Tournament MVP Stanley Johnson led new No. 1 Mater Dei to the title at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.
Photo by Jann Hendry
The Monarchs are coming off a tournament win at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas and haven't been truly tested heading into the post-Christmas Orange Holiday Classic.
Elijah Brown and
Stanley Johnson are both averaging more than 20 points per game in Gary McKnight's user-friendly offense. It's simply embarrassing we excluded the Monarchs from preseason rankings.
2. (1) Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), 10-1If it were possible, the Knights would slot in at 1B. The first team from Utah to ever participate in the prestigious City of Palms Classic, Lone Peak knocked off then-No. 3 Chester (Pa.) and then-No. 5 Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.) en route to the championship game.
3. (2) Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 8-1Like Lone Peak, Poly's only loss at the City of Palms Classic came against Montverde Academy (Fla.). The Jackrabbits beat ranked teams in Tift County (Tifton, Ga.), Omaha Central (Neb.) and Southwind to collect third place in Fort Myers. Head coach Sharrief Metoyer's squad will need to remain dialed in after Christmas as it gets back on the road for the Whataburger Tournament in Texas.
4. (4) Whitney Young (Chicago), 6-1Yet another City of Palms participant that went down to Montverde Academy, the Dolphins bounced back with wins over Omaha Central and Chester.
5. (6) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 4-0The Saints head to Oregon for the Les Schwab Invitational after Christmas.
