For the second year in a row, Bob Hurley and his St. Anthony Friars took the decision-making in terms of crowning a high school basketball national champion out of the media's hands.
The New Jersey juggernaut went 32-0 – building its overall win streak to 65 games – and was one of just two Top 10 teams in the final MaxPreps 25 presented by the Army National Guard to finish unblemished.
Key wins over in-state foes included
Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone),
Hudson Catholic (Jersey City),
Plainfield and
St. Benedict's Prep (Newark). The Friars also scored important out-of-state victories over
Huntington Prep (W.Va.),
Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) and Georgia Class AAAA state champ
Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.).
St. Anthony was dominant down the stretch in pursuit of its second-straight NJSIAA Tournament of Champions title. In six postseason games, the Friars won by an average of 36.3 points per outing and won five of those by 23 points or more.
The Jersey City powerhouse played just five games decided by single digits all season long.
Two-time Texas Class 5A state champion
Marcus (Flower Mound) also deserves special mention as we put a wrap on the 2011-12 rankings. The Marauders did something pretty unique by finishing No. 2 in the MaxPreps 25 in back-to-back seasons. Under head coach Danny Henderson, the program compiled a remarkable 114-6 record over the past three seasons and won 14 state tournament games in a row in perhaps the nation's toughest classification.
Past MaxPreps 25 National Champions2011 – St. Anthony
2010 –
Yates (Houston)2009 –
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)
MaxPreps 25 High School Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (32-0)Non-Public B champions. Tournament of Champions titlists. MaxPreps 25 National Champions.
2. (2) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (39-2)Class 5A state champions.
3. (3) Milton (Ga.) (28-4)Class AAAAA state champions.
4. (4) Simeon (Chicago) (33-1)Class 4A state champions.
5. (5) Chester (Pa.) (32-0)Class AAAA state champions.
Southern Section Division I-AA champions. Division I state champions.
7. (7) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) (28-4)Class 4A state champions.
8. (8) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) (35-3)Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champions. Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament champions. Abe Pollin city champions.
9. (9) Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) (29-4)Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 5A state champions.
10. (10) Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) (31-1)Class AAA state champions.
Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 4A state champions.
12. (12) Dunbar (Dayton, Ohio) (28-0)Division II state champions.
13. (13) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (30-5)Alhambra Catholic Invitational champions.
14. (14) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.) (30-3)Class 7A state champions.
15. (15) Sexton (Lansing, Mich.) (27-1)Class B state champions.
Class 5A state champions.
17. (17) Proviso East (Maywood, Ill.) (32-1)Class 4A runner-up.
18. (18) Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas) (36-4)Class 5A state runner-up.
19. (19) Germantown (Wis.) (28-0)Division 1 state champions.
20. (20) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) (28-3)Class AAA state champions.
NCHSAA Class 4A state champions.
22. (22) Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) (33-2)North Coast Section Division IV champions. Division IV state champions.
23. (23) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) (32-3)Central Coast Section Division II champions. Division II state champions.
24. (24) Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) (22-3)Class 5A state champions.
25. (25) Union (Tulsa, Okla.) (29-0)Class 6A state champions.
