High school basketball rankings: Duncanville finishes No. 1, becomes first Texas school to be crowned MaxPreps National Champion since 2010

Duncanville (Texas) established itself as the best team in high school basketball this season with big victories on a national stage, including a third consecutive Class 6A state championship. The Panthers are the 2021-22 MaxPreps National Champions after finishing No. 1 in the final MaxPreps Top 25 rankings.

The 35-1 Panthers built a powerful resume with wins over No. 2 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) and National Top 20 No. 1 Montverde Academy (Fla.). Additional out-of-state victories over Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), Utah Class 6A state champion American Fork and Louisiana state champions Carver Collegiate Academy (New Orleans) and Zachary bolster their claim as the top team in the country.

Duncanville also dominated in-state action with wins over Shadow Creek (Pearland), Lancaster, Kimball (Dallas), Martin (Arlington) and Mansfield Timberview (Arlington) during regular season play.

Despite the daunting schedule, Duncanville outscored opponents by an average margin of 23.6 points per contest this season, including postseason play. During its state title run, Duncanville dispatched Garland 61-38 in the quarterfinals, knocked off Atascocita (Humble) 50-36 in the semifinals and handled McKinney 69-49 in the title game.

In a dramatic turnaround, Duncanville recovered from a 30-10 deficit in the state semifinals before winning by 14. Using in-your-face defense and constant substitutions, Duncanville kept fresh bodies on Atascocita and held the Eagles to four second-half points, finishing the game on a 40-6 run over the final 20-plus minutes of game action.

The Panthers are 125-14 under head coach David Peavy over the last four seasons and have finished ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25 each season, including No. 6 in 2020-21 after posting a 29-1 mark.

Duncanville becomes the first team since Wheatley (Houston) from 1968-1970 to win three consecutive titles in the Lone Star State's highest classification. The Panthers also reached the semifinal round in 2020 and were favored to capture the title prior to the season's abrupt end due to the pandemic.

Junior forward Ronald Holland, who averaged 15.9 points to go along with 7.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists, led a balanced attack with five players averaging eight or more points per game. Arkansas signee Anthony Black (13.5 points, 5.8 rebounds. 4.0 assists), under-the-radar junior Aric Demings (11 points), top 150 junior Ashton Hardaway (10 points) and Texas State pledge Davion Sykes (8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds) each played crucial roles in the championship run.

2009 — Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)
2010 — Yates (Houston)
2011 — St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.)
2012 — St. Anthony; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) *
2013 — Lone Peak (Highland, Utah); Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) *
2014 — Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
2015 — Montverde Academy
2016 — Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.)
2017 — Nathan Hale (Seattle); La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) *
2018 — Montverde Academy
2019 — IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
2020 — Montverde Academy
2021 — Montverde Academy

Record: 35-1 | Last week: 1

UIL Class 6A state champions

Record: 33-1 | Last week: 2

CIF Open Division state champions

Record: 26-2 | Last week: 3

FHSAA Class 4A state champions, State Champions Invitational winner

Record: 29-2 | Last week: 4

NJSIAA Tournament of Champions winner

Record: 27-3 | Last week: 5

AHSAA Class 6A state champions

Record: 37-1 | Last week: 6

IHSA Class 4A state champions

Record: 26-3 | Last week: 7

CHSAA Class AA champions

Record: 33-2 | Last week: 8

Season complete.

Record: 31-2 | Last week: 9

NJSIAA Tournament of Champions runner-up

Record: 31-5 | Last week: 10

WCAC regular season, tournament champions, VISAA Division I state champions

Record: 29-4 | Last week: 11

PIAA Class 5A state champions

Record: 31-0 | Last week: 12

NCHSAA Class 4A state champions

Record: 26-4 | Last week: 13

CHSAA Class AA runner-up

Record: 26-3 | Last week: 14

NCISAA Class 4A state champions

Record: 28-0 | Last week: 15

TSSAA Division II Class AA champions

Record: 37-1 | Last week: 16

KHSAA Sweet 16 state champions

Record: 36-3 | Last week: 17

UIL Class 5A state champions

Record: 29-2 | Last week: 18

FHSAA Class 7A state champions

Record: 30-1 | Last week: 22

NIAA Class 5A state runner-up

Record: 29-1 | Last week: 24

OHSAA Division I state runner-up

Record: 22-4 | Last week: 25

NIAA Class 5A state champions