Two new teams crack this week’s GrassrootsHoops.net FAB 50 national rankings and both have been previously ranked. Some games around the country last week were cancelled because of snow and icy weather, but the playoffs are beginning to heat up regardless.
By Ronnie Flores
Contributing: Mark Tennis
RELATED: How Teams Get Ranked In The FAB 50 | All-Time FAB 50 No. 1 Teams
Inclement weather forced the cancellation of some key games last week, but the hottest ticket in the country for high school hoops was in frosty Cleveland, where a Saturday night showdown occurred at Villa Angela-St. Joseph between the Vikings and Grassroots Hoops FAB 50 No. 4 St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio).
The visiting Fightin’ Irish stamped itself as a major contender for the program’s second FAB 50 national title (SV-SM finished No. 1 for the 2002-03 season with Cleveland Cavaliers’ star LeBron James in the lineup) with a 89-76 road win. The victory kept SV-SM unbeaten and dropped Villa Angela-St. Joseph to 17-3 on the season. The Vikings only drop two spots in the FAB 50 to No. 25 since their other losses are to No. 2 Oak Hill Academy and MacDuffie School (Granby, Mass.), a member of the NEPSAC that is allowed to carry post-graduates on its roster.
“St. V’s” was in control of the showdown game throughout, whereas Oak Hill Academy trailed by as much as 14 points in the second half before notching a 76-72 comeback victory over Villa Angela-St. Joseph.
Another highly-regarded team to suffer a loss that only drops two spots is No. 31 Archbishop Carroll (Wayne, Pa.), which lost to Villa Angela-St. Joseph earlier this season. Archbishop Carroll had a lead on Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pa.) before the Cahillites rallied for a 61-58 victory in a Philadelphia Catholic League semifinal contest.
Tony Carr (17 points) and Nazeer Bostick (15) led the way for Roman Catholic, which is currently No. 26 in the FAB 50, one spot behind Villa Angela-St. Joseph. As for Archbishop Carroll, its drops to one spot ahead of the Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) team it beat earlier this season.
With its win, Roman Catholic moves on to face No. 23 Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) in the Philly Catholic League title game. We won’t analyze the rankings and FAB 50 movement too much this week because that Roman Catholic-Goretti showdown takes place Monday night at the famed Palestra and we want to publish the FAB 50 as quickly as possible.
Roman Catholic defeated Neumann-Goretti 71-68 in January, but Carl Arrigale’s Saints are looking to capture their seventh consecutive PCL title. In Arrigale’s unit prevails it will be the 400th win of his coaching career.
Updated Grassroots Hoops FAB 50
Boys Basketball National Team Rankings
(Tenth poll of the 2014-15 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, February 22; Previous ranking in listed in second column under “Prev.”; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included)
[contentblock id=fab-50-2014-15]
| No. | Prev. | High School | City | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Montverde Academy | (Montverde, Fla.) | 28-1 |
| 2 | 2 | Oak Hill Academy | (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) | 39-1* |
| 3 | 3 | Cape Henry Collegiate | (Virginia Beach, Va.) | 27-2 |
| 4 | 4 | St. Vincent-St. Mary | (Akron, Ohio) | 20-0 |
| 5 | 5 | Bishop O'Dowd | (Oakland, Calif.) | 21-4 |
| 6 | 6 | Wheeler | (Marietta, Ga.) | 27-2 |
| 7 | 7 | Wesleyan Christian Academy | (High Point, N.C.) | 28-4 |
| 8 | 8 | Mater Dei | (Santa Ana, Calif.) | 25-3 |
| 9 | 10 | Jonesboro | (Jonesboro, Ga.) | 29-1 |
| 10 | 11 | Bishop Montgomery | (Torrance, Calif.) | 27-1 |
| 11 | 12 | Roselle Catholic | (Roselle, N.J.) | 20-3 |
| 12 | 13 | Atascocita | (Humble, Texas) | 31-1 |
| 13 | 14 | Callaway | (Jackson, Miss.) | 27-3 |
| 14 | 15 | Ely | (Pompano Beach, Fla.) | 26-0 |
| 15 | 16 | Sierra Canyon | (Chatsworth, Calif.) | 22-3 |
| 16 | 17 | Corona del Sol | (Tempe, Ariz.) | 29-1 |
| 17 | 9 | DeMatha Catholic | (Hyattsville, Md.) | 26-3 |
| 18 | 19 | Chaminade | (St. Louis, Mo.) | 21-3 |
| 19 | 18 | Hamilton | (Memphis, Tenn.) | 26-1* |
| 20 | 20 | St. Anthony | (Jersey City, N.J.) | 21-1 |
| 21 | 21 | La Lumiere | (LaPorte, Ind.) | 23-2 |
| 22 | 22 | Greensboro Day | (Greensboro, N.C.) | 30-2 |
| 23 | 24 | Neumann-Goretti | (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 23-1 |
| 24 | 26 | Findlay Prep | (Henderson, Nev.) | 25-2 |
| 25 | 23 | Villa Angela-St. Joseph | (Cleveland, Ohio) | 17-3 |
| 26 | 28 | Roman Catholic | (Philadelphia, Pa.) | 22-2 |
| 27 | 30 | Cardinal Gibbons | (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) | 30-1 |
| 28 | 32 | Mustang | (Mustang, Okla.) | 22-0 |
| 29 | 33 | Fairfax | (Los Angeles, Calif.) | 28-2 |
| 30 | 31 | East Kentwood | (Kentwood, Mich.) | 18-0 |
| 31 | 29 | Archbishop Carroll | (Wayne, Pa.) | 18-6 |
| 32 | 34 | Simeon | (Chicago, Ill.) | 24-3 |
| 33 | 27 | Stevenson | (Lincolnshire, Ill.) | 22-3 |
| 34 | 35 | Champlin Park | (Champlin, Minn.) | 26-0 |
| 35 | 36 | St. Rita | (Chicago, Ill.) | 23-3 |
| 36 | 37 | Bishop Gorman | (Las Vegas, Nev.) | 25-6 |
| 37 | 38 | Parkview | (Little Rock, Ark.) | 21-1 |
| 38 | 39 | Plano West | (Plano, Texas) | 26-2 |
| 39 | 40 | Muskegon | (Muskegon, Mich.) | 17-1 |
| 40 | 42 | Rainier Beach | (Seattle, Wash.) | 22-3 |
| 41 | 41 | Thomas Jefferson | (Brooklyn, N.Y.) | 24-3 |
| 42 | 47 | Iowa City West | (Iowa City, Iowa) | 21-0 |
| 43 | 48 | Centennial | (Corona, Calif.) | 22-4 |
| 44 | 44 | Lincoln | (Brooklyn, N.Y.) | 24-3 |
| 45 | 45 | Cardozo | (Bayside, N.Y.) | 25-2 |
| 46 | NR | Putnam City West | (Oklahoma City, Okla.) | 20-2 |
| 47 | 46 | Wing's Academy | (Bronx, N.Y.) | 24-2 |
| 48 | 50 | Sacred Heart | (Waterbury, Conn.) | 19-0 |
| 49 | 49 | East | (Wichita, Kan.) | 20-0 |
| 50 | NR | Velma Jackson | (Camden, Miss.) | 28-2 |
Dropped Out: Previous No. 25 Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio), No. 43 Garfield (Seattle, Wash.).
Bubble Teams: Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) 26-2; Bel Air (El Paso, Texas) 30-0; Bellevue (Bellevue, Wash.) 22-3; Blue Springs South (Blue Springs, Mo.) 22-1; Bogan (Chicago, Ill.) 22-6; Cathedral (Los Angeles, Calif.) 20-6; Central (Beaumont, Texas) 28-3; Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) 20-6*; Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 20-4; Construction (Queens, N.Y.) 22-5; De Soto (De Soto, Texas) 28-4; Etiwanda (Etiwanda, Calif.) 21-7; Franklin (Franklin, Ohio) 20-1; Garfield (Seattle, Wash.) 23-2; Germantown (Germantown, Wis.) 21-0; Lancaster (Lancaster, Texas) 27-4; Laney (Augusta, Ga.) 28-1; Lake Forest (Lake Forest, Ill.) 24-2; Lawrence (Lawrence, Kan.) 17-1; Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) 21-3; Norfolk (Norfolk, Neb.) 23-0; Oldsmar Christian (Oldsmar, Fla.) 30-5*; Ozen (Beaumont, Texas) 27-3; Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.) 24-5; Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.) 31-1; Reitz (Evansville, Ind.) 21-0; Sagemont (Weston, Fla.) 28-3; Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.) 21-1; St. Benedict’s (Newark, N.J.) 23-5; St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.) 25-3; Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) 18-4; Western International (Detroit, Mich.) 17-0; Word of God Academy (Raleigh, N.C.) 25-3.
Note: The Grassroots Hoops FAB 50 is a continuation of the National Sports News Service ratings that began in 1952. These were the first national high school rankings and they were compiled by the late Art Johlfs of Minnesota. They were compiled for many years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 15 years ago.
Ronnie Flores is the Publisher and Editor of GrassrootsHoops.net. He can be reached at ronlocc1977@yahoo.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
Leave a Reply