UPDATED FAB 50: No. 1 Again!

After all the results are tabulated following MLK weekend showcases across the country, Columbus (Miami, Fla.) is back in the pole position in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com after two big victories at the Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts. Check where previous No. 1 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) fell after back-to-back losses and why other teams that took losses fell hard or stayed in range. There are five newcomers this week led by No. 42 (NR) Highland (Warrenton, Va.).

By Ronnie Flores

As is usually the case after the three-day weekend celebrating civil rights titan Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, there is plenty of change to the special edition of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com. After pouring through all the results through Monday’s MLK showcase games, it’s a clear 1-2-3 pecking order at the top.

Columbus (Miami, Fla.) used two big wins at the Army National Guard Hoophall Classic presented by Spalding in Springfield, Mass., to springboard back to No. 1 in the FAB 50 following two losses by previous top-ranked Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), one at the Flyin’ To The Hoop in Dayton, Ohio and the other two nights later at Hoophall. For Columbus, it is now back at No. 1 after dropping out of the top spot for two weeks following back-to-back losses at the Made Hoops Jordan Brand Classic right before New Year’s.

Prolific Prep does own a victory over Columbus in the Explorers’ first game, but fell to then No. 39 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), 66-64, on a buzzer beating put back shot by the Dragons’ Miikka Muurinen. On Monday afternoon in Massachusetts, his 4-point play in the closing minute helped AZ Compass Prep defeat defending FAB 50 champ and then No. 6 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), 45-41, to propel the Dragons up 34 spots this week to No. 5 despite a 63-57 loss to No. 21 Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) on Sunday. We do penalize AZ Compass Prep for the loss (it is still ranked behind the Brewster Academy team it beat), but must get major rankings credit for knocking off previous No. 1 and No. 6.

What a team has done recently is the theme in this week’s special MLK rankings as many of the FAB 50 ranked teams have beat up on each other, particularly the teams that belong to the EYBL Scholastic League. Playing a tough schedule is a good thing, and the circumstances in which these high-powered teams perform is not the same as a traditional big league game or playoff game that happens at 7 pm local team in a familiar setting. Travel and circumstance are taken into consideration, but what is still the most important factor by far is the results on the court.

In that light, it’s easy to pencil in Columbus at No. 1 after it took down No. 32 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 76-53, on Saturday and dispatched No. 9 Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.), 75-65, on Monday in two contests that were never in doubt. Mr. Basketball USA candidate and Duke-bound Cam Boozer continued his dominant season with 25 points, 15 rebounds and six assists vs. Notre Dame and was the difference-maker in a matchup with fellow Mr. Basketball USA candidate Koa Peat of Perry, who had four fouls in the first half. Boozer was once again named game MVP with 31 points, 13 rebounds and three assists.

Had Perry upset Columbus, No. 2 Harvard-Westlake would have been No. 1 since the Wolverines own a 57-54 win over Perry at Hoophall West in Arizona earlier this month. After defeating Perry, Harvard-Westlake downed No. 3 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 66-63, in Arizona. With Gonzaga easily taking down previous No. 3 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) at Hoophall on Monday, 73-55, Harvard-Westlake is now the No. 1 team in the Cal-Hi Sports State Top 25 and it makes the top of the FAB 50 pecking order quite easy since Gonzaga lost to Columbus in three overtimes and lost to the Wolverines.

Columbus’ high-powered schedule continues after already having beaten 14 current or previously ranked FAB 50 clubs. Columbus faces No. 6 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) on Jan. 24 and No. 17 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) on Jan. 31. The Explorers have beaten Montverde Academy by two points and will look to avenge one of its three losses against Link Academy. The comparative scores of ranked teams when it faced the top-ranked Explorers also helped us determine the pecking order for many teams in this week’s FAB 50. It’s also time to start rewarding teams that are still unbeaten, and of course, many of the nation’s best have suffered multiple losses because they play each other all over the country. Such is the nature of elite, high major high school basketball.

Harvard-Westlake takes on Notre Dame in Mission League play on Jan. 24, then has a league game with the Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) club that just knocked off previous No. 13 Grayson (Loganville, Ga.) at Hoophall. Grayson does fall behind the No. 27 Owasso (Owasso, Okla.) club it beat to be penalized for losing to the unranked Trailblazers, but must remain in front of No. 34 Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) and No. 37 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) due to previous victories over those clubs.

No. 40 John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) is another team that falls after an untimely loss that must remain ranked because of a previous victory. For the Justices, it was a 53-37 victory over Highland (Warrenton, Va.), the highest ranked newcomer among five clubs at No. 42. The Hawks, led by All-American candidate Nate Ament, deserve rankings credit for their victory over then No. 1 Prolific Prep.

RELATED:   Preseason 2024-25 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | “In The Paint” Podcast (Spotify) |  “In The Paint” Podcast (YouTube) 

Updated FAB 50 National Team RankingsPowered by Ballislife.com

(5th poll of 2024-25 regular season; Through games played on Monday, January 20; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included; **Indicates forfeits and defaults not included)

No. Prev. High School (City)Record

12Columbus (Miami, Fla.)14-3

24Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.)20-1

35Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)16-2

48Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.)17-2

539AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.)9-5

69Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)12-3

710CIA Bella Vista (Phoenix, Ariz.)15-2

81Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.)18-5

96Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.)16-2

1016Brennan (San Antonio, Texas)23-2

1117Allen (Allen, Texas)23-1

123Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.)23-2

137Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah)16-5

1420Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)16-4

1533Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.)13-3

1611IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)12-4

1721Link Academy (Branson, Mo.)13-4

1826Hoover (Hoover, Ala.)23-0

1919St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)19-3

2031Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)10-2

2122Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.)12-5

2215St. John’s (Washington, D.C.)13-5

2314DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.)13-3

2423Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.)12-0

2524St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.)19-1

2630Fishers (Fishers, Ind.)14-0

2725Owasso (Owasso, Okla.)12-3

2836Winstom-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.)23-4

2927DME Academy (Daytona Beach, Fla.)14-7

3028Dream City Christian (Glendale, Ariz.)17-4

3112Christ School (Arden, N.C.)16-1

3229Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)17-3

3313Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)17-2

3435Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.)20-6

3540Reidsville (Reidsville, N.C.)14-0

3634Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)13-5

3732Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.)16-3

3841Huntsville (Huntsville, Ala.)24-1

3942U of D Jesuit (Detroit, Mich.)12-1**

4018John Marshall (Richmond, Va.)12-1

4144Patrick School (Hackettstown, N.J.)15-3

42NRHighland (Warrenton, Va.)20-5

4347Reynoldsburg (Reynoldsburg, Ohio)13-0

4448DePaul College Prep (Chicago, Ill.)19-1

45NRBlue Ridge (St. George, Va.)19-0

4649Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.)13-0

47NRLake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas)26-2

4850Oak Park (Kansas City, Mo.)11-1

49NRWebb (Knoxville, Md.)21-2

50NRBolingbrook (Bolingbrook, Ill.)20-2

Dropped Out: Previous No. 37 Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.), No. 38 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.), No. 43 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), No. 45 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.), No. 46 St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.).

Bubble Teams:  Annie Wright (Tacoma, Wash.) 13-1; Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, Calif.) 13-1; Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 13-3; Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) 14-5; Brother Rice (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) 13-1; Bullis (Potomac, Md.) 11-6; Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.) 23-1; Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 8-5; Crown Point (Crown Point, Ind.) 11-0; De Pere (De Pere, Wis.) 11-1; DeSmet (St. Louis, Mo.) 14-1; East Lansing (East Lansing, Mich.) 11-1**; Evans (Orlando, Fla.) 16-4; Ft. Bend Marshall (Missouri City, Texas) 26-2; Greater Johnstown (Johnstown, Pa.) 15-0; Gibbs (St. Petersburg, Fla.) 16-4; Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 13-0; Jordan (Fulshear, Texas) 25-2; JSerra (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) 17-5; Kenwood (Chicago, Ill.) 19-1; Lake Norman (Mooresville, N.C.) 16-1; Northwest (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) 7-1; Notre Dame (West Haven, Conn.) 10-2; Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) 13-7; Olentangy Orange (Lewis Center, Ohio) 11-2; Orem (Provo, Utah) 13-3; Plainfield (Plainfield, N.J.) 13-1; Quincy (Quincy, Ill.) 18-1; Richland (Richland, Wash.) 13-0; Rockford (Rockford, Mich.) 12-1; Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) 18-1; Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.) 17-3; Shadow Creek (Pearland, Texas) 23-2; Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.) 10-4; St. Joseph’s Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) 10-4; St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) 12-3; St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 8-5; St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) 12-2; Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 19-1; Timpview (Provo, Utah) 12-4; Upper Dublin (Ft. Washington, Pa.) 16-1; Upper St. Claire (Upper St. Claire, Pa.) 14-1; Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.) 12-2; Veterans Memorial (Corpus Christi, Texas) 29-0; Waubonsie Valley (Aurora, Ill.) 21-0; Weatherford (Weatherford, Okla.) 16-1; Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) 12-1; Woodside (Newport News, Va.) 13-0; Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.) 15-3.

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 25 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