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

Tournament Headed To The Garden

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The National High School Invitational (NHSI), a end-of-season tournament that has featured some of the nation’s best teams over the past five years, will be moving from Maryland to New York City with a new title sponsor. The event’s championship game will take place at Iconic Madison Square Garden on April 5.

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Updated FAB 50 National Rankings

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FAB 50 576
Defending FAB 50 champion Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) remains in the top spot after staying unbeaten against tough opponents at the Culligan City of Palms Classic, the Wild Wing Café High School Hoops Classic and Cancer Research Classic. The Eagles have some tough upcoming games as well. With a mixed bag of results so far, we reward teams that have played a national schedule. Unbeaten teams that haven’t played as many games or stayed local over the holidays will move up slower.

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UA Holiday Classic: Championship Monday

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FAB 50 No. 21 Loyola (Los Angeles) easily defeats No. 36 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) in Monday night’s National Division championship game at the UA Holiday Classic in Del Mar, Calif. Underclass-dominated Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) take third place in the National Division while Mater Dei (Chula Vista, Calif.) won the American Division championship.

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UA Holiday Classic Semifinal Recaps

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FAB 50 No. 21 Loyola (Los Angeles) advanced to the title game of the 2013 Under Armour Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines High School with a 83-69 victory over previously unbeaten Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.). Loyola will face No. 36 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) in Monday night’s final after the Huskies won their semifinal contest over Chino Hills (Calif.) on a last-second lay-up by Sedrick Barefield.

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Updated FAB 50 National Rankings

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Defending FAB 50 champion Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) remains in the top spot after impressive early season victories and enters this week’s Culligan City of Palms Classic as the No. 1 seed. Preseason No. 2 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) and new No. 3 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) are also off to fine starts despite setbacks to programs ineligible for national rankings consideration. Look for the City of Palms, the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas and other holiday tournaments that begin the day after Christmas to cause considerable change to the first FAB 50 update in 2014.

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Get Ready For Hoophall West

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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. 

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FAB 50: Big Weekend Shakeup

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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.).

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FAB 50 Rankings: Diggin’ Deeper

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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.

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