Rashad Muhammad is stepping up to help fill the void of his brother - UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad - for No. 25 Bishop Gorman.
Photo by Jann Hendry
The Bombers are living up to their nickname, thrashing all six opponents thus far by 25 points or more. Putnam City (Oklahoma City) entered the season with more hype, but Midwest City has everybody's attention at the moment.
22. (NR) Pershing (Detroit), 7-0Michigan signee Derrick Walton and Chandler Park Academy (Harper Woods) gave the Doughboys a good test at the Motor City Roundball Classic, but Pershing erased a nine-point halftime deficit to record a 70-60 victory.
23. (NR) Omaha Central (Neb.), 7-2We may have been too quick to dismiss the Eagles from the Xcellent 25 after back-to-back losses at the City of Palms Classic against No. 3 Long Beach Poly and No. 4 Whitney Young. Since returning from Florida, Central has recorded a pair of angry-looking scores in blowout victories over local foes.
24. (NR) Centennial (Corona, Calif.), 15-1No stranger to the Xcellent 25 in recent years, the Huskies are looking dangerous once again. The roster includes highly touted young guards in sophomore
Sedrick Barefield (14.2 points per game) and freshman
Jordan Griffin (10.1). But unheralded California-Riverside signee
Sam Finley (21.3) and junior
Deontae North (13.4) are taking care of much of the production and providing experience. Etiwanda, Inglewood (twice) and most recently then-No. 21 Bullard of Fresno are among Centennial's quality wins.
25. (NR) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 15-2Remember these guys? The Gaels couldn't bring home the title at the Tarkanian Classic or Beach Ball Classic, but have wins over teams from Arizona, California, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin in addition to Nevada. Gorman's only losses have come at the hands of No. 1 Mater Dei and No. 4 Whitney Young. The Las Vegas powerhouse beat Proviso West Holiday Classic champ Morgan Park (Chicago) prior to Christmas.
Dropped out: No. 6 last week
Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), No. 12
West Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.), No. 16
St. Frances Academy (Baltimore), No. 18
Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas), No. 19
Loyola (Los Angeles), No. 20
Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville, Tenn.), No. 21
Bullard (Fresno, Calif.), No. 23
Salesian (Richmond, Calif.)
