The fourth edition of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com for the 2017-18 season shows six new teams, as we are at the point in the season where we start rewarding still unbeaten teams. There isn't too much movement at the top with previous No. 4 Memphis East (which was No. 2 in the preseason) falling seven spots after losing three consecutive games. Next week's FAB 50 will be a special MLK edition which includes all the results from MLK events over the three-day weekend.
By Ronnie Flores
There was a debate in the preseason about which team should start the 2017-18 season No. 1 in the nation: Montverde Academy of Florida or Memphis East of Tennessee. For factors we discussed at length back in November, we went with the Eagles and quite frankly there is no debate now.
All the credible pollsters made the switch after Memphis East fell in the title game of the City of Palms Classic title game, but unexpectedly the Mustangs enter this week having lost three games in a row after losing twice at the Penny Hardaway Hoopfest at White Station High School in Memphis. Hardaway, of course, is the Mustangs' head coach and it was quite surprising to see his talented team lose two games in a row to out-of-of-state teams in his hometown.
Memphis East fell to bubble club Olive Branch (Miss.), 73-70, and fell to previous No. 9 Simeon (Chicago), 78-73, in overtime. Simeon was able to avenge a loss to the Mustangs at the City of Palms Classic and moves up three spots to No. 6, one spot behind the McEachern (Power Springs, Ga.) club it lost to. What made matters even more surprising (from a rankings perspective) is Olive Branch lost the best night to Cordova (Tenn.), as were going to place that club in the FAB 50 (but behind Memphis East) until that result came in. That causes Memphis East to drop a bit further than it would have otherwise, as Hardaway's boys get rankings credit for its win over Simeon and a 62-60 victory over No. 16 Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.). The Mustangs fall in at No. 11, one spot ahead of the Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) team that has split with Oak Ridge.
WCAC Collision Course
With Memphis East losing twice, the big winners for the week were Washington Catholic Athletic Conference clubs DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) and Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.). DeMatha climbed to No. 4 after defeating McEachern, 73-63, as sophomore center Hunter Dickinson netted 24 points, 12 rebounds and four assists in a game played at the Cancer Research Classic in Wheeling, W. Va. The only loss to the Stags is a 76-66 setback to No. 1 Montverde Academy at the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina before the turn of the New Year.
Gonzaga is rolling along just fine even although Notre Dame commit Prentiss Hubb was lost to injury for the season before got going for Steve Turner's boys. Gonzaga will face No. 12 Paul VI and Dematha in back-to-back WCAC games on January 9 and 11, respectively.
You can watch DeMatha Catholic on the Ballislife HS Basketball Weekly Showcase live from the Hoophall Classic on January 14 (2:15 pm ET) versus Cole Anthony and his team at Archbishop Molloy (Queens, N.Y.). That event will have the biggest FAB 50 impact among MLK showcases across the country this upcoming holiday weekend.
In addition to the DeMatha Catholic-Molloy game, No. 2 Oak Hill Academy will face No. 3 University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) on national television on MLK Monday. Montverde Academy will face the Simeon club that has split with Memphis East on Saturday at the event and come back on Monday and face No. 17 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
RELATED: Ballislife HS Basketball Weekly Showcase | Oldsmar Christian (FL) - Downey Christian (FL) Game Link | DeMatha Catholic (MD) - Archbishop Molloy (NY) Game Link
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(Fourth poll of 2017-18 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, January 7; Previous ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
| No. | Prev. | High School (City) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 21-0 |
| 2 | 2 | Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) | 23-0 |
| 3 | 3 | University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) | 16-0 |
| 4 | 6 | DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) | 13-1 |
| 5 | 5 | McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) | 11-2 |
| 6 | 9 | Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) | 12-2 |
| 7 | 7 | Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.) | 12-0 |
| 8 | 10 | Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) | 11-0 |
| 9 | 8 | Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) | 18-2 |
| 10 | 12 | La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) | 13-2 |
| 11 | 4 | Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) | 12-3 |
| 12 | 13 | Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) | 10-2 |
| 13 | 11 | Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 9-2 |
| 14 | 16 | Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) | 7-1 |
| 15 | 18 | Guyer (Denton, Texas) | 23-1 |
| 16 | 17 | Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) | 15-3 |
| 17 | 15 | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) | 10-4 |
| 18 | 19 | Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) | 14-0 |
| 19 | 20 | Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) | 11-0 |
| 20 | 14 | Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.) | 4-3 |
| 21 | 21 | Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) | 16-5 |
| 22 | 22 | Riverside Academy (Reserve, La.) | 22-0 |
| 23 | 26 | Riley (South Bend, Ind.) | 11-0 |
| 24 | 25 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 9-2 |
| 25 | 27 | Upson-Lee (Thomaston, Ga.) | 16-0 |
| 26 | 30 | Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.) | 7-0 |
| 27 | 35 | Cox Mill (Concord, N.C.) | 12-3 |
| 28 | 28 | Clarkston (Clarkston, Mich.) | 7-1 |
| 29 | 29 | Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) | 9-2 |
| 30 | 31 | Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) | 13-1 |
| 31 | 32 | Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) | 12-2 |
| 32 | 36 | Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) | 8-3 |
| 33 | NR | McCallie School (Chattanooga, Tenn.) | 16-0 |
| 34 | NR | Warren Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) | 10-0 |
| 35 | 41 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 11-4 |
| 36 | 38 | Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) | 11-2 |
| 37 | 40 | St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) | 17-2 |
| 38 | 42 | Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.) | 13-1 |
| 39 | 43 | Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) | 11-3 |
| 40 | 44 | Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) | 15-1 |
| 41 | 45 | Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas) | 19-3 |
| 42 | NR | Gill St. Benard's (Gladstone, N.J.) | 5-2 |
| 43 | 46 | West (Lee's Summit, Mo.) | 9-0 |
| 44 | NR | John Carroll (Bel Air, Md.) | 11-3 |
| 45 | 47 | Clark (Las Vegas, Nev.) | 11-3 |
| 46 | 48 | Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) | 5-0 |
| 47 | NR | Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) | 7-1 |
| 48 | 49 | Iowa City West (Iowa City, Iowa) | 8-0 |
| 49 | NR | Oshkosh North (Oshkosh, Wis.) | 11-0 |
| 50 | NR | Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.) | 12-0 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 23 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), No. 24 Ranney School (Tinton Falls, N.J.), No. 33 Brentwood Academy (Nashville, Tenn.), No. 34 Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), No. 37 Garfield Heights (Garfield Heights, Ohio), No. 39 Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.).
Bubble Teams: Belleville West (Belleville, Ill.) 14-1; Brentwood Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) 8-3; Buford (Buford, Ga.) 12-2; Camel Christian (Matthews, N.C.) 18-2; Canton (Canton, Miss.) 16-2; Carl Albert (Midwest City, Okla.) 9-1; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 10-2; Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.) 15-1; Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) 9-1; Curie (Chicago, Ill.) 12-2; Cypress Falls (Houston, Texas) 18-3; DeKaney (Houston, Texas) 20-3; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 6-0; Etiwanda (Etiwanda, Calif.) 15-1; Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) 10-4; Federal Way (Federal Way, Wash.) 14-0; Fern Creek (Louisville, Ky.) 12-3; Garfield Heights (Garfield Heights, Ohio) 9-1; Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.) 19-3; Hazel Park (Hazel Park, Mich.) 7-0; Hazelwood Central (Florissant, Mo.) 14-1; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 12-1; Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 12-3; Lake Worth (Lake Worth, Fla.) 12-0; Las Cruces (Las Cruces, N.M.) 15-0; Lincoln (Tacoma, Wash.) 12-0; Madison Prep Academy (Baton Rouge, La.) 13-3; Memorial (Tulsa, Okla.) 12-1; Meridian (Meridian, Miss.) 18-1; Midwest City (Midwest City, Okla.) 8-3; Morgan County (Madison, Ga.) 15-0; Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 12-3; Mt. Vernon (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) 10-0; New Albany (New Albany, Ind.) 10-1; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 14-2; Olive Branch (Olive Branch, Miss.) 13-3; Olympus (Salt Lake City, Utah) 11-0; Orr (Chicago, Ill.) 12-2; Osceola (Kissimmee, Fla.) 13-4; Pickerington North (Pickerington, Ohio) 8-2; Plymouth-Whitemarsh (Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) 9-0; Putnam City North (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 7-2; Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) 8-2; Ranney School (Tinton Falls, N.J.) 6-2; Richland (Richland, Wash.) 12-0; Rock Canyon (Highlands Ranch, Col.) 11-0; Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 16-4; Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 11-2; Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.) 16-0; Trinity Episcopal (Richmond, Va.) 10-2; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 12-1; Waxahachie (Waxahachie, Texas) 16-4; Webster Groves (Webster Groves, Mo.) 6-4; Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) 14-3; Westlake (Austin, Texas) 22-3; West Oaks Academy (Orlando, Fla.) 15-3.
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 18 years ago.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores