Video: Top 5 Plays of the WeekWatch LaMelo Ball and Onyeka Okongwu of Chino Hills make some early-season magic.MaxPreps High School Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 0-0Season opener Monday vs. Chaminade (West Hills) at Sierra Canyon Invitational.
2. (4) Norcross (Ga.), 6-0The Blue Devils picked up a pair of wins last week and now must look ahead to No. 14 Cordova (Tenn.) on Saturday at the Memphis vs. Atlanta Roundball Classic.
3. (5) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 6-0The field at the Diablo Inferno was no match for the Monarchs as they won five games by an average margin of 38.4 points per outing. Next is a matchup against St. Mary's (Phoenix) at Hoophall West.
4. (7) Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), 10-0The Bengals are buckling down on defense, surrendering an average of just 44.2 points per game. Calvary Day School (Winston-Salem) and Cary Academy (Cary) could only muster a combined 71 in games over the weekend.
5. (3) Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), 0-0Season opener Dec. 16 vs. Sagemont (Weston, Fla.) at City of Palms Classic.
6. (8) New Albany (Ind.), 2-0After a 65-55 victory over Evansville Harrison on Saturday night, the Bulldogs have won 26 in a row. Big games against North Central (Indianapolis) and Independent Top 10 No. 1 La Lumiere (La Porte) are ahead in the next 10 days.
7. (10) Garfield (Seattle, Wash.), 2-0Head coach Ed Haskins and the Bulldogs picked up impressive wins over quality opponents in Spanaway Lake (Spanaway) and Cleveland (Seattle) last week.
8. (11) Chino Hills (Calif.), 5-0It didn't take long for the defending national champs to grab the country's attention once again. UCLA-bound senior
LiAngelo Ball went for 72 points in a 128-108 win over Rancho Christian (Temecula) last Wednesday. The Huskies averaged 103.6 points in five outings at the BattleZone Tournament en route to the title.
LiAngelo Ball of Chino Hills averaged over 40 points per game in five wins at the BattleZone Tournament in Southern California.
Photo by Louis Lopez
9. (12) Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.), 1-0Here's a potential dark horse national title contender. After going 3-18 in 2015-16, the Raiders opened with an 89-59 win over West Seattle behind star transfer
Michael Porter Jr. – who went for 44 points and 20 rebounds in his Emerald City debut.
10. (16) Wagner (San Antonio, Texas), 12-0The Thunderbirds have already won two tournaments, including a 32-team extravaganza hosted by South San Antonio High School over the weekend.
11. (2) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 4-1After a pair of 40-point wins last week, the Mustangs were tamed by Independent Top 10-ranked Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga) 72-64 on Thursday in an ESPN2-televised showdown.
12. (14) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 0-0Season opener Saturday vs. Constitution (Philadelphia) at Fred Pickett Classic.
13. (15) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 0-0Season opener Dec. 16 vs. Prestige Prep (New York, N.Y.).
14. (20) Cordova (Tenn.), 6-0Juniors
Tyler Harris and
Rodgerick Brown are both averaging over 20 points per game for the Wolves, who have a chance to really shake things up this weekend against No. 2 Norcross.
15. (NR) Curie (Chicago), 4-0The Condors made an early-season statement over the weekend by picking up wins over East St. Louis and Althoff Catholic (Belleville) on back-to-back nights at separate showcase events.
16. (18) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 0-0Season opener Tuesday vs. Cardozo (Washington, D.C.).
17. (19) Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), 0-0Season opener Dec. 17 vs. Pope John XXIII (Sparta) at Hoop Group Tip-Off Showcase.
18. (22) Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.), 3-0The Wolverines dominated Metro (St. Louis) 85-23 in their only outing last week.
19. (23) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 1-0After a big win over then-No. 7 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) to open the season, O'Dowd doesn't take the floor again until Dec. 16 at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.
20. (24) Iowa City West (Iowa City, Iowa), 1-0With so many of our preseason picks going down early, here's one with some promise. The Trojans dismantled Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights, Ill.) 72-42 behind brothers
Connor and
Patrick McCaffery – the sons of Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Fran McCaffery.
21. (NR) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.), 8-0 Four Tigers are averaging double figures during their 8-0 start, which includes lopsided scores of 66-19, 76-24 and 56-17. Big tests are ahead later this month in tournament play at the Kreul Classic and Arby's Classic.
22. (NR) Simeon (Chicago), 1-0Last year the Wolverines drubbed Seattle powerhouse Rainier Beach in an early-season showcase event. Saturday at the Chicago Elite Classic, Simeon hammered preseason No. 17 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 73-58 to tip off its 2016-17 campaign.
23. (NR) Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 3-1The Wildcats return after being left out of the High School Top 25 last week. Perhaps that lit a fire under Wheeler as it pulled away from then-No. 9 Greenforest (Decatur) in the second half for a 53-42 win. Things aren't going to get easier for head coach Doug Lipscomb's team this week with games against No. 14 DeMatha and No. 25 Westlake.
24. (9) Greenforest (Decatur, Ga.), 4-2Instead of sliding an untested team into the Top 25, Greenforest is rewarded for playing three ranked teams in its first six games. The Eagles will have to take care of business against Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) at the National High School Hoops Festival this weekend to remain.
25. (25) Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.), 3-1The rest of December will be grueling for the Lions, who face No. 23 Wheeler on Friday and will participate in the Chick-fil-A Classic and Beach Ball Classic later in the month.
Dropped out: No. 6
Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), No. 13
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), No. 17
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), No. 21
McNeil (Austin, Texas)NOTE: MaxPreps will run separate high school boys basketball rankings for teams that compete for state championships as part of recognized governing body (High School Top 25) and those that do not (Independent Top 10). Look for the first regular season Independent Top 10 later this week.