The 2023-24 school year is rapidly approaching, and football is about to kick off, but it's never too early to think about high school basketball practice and that first game. There are upwards of 20,000 high schools nationwide with boys' hoops programs, and being nationally ranked is no easy task. It can be done, however, and brings great recognition to a program, helps build up players' confidence and helps teams that want to travel to a tournament it never has been invited to or play a national schedule.
RELATED: 2023-24 Preseason FAB 50 Questionnaire - CLICK HERE to fill it out!
When it comes to the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com, we actually compile them based on what happens on the court and weigh the results. It's not just about who has the most recruitable players or who is playing on television; it's about building a team's resume to a certain point and then maintaining that level based on the on-court results.
Here are three simple steps you can take to give your team the best chance to get ranked this upcoming 2023-24 season:
1. Let Us Know About Your Team
It's never too early to let us know you have a good team. In fact, we are starting to gather team info for the 2023-24 season right now. Coaches, please completely fill out the preseason FAB 50 questionnaire. CLICK HERE to go to the form. The more info we have on your team, the better!
2. Keep and Promote Relevant Team Info
Once in a while a coach or team director will reach out to us about being ranked. Our response is usually, "send me your roster and your stats." You'd be surprised by how many do not have the basics for their team. A functional website is great and the best, but if that's not possible, an up-to-date social media handle with all the results and stats does the trick, too. Some schools are terrific at getting out information and others are not so good. It's Ballislife's job to seek information and know the teams, but with so many teams out there it's only common sense to want to help make that task easier since recognition for the players is what it's all about.
3. Be Honest and Consistent
There are programs that hit us up every year to let is know about their team, even if it's not good enough to be nationally or regionally ranked. We appreciate that. Sometimes, we know if a team is expected to be really good because the coach will reach out early and often. And then there is those that embellish the truth or exaggerate. We know some are just trying to get their team out there, but being dis-honest usually comes back around and after doing rankings for so many years, we have a good idea when information about a team or player is not accurate. High school stats are not common (especially since the newspaper industry is collapsing) so getting accurate info from a third party source is not as easy as it was 20 years ago. In press releases for college signings, high school stats are not referenced as much as they were 10-20 years ago. That info is still relevant and is actually helpful to evaluate players for the next level.
2023-24 Preseason FAB 50 Questionnaire: CLICK HERE to fill it out!
FAB 50 Basketball Policy: We do not rank teams with players on the roster that have completed eight semesters of high school i.e. 5th-year players. We do not rank programs that don't follow age cutoff guidelines of the state association in which the program resides or the recommended date outlined by the NFHS (19 before September 1). Programs also must be recognized by a high school athletics governing body or be an associate member of a state association. Generally, programs must be allowed to play members schools of the state association in which the program resides and, outside of recruiting, follow all other rules of the high school governing body in that particular state. If coaches intentionally provide false or misleading information about his/her program, it automatically disqualifies that particular program from inclusion in the FAB 50 this year and each subsequent year.