NEW FAB 50 National Rankings!

After two more weeks of critical early season games, there are six newcomers in the second regular season edition of the 2018-19 FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. One newcomer tops the Top 25, as Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas) checks in at No. 23. Read on to why this high-rising team is still ranked behind the Guyer (Denton, Texas) team it defeated in overtime. It's still early in the season, as some teams along the Eastern Seaboard have yet to play a game, so these early season results may come into play at a later time.

By Ronnie Flores

RELATED: What We Learned At Hoophall West | LaMelo Ball At Hoophall West

As long-time compilers of national rankings, we always seek out credible local rankings to aid in our countrywide pecking order of the best high school basketball teams. The source of those rankings used to be primarily newspaper websites, but as the newspaper industry continues to change, we have to rely more on our own data and experience with looking at things from a national perspective.

We strive to follow the pecking order of state and local rankings, but sometimes we go against the grain because of national results. There are more national level events than ever, and the results from the Hoophall West in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the ARS/Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest at DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) display our line of thinking when it comes to national results to not dropping a highly-ranked team too early and fast in the season. As a result, there are six new squads as well as highly-regarded teams still ranked ahead of teams ranked higher locally in our latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com.

The best example of this national scope is the case of Guyer (Denton, Texas), which was impressive in two victories in The Valley of the Sun. The Wildcats defeated then No. 14 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), 80-74, and defeated a talented Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) club 80-74. Michigan-bound Jalen Wilson, Oklahoma-bound De’Vion Harmon, and rapidly rising junior JaKobe Coles combined for 55 points in the win over Bishop Gorman. Wilson, a matchup nightmare for most high school programs, and Harmon, who possesses a great combination of physical strength and leadership ability, combined for 50 points over the academy program from Phoenix.

Guyer is the top ranked Class 6A team in the TABCHoops.org rankings and unbeaten Mansfield Timberview is the top ranked club in Class 5A and owns a 87-85 overtime win over the Wildcats on November 30. We still rank Guyer higher because of its national schedule, its quality win over a then higher-ranked team (Bishop Gorman) and don't penalize coach Grant Long's team much for its 71-55 loss to No. 12 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.). On top of that, Guyer is set to face No. 4 DeMatha Catholic at this weekend's ARS/Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest in Dallas. Mansfield Timberview was rewarded as this week's highest-rated newcomer, checking in at No. 23.

At the National Hoopfest at DeMatha, IMG Academy (Brandenton, Fla.) got a terrific performance from Villanova-bound 6-foot-9 Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to defeat the host Stags, 75-68. Robinson-Earl went for 26 points and 13 rebounds whole junior guard Noah Farrakhan added 15 points in the big win. DeMatha had a big lead early in the game and had plenty of chances to win. Because of the close nature of the game, the Ascenders and Stags simply flip-flop in the latest FAB 50 update. Similar to Guyer, there is simply no reason to drop DeMatha too far.

Sunrise Christian Academy was impressive in its early season win over Guyer, but the nation's top-ranked team and defending FAB 50 champ Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) used a big third quarter (19-6) advantage to blow open a close game at the half (31-26 Montverde lead) to beat the Buffaloes going away, 68-41. The Eagles used suffocating full-court pressure defense to turn the tide and got a big game from junior Moses Moody off the bench, as he netted 15 points in 14 minutes. The other double-digit scorers for Montverde were leading players Cade Cunningham (18 points) and Precious Achiuwa (15 points). Sunrise Christian Academy fell four spots this week, as it still has tons of tough games to use as a bounce back from the double-digit loss.

Montverde Academy came back the next night to down Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 57-50, behind Harlond Beverly, didn't miss a shot from the field while scoring 20 points and adding four steals. Paul VI gave a terrific effort and must be ranked ahead of Sunrise Christian Academy right now, as it owns quality victories over No. 20 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) and No. 45 Nicolet (Glendale, Wis.). The Panthers are performing well despite losing their original starting backcourt of Virginia Tech-bound senior Anthony Harris and talented junior Jeremy Roach to ACL injuries three weeks apart. Stepping up has been junior sharpshooter Josiah Freeman and talented freshman guard Knasir McDaniel, who went for 13 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals in the victory over Nicolet at the National Hoopfest.

Keeping with our rankings theme of taking on tough national competition, six FAB 50 ranked teams so far have only dropped games to top-ranked Montverde Academy, No. 3 IMG Academy or No. 10 Paul VI, which only fell one spot in this week's FAB 50.

Our next FAB 50 rankings shuffle will be December 17 right before the tip-off of the pre-Christmas holiday tournaments around the country.

RELATED: What We Learned At Hoophall West | LaMelo Ball At Hoophall West

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com

(Second poll of 2018-19 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, December 9; Previous ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included; ***Indicates scrimmages and foundation games not included; ****Indicates season not complete)

No.Prev.High School (City)Record
11Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)4-0
22Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)10-0
34IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)7-0
43DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.)5-1
55La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.)8-0
66Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.)0-0
77Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)9-0
817University School (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)5-0***
910Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)9-0
109Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.)4-1
1111McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.)3-0
128Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)6-1
1312Warren Central (indianapolis, Ind.)3-0
1413Ranney School (Tinton Falls, N.J.)0-0
1519Belleville West (Belleville, Ill.)7-0
1623Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.)6-0
1716Guyer (Denton, Texas)10-2
1822Carmel Christian (Matthews, N.C.)12-0
1924Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.)0-0
2020St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.)8-1
2129Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.)5-0
2215Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.)5-1
23NRMansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas)13-0
2430Federal Way (Federal Way, Wash.)4-0
2537Allen (Allen, Texas)13-1
2614Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)3-1
2725Wilson (Washington, D.C.)2-1
2842Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.)5-0
2931St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)8-0
3021Mountain Brook (Mountain Brook, Ala.)9-1
3118Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.)5-1
3232Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)1-0
3333Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.)6-1
3434Immaculate Conception (Montclair, N.J.)0-0
3535Meadowcreek (Norcross, Ga.)8-2
36NROak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.)6-0
3726Olive Branch (Olive Branch, Miss.)7-3
3838Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.)3-0
3940Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)6-0
40NRMountain Pointe (Phoenix, Ariz.)9-0
41NRBartlett (Bartlett, Tenn.)10-0
4241Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.)2-1
4344Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.)1-1
4447St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)2-0
4546Nicolet (Glendale, Wis.)4-1
4643South Shore (Brooklyn, N.Y.)4-1
4748Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)7-1
48NRScotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.)11-0
4950Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)8-1
50NRPickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio)3-0

Dropped Out: Previous No. 27 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), No. 28 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), No. 36 Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.), No. 39 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), No. 45 South Garland (Garland, Texas), No. 49 Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.).

Bubble Teams:  Benton Harbor (Benton Harbor, Mich.) 3-0; Biloxi (Biloxi, Miss.) 8-0; Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 2-0; Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) 6-2; Bloom (Chicago Heights, Ill.) 9-0; Bonner-Prendergast (Drexel Hill, Pa.) 2-0; Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.) 4-0; Callaway (Jackson, Miss.) 5-3; Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) 2-0; Carmel (Carmel, Ind.) 5-0; Cedar Falls (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 2-1; Central Plains (Claflin, Kan.) 4-0; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 3-1; Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 1-1; Clark (Las Vegas, Nev.) 3-0; Cox Mill (Concord, N.C.) 5-0; Creighton Prep (Omaha, Neb.) 4-0; Curie (Chicago, Ill.) 8-0; Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) 10-0; First Love Christian Academy (Washington, Pa.) 5-2; Grandview (Aurora, Col.) 2-1; Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.) 9-1; Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 10-1; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 2-1; Kennedy Catholic (Hermitage, Pa.) 0-0; La Crosse Central (La Crosse, Wis.) 2-0; Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) 15-0; Lanier (Montgomery, Ala.) 9-0; Legacy Charter (Greenville, S.C.) 9-1; Lewis-Palmer (Monument, Col.) 4-0; Maria Goretti (Hagerstown, Md.) 5-2; Martin Luther (Greendale, Wis.) 4-0; Memorial (Tulsa, Okla.) 4-2; Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Ky.) 3-0; Morgan Park (Chicago, Ill.) 4-2; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 6-2; Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) 0-0; Pinnacle (Phoenix, Ariz.) 7-2; Putnam City West (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 4-0; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 6-0; Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) 3-1; St. Benedict's (Newark, N.J.) 5-0; St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) 3-1; Teas Valley Christian Prep (Scott Depot, W. Va.) 8-0; Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) 5-0; University Heights (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 4-0; Upson-Lee (Thomaston, Ga.) 8-0; Washington (Milwaukee, Wis.) 4-1; Wesley Christian (Allen, Ky.) 8-3; Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) 6-0.

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 19 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

							

One Reply to “NEW FAB 50 National Rankings!”

  1. Where is St. Thomas More School at? @Ballislife was just posting about their game against Brewster Sunday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Your telling me they are not even in the top 50?

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