9 junior forward has a solid supporting cast and the Dragons are well coached. O'Dowd ran away from host Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) in the semifinals for a 68-54 win and took No. 2 Mater Dei to overtime in the final.
14. (NR) La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), 12-1The Lakers were impressive in a win over Prime Prep (Dallas) at the Tarkanian Classic. La Lumiere was ranked No. 8 in the preseason by MaxPreps and has the goods to get back into that range before it's all said and done.
15. (16) Etiwanda (Calif.), 10-0The Eagles took care of business at the Inland Empire Classic, beating Chino Hills (Chino) in the final. The next test comes at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in Palm Springs after Christmas.
