There is plenty of movement and two new teams in the latest edition of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. No. 1 Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) leads a group of 13 unbeaten teams, plenty who made big jumps this week. The high-risers include Jonesboro (Ark.), Klein Forest (Houston, Texas), Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.), Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Newton (Covington, Ga.).
By Ronnie Flores
MLK weekend always features high-powered matchups that creates plenty of movement, so it should come as no surprise the short week that followed didn't lead to as much change in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. There are only two newcomers to this week's rankings: No. 41 Linden (Linden, N.J.) and Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) checking in at No. 50.
Linden breaks into the FAB 50 following its 71-67 victory over previous No. 9 Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), which falls to No. 28 this week. As has been the theme all season long, we don't over-penalize ranked teams with strong resumes. We'll take the lead of the NJ.com Top 20 and keep Patrick School as the Garden State's top overall team, as it has a split with Linden and bounced back later in the week to defeat No. 39 Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 83-68. We'll find out more about Linden and what the New Jersey pecking order should be on January 24 when the newly-ranked Tigers take on Roselle Catholic.
Patrick School's other two losses are to No. 4 Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) and No. 6 IMG Academy, the latter which has handed Wasatch Academy one of its three losses. IMG Academy will remain behind Montverde Academy in the FAB 50 for the time being because of the head-to-head loss, but the resume of coach Vince Walden's clubs is quite strong. The Ascenders have defeated 11 teams that are currently ranked or were at one point. They own a victory over the Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) club that defeated Memphis East, downed Wasatch Academy, 61-51, at the Hoophall Classic and most recently defeated The Rock School (Gainesville, Fla.), 84-63, to drop that club five spots in the FAB 50.
With Trevon Duval, arguably the nation's top guard, and juniors Emmitt Williams and Silvio De Sousa in the fold, IMG can play with any team in the country. The Ascenders would love to see Montverde Academy again at Dick's Nationals, the end of the season tournament held in New York March 30 - April 1 which will feature many of the nation's top teams. IMG doesn't play for a state title, but in order for No. 1 Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) to have a chance at participating, it will need to capture the WIAA Class 3A state title. The Raiders will look to beat No. 24 Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) for the second time this season in a nationally-televised game on January 27.
Wasatch Academy's two other losses are to No. 12 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 76-65, and a stinker to unranked Windward (Los Angeles). The Tigers have now done enough to offset that hard-to-explain loss, as they own a win over Lone Peak of Highland (the top-ranked Utah team that plays for a state title) and played IMG Academy a lot closer than some other FAB 50-ranked clubs. According to head coach Curtis Condie, Wasatch Academy has to follow all Utah High School Activity Association rules and the lack of practice time contributed to the Windward loss. His team is playing much better as of late and will get to test its rankings work this Saturday versus No. 7 Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) at the Rolling Hills Prep State Preview Classic at Cerritos College (Calif.).
Chino Hills' current winning streak is 55 games and will be at 57 heading into Saturday's game if the Huskies can get by state-ranked Damien (La Verne, Calif.) on Friday night in a league contest. According to Cal-Hi Sports, the state record is 66 games set by Compton (1967-69) and before Chino Hills' legion of followers can think about the Huskies breaking that record in the CIFSS Open Division title game, the team must get by Wasatch Academy and No. 13 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) the following weekend at the Nike Extravaganza.
Oak Hill had its 56-game winning streak snapped against No. 2 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) in December. Can it return the favor against another California club?
Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by Ballislife.com
(Sixth poll of the 2016-17 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, January 22; 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 | Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) | 15-0 |
| 2 | 2 | Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) | 16-1 |
| 3 | 3 | La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) | 18-1 |
| 4 | 4 | Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) | 17-3 |
| 5 | 5 | Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) | 18-2 |
| 6 | 6 | IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) | 20-1 |
| 7 | 7 | Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) | 20-0 |
| 8 | 11 | Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 13-1* |
| 9 | 12 | DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) | 16-1 |
| 10 | 15 | Jonesboro (Jonesboro, Ark.) | 18-0 |
| 11 | 18 | Klein Forest (Houston, Texas) | 23-0 |
| 12 | 13 | Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) | 20-3 |
| 13 | 14 | Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) | 19-3 |
| 14 | 16 | Clarkston (Clarkston, Mich.) | 10-0 |
| 15 | 17 | McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) | 18-0 |
| 16 | 19 | Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) | 16-2 |
| 17 | 20 | Blue Ridge (St. George, Va.) | 19-1 |
| 18 | 25 | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) | 20-5 |
| 19 | 22 | Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) | 18-2 |
| 20 | 23 | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) | 21-1 |
| 21 | 8 | Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) | 18-1 |
| 22 | 21 | Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) | 15-3 |
| 23 | 26 | Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) | 22-1 |
| 24 | 24 | Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) | 14-2 |
| 25 | 30 | Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.) | 18-0 |
| 26 | 36 | Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) | 15-0 |
| 27 | 29 | Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) | 22-2 |
| 28 | 9 | Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) | 10-3 |
| 29 | 34 | Houston Math, Science & Tech (Houston, Texas) | 27-1 |
| 30 | 40 | Brentwood Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) | 16-2 |
| 31 | 43 | Champlin Park (Champlin, Minn.) | 12-0 |
| 32 | 33 | The Burlington School (Burlington, N.C.) | 21-0 |
| 33 | 44 | Skyline (Dallas, Texas) | 22-1 |
| 34 | 35 | Greenforest Christian Academy (Decatur, Ga.) | 15-5 |
| 35 | 27 | Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) | 21-2 |
| 36 | 49 | Union (Tulsa, Okla.) | 15-0 |
| 37 | 50 | Newton (Covington, Ga.) | 21-0 |
| 38 | 32 | North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) | 13-2 |
| 39 | 39 | Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) | 9-4 |
| 40 | 37 | New Albany (New Albany, Ind.) | 14-2 |
| 41 | NR | Linden (Linden, N.J.) | 10-2 |
| 42 | 41 | Mae Jemison (Huntsville, Ala.) | 20-4 |
| 43 | 38 | The Rock School (Gainesville, Fla.) | 20-2 |
| 44 | 42 | St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) | 9-2 |
| 45 | 48 | Federal Way (Federal Way, Wash.) | 18-0 |
| 46 | 10 | West Oaks Academy (Orlando, Fla.) | 13-2 |
| 47 | 45 | Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 11-5 |
| 48 | 46 | St. Benedict's (Newark, N.J.) | 16-2 |
| 49 | 47 | Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) | 10-1 |
| 50 | NR | Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) | 18-3 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 28 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), No. 31 Evanston (Evanston, Ill.).
Bubble Teams: Apollo (Glendale, Ariz.) 19-3; Archbishop Malloy (Queens, N.Y.) 12-5; Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) 23-0; Birmingham (Lake Balboa, Calif.) 18-3; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 13-7; Bishop Miege (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 9-1; Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) 16-2; Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.) 8-1; Bolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.) 16-0; Brandon (Brandon, Miss.) 19-2; Butler (Matthews, N.C.) 19-0; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 16-1; Clark (Las Vegas, Nev.) 17-3; Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) 19-2; East English Village Prep (Detroit, Mich.) 9-1; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 10-0; Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 14-1; Edwardsville (Edwardsville, Ill.) 16-1; Fern Creek (Louisville, Ky.) 18-2; First Love Christian Academy (Washington, Pa.) 12-2; Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) 16-2; Grand Rapids Christian (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 8-0; Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.) 24-3; Hillhouse, (New Haven, Conn.) 11-0; Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.) 13-2; Iowa City West (Iowa City, Iowa) 11-1; Jackson (Massillion, Ohio) 11-1; Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 16-2*; Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 11-3; Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 13-2; McCallie School (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 20-3; Meridian (Meridian, Miss.) 19-2; Minneapolis North (Minneapolis, Minn.) 14-1; Newark (Newark, Ohio) 14-0; Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) 17-2; Pickerington Central (Pickerington, Ohio) 13-1; Pleasant Grove (Pleasant Grove, Utah) 13-2; Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) 11-3; Rindge & Latin (Cambridge, Mass.) 10-0; Rock Creek Christian (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 14-0; Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 16-3; Tift County (Tifton, Ga.) 19-2; Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, Ohio) 12-1; University of Detroit Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.) 9-2; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 13-2; Wagner (San Antonio, Texas) 24-1; Warren Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) 12-1; Wesley Christian (Allen, Ky.) 23-5; Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 15-5; William Allen (Allentown, Pa.) 15-0; Wise (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 9-0; Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.) 18-2; Word of God Academy (Raleigh, N.C.) 16-4.
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 17 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