The Hoop Scoop

Covering Grassroots Basketball Since 1983

A national recruiting web site and scouting service providing analysis, rankings, and coverage of grassroots basketball since 1983

T.J. Leaf: Creating His Own Path

by Leave a Comment

With a father who doubles as coach and an older brother who is the San Diego Section’s all-time leading scorer, the table was set early for Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) sophomore standout T.J. Leaf to excel. With a year of high school and high-level grassroots basketball under his belt, combined with Leaf’s gym rat mentality, there’s no telling to what heights the game will take him.

[Click to continue reading]

Saturday Hoophall West Recap

by Leave a Comment

Oak Hill is dominant in victory over Houston Yates on Friday night and came from behind to defeat Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 60-54, on Saturday. Check below for Saturday results and analysis. Check back on Sunday afternoon for our exclusive player rankings of the two-day event. 

[Click to continue reading]

Friday Hoophall West Recap

by Leave a Comment

Check back throughout the weekend for results and analysis from the first Hoophall West at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. Oak Hill Academy’s dominant victory over Houston Yates highlights Friday night action. 

[Click to continue reading]

Whitney Young Bounces Back

by Leave a Comment

In game televised by ESPN2, Whitney Young (Chicago) travels to Minnesota and snaps the 35-game winning streak of Apple Valley (Minn.). Mr. Basketball USA candidate Jahlil Okafor dominates inside with 22 points and 15 rebounds in matchup against future Duke teammate Tyus Jones.

[Click to continue reading]

HSBB: Blasts From The Past

by Leave a Comment

Periodically, StudentSportsBasketball.com will take a look at happenings in the world of high school basketball dating back five, 10, 15, 20, 25 years ago and beyond! Today, we take a peek back at big news in December of 2003, 1998 and 1978.

[Click to continue reading]

Get Ready For Hoophall West

by Leave a Comment

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame created a spinoff of its annual event in Massachusetts: the Spalding Hoophall West. It’s sure to develop into one of the best pre-Christmas showcases on the high school basketball circuit. Student Sports FAB 50 national title contenders Oak Hill Academy of Virginia, Mater Dei of California, Yates of Texas and Bishop Gorman of Nevada are scheduled to play. 

[Click to continue reading]

FAB 50: Big Weekend Shakeup

by Leave a Comment

Although inclement weather cancelled some big games in the Midwest, there was still plenty of big games that will shake up the next edition of the Student Sports FAB 50. The big winners are Prime Prep Academy (Fort Worth, Texas), Curie (Chicago) and St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.).

[Click to continue reading]

FAB 50 Rankings: Diggin’ Deeper

by Leave a Comment

Last week an article by Newsweek.com explored the world of high school basketball team rankings and particularly what Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) is and why it’s ranked in various national polls. We take a deeper look at the program and what makes a team eligible for the Student Sports FAB 50.

Last week Newsweek.com published an article titled “Findlay Prep: A Top High School Basketball Team, With No School,” an expose into national high school basketball rankings and how national rankings compilers, including Student Sports, find it justifiable to include Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), a basketball academy-type program whose roster all attend the Henderson International School in Henderson, Nev.

From our vantage point, the purpose of the article was to examine the fairness of Findlay Prep in national rankings alongside other public and parochial high schools across the United States and, for those that perhaps don’t closely follow the national high school basketball scene, to realize the innocence of high school basketball and the dream for a neighborhood team to win a state title and earn a national high school ranking is essentially dead.

[Click to continue reading]