Grayson Allen and No. 22 Providence recorded quality wins at the City of Palms Classic over St. John Bosco of California and Neumann-Goretti of Philadelphia.
Photo by Jim Redman
21. (NR) Whitney Young (Chicago), 5-2Tyrone Slaughter lines up a daunting schedule for his team every year and the Dolphins always seem to be tough to gauge in the national rankings. There are two early losses to unranked St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and No. 3 Paul VI, but quality wins over No. 22 Providence, Apple Valley (Minn.) and St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio). Third place at the City of Palms Classic is generally going to be deserving of a spot in the Xcellent 25.
22. (20) Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.), 9-3Two of Providence's losses came against No. 1 Montverde Academy and the other was on the final day at City of Palms against No. 21 Whitney Young. The Stallions notched key wins over St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) in Fort Myers to remain in the rankings. This team also blew out Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville) earlier in the month.
23. (NR) Arsenal Technical (Indianapolis), 6-1This pick might set off some arguments but no way we could leave the Titans out this week. Arsenal lost to Bowman Academy (Gary, Ind.), who lost to Simeon (Chicago), who lost to Morgan Park (Chicago), who lost to Bogan (Chicago), but the wins really stick out for head coach Jason Delaney's club. The Titans beat preseason No. 3 Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.) twice, Kentucky title contender Ballard (Louisville) and James Blackmon Jr. and Marion by 16.
24. (6) Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 7-2Maybe this is a bit harsh for a program that suffered both losses to Top 10 teams, but would have liked to see the Wildcats keep the final tally a little closer in those setbacks. Both No. 3 Paul VI and No. 9 Lincoln beat Wheeler by 16.
25. (13) St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.), 2-0The Falcons are fortunate to be 2-0 after closer-than-expected wins over East Brunswick and Shore Regional (West Long Branch).
Karl Towns Jr. and company appear to be working the kinks out a bit.
Dropped out: No. 5 last week
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.); No. 11
Wenonah (Birmingham, Ala.); No. 17
Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, N.C.), No. 21
Carlisle (Martinsville, Va.), No. 22
Denver East (Denver, Colo.), No. 23
Callaway (Jackson, Miss.), No. 24
Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.), No. 25
Simeon (Chicago)Tough to leave out: Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.),
Bogan (Chicago),
Bowman Academy (Gary, Ind.),
Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville, Tenn.),
Loyola (Los Angeles),
Morgan Park (Chicago),
Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia),
Orlando Christian Prep (Orlando, Fla.)