High School Power Rankings: Week 20: April 2, 2012

Oak Hill finishes on top

The season is over and we would like to congratulate Oak Hill on finishing at No. 1. While we would have loved to see them go head-to-head with Findlay, the Warriors cannot be penalized for not attending the ESPN NHSI on the heels of their trip to China. In the end, Oak Hill remained unscathed all season, with a tough schedule that included a win over La Lumiere, a team who narrowly beat Findlay Prep. It was a tough call, but it was the right one. Brewster, St. Anthony and Hargrave Military Academy rounded out the top five.

Rank	Prev
1	1	Oak Hill Academy 4-year traditional Mouth of Wilson, VA
Record: 44-0 Key Wins: Prestonwood Christian, Grace Prep, La Lumiere, Paul VI, Weekly Report: Players and coaches can talk around it all they'd like. But everybody wishes the Warriors would have been at the ESPN NHSI to really decide a true No. 1. Findlay Prep notched five ranked victories to Oak Hill's four, but Findlay's sole loss came to La Lumiere, a team Oak Hill beat this season.
2	3	Findlay Prep 4-year non-traditional Henderson, NV
Record: 32-1 Key Wins: Simeon, Marcus, Bishop Gorman, St. Benedict's, Montverde, Key Losses: La Lumiere Weekly Report: The Pilots were on the ropes, down by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter of their ESPN NHSI Championship game against Montverde. Brandon Ashley put the team on his back, scoring 31 to cap a furious comeback in an overtime win. Their mid-season loss to La Lumiere will haunt them.
3	2	Brewster Academy 5th year/prep school Wolfeboro, NH
Record: 33-1 Key Wins: Tilton (x3), Notre Dame Prep (2x), New Hampton (3x), Hargrave Military Academy Key Losses: Northfield Mount Hermon Weekly Report: Hovering at No. 1 all season, the Bobcats seemed on pace to end there. But then they slipped up against unranked Northfield Mount Hermon in the NEPSAC Finals. What's worse is that Brewster already handled Northfield earlier in the year. Findlay's sole loss was to a ranked team and it's why Brewster finishes at No. 3.
4	4	St. Anthony 4-year traditional Jersey City, NJ
Record: 32-0 Key Wins: Huntington Prep, St. Benedict’s Weekly Report: The Friars are winners of 65 straight games and will carry that streak into next season. Unfortunately, 6-9 star guard Kyle Anderson and 6-4 forward Jerome Frink will have graduated.
5	5	Hargrave Military Academy 5th year/prep school Chatham, Virg.
Record: 36-1 Key Win: New Hampton, Northfield Mount Hermon Key Losses: Brewster Weekly Report: Hargrave finishes the year at No. 5 after its solid showing at the New England Prep Championships. Montrezl Harrell will be a treat for Virginia Tech fans next year.
6	6	Huntington Prep 4-year non-traditional Huntington, WV
Record: 28-2 Key Losses: Tilton, St. Anthony Weekly Report: Huntington Prep finishes the season at No. 6, despite failing to notch a signature victory. their two battles with St. Anthony and Tilton (before the Wayne Selden injury) proved just how good their team was. Sophomore Andrew Wiggins should have this team right back in the conversation next season.
7	7	Simeon Career Academy 4-year traditional Chicago, Ill.
Record: 33-1 Key Wins: Proviso East, Whitney Young, Miller Grove, Southwind Key Losses: Findlay Prep Weekly Report: Simeon lost just once this year, but its only win over a ranked team was a two-point triumph over Proviso East to end the season. Still, their dominance over the season over teams that were in and out of the rankings cannot be ignored.
8	8	Notre Dame Prep 5th year/prep school Fitchburg, MA
Record: 20-7 Key Wins: St. Thomas More (2x), New Hampton Key Losses: Tilton, Brewster Weekly Report: You have to wonder what could have been for this team, if only they had the services of Steven Adams (Pittsburgh) from day one. Thanks to the early season attack of Myles Davis (Xavier) and Sam Cassell Jr. (Maryland), this team was able to keep its head above water.
9	9	Paul VI 4-year traditional Fairfax, Va.
Record:34-3 Key Wins: Gonzaga College, DeMatha (3x) Key Losses: Oak Hill, DeMatha Weekly Report: Paul VI finishes in the top ten, and beating national power DeMatha three out of four times this season is a big reason why. Junior Stanford Robinson will be a key force in this team's attack next season.
10	14	Grace Prep 4-year traditional Arlington, TX
Record: 27-4 Key Wins: Prestonwood Christian, Montverde, Mater Dei Key Losses: Oak Hill, Prestonwood Christian, Trinity Christian, Kimball Weekly Report: Grace Prep didn’t play this week, but they move up a few spots due to strength of schedule. The Lions beat Montverde earlier this year, and Montverde dominated Findlay Prep for most of their game this week, before finally falling in overtime. The Lions' win over Mater Dei also helps their case.
11	11	Mater Dei High School 4-year traditional Santa Ana, CA
Record: 33-2 Key Wins: Bishop Gorman, Lincoln (N.Y.) Key Losses: Grace Prep, Gill St. Bernard’s Results: Beat Sheldon, 66-48 Weekly Report: The Monarchs took home their second straight CIF Division I state title recently behind the leadership of seniors Xavier Johnson (Colorado) and Katin Reinhardt (UNLV). Sophomore Stanley Johnson will be the key man next year for this bunch.
12	18	Montverde Academy 4-year traditional Montverde, FL
Record: 23-4 Key Wins: La Lumiere, Montrose Christian Key Losses: Grace Prep, Hagerty, Ridgeway, Findlay Prep Weekly Report: This Florida crew finally got signature wins for the season with two impressive performances against La Lumiere and Montrose Christian. Unfortunately, they gave up a 18-point fourth quarter lead in their overtime loss to No. 2 Findlay Prep. With D'Angelo Russell getting more time on the court and center Dakari Johnson stepping in, they should be one of the early favorites to be No. 1 next year.
13	15	New Hampton 5th year/prep school New Hampton, NH
Record: 26-9 Key Wins: St. Thomas More, Tilton (2x), Northfield Mount Hermon Key Losses: St. Thomas More, Brewster (x2), Hargrave, Notre Dame Prep Weekly Report: The Huskies finished an impressive campaign at No. 13. Their wins against Tilton and tough battles against Brewster, Hargrave and Notre Dame Prep validated their strength. Sophomore Noah Vonleh will be asked to pace this team next year as the top man.
14	10	Marcus 4-year traditional Flower Mound, TX
Record: 39-2 Key Wins: Montrose Christian Key Losses: Findlay Weekly Report: The back-to-back state champions had a great season, there is no doubting that. Their strength of schedule, however, took a big hit after Montrose Christian bowed out in the semifinals of the ESPN NHSI.
15	17	Chester 4-year traditional Chester, Pa.
Record: 32-0 Results: Beat Central Dauphin, 67-48, Lower Merion, 59-33 Weekly Report: The Clippers successfully defended their 4A state title and stand as one of the best public high school teams in the nation. 6-7 guard/wing Rondae Jefferson will be returning next year when the team tries to extend its 58-game winning streak.
16	13	Montrose Christian 4-year traditional Rockville, MD
Record: 21-3 Key Losses: Marcus, Coolidge, Montverde Results: Beat Ravenscroft, 64-48; lost to Montverde, 50-47 Weekly Report: Montrose Christian had a golden opportunity to jump in the rankings, but lost a close one to Montverde at ESPN NHSI last weekend. Justin Anderson, one of the best athletes in high school basketball, will now be getting ready to suit up at the University of Virginia.
17	16	St. Benedict's 4-year traditional Newark, NJ
Record: 34-3 Key Losses: St. Anthony, DeMatha, Findlay Prep Results: Beat Blanche Ely, 67-61; lost to Findlay Prep, 68-55 Weekly Report: St. Benedict’s was Findlay’s second victim en route to the ESPN NHSI championship last weekend. They are one of the few teams that had shots at two top five teams but failed to get that marquee win. The Findlay players were commending Gray Bees' freshman Isaiah Briscoe for his tough play in their loss.
18	12	La Lumiere School 4-year traditional La Porte, Ind.
Record: 25-3 Key Wins: Findlay Prep Key Losses: Oak Hill, Elgin, Montverde Results: Lost to Montverde, 62-54 Weekly Report: La Lumiere entered ESPN NHSI with title aspirations, but they were quickly erased in the quarterfinals against a tough Montverde squad. Their loss also hurt Findlay Prep, who wanted a chance to redeem their loss to the Lakers earlier in the season.
19	19	Tilton School 5th year/prep school Tilton, NH
Record: 27-7 Key Wins: Notre Dame Prep, New Hampton, Huntington Prep Key Losses: South Kent, New Hampton (x2), Brewster (x3), St. Mark’s Weekly Report: Don’t let Tilton’s seven losses fool you. Five of those were to teams that finish in our Top 25, and three of them were to No. 2 Brewster.
20	20	Milton 4-year traditional Milton, Ga
Record: 28-4 Key Wins: Bishop Gorman Key Losses: Tift County Weekly Report: This team will miss the Division I trio of Evan Nolte (Virginia), Shaquille Johnson (Auburn) and Charles Mann (Georgia) who led them to a splendid record. Outside of their loss to Tift County, the remainder of their defeats were forfeits.
21	23	Prestonwood Christian Academy 4-year traditional Plano, TX
Record: 27-4 Key Wins: Grace Prep, Bishop Gorman Key Losses: Grace Prep Weekly Report: Three loses to unranked team does hurt the Lions this week. But we can't discount their wins against No. 10. Grace Prep and No., 21 Bishop Gorman, which were both decisive.
22	21	Bishop Gorman 4-year traditional Las Vegas, NV
Record: 28-4 Key Wins: DeMatha, Whitney Young (2x), Miller Grove Key Losses: Prestonwood Christian, Mater Dei, Findlay Prep, Milton Weekly Report: They Gaels weren't at full strength for majority of their season. If Oregon-bound Ben Carter was healthy enough early on, Shabazz Muhammad and Co. could be enjoying a national title.
23	22	DeMatha Catholic 4-year traditional Hyattsville, MD
Record: 27-5 Key Wins: Paul VI, Neumann-Goretti, Gonzaga (x2) Key Losses: Paul VI (3x), Gonzaga College, Bishop Gorman Weekly Report: No. 9 Paul VI was a thorn in the Stags' side all season, responsible for three of their five total losses. They ended the season with some redemption finally beating Paul VI in the finals of the Alhambra Catholic Invitational.
24	24	Columbia 4-year traditional Decatur, GA
Record: 31-1 Weekly Report: The Eagles only had one loss, making this another great campaign for their program. With more ranked teams on the schedule, they could have climbed the rankings. Junior Tahj Shamsid-Deen should keep this team ranked next year.
25	25	Proviso East 4-year traditional Maywood, Ill.
Record: 32-1 Key Losses: Simeon Weekly Report: Led by Sterling Brown, this was one of the better teams in the Midwest. They got to show the nation that with their 2-point loss to No.7 Simeon in the state championship game.
Best of the Rest Northfield Mount Hermon, St. Thomas More (Oakdale, CT), St. Mark's, St. Augustine (New Orleans, LA), Southwind (Memphis, TN), Priviso East (Maywood, Ill.), Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.), Dunbar (Dayton, Ohio), Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.), Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, TX)