The latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com features plenty of movement, although a vast majority of the nation’s best teams won last week. There should be plenty of movement in the weeks to come, as the playoffs tip off around the country. There are two newcomers this week: No. 44 St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and No. 46 North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.).
By Ronnie Flores
There wasn’t much movement at the top of the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, so we want to highlight a special performance and what is coming up down the line, when there likely will be some teams shuffling in and out as the playoffs commence around the country.
The only teams among the Top 15 that fell last week were previous No. 3 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) and previous No. 13 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah). The Purple Eagles fell on Super Bowl Sunday to Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), 63-60. Gonzaga led most of the way but gave up the lead late. Gonzaga had a chance to tie the game on its last possession, as Nyk Lewis got a quality look from approximately 37 feet but his shot was just off left.
McNamara was led by junior Kayden Samuels with 26 points. McNamara not only handed Gonzaga in first loss in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference play (WCAC), but its first loss against an opponent from the DMV region.
The Purple Eagles only drop one spot in the rankings because it took three overtimes for No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.) to defeat Gonzaga, whereas No. 5 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) lost to the Explorers twice, including a recent 79-59 victory.
Utah Prep dropped 14 spots after suffering two losses at The Grind Session stop in Atlanta, Ga. It took one of the best individual regular season performances in recent memory to take down Utah Prep on Saturday evening. That performance was turned in by Kansas-bound shooting guard Darryn Peterson of FAB 50 No. 7 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), who put up 58 points in a 88-86 victory. He scored in a variety of ways, even when fellow Mr. Basketball USA candidate and BYU-bound A.J. Dybansta was guarding him. Peterson even maneuvered around the right wing for the game-winning 3-pointer over the out-stretched arms of Dybansta with only a few tics remaining and added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
At a program that has produced 14 McDonald’s All-Americans since 2016 (already third most of all-time from a single program dating back to the game’s inception in 1977), Peterson’s scoring performance broke the program record of 48 set by 2017 McDonald’s All-American Gary Trent Jr. Dybansta, who along with Peterson and Columbus’ Duke-bound Cam Boozer form the best trio of prospects from a single class in recent memory, also shined with 49 points.
The two-point loss to No. 7 Prolific Prep is not the reason for Utah Prep’s drop; it was the 96-90 setback to previous No. 42 Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.) on Friday evening that caused it. Dybansta scored 44 points in that contest, as it looks like the Mr. Basketball USA honor will not be settled until the conclusion of the post-season and the national all-star games.
Speaking of Boozer and the post-season, No. 1 Columbus captured the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) District 15-7A title with an easy 79-51 win over Miami Senior High School. The Explorers are now the heavy favorites to capture their fourth consecutive Class 7A state crown. They open the regional quarterfinals on February 12 vs. Doral Academy (Doral, Fla.). The state finals will be held in eight different classifications from February 27 through March 8, the latter the date the 7A title game will be played at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland (Fla.).
It’s too bad the FHSAA doesn’t have an open division or tournament of champions because Columbus’ best opposition would come from other divisions. FAB 50 No. 12 Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) is the favorite in Class 3A. One of two newcomers to this week’s FAB 50, No. 44 St. Thomas Aquinas, is the favorite in Class 6A.
The other newcomer this week is No. 46 North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.), a team St. Thomas Aquinas handed one of its two losses to. North Meck, which recently beat the Chambers (Charlotte, N.C.) club, 83-63, that handed No. 33 Christ School (Arden, N.C.) one of its two losses, has two regular season games left before the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Class 4A playoffs commence.
No. 49 Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) is also a prime contender in Class 4A, while No. 38 Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.), which is riding a 51-game winning streak, is a NCHSAA Class 2A program.
In California, there is an open division and on Feb. 12 the CIF Southern Section open playoffs will begin with pool play. Two pools of five teams each will battle for an opportunity to play in the CIFSS open title game at Toyota Arena (Ontario, Calif.) on March 1. FAB 50 No. 2 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) is in pool A opposite No. 11 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) and No. 23 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.). When Roosevelt and St. John Bosco meet in the final pool play game on Feb. 25, the game will take place at Roosevelt.
All the rest of the seven teams in pool play are FAB 50 bubble clubs and a handful are legitimate contenders to crack the FAB 50 in the next two weeks.
RELATED: Preseason 2024-25 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | “In The Paint” Podcast (Spotify) | “In The Paint” Podcast (YouTube)
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(8th poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, February 9; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
No. Prev. High School (City)Record
11Columbus (Miami, Fla.)22-3
22Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)27-1
34Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)21-3
43Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)23-3
55Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)17-4
66CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)17-3
77Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.)24-5
88Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.)21-2
99Brennan (San Antonio, Texas)28-2
1010Allen (Allen, Texas)29-1
1111Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)27-2
1212Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)17-1
1314AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)13-6
1415Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)20-4**
1516IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)14-4
1622Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)20-0
1717St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)27-1
1823St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)24-4
1919Hoover (Hoover, Ala.) 30-0
2020Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)15-8
2118Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)13-5
2221Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)16-5
2325Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)20-5
2426DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.)20-5
2527Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.)31-1
2642Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.)21-6
2713Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah)18-9
2829John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)17-2
2941Highland (Warrenton, Va.)30-5
3030Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.)22-2
3143Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas)31-2
3244Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.)19-1
3334Christ School (Arden, N.C.)23-2
3435Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)23-2
3524Owasso (Owasso, Okla.)18-4
3647Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.)25-1
3736Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) 21-7
3837Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.)22-0
3938Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 22-3
4039Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.)18-7
4140St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)18-8
4245Webb (Knoxville, Md.)27-2
4346Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.)20-3
44NRSt. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)25-2
4531DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)18-11
46NRNorth Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.)20-2
4728U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.)17-1**
4832Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.)27-6
4949Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.)21-1
50NRWisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.)18-1
Dropped Out: Previous No. 33 Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.), No. 48 Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.).
Bubble Teams: Aiken (Cincinnati, Ohio) 20-0; Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 20-1; Anderson (Anderson, Ind.) 16-1; Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) 17-4; Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 25-4; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 18-1; Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 23-1; Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.) 27-2; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 13-7; Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 18-1; DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.) 24-3; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 18-1; DeSmet (St. Louis, Mo.) 20-2; Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) 19-4; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 16-1**; Ft. Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas) 31-2; Greater Johnstown (Johnstown, Pa.) 20-0; Greenfield Central (Greenfield, Ind.) 17-2; Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 23-4; Homewood Flossmor (Flossmor, Ill.) 24-2; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 19-1; JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) 21-7; La Mirada (La Mirada, Calif.) 24-4; Lincoln (Warren, Mich.) 15-4; Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 22-6; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 15-2; Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 16-7; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio) 18-2; Orem (Provo, Utah) 18-3; Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) 21-4; Quincy (Quincy, Ill.) 24-2; Rangeview (Aurora, Col.) 18-0; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 23-3; Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) 19-1; Richland (Richland, Wash.) 19-0; Rockford (Rockford, Mich.) 18-1; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 23-2; Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.) 22-5; Shadow Creek (Pearland, Texas) 28-2; Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 20-5; St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) 16-5; St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) 17-3; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 11-6; St. Michael’s (Austin, Texas) 26-4; Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 23-1; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 16-5; Tri-Cities (East Point, Ga.) 20-5; Upper Dublin (Ft. Washington, Pa.) 23-1; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 17-2; Veritas Prep (Corona, Calif.) 8-9**; Veterans Memorial (Corpus Christi, Texas) 34-0; Weatherford (Weatherford, Okla.) 21-1; Woodside (Newport News, Va.) 18-1; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 21-4.
Note: The FAB 50 powered by Ballislife.com is a continuation of the National Sports News Service ratings that began in 1952. These were the first national high school rankings and the late Art Johlfs of Minnesota compiled them. They were compiled for many years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 25 years ago.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at ronnie@ballislife.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
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