MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National GuardMcDonald's All-American and future UCLA Bruin T.J. Leaf is averaging over 29 points and 12 rebounds per game for No. 24 Foothills Christian.
File photo by Orlando Ramirez
1. (No. 1 last week) Chino Hills (Calif.), 22-0No. 19 Bishop Montgomery looked poised to upset the Huskies on Saturday night at the Fairfax State Preview but came up short in a 71-67 loss. Chino Hills has another showdown on the schedule next weekend against Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) at the Nike Extravaganza.
2. (2) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 29-1Emerging All-American candidate
Lindell Wiggington – a native of Nova Scotia – had another big weekend with 32 on Friday against Christ School (Arden, N.C.) and 25 more Saturday against First Love Christian Academy (Washington, Pa.).
3. (3) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 22-1The Eagles rolled past Miami Christian (Fla.), Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) over the weekend on their home floor en route to the Montverde Academy Invitational title.
4. (4) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 28-0Florida International pledge
Greg Shead dished out a school record 16 assists Friday night in an 81-51 win over The Woodlands.
5. (5) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 15-0The Friars have allowed more than 50 points just twice in 15 outings this season.
6. (6) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 19-3According to Richard Obert of the Arizona Republic, the CIF Southern Section is considering an appeal that would clear the way for MaxPreps 2014-15 National Freshman of the Year
Marvin Bagley III to join Sierra Canyon for the rest of the season.
7. (8) U-D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.), 13-0St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake) could only generate 14 points in the first three quarters Friday in a loss to the Cubs.
8. (9) Garfield (Seattle, Wash.), 17-1The Metro League title will be on the line Tuesday as the Bulldogs play at Rainier Beach (Seattle).
9. (10) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 17-3Markelle Fultz willed the Stags to a key WCAC win over Top 25 bubble team Gonzaga on Sunday with 28 points.
10. (12) St. John's (Washington, D.C.), 20-2The Cadets meet both No. 9 DeMatha and aforementioned Gonzaga in the next 10 days.
11. (13) Stevens Point (Wis.), 17-0The Point really hasn't been tested all year, winning 15 of 17 outings by 20 points or more. The Panthers continued the trend Saturday in an 88-65 win over Minnetonka (Minn.).
12. (14) Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio), 17-0Including eight wins to end the 2014-15 season, the Warriors have won 25 games in a row.
13. (17) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 21-1Former Pilot head coach Todd Simon is currently the interim head coach for UNLV.
14. (18) St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.), 19-1The Gray Bees meet Huntington St. Joseph Prep (Huntington, W.Va.) in two weeks at the Primetime Shootout.
15. (19) Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.), 23-3Super sophomore
Devon Dotson scored 25 points Friday night in a 96-70 win over Cannon.
16. (20) DeSoto (Texas), 25-1Toughest remaining regular season game is Feb. 9 against Cedar Hill – a Top 30 team nationally in the MaxPreps Computer Rankings.
17. (21) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 20-1Led by sophomore
Terrance Moss and freshman
Chandler Lawson, the Mustangs outscored local rivals Overton and Hamilton by 63 points over the weekend.
18. (22) Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.), 15-1Notre Dame signee
T.J. Gibbs is coming off a big weekend, totaling 55 points in wins over Barringer (Newark) and Teaneck.
19. (16) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 21-1Beginning the game on a 9-2 run, the Knights took leads into halftime and the fourth quarter but couldn't close out the nation's No. 1-ranked team Saturday night.
20. (23) La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), 20-3Tricky test Saturday for the Lakers against Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.) – arguably the top team in the Chicago area right now.
21. (25) Apple Valley (Minn.), 19-1While fellow nationally-ranked Minnesota power Hopkins fell Friday night, Apple Valley was dusting off Farmington behind 28 points from MaxPreps National Junior of the Year candidate
Gary Trent Jr.22. (NR) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 17-2Since a 22-point loss to Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) in late December, the Saints have piled up quality wins over Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.), Roman Catholic (Philadelphia), Wings Academy (Bronx, N.Y.), St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) and St. Michael's (Toronto, Ontario, Canada).
23. (NR) Greenforest (Decatur, Ga.), 20-2With the precedent of Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) participating in Dick's Nationals, the Eagles could still be in play for a postseason trip to New York City.
24. (NR) Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.), 16-3Two of Foothills Christian's three losses have come to No. 1 Chino Hills. UCLA-bound forward
T.J. Leaf is averaging 29.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.2 blocked shots per game for the Knights.
25. (NR) Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.), 20-2The Hawks make their Xcellent 25 debut after notching their 10th win a row over the weekend. HHCA has taken on a grueling schedule and played No. 2 Oak Hill Academy to the wire back in early December.
Dropped out: No. 7 last week
Hammond (Columbia, S.C.), No. 11
Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.), No. 15
Morgan Park (Chicago), No. 24
The Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.)On the bubble: Fenwick (Oak Park, Ill.),
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.),
High Point Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.),
Simeon (Chicago)