Strictly BBall Newsletter 19

Chipotle Nationals Recap, Final Four Performers as HS Recruits, and The Best HS Team Ever?

Is Montverde the best high school team of all time?

by Griffin Greenberg on April 11

The high school season has wrapped up, with Montverde Academy taking home the crown as they won Chipotle Nationals. Let’s look at the best from Chipotle Nationals, some Final Four top performers in high school, and debate the best HS team ever.

THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES

Chipotle Nationals Recap

This is what so many people have been waiting for, Chipotle Nationals. These teams have worked all season for this moment, playing for a national championship under the bright lights. This year's event was an exciting one with Montverde Academy coming out on top. Take a look at the best players and games from the event.

Top Performers

Cooper Flagg (Montverde Academy) - 20 PPG (58% FG), 7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 2.3 BPG, 1.7 SPG

Flagg had a huge weekend, leading undefeated Montverde to victory to complete his illustrious high school career. Flagg won Chipotle Nationals MVP honors as he displayed his No. 1 recruit skill set in a variety of ways. The Duke commit was elite inside, hitting tough contested shots throughout the whole event and made a huge impact on the defensive end. The National Gatorade Player of the Year is now off to Duke.

Derik Queen (Montverde Academy) - 16.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.3 SPG

The Maryland commit was a big piece for Montverde all season and was elite in Chipotle Nationals. His inside presence is arguably the best in high school basketball. Once the defensive gravitates toward him, he displays his elite passing skills and is able to find his teammates. Queen is a very polished big man and he showed that last weekend, just a few days after winning McDonald’s All American Game MVP.

Darren Harris (Paul VI) - 24 PPG (44% from 3), 4.7 RPG, 2.7 APG

Harris continued to shine at Chipotle Nationals as he has done all season. The elite shooter dropped 36 points in Round 1 against 7-seeded IMG Academy. He is such an elite player shooting-wise off the catch and displayed his increased ability to create his shot off the dribble. Harris has a high motor and is a competitor, making him a great fit for Duke.

Cameron Boozer (Columbus) - 24.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 3 APG, 2 BPG

The 2025 5-star made his mark in this event. In Columbus’ first Nationals appearance, Boozer brought energy and hit shots at multiple levels to be effective for his team. He helped secure a comeback against LuHi in Round 1, bringing defensive intensity, and had a late effort against Montverde to comeback which fell just short. In any competition that he faces, Cameron Boozer shows up.

Best Games of the Event

Quarterfinals: No. 3 Prolific Prep 76 vs. No. 6 Link Academy 80 in 2OT

This was the game of the year! These two teams faced off early in the season with Prolific winning, but this time was different. Prolific held a lead for the majority of the game, but never got into double digits with it. Despite that, Link made a strong fourth-quarter push on the defensive end, holding Prolific to 11% shooting. Kansas commit Labaron Philon hit a huge three with just over 30 seconds to go to give Link the lead, but not before AJ Dybantsa would get fouled shooting a three with just a few seconds remaining. The No. 1 2025 recruit would make the first but missed the second. However, Philon was called for a violation for clapping and Dybantsa would shoot the second and third again, making both to send it to OT.

In the first OT, both teams would go back and forth and Link held a three-point lead with 15 seconds left. Dybantsa then found himself in the same left-wing spot that he was fouled in regulation on for another chance to tie, and he hit it. Double OT.

In another back-and-forth battle, Link got more players involved. Philon was hitting shots, 5-star Jasper Johnson would hit a floater, and 4-star Jalen Shelley banked in a three. With one minute left, Missouri committed T.O. Barrett would score 5 points for Link, while Jalen Shelley would block Dybantsa’s third attempt at a tying three to seal it.

Labaron Philon had 24 points (8-15 FG), 4 rebounds, and 4 assists and Jalen Shelley had 15 points and 9 rebounds for Link. Texas commit Tre Johnson struggled shooting the ball, but dished out 9 assists. Dybantsa had 21 points (5-18 FG), 8 rebounds, and 7 assists and Alabama commit Aiden Sherrell had 18 pts (4-4 from three) and 8 rebounds.

Quarterfinals: No. 1 Montverde 64 vs. No. 8 AZ Compass 49

The arena was packed to see what many believe is the top high school hoops team of all time. But, it was AZ Compass that came out firing to start the game. AZ Compass opened the game with a couple of baskets from 4-star C Luke Bamgboye, including an opening dunk over Duke commit Cooper Flagg. The Dragons’ defensive pressure affected Montverde in the halfcourt set and on the other end they were hot offensively. Vyctorius Miller, who committed to LSU earlier that day, hit a pair of early threes and 2025 5-star Illinois commit Jeremiah Fears hit on himself to give AZ Compass a 12-point lead, the most a team has been up on Montverde all year.

Fears looked unstoppable in the first half, getting to the hoop and converting acrobatic finishes but Montverde picked it up getting to the line in the first, and scoring in the second to cut it to a 4-point AZ Compass lead at the break. In the third, it was all Eagles, with Montverde outscoring Compass 25-5. Flagg started to hit tough shots and force turnovers, Baylor commit Rob Wright and Georgia commit Asa Newell hit multiple threes including a buzzer-beating Wright three to end the third.

Montverde was then up by 14 heading into the 4th and while AZ Compass fought, bigs Luke Bamgboye and Ethan Lathan were in foul trouble which allowed Montverde to control the inside, beating Compass 30-16 in the paint. The Eagles defense caused the Dragons to struggle offensively in the second half but AZ Compass played Montverde better than anybody this whole season and led for more time than Montverde did.

Championship: No. 1 Montverde 79 vs. No. 2 Paul VI 63

This highly anticipated matchup between the nation’s top two teams took place in the championship at Chipotle Nationals. The battle for the chip began with both teams firing from deep with Paul VI hitting three 3-pointers and Montverde hitting four 3-pointers in the first frame. Duke commit Darren Harris got it going early, as well as Duke commit Cooper Flagg. LSU commit Curtis Givens would hit four half 3-pointers. Montverde would lead by 13 at the break thanks to a last-second Flagg three.

In the third, Paul VI would keep knocking down shots, but Montverde would match them. A Cooper Flagg block and coast-to-coast dunk would put him at 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks, and Montverde up by 14.

More of the same would happen in the final frame with Paul VI unable to contain the mighty Montverde offense. Montverde would control the game steadily the whole fourth and become national champions, finishing with a 33-0 record to engrave their name in the history books.

Flagg finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 blocks while Harris had 16 points and 3 assists. The 5-star big man matchup ended with Maryland commit Derik Queen finishing with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists while Duke commit Patrick Ngongba had 11 points and 4 rebounds. LSU commit Curtis Givens led all scorers with 24 points, knocking down six threes.

Strictly Joe’s Take

by Joe Doerrer

Montverde Academy is the best high school basketball team I have ever seen with my own two eyes. They have an argument as the best high school team ever.

33-0. They were only tested a few times the entire year. Cooper Flagg and Derik Queen were arguably the two most effective players in the country this season. They won the national championship game in convincing fashion.

I think 2020 Montverde still would beat this team in a 7 game series, but it would be very close.

Final Four Top Performers as HS Recruits

by Griffin Greenberg 

This year's March Madness was electric and came out with UConn on top. Let’s take a look at the top performers from the Final Four in high school.

Tristen Newton - Unranked at Burges High School (El Paso, TX)

Newton was very underrated and under-recruited in his four years at Burges. The unranked guard scored over 3,000 career points in high school and averaged 37.2 PPG as a senior (1st in Texas). Despite that, coaches had questions about the competition he faced causing him to go under-recruited, especially by nearby schools. Newton would pick up a few offers before committing to East Carolina. From there the rest is history, Newton proved many people wrong and played 3 years before transferring to UConn to win 2 national championships and the Most Outstanding Player of this year’s Final Four.

Zach Edey - 3 Star at IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL)

The back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year spent his first two high school years at Leaside High School (Toronto, Canada) before transferring to IMG Academy. Edey hadn’t started playing basketball until his sophomore season of high school. Playing with and against other top talent, Edey didn’t find much playing time but was efficient when he did, shooting 70% and averaging over 1 BPG as a senior. Edey was ranked a 3-star out of the top 400 players and was the 75th center in the 2020 class. Now, he’s known as the best player in Purdue basketball history.

Stephon Castle - 5 Star at Newton (Covington, GA)

The freshman spent his four years in high school at Newton in Georgia. He was one of the more sought-after prospects in the 2023 class, ranked as a high 4-star for most of his high school career and a 5-star toward the end of his senior year. Castle averaged 20.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 4.8 APG, 3 SPG, and 2 BPG in his senior season and would claim McDonald’s All American honors. He’s projected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Donovan Clingan - 4 Star at Bristol Central (Bristol, CT)

The skilled sophomore center led Bristol Central to an undefeated season in his senior year and a DII state championship. He was ranked as a 4-star and top-75 player in the 2022 class. Clingan put together an insane senior campaign to win the Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year averaging an absurd 29.9 PPG, 18.1 RPG, and 6.1 BPG. After a dominant sophomore season helping UConn to their second national championship, he’s a projected lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Cam Spencer - Unranked at The Boys’ Latin School (Baltimore, MD)

Spencer had a very storied high school career, succeeding in multiple sports. Spencer was very talented at lacrosse but pursued basketball in the end. He averaged 25 PPG, 7 RPG, and 4.5 APG in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association play in Maryland and would go on to win the MIAA Player of the Year en route to a 30-6 season his senior year. Despite his accomplishments, he was very under-recruited in high school, only securing one offer to Loyola Maryland where he would commit and play for three years. His brother Pat is known as one of the greatest college lacrosse players ever and now is in the NBA on the Golden State Warriors.

DJ Burns Jr. - 4 Star at York Prep (York County, SC)

Burns was ranked as the 82nd recruit in the 2018 class on ESPN and 196th on 247Sports. Burns played three years in high school after reclassifying to 2018 from 2019. He averaged 14.2 PPG and 10.3 RPG in his junior season. He scored 1,000 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds in his high school career. Burns held offers from Tennessee, South Carolina, Auburn, and plenty more. He committed to Tennessee and redshirted before transferring to Winthrop.

Mark Sears - 3 Star at Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, VA)

Sears was a 3-star recruit who spent his first three high school seasons at Muscle Shoals High School in Muscle Shoals, AL. He transferred to Hargrave his senior year where he averaged 14 PPG, 5 RPG, and 3 APG while leading Hargrave to a 37-4 record. He picked up offers from Washington State, Ohio, South Alabama, Troy, and Missouri State. Sears played at Ohio for two seasons before transferring to Alabama.

Recruitment Recap

Commitments

Class of 2025 5-star Garfield Heights (Cleveland, OH) guard Marcus Johnson has committed to Ohio State.

Class of 2024 4-star AZ Compass (Chandler, AZ) guard Vyctorius Miller has committed to LSU.

Decommitments

Class of 2024 5-star forward Karter Knox has decommitted from Kentucky.

Class of 2024 5-star center Jayden Quaintance has decommitted from Kentucky.

Class of 2024 4-star center Somto Cyril has decommitted from Kentucky.

Class of 2024 4-star forward Jalen Shelley has decommitted from Arkansas.

Class of 2024 4-star forward Brody Kozlowski has decommitted from USC.

Class of 2024 4-star guard Liam Campbell has decommitted from USC.

Class of 2024 4-star guard Isaiah Elohim has decommitted from Arkansas.

Class of 2024 4-star center Ethan Lathan has decommitted from Old Dominion.

Class of 2024 4-star guard Casmir Chavis has decommitted from Washington.

Final schools

Class of 2025 4-star center Dewayne Brown II is down to 2 schools… Tennessee and Mississippi State.