Video: Bol Bol makes debut at Mater DeiJunior 7-footer put up 21 points and 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes.
MaxPreps High School Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Nathan Hale (Seattle), 15-0In a rematch of a Les Schwab Invitational semifinal in December, Metro League title contender Garfield (Seattle) will host the Raiders Friday night in Washington's regular season game of the year. Nathan Hale owned a 45-point lead at one point in the first meeting and went on to win 87-64. Expect things to be more competitive this time around.
2. (2) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 16-1After beating then-Independent Top 10 No. 1 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) on Monday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, the Trailblazers had the rest of the week off.
3. (3) Chino Hills (Calif.), 20-0LiAngelo Ball went for 60 points Friday night as the Huskies cruised to their 55th win in a row over Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) 136-93. Chino Hills has a tough week ahead with 20-2 Damien (La Verne) and Independent Top 10 bubble team Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) on the schedule.
4. (4) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 17-3The Mustangs were off over the weekend as head coach Penny Hardaway was inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame. East put up 98 and 91 points, respectively, in wins earlier in the week.
5. (6) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 21-1Cleared to play Thursday,
Bol Bol took the floor for the Monarchs a little over 24 hours later and made a big impact Friday in a win over Orange Lutheran (Orange). The junior 7-footer went for 21 points and 10 rebounds in just 16 minutes as Mater Dei rolled 85-64.
6. (7) McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), 18-0For a team with seven sophomores and a freshman on the roster, the Indians have been remarkably consistent. McEachern's last seven wins against in-state opponents have come by 10 points or more, including blowouts of 46 and 27 points over the weekend.
7. (10) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 16-1Ryan Allen and
D.J. Harvey combined for 23 points Saturday to help the Stags survive a trip to Georgia. DeMatha edged defending Class A state champ Greenforest (Decatur) 46-43 at the Peachtree Corners Invitational.
8. (11) Jonesboro (Ark.), 18-0The Golden Hurricane are shaping up as strong candidate to add a 12th state title to the school's trophy case this season. Jonesboro's first championship came in 1916 while the most recent was 2014 under current head coach Wes Swift.
9. (12) Newton (Covington, Ga.), 21-0Georgia high school hoops guru Kyle Sandy (
@KyleSandy355) has Newton ranked above No. 6 McEachern in his state AAAAAAA rankings.
10. (13) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 16-2St. John's (Washington, D.C.) beat Paul VI by 29 in WCAC play back in December. The Panthers get a shot to avenge that setback on Tuesday. Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) and No. 7 DeMatha are also on the slate in the next 10 days.
Khalief Crawford and Linden shook things up in New Jersey last week, earning a spot in this week's High School Top 25 in the process.
File photo by John Jones
11. (14) Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia), 14-2Head coach Andre Noble confirmed that a Jan. 10 meeting with Constitution (Philadelphia) will go down as a forfeit for Imhotep due to a player altercation. Forfeits aside, the Panthers have won 13 in a row and have wins over teams from five states outside Pennsylvania.
12. (15) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 18-2With all the talk about Sierra Canyon, Chino Hills and Mater Dei in California's Southern Section, Bishop Montgomery can't be overlooked. The Knights took Independent Top 10 No. 3 Montverde Academy (Fla.) to the wire and have won their last 12 against in-state opponents by 20 or more.
13. (5) Simeon (Chicago), 18-1The Wolverines take a tumble after a humbling 19-point loss to Bogan (Chicago) last Thursday. Simeon rebounded over the weekend with a 73-56 over Washington (Milwaukee, Wis.). Michael O'Brien of the Sun Times has unbeaten Bolingbrook at No. 1 in his
Super 25 but that's a tougher sell from a national perspective considering the Raiders haven't played an out-of-state opponent this season.
14. (16) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 15-3After two lopsided wins last week, the Purple Eagles will meet No. 7 DeMatha on Tuesday in a WCAC showdown.
15. (17) Shadow Mountain (Phoenix), 18-0After a week off, the Matadors take the floor again Tuesday in what should be a tough test against St. Mary's (Phoenix).
16. (NR) Linden (N.J.), 10-2The current king of the mountain in the Garden State, Linden knocked off No. 17 Patrick School 71-67 last Tuesday behind 18 points from senior guard
Khalief Crawford. Formerly-ranked Roselle Catholic is up next on Tuesday.
17. (8) Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), 10-3The Celtics' schedule to this point has been unforgiving with six games against teams that have appeared in the High school Top 25 or Independent Top 10. Showdowns with No. 7 DeMatha and Independent Top 10 No. 1 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). remain.
18. (19) Basha (Chandler, Ariz.), 23-0After three wins last week, Basha is four games away from an unbeaten regular season. The MaxPreps Computer Rankings have the Bears ranked 10th nationally among High School Top 25-eligible teams.
19. (21) Klein Forest (Houston), 23-0Head coach Cary Black's squad has won its last eight by an average margin of 29.5 points per game.
20. (22) Federal Way (Wash.), 18-0With a relatively low computer ranking (No. 376 as of Sunday night) and a lack of recognizable opponents on the schedule, there was some resistance to Federal Way's inclusion in the High School Top 25 last week. But the Eagles have won 61 games in a row and are never void of big-time talent or tradition under 500-game winner Jerome Collins.
21. (23) Wagner (San Antonio, Texas), 24-1A 31-point win Tuesday over 2016 Class 6A runner-up Steele (Cibolo) was a reassuring sign that Wagner is Top 25 worthy. Baylor signee
Tristan Clark put up 26 points and 10 rebounds in a 96-71 win over East Central (San Antonio) on Friday.
22. (24) Champlin Park (Champlin, Minn.), 12-0Minnesota plays 18-minute halves but it's still impressive that the Rebels have put up 80 points or more in all 12 outings this season. Six players – led by
McKinley Wright at 23.2 – are averaging 9.2 points per game or more.
23. (NR) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio), 15-0Allowing just 40.8 points per game, defense has carried the Fighting Crusaders to a 15-0 record. Moeller has wins over teams from Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts and New York.
24. (9) Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.), 21-2The Hornets hang in by a thread after a setback Saturday to 19-3 Madison Prep Academy (Baton Rouge) – a team they beat back in early December.
25. (NR) Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), 24-3A disappointing loss at the Spalding Hoophall Classic to Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) was offset Saturday with a complete dismantling of preseason top five team Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.). The Bengals held a 14-3 lead after the first quarter and went on to win 56-36.
Dropped out: No. 18
Evanston (Ill.), No. 21
North Central (Indianapolis), No. 25
Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.)Keep an eye on: Bolingbrook (Ill.),
Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.),
Clarkston (Mich.),
Fairfax (Los Angeles),
Garfield (Seattle),
Iowa City West (Iowa City, Iowa),
Mount St. Joseph (Baltimore),
Sam Houston Math Science & Tech (Houston),
Warren Central (Indianapolis)