2011-2012 Prep School Rankings
2011-2012 Prep School Rankings:
This is the third installment of prep school rankings. All rankings done below are current as of 2/22/2012.
There was no change in the Top 5 as all the heavyweights have more then held their own since the halfway point of the season. But, there has been a bit of a shake up in the 6-10 teams.
Let’s take a look, shall we…
1) Oak Hill Academy – We don’t know if Oak Hill is just flat out rolling, or the teams they are playing are just not capable of competing, but whatever it is Oak Hill is flat out dominating it’s competition. This is not the most talented team Coach Steve Smith has ever had, and may not be in his top 5, but these guy’s chemistry is unmatched. Next up for the Warriors is Kennedy Charter School out of North Carolina (2/24).
2) Hargrave Military Academy – The Tigers have revamped their schedule, and have played basically every possible prep school there is to play in the country. The only team that has played more games is Oak Hill, but the Tigers strength of schedule is what very well may propel them at the National Prep Tournament March 5-6 in Connecticut. The Tigers enter their own tournament (First Piedmont Invitational) Friday sitting at 34-0, with a rematch against now #10 ranked Massanutten (2/24).
3) Brewster Academy – After beating Tilton for the third time this season, which is extremely hard to do against any opponent, Brewster has laid claim as the regular season champion in the New England area. Unblemished and with one of the best assemblances of talent at the prep school level ever, Brewster is a team that very well could walk to the Championship game the National Prep Tournament March 5-6 in Connecticut. Brewster caps off it’s regular season tonight playing Bridgeton (2/22).
4) Huntington Prep – Coach Fulford and Co. have hit their stride towards the end of the season and are rolling! Being the savvy US Ambassador he is, Fulford took his United Nations-esque team across the border to Canada this past weekend, and ran through the competition defeating Next Level Prep & McNabb Prep. Sitting at 24-2, Huntington Prep has a rivalry game tomorrow night (2/23) against the University of Charleston’s JV Team.
5) Findlay Prep – Findlay Prep has handled the meat and potatoes of their schedule with extreme polish, and has impressed basketball gurus of all walks of life. Sitting at 26-1, Prep faces a big time test against La Jolla Prep Saturday (2/25). The horses will have to show out, as La Jolla has a tough, physical frontline that will battle for a full 40 minutes against Coach Peck’s boys.
6) La Lumiere – La Lumiere is a team that has national recognition and presence, but is not outright known to all basketball circles. All they’ve done this year is performed at a consistently high level, with Coach Alan Huss’ bunch using their superior size to dominate opponents on the glass. Lumiere closes out there regular season Saturday (2/25) against AIM Christian Prep.
7) Notre Dame – Notre Dame has battled all the way back from a few early season defeats, and now very well may be the team to beat coming down the stretch of the prep school season. They have a trio of guards who are reminiscent of Bruce Weber’s better days as Illinois Head Coach when he had Deron Williams, Luther Head, and Dee Brown. And, after the mid-season acquisition of Steven Adams, the Crusaders have a low post presence to handle anybody in the country. Notre Dame plays an alway competitive Putnam Science Academy tonight (2/22) at home, and will look to improve their record to 22-6.
8) Quality Education Academy – Coach Isaac Pitts has his boys back playing like they are capable of playing, with their lone loss in the last month coming at the hands of #1 Oak Hill Academy. QEA has shown the intestinal fortitude to bounce back from a loss, and are now poised to finish the season on a 9 game winning streak. Currently sitting at 21 wins, QEA is scheduled to play tonight (2/22) against Evelyn Mack Academy to close out their regular season.
9) Tilton Academy – Coach Marcus O’ Neil’s team has all the ingredients to be a championship caliber team. But, they are currently playing as the prep version of the New York Knicks, with Brewster playing the role of the Chicago Bulls. As the Nepsac tournament approaches, there surely will be another rematch against Brewster if all goes like it should, but yet and still that does not take away from the terrific season the Rams have had. Posting 25 wins so far, Coach O’ Neil and the boys are set to take on Proctor Academy tonight (2/22) in their second to last regular season game of the year.
10) Massanutten Military Academy – One thing is for certain about MMA this year, they have solidified themself as a nationally respected program. Coach Chad Myers has done an unbelieveable job from start to finish in not only running a first class program, but going all up and down the east coast playing the best schools their schedule would allow. The Colonels, sitting at 25-6, are starting to peak at the right time, and go into Friday’s First Piedmont Invitational looking for revenge against #2 Hargrave Military Academy.
Not Ranked: Arlington Country Day, High Point Christian Academy, St. Thomas More