The State Champions Invitational (SCI) closed out the 2022-23 season and it's now time to publish our final FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. The SCI didn't have any bearing on the top of the rankings led by No. 1 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.), but we still had changes based on the six teams that played in the second year event.
In the inaugural State Champions Invitational, the big question going into the event in April 2022 was if any of the other three teams could compete with Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.). In the end, the Eagles rolled to the tournament title to finish No. 7 in the final 2021-22 FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com.
This season, the two additional teams were added to the field and the 6-team event was much more competitive. In the end, once again the highest ranked FAB 50 club claimed the title as No. 16 Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.), the District of Columbia Schools Athletic Association (DCSAA) Class AA champs, bested then No. 31 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 57-54, in Saturday's championship game at Georgetown University, a mere three miles from the Quakers' campus.
Coach Eric Singletary's club was led to victory by junior (2024) forward Caleb Williams, who hit five 3-pointers and scored on a variety of jumpers to finish with 24 points. Second seeded Sidwell Friends, who defeated third seeded and FAB 50 No. 45 Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah), 60-53, in the semifinals, trailed top seeded Wheeler 47-40 entering the fourth period. Wheeler outscored the Quakers, 45-25, after trialing at the beginning of the game 15-2. Sidwell Friends took control of the game in the fourth quarter with its pressure defense and eventually took a 50-49 lead with 3:26 remaining on Williams' turnaround jumper.
Sidwell Friends got a huge offensive rebound putback from senior forward Chris Russell with 1:30 remaining to give his team a 55-50 lead and senior guard Arinze Achufusi canned two free throws with nine seconds remaining to account for the final margin.
Williams, named the SCI's Most Valuable Player, had 13 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the semifinal win over Corner Canyon. Lehigh-bound point guard Cam Gillus led in the scoring department with 19 points and added seven steals.
Wheeler, which was playing at the event without USC-bound point guard and Mr. Basketball USA candidate Isaiah Collier, was led in the title game by Iowa St.-bound Jelani Hamilton with 20 points, including 4-of-5 3-point shooting. Wheeler, the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Class AAAAAAA champions, defeated FAB 50 No. 21 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), 78-68, in its semifinal contest. USC-bound center Arringten Page had 24 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Hamilton added 22 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
It was an impressive closing to the season for the Quakers, whose girls' program also was victorious at the SCI, but as far as its final FAB 50 ranking goes, it had nowhere to move but held serve by holding off Wheeler. Sidwell Friends lost to No. 15 Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas), the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Class 6A runner-up, while Williams was nursing injury. As for Wheeler, it gets rankings credit for its showing at the CSI without the services of one of the nation's very best players. It moves up 11 spots in front of the Roselle Catholic club it beat in the semifinals. Wheeler must finished in front of the Centennial (Corona, Calif.) club it beat at the City of Palms Tournament in December.
The CSI results caused some change in the bottom 25 of the FAB 50, but no team dropped out from last week. GEICO Nationals champ Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) is officially the 2022-23 FAB 50 National Champs. On April 1, the Lions defeated No. 9 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) to capture the tournament title. Link Academy, which lost one game to No. 2 Montverde Academy (Fla.) during the regular season, won the event for the first time and defeated six FAB 50 ranked teams during the season.
"It is an absolute honor to be ranked No. 1 in the FAB 50 final poll," said Link Academy first year head coach Bill Armstrong. "From day one our players and staff have been working towards being the No. 1 team in the country. To see all of that hard work pay off and obtain the ultimate goal is a surreal feeling for all of us!"
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FINAL FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(17th and final poll of 2022-23 regular season; Through games played on Saturday, April 8; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)
| No. | Prev. | High School (City) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) | 27-1 |
| 2 | 2 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 23-3 |
| 3 | 3 | Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) | 28-1 |
| 4 | 4 | Ben Davis (Indianapolis, Ind.) | 33-0 |
| 5 | 5 | John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) | 28-0 |
| 6 | 6 | Columbus (Miami, Fla.) | 26-4 |
| 7 | 7 | Central Cabarrus (Concord, N.C.) | 32-0 |
| 8 | 8 | Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas) | 34-3 |
| 9 | 9 | AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) | 23-7 |
| 10 | 10 | Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) | 23-3 |
| 11 | 11 | Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) | 33-2 |
| 12 | 12 | Camden (Camden, N.J.) | 23-2** |
| 13 | 13 | Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 30-3 |
| 14 | 14 | Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) | 22-8 |
| 15 | 15 | Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas) | 36-2 |
| 16 | 16 | Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) | 29-4 |
| 17 | 17 | St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) | 32-4 |
| 18 | 18 | Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) | 31-4 |
| 19 | 19 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 17-8 |
| 20 | 31 | Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) | 27-7 |
| 21 | 21 | Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) | 23-6 |
| 22 | 20 | Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) | 30-1 |
| 23 | 22 | Centennial (Corona, Calif.) | 30-4 |
| 24 | 23 | Bellevue West (Bellevue, Neb.) | 29-0 |
| 25 | 24 | De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) | 29-0 |
| 26 | 25 | Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.) | 28-1 |
| 27 | 26 | Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) | 38-4 |
| 28 | 27 | Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio) | 29-0 |
| 29 | 28 | Tualatin (Tualatin, Ore.) | 24-5 |
| 30 | 29 | West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) | 28-2 |
| 31 | 30 | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) | 26-7 |
| 32 | 32 | Oak Cliff Faith Family (Dallas, Texas) | 31-3** |
| 33 | 33 | Kimball (Kimball, Texas) | 33-2 |
| 34 | 34 | Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) | 26-2 |
| 35 | 35 | Warren Central (Bowling Green, Ky.) | 36-1 |
| 36 | 36 | Christ School (Arden, N.C.) | 31-4 |
| 37 | 41 | Reading (Reading, Pa.) | 32-1 |
| 38 | 42 | Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 27-4 |
| 39 | 43 | Dorman (Roebuck, S.C.) | 29-2 |
| 40 | 37 | Lake City (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) | 26-0 |
| 41 | 38 | Curtis (University Place, Wash.) | 28-4 |
| 42 | 39 | Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ark.) | 30-3 |
| 43 | 40 | Central Pointe Christian (Kissimmee, Fla.) | 30-11 |
| 44 | 44 | Durango (Las Vegas, Nev.) | 21-6 |
| 45 | 45 | Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) | 25-3** |
| 46 | 46 | Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) | 27-10 |
| 47 | 47 | Moline (Moline, Ill.) | 35-3 |
| 48 | 48 | Kell (Marietta, Ga.) | 28-2 |
| 49 | 49 | Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) | 26-3 |
| 50 | 50 | Lincoln Park (Midland, Pa.) | 30-1 |
Dropped Out: None.
Editor's Note: No bubble clubs are included in the final FAB 50, as the final 2022-23 Top 20 Regional Rankings include all the teams considered for the bubble.
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 23 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
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