Strictly BBall Newsletter 12

Top 10 Teams in 2024, Ace Bailey’s dominant run, and most exciting holiday hoops!

Who played the best over the holidays?

by Griffin Greenberg on January 1

The holiday season featured many top events across the nation that didn’t disappoint! Because of it, our top-10 rankings were shaken up dramatically. Take a look at our new top-10 along with the best games of the holiday season, Ace Bailey being the Strictly BBall Player of the Break, the Strictly BBall underrated player profile, and new recruitment updates.

THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES

Updated Strictly BBall Top 10

by Griffin Greenberg

1. Montverde Academy (FL)

2. Long Island Lutheran (NY)

3. Paul VI (VA)

4. Link Academy (MO)

5. Prolific Prep (CA)

6. Columbus High School (FL)

7. La Lumiere School (IN)

8. Wasatch Academy (UT)

9. AZ Compass Prep (AZ)

10. Harvard-Westlake (CA)

Long Island Lutheran - Was: #6, Now: #2. Why?

Despite falling to Montverde in the City of Palms Classic Championship game, LuHi had two impressive wins against a strong Don Bosco Prep squad and the previous No. 3 ranked team in Link Academy.

Paul VI - Was: #5, Now: #3. Why?

Paul VI (VA) took down Link Academy (MO) in the top-5 matchup at the City of Palms Classic as well as Millennium (AZ) and IMG Academy (FL). They battled with Montverde Academy but fell just short.

Columbus - Was: #4, Now: #7. Why?

Unlike LuHi, Columbus fell to Link Academy and Don Bosco but did take down Harvard-Westlake in a one-possession game to end up at No. 7.

Harvard-Westlake - Was: Out of Top 10, Now: #10. Why?

The Wolverines led by the trio of USC commit Trent Perry, Harvard commit Robert Hinton and 2025 4-star Nik Khamenia fell to Columbus in the final seconds of the Les Schwab Invitational but breezed through the tournament to get there, notably blowing out Perry (AZ) who is led by 5-star Koa Peat. They’ve blown just about every team out they have played and face Ace Bailey and McEachern on the 15th at Hoophall Classic.

Strictly Joe’s Take

by Joe Doerrer

Long Island Lutheran has been on a tear and VJ Edgecombe is playing as good as anybody in the country. I think it’s a good time to take a look at where VJ is now compared to a year ago.

I watched VJ play for the first time at the Jordan Holiday Classic in NYC 1 year ago. He went off with Carmelo Anthony sitting courtside. He looked like a 5 star recruit in my eyes. But when I looked him up, he was unranked. Now, 1 year later, he is a 5 star recruit and his top 3 schools are Duke, Baylor, and Kentucky.

Top Games Over the Break

by Griffin Greenberg 

Long Island Lutheran (NY) 59 vs. Montverde Academy (FL) 73 - City of Palms Classic Championship

Montverde looked good early on in this contest and led by as much as 17 in the first quarter. Their defense was elite as they held LuHi to 32% shooting from the field and 27% from deep. LuHi was able to get back in the game by forcing 15 turnovers and with second-chance points. 5-star VJ Edgecombe finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds and Kiyan Anthony had 14 points. Cooper Flagg was effective on the glass and at the line as he had 21 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks., Liam McNeeley had 15 points (3-4 from deep) and 5 rebounds. Lastly, Robert Wright III did it all with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists.

Dynamic Prep (TX) 76 vs. Prolific Prep (CA) 70 - Chick-Fil-A Classic Championship

Dynamic Prep had arguably the best stretch over the holiday season, taking down Combine Academy, Dream City Christian, and Prolific Prep to win the Chick-Fil-A Classic Championship.

In this matchup, Leon Horner and Jaylen Washington would take over in the 4th quarter for Dynamic Prep as Horner finished with 22 points, and Washington’s two big 4th quarter threes would have him end with 10 points and 5 assists. AJ Dybantsa had 26 points and 7 rebounds for Prolific Prep who was without 5-star Alabama commit Derrion Reid, and Grady Winters had 15 points (5 threes). Dynamic Prep would knock down their free throws while preventing a late Prolific comeback; Jermaine O’Neal Jr. had 14 points and Leroy Kelly had 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Columbus (FL) 55 vs. Harvard-Westlake (CA) 54 - Les Schwab Invitational Championship

A packed high school in Oregon was where two elite high school squads faced off for the championship to end the year.

This back-and-forth matchup would be highlighted by Jase Richardson who had 19 points and 6 rebounds for Columbus, and Nik Khamenia who was doing it all on both sides of the court would finish with 19 points for Harvard-Westlake. Khamenia would hold Cameron Boozer to 12 points on 4-11 FG, but Boozer had 11 rebounds and 3 blocks to make a huge impact in his team'steams win. Harvard-Westlake’s USC commit Trent Perry would have 17 points and 7 rebounds, and Harvard commit Rob Hinton would have 14 points and 7 rebounds. 5-star Cayden Boozer had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for Columbus, and Malik Abdullahi had the game-winning putback with just seconds left.

Link Academy (MO) 71 vs. Paul VI 74 (VA) - City of Palms Classic 3rd place game

This back-and-forth and forth matchup came down to the last second and almost featured an incredible comeback being pulled off by Link Academy.

Paul VI had a 12-pt lead with 3:30 remaining in the game as Duke commit Darren Harris (25 points and 4 rebounds) had an elite game shooting the ball at all levels and Garrett Sundra (17 points and 5 rebounds) was efficient. Some late plays in the 4th, including 2 three-pointers from Jalen Shelley (21 points on 8-11 FG) and Tre Johnson (12 points). Ben Hammond (13 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) found his teammates on the offensive end to leave it up to a Jalen Shelley half court heave at the buzzer which fell short.

Don Bosco Prep (NJ) 74 vs. Columbus (FL) 79 - City of Palms Classic

This was a thrilling game of runs featuring two of the top players in high school basketball in senior No. 2 recruit and Rutgers commit Dylan Harper of Don Bosco Prep and junior No. 2 recruit Cameron Boozer of Columbus.

After Don Bosco led by double-digits at the half, Columbus would have a monster 3rd quarter led by Boozer who would finish with 30 points (10-15 FG) and 11 rebounds. DB came out strong in the final frame and Dylan Harper would continue to knock down big shots, ending up with 38 points (4-8 from three), 6 rebounds, and 3 steals. Both teams capitalized on turnovers throughout the night with each finishing with 20+ points on turnovers as Don Bosco closed out the game.

Strictly BBall Player of (the Holiday Break)

by Griffin Greenberg 

Ace Bailey (McEachern) - 33 PPG (59% FG and 44% from 3), 16.4 RPG and 3.2 APG in 5 games

Yes, those stats are real. Ace Bailey’s last 5 games have been incredible, generating noise about whether or not he should be the #1 ranked recruit in the nation.

Bailey had a high in points at 43 against Cannon School at City of Palms Classic, as McEachern went 3-1 at the event. The Rutgers commit had 41 points and 20 rebounds on his future home floor at Rutgers University at The Battle against Camden. Bailey has shown off his elite shot making, rebounding ability, and his length.

Strictly BBall Underrated Player Profile

by Griffin Greenberg 

Cam Miles - AZ Compass Prep School

After recently transferring to AZ Compass, Miles has had a huge impact for the top-10 squad. In his last 3 games, Miles is averaging 11 PPG, 5 APG, and 3 RPG and has made a big impact on the defensive end.

Miles serves as the perfect true point guard for the team and his high IQ and ability to protect the ball has gone a long way for the Dragons. The class of 2025 point guard picked up a Washington offer in the past month and should see his recruitment begin to take off alongside his efficient play. He could play a major role for an AZ Compass team that still has Geico Nationals hopes.

Recruitment Recap

Commitments

Class of 2024 5-star Prolific Prep (Napa, CA) forward Derrion Reid has committed to Alabama.

Class of 2024 5-star Camden (Camden, NJ) forward Billy Richmond has committed to Kentucky.

Class of 2024 5-star Prolific Prep (Napa, CA) guard Zoom Diallo has committed to Washington.

Final schools

Class of 2024 5-star VJ Edgecombe is down to 3 schools… Baylor, Duke and Kentucky.

Class of 2025 5-star Darryn Peterson is down to 8 schools… Arkansas, Baylor, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio State, Kansas, Michigan and North Carolina.

Class of 2025 4-star Oswin Erhunmwunse is down to 4 schools… Creighton, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Providence.

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