Greatest High School Basketball Teams of All Time
The 1982-83 Dunbar HS basketball team.Every state has its high school basketball legends. Players and teams so great they took up permanent space in the memories of basketball fans.
Some of those teams were even better than that. Collectively, they became legends who burnished their legacies with undefeated seasons, state championships and, in some cases, national championships.
These are the greatest high school basketball teams of all time. With just one rule. One school, one spot.
75. 2008-09 Bloomington South High School
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Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Record: 26-0
Head coach: J.R. Holmes
Key players: Dee Davis, Jordan Hulls, Matt Carlino, Erik Fromm
Bottom Line: 2008-09 Bloomington South High School
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Bloomington South is a great example of a team that didn't necessarily need to overpower teams with size to win a lot of games, going undefeated and winning a coveted Indiana state championship.
Bloomington South had two 6-foot guards who went on to play professional basketball, Jordan Hulls and Dee Davis, along with USA Today Coach of the Year J.R. Holmes on the bench.
What Happened Next: Bloomington South High School
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At the heart of Bloomington South's program was its ever-present head coach, J.R. Holmes.
Holmes broke the Indiana high school career wins record with his 807th win in 2019 but didn't stop there. In April 2021, at the end of his 52nd year as a high school basketball coach, he was named the AT&T National Coach of the Year.
74. 1927-28 Ashland High School
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Location: Ashland, Kentucky
Record: 37-0
Head coach: Jimmy Anderson
Key players: Ellis Johnson, Gene Strother
Bottom Line: 1927-28 Ashland High School
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The oldest team on this list gets the most basketball-crazy state in the country's foot in the door with Kentucky, where Ashland High School went undefeated and won a national championship in 1928.
Now known as Blazer High, it is still the only high school from Kentucky to win a national championship in boys basketball, where it capped off the year with a 15-10 win over Canton (Illinois) High at the National Interscholastic Tournament in Chicago.
Ellis Johnson was the star for Ashland and went on to become the first All-American for legendary head coach Adolph Rupp at the University of Kentucky while also starring in football, baseball, and track and field.
What Happened Next: Blazer High School
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Ashland Blazer High won three more state championships after the legendary 1928 title team — in 1933, 1934 and 1961.
The 2019-20 Blazer team was 28-0 heading into the state tournament, looking to become the first team to go unbeaten and win a state title since Brewers High in 1948. But the state tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.
73. 1993-94 East Anchorage High School
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Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Record: 23-3
Head coach: Chuck White
Key players: Trajan Langdon, Mao Tosi
Bottom Line: 1993-94 East Anchorage High School
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The debate over who is the greatest high school basketball player in Alaska history boils down to three players — East's Trajan Langdon, Bartlett's Mario Chalmers and Juneau-Douglas High's Carlos Boozer.
Langdon was the one who paved the way for the other two as a three-time Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year and winner of three consecutive Class 4A state championships. Langdon did it 1994 with a future NFL defensive end in the frontcourt with 6-foot-6 center Mao Tosi — a devastating combo, regardless of what state you reside in.
Langdon was a McDonald's All-American, a three-time All-American at Duke and played three seasons in the NBA. He's currently the general manager for the New Orleans Pelicans.
What Happened Next: East Anchorage High School
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East Anchorage wasn't done winning state championships when Trajan Langdon walked out the door. They've won five state championships since he graduated, in 1995, 1999, 2000, 2013 and 2021 and finished as state runner-up four more times.
East's star player on the latest state championship team was Hasaan Herrington, who led his team to an undefeated season and signed with NCAA Division II University of Texas-Tyler, where the head coach is former East star Louis Wilson.
72. 2006-07 The Patrick School
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Location: Elizabeth, New Jersey
Record: 30-2
Head coach: Kevin Boyle
Key players: Da'Quan Cook, Corey Fisher, Brad Haugabrook, Jeff Robinson
Bottom Line: 2006-07 The Patrick School
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The Patrick School did everything it could to win a national championship in 2007 but came up just short at No. 2 in the final USA Today Super 25 Poll.
That didn't take away from what the team actually accomplished, winning a second consecutive state championship behind 32 points from future Villanova star Corey Fisher in the championship game.
Head coach Kevin Boyle was named USA Today National Coach of the Year in 2007 as well.
What Happened Next: The Patrick School
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The Patrick School finished No. 3 in the nation in 2009 and won its third state championship in four years before the NJSIAA banned TPS from the 2010 tournament for violating workout guidelines in the offseason.
How was TPS caught? The NJSIAA hired a former cop to secretly videotape the team working out. One year later, head coach Kevin Boyle left TPS to become the new coach at Montverde Academy.
In his last year at TPS, Boyle had two future NBA players, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and 2012 NBA draft No. 1 overall pick Kyrie Irving.
71. 1963-64 Sentinel High School
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Location: Missoula, Montana
Record: 27-0
Head coach: Lou Rocheleau
Key players: Mike Lewis
Bottom Line: 1963-64 Sentinel High School
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Montana isn't known for being a hotbed of high school sports, but the team Missoula Sentinel High put together in 1963-64 was impossible to keep off the list. Interestingly enough, they could have won another state title in 1963, but the school board wouldn't allow the team to play in the state tournament.
Sentinel went 27-0 and won the 1964 state championship behind 6-foot-8 forward Mike Lewis, who averaged 35 points per game and was a Parade All-American before he starred at Duke, where he was an All-ACC selection and All-American
Lewis played six seasons in the ABA and was an ABA All-Star in 1971, but his career was cut short by an Achilles tendon injury.
What Happened Next: Sentinel High School
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Sentinel didn't win a state championship for almost a decade, before going back-to-back in 1972 and 1973. Sentinel lost in the state championship game three consecutive times before winning it all in 1986 — the 10th state title in school history.
Since 1986, Sentinel has lost in the state championship game three times, in 1987, 1992 and 2008.
70. 2009-10 Bishop Gorman High School
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Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Record: 30-2
Head coach: Grant Rice
Key players: Shabazz Muhammad, Ronnie Stanley, Xavier Grimble
Bottom Line: 2009-10 Bishop Gorman HIgh School
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Bishop Gorman High is known for being a football powerhouse, but in 2009-10, it featured one of the best high school teams in the nation.
Led by future NBA lottery pick Shabazz Muhammad and a a pair of future NFL players in Ronnie Stanley and Xavier Grimble, Bishop Gorman only lost to California powerhouse Mater Dei and to fellow Nevada standout Findlay Prep before winning the state championship.
Muhammad led the Gaels to another state championship as a senior in 2012.
What Happened Next: Bishop Gorman HIgh School
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Out of the trio of professional athletes on Bishop Gorman's star-studded team, Ronnie Stanley has been the most successful on the next level.
Stanley, at 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds, was a consensus All-American at Notre Dame in 2015, and the Baltimore Ravens selected him No. 6 overall in the 2016 NFL draft. In 2019, Stanley had a career year and made his first Pro Bowl and first NFL All-Pro Team.
The Ravens rewarded him with a five-year, $98.7 million contract with $64 million guaranteed.
69. 1994-95 St. Augustine High School
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Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Record: 37-1
Head coach: Bernard Griffith
Key players: Maurice Robertson, Eugene Edgerson
Bottom Line: 1994-95 St. Augustine High School
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Few teams have done what St. Augustine High did in 1994-95, climbing from unranked in the preseason all the way to the top of all the major national high school polls by the end of the year.
How'd the Purple Knights do it? They lost one game all year, but it was just the second game of the season.
Then they reeled off 36 straight wins after that, capping it all with a 57-33 win over Baton Rouge Catholic High in the Class 5A state championship game.
What Happened Next: St. Augustine High School
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St. Augustine star Eugene Edgerson wasn't done winning national championships.
Edgerson, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound forward, won a national championship at the University of Arizona and played on two Final Four teams with the Wildcats under the late Lute Olson.
68. 1983-84 Long Beach Polytechnic High School
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Location: Long Beach, California
Record: 31-2
Head coach: Ron Palmer
Key players: Chris Sandle, Morlon Wiley
Bottom Line: 1983-84 Long Beach Polytechnic High School
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You can still watch Long Beach Poly's thrilling 45-44 win over Mater Dei in the CIF championship game and see for yourself why this team made the list.
The player who led the way for Long Beach Poly was 6-foot-4 guard Morlon Wiley, who went on to start four years at nearby Long Beach State.
Wiley then played more than a decade of professional basketball, including seven seasons in the NBA.
What Happened Next: Long Beach Polytechnic High School
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Long Beach Poly has not won a state championship in boys basketball since its legendary 1983-84 squad, finishing as runner-up just once, in 2016.
Long Beach Poly's girls team, however, has become a state powerhouse in that time. Long Beach Poly has won six state championships since 2006, including four consecutive from 2006 to 2009 and back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014.
67. 1987-88 Gulfport High School
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Location: Gulfport, Mississippi
Record: 40-3
Head coach: Bert Jenkins
Key players: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Leonard Bennett, Dwayne Davis
Bottom Line: 1987-88 Gulfport High School
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Led by senior guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (then known as Chris Jackson), Gulfport went 40-3 and won its second consecutive state championship in 1988, taking down a Murrah High team with two future NBA first-round draft picks, James Robinson and Lindsey Hunter, in the state championship game.
Abdul-Rauf was one of the most highly recruited players in the country coming out of high school and played two seasons for LSU, where he was an All-American both years, then was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft.
What Happened Next: Gulfport High School
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Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf became one of the most polarizing players in NBA history in 1996 when he refused to stand for the national anthem before games because he viewed the flag as a "symbol of oppression" and pointed out the long history of tyranny in the U.S.
The NBA suspended Abdul-Rauf for his refusal to stand, and two days later, he worked out a compromise. He would stand during the anthem but looked downward and recited Islamic prayer.
66. 1994-95 Minneapolis North Community High School
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Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Record: 30-0
Head coach: Robin Ingram
Key players: Khalid El-Amin
Bottom Line: 1994-95 Minneapolis North Community High School
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This was the first of three consecutive state championships for Minneapolis North High, but the only one of the three to go undefeated.
North was led by a future NCAA All-American and national champion in sophomore point guard Khalid El-Amin, a three-time All-State selection who led UConn to one of the most shocking upsets of all time in the 1999 NCAA championship game against Duke.
In 1995, El-Amin was pulling off similar feats. Two starters for North were declared ineligible the day before the state championship game, but he put the team on his back and beat Staples-Motley High 54-52 for the title.
What Happened Next: Minneapolis North Community High School
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After Khalid El-Amin led Minneapolis North Community High to three consecutive state championships, the school didn't win another state title until 2003, then not again after that until winning back-to-back titles in 2016 and 2017.
The star player on the 2016 state championship team was all-state guard Tyler Johnson, who became a two-time All-Big Ten wide receiver at the University of Minnesota and won a Super Bowl as a rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.
65. 1985-86 Camden High School
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Location: Camden, New Jersey
Record: 30-0
Head coach: Clarence Turner
Key players: Curtis Walls, Lee Wall, Louis Banks, Sean Turner, Larry Cohen, Reggie Lawrence, Kevin Smith, Dennis Brown, Davis Nieves, Vic Carstarphen
Bottom Line: 1985-86 Camden High School
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Camden High's 1986 team went unbeaten and was rewarded with a national championship from USA Today when it came out on top in the final Super 25 Poll.
What's amazing about the team is that few names jump off the page from Camden High that were on the roster that year — a true testament to how well head coach Clarence Turner's team was run.
Of the three players from Camden to make it to the NBA in school history, none were on the national championship team.
What Happened Next: Camden High School
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No story about Camden High basketball is complete with mentioning the Wagner family — three generations of elite basketball talent to walk the halls.
Camden High guard Milt Wagner went on to lead Louisville to three Final Fours and the 1986 NCAA championships before winning an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988.
Milt Wagner's son, Dajuan Wagner, scored 100 points in a single game in 2001 against Camden County Tech and was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft.
Dajuan Wagner's son, D.J. Wagner, is currently a star guard for Camden High and the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2023. He has a good shot at becoming the first third-generation player in NBA history.
64. 2004-05 Niagara Falls High School
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Location: Niagara Falls, New York
Record: 28-1
Head coach: Dan Bazzani
Key players: Paul Harris, Jonny Flynn
Bottom Line: 2004-05 Niagara Falls High School
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When teams from New York end up on the national stage, it's usually coming out of New York City. That wasn't the case with Niagara Falls High, which went 28-1 in 2004-05 and won the first national title in school history.
Niagara Falls had a future NBA first-round draft pick in sophomore guard Johnny Flynn, who averaged 15.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3.4 rebounds.
Flynn, who played collegiately at Syracuse, had the perfect complement in wing Paul Harris, who earned a reputation as an elite shutdown defender against some of the nation's top players.
What Happened Next: Niagara Falls High School
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Paul Harris ended up being a case of "what if." Following Niagara Falls High's magical season in 2004-05, he was arrested on drug and domestic violence charges and spent 13 days in jail.
Harris transferred to Notre Dame Prep in Massachusetts for his final high school season and played for Syracuse for three seasons before declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft and going unselected.
Harris spent the next 11 seasons playing basketball professionally all over the world — just not in the NBA.
63. 1980-81 Quincy Senior High School
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Location: Quincy, Illinois
Record: 33-0
Head coach: Jerry Leggett
Key players: Michael Payne, Bruce Douglas
Bottom Line: 1980-81 Quincy Senior High School
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Quincy High's unbeaten 33-0 season in 1980-81 was part of a 64-game winning streak, with the 1981 team winning the mythical national title and the second state title in school history and first since 1934.
Quincy was never more dominant than when they hit the state tournament, winning four games by an average of almost 30 points.
Quincy was led by a pair of future Big Ten standouts, 6-foot-10 center Michael Payne (Iowa) and 6-foot-3 guard Bruce Douglas (Illinois), who played in the NBA for one season.
What Happened Next: Quincy Senior High School
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While Quincy High has not won a state basketball championship since 1981, the school still holds Illinois records for most appearances at the state tournament (32) and most games played in the state tournament (89).
Quincy also has one of the more incredible pregame routines you will ever see — unique enough that it's detailed in a book, "Stand Up and Cheer: A Century of Blue Devil Basketball," written by Quincy Herald-Whig sportswriter Matt Schuckman.
62. 1979-80 Inglewood High School
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Location: Inglewood, California
Record: 29-0
Head coach: Vince Combs
Key players: Jay Humphries, Ralph Jackson
Bottom Line: 1979-80 Inglewood High School
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Inglewood High took down Long Beach Poly for the 1980 CIF state championship in front of approximately 10,644 fans and became the first team to go undefeated in 11 years in the CIF.
While the greatest player in Inglewood High history is undoubtedly Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, the greatest team tag belongs to the 1979-80 squad.
Two players off the team ended up playing in the NBA — Jay Humphries and Ralph Jackson.
What Happened Next: Inglewood High School
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Inglewood has not played for a state championship since its undefeated team won it all in 1980.
That doesn't mean the school hasn't continued to pump out big-time talent, including Basketball Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, Harold "Baby Jordan" Miner and Jason Hart, who starred at Syracuse and played a decade in the NBA.
61. 1968-69 Compton High School
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Location: Compton, California
Record: 30-0
Head coach: Bill Armstrong
Key players: Larry Hollyfield, Mike Hopwood, Biff Burrell, Reynaldo Brown, Keith Lee, Louie Nelson
Bottom Line: 1968-69 Compton High School
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Compton High won back-to-back CIF state championships and back-to-back national championships in 1968 and 1969 as part of a 66-game winning streak over the final two seasons.
Six players off the Compton High national championship teams led by head coach Bill Armstrong went on to play Division I basketball.
The best of the bunch was Larry Hollyfield, a 6-foot-5 guard/forward who won eight consecutive championships during his career — four at Compton High, one California juco title in an unbeaten season at Compton Junior College, then three consecutive national championships at UCLA.
What Happened Next: Compton High School
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Compton High hasn't played in a CIF State Championship Game since 1969 but has played for the Southern California Championship and lost three times — in 1998, 2010 and 2014.
The player who can claim GOAT status out of Compton High is currently in the NBA with five-time NBA All-Star shooting guard/small forward DeMar DeRozan, who will have made $257.6 million in career earnings once his current contract with the Chicago Bulls ends after the 2023-24 season.
60. 1996-97 Peoria Manual High School
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Location: Peoria, Illinois
Record: 31-1
Head coach: Wayne McClain
Key players: Frank Williams, Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin
Bottom Line: 1996-97 Peoria Manual High School
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High school national championships in boys basketball come with the same momentum as winning a college football national championship. You can lose early, but you can't lose late.
Peoria Manual High lost its only game of the season to Chicago Carver early in the season, then stormed back to set up a state semifinals showdown with another nationally ranked team in Thornton High. In front of 11,522 fans, future Illinois star Frank Williams guided them to the 65-62 win.
Peoria Manual closed out the year with its fourth straight championship and was led in scoring by head coach Wayne McClain's son, Sergio McClain.
What Happened Next: Peoria Manual High School
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Peoria Manual High teammates Marcus Griffin, Sergio McClain and Frank Griffin were reunited at the University of Illinois, where they played for head coach Bill Self and led the Illini to an Elite Eight appearance in 2001.
Williams, the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2001, was a first-round draft pick by the New York Knicks in 2002 but lasted just three seasons in the NBA.
59. 1981-82 Calvert Hall College High School
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Location: Towson, Maryland
Record: 34-0
Head coach: Mark Amatucci
Key players: Duane Ferrell, James "Pop" Tubman, Marc Wilson, Paul Edwards, Pat Sass
Bottom Line: 1981-82 Calvert Hall College High School
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The template for how tough a high school basketball league can be has to include the Baltimore Catholic League. The Baltimore Sun said that the Calvert Hall 1981-82 team was the greatest in BCL history on the league's 50th anniversary.
Calvert Hall played a national schedule that year that included wins over D.C.'s Spingarn High and a victory in a 1-2 matchup against Camden (New Jersey) High.
If only they would've gotten to play Dunbar High, would it have been the greatest game ever?
Forward Duane Ferrell went on to star at Georgia Tech and played 11 seasons in the NBA.
What Happened Next: Calvert Hall College High School
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Arguably the greatest player in Calvert Hall — or at least the one that came to be the most well-known — was still a generation away when the 1981-82 team won the national title.
Juan Dixon was a skinny shooting guard who took college basketball by storm in the early 2000s, leading the University of Maryland to its only national championship in 2002 while being named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
58. 1997-98 St. John's Catholic Prep
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Location: Buckeystown, Maryland
Record: 25-0
Head coach: Stu Vetter
Key players: Damien Wilkins, Jason Capel
Bottom Line: 1997-98 St. John's Catholic Prep
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Any list of greatest high school basketball coaches needs to include Stu Vetter, who led two different schools to national titles — Flint Hill Academy in 1987 and St. John's Catholic Prep in 1988.
At St. John's Catholic Prep, Vetter had the advantage of two future college stars on the team with Damien Wilkins and Jason Capel, who took down a nationally ranked schedule with tournaments in Hawaii, North Carolina and Maryland.
What Happened Right Before: St. John's Catholic Prep
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It was a player who was on the St. John's Catholic Prep roster a few years before the national championship team in 1998 who we want to single out — 6-foot-6 forward Nate James graduated in 1996, then went on to play for Duke, where he capped his career as the co-captain on the Blue Devils' 2001 NCAA championship team.
James played pro basketball overseas for seven years before he returned to Duke as an assistant coach, winning two more national titles in 2010 and 2015.
James was hired as the head coach at Austin Peay in April 2021.
57. 1987-88 Carlisle High School
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Location: Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Record: 30-0
Head coach: Dave Lebo
Key players: Billy Owens, Michael Coleman
Bottom Line: 1987-88 Carlisle High School
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First things first. Props to The Sentinel for putting together this powerhouse online package about Carlisle High's four consecutive state championship teams that detailed the lives of the school's players and coaches before, during and after their time in the spotlight.
The 1988 Carlisle High team featured one of the greatest high school basketball players of all time in future Syracuse star and No. 3 NBA draft overall pick Billy Owens, who was on all four state title teams, scored 3,000 career points and earned comparisons to Magic Johnson coming out of high school.
One of the cool things about Carlisle High was the credit given to the "Gold Team" — the backup players who guarded the starters in practice.
What Happened Next: Carlisle High School
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The four consecutive state championships won by Carlisle High in the mid/late 1980s were the only four in school history.
Billy Owens never quite lived up to his potential on the college and pro levels. He was also one of the main components of one of the worst NBA trades of all time, when Golden State Warriors coach and general manager Don Nelson swapped Mitch Richmond for Owens, breaking up the Run TMC trio of Richmond, Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway.
56. 2000-01 Willowridge High School
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Location: Houston, Texas
Record: 39-0
Head coach: Ronnie Courtney
Key players: Daniel Ewing, T.J. Ford
Bottom Line: 2000-01 Willowridge High School
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The Willowridge High squad in 2000-01 was led by a pair of McDonald's All-Americans who went on to star in college and play in the NBA with Daniel Ewing and T.J. Ford. They went 75-1 over their final two seasons together at Willowridge.
Guiding them from the sideline was head coach Ronnie Courtney, who was named 2001 USA Today Coach of the Year and won back-to-back state titles with the duo in 2000 and 2001.
What Happened Next: Willowridge High School
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Ronnie Courtney's career path is something to behold. He went from Willowridge to being a Division I head coach at Texas Southern, where he coached for six years before going back to the high school ranks.
Courtney won another state title at George Bush High School in 2010.
He retired in 2018.
55. 1986-87 Flint Hill Academy
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Location: Oakton, Virginia
Record: 23-0
Head coach: Stu Vetter
Key players: Dennis Scott, Arron Bain
Bottom Line: 1986-87 Flint Hill Academy
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Dennis Scott led Flint Hill to a national runner-up finish as a junior in 1986, then took them all the way to the top of the USA Today Super 25 rankings as a senior in 1987.
Scott led Flint Hill to a 46-0 record over his final two seasons and was named the Naismith National Player of the Year as a senior when he averaged 24 points and 11 rebounds and, more importantly, was able to play all five positions.
Scott was probably a player ahead of his time. At 6-foot-8, he was a 3-point shooter and one of the best long-distance shooters of the 1990s, when he played 11 seasons in the NBA.
What Happened Next: Flint Hill Academy
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Flint Hill only won one more state championship, in 1995, and made it to the state semifinals in 2005.
The talent faucet didn't just shut off after Dennis Scott and Co. left in the late 1980s. In fact, a Flint Hill grad turned in arguably the greatest performance in ACC Tournament history.
In 1995, Randolph Childress averaged 35.7 points and 7.0 assists in the ACC Tournament, leading Wake Forest to the championship and hitting the game-winner against North Carolina in the finals.
54. 1958-59 Archbishop John Carroll High School
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Location: Washington, D.C.
Record: 33-0
Head coach: Bob Dwyer
Key players: John Thompson, Edward Malloy, Tom Hooper, George Leftwich
Bottom Line: 1958-59 Archbishop John Carroll High School
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You could take the frontcourt from Archbishop John Carroll High's 1958-59 squad and line it up against any high school team in the country today and come out on top. Matching 6-foot-10 posts and future NBA players John Thompson and Tom Hoover would have been just fine.
Thompson went on to star at Providence. Hoover played at Villanova and was the No. 6 overall pick in the 1963 NBA draft.
Another starter, Edward "Monk" Malloy, became president at the University of Notre Dame.
What Happened Next: Archbishop John Carroll High School
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John Thompson became much more well-known as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.
After Thompson won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics as a player, he coached at Georgetown for 27 seasons and became the first Black head coach to win an NCAA championship in 1984.
Thompson, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame, died in August 2020 at 78 years old.
53. 1987-88 St. Nicholas of Tolentine High School
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Location: Bronx, New York
Record: 30-1
Head coach: John Sarandrea
Key players: Malik Sealy, Brian Reese, Adrian Autry
Bottom Line: 1987-88 St. Nicholas of Tolentine High School
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St. Nicholas went from the Bronx to the top of the nation in high school basketball thanks to 6-foot-7 star forward and future NBA player Malik Sealy, who averaged 21.4 points and 10.4 rebounds while shooting 65.4 percent from the field.
Sealy was at his best in the postseason, when he was named MVP of both the CHSAA Tournament and state tournament in taking down fellow New York teams that included future NBA stars Jamal Mashburn (Cardinal Hayes) and Kenny Anderson (Archbishop Malloy). St. Nicholas' only loss came to New Jersey powerhouse St. Anthony's in a tournament in Hawaii.
What Happened Next: St. Nicholas of Tolentine High School
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Malik Sealy had one of the more amazing backstories of anyone in basketball. His father was a bodyguard for social activist Malcolm X, also known as Malik Shabazz, and named his son after him.
After starring at St. Nicholas, Sealy starred for St. John's University, then played eight seasons in the NBA. Tragically, Sealy died in a car accident in 2000, at 30 years old.
52. 2001-02 Lincoln High School
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Location: Dallas, Texas
Record: 40-0
Head coach: Leonard Bishop
Key players: Chris Bosh, Bryan Hopkins
Bottom Line: 2001-02 Lincoln High School
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Woe unto the unfortunate post players who had to try and guard a young Chris Bosh for Lincoln High during the 2001-02 season, because the future Basketball Hall of Famer was an absolute nightmare to try and contain.
Lincoln beat three other nationally ranked teams on the way to going 40-0 and routing Beaumont Ozen, 71-51, in the Class 4A state championship game.
Capping off the year at the top of the national polls made Lincoln the first Texas team in 27 years to win a mythical national championship, following Kashmere High and grabbing the national title from a Carmelo Anthony-led Oak Hill Academy squad after they suffered an upset loss to Mater Dei (California).
What Happened Next: Lincoln High School
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Chris Bosh played one season at Georgia Tech before he was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft.
Bosh went on to become an 11-time NBA All-Star and won two NBA championships with the Miami Heat, when he was teamed with Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to form arguably the greatest trio in NBA history.
Bosh was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
51. 1989-90 Raytown South High School
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Location: Raytown, Missouri
Record: 32-0
Head coach: Bud Lathrop
Key players: Jevon Crudup, Deric Cofield, Steve Aldrich, Scott Fidler, Andy Nicholson, Bryan Harris, Jesse Battles
Bottom Line: 1989-90 Raytown South High School
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The 1989-90 Raytown South boys basketball team went undefeated and won a state championship despite losing its best player before the season started, when star center and University of Kansas signee Chris Lindley had his foot severed in a train accident.
Jevon Crudup was the straw that stirred the drink for Raytown South, which finished No. 4 in the final USA Today Top 25 poll. Crudup averaged 28.9 points and 13.0 rebounds as a senior, went on to star for the University of Missouri and was a second-round draft pick by the Detroit Pistons in 1994.
What Happened Next: Raytown South High School
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The last state championships for Raytown South came with the undefeated team in 1989-90, but legendary head coach Bud Lathrop coached until 2006.
Lathrop finished his career with a 955-300 overall record, with 924 of those wins coming at Raytown South, including four state titles.
Lathrop died in 2018.
50. 1976-77 North Eugene High School
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Location: Eugene, Oregon
Record: 26-0
Head coach: Buddy Holland
Key players: Danny Ainge, Rodger Bates, Mike O'Neill, Greg Niko, Steve Moulton, Greg Jacobson
Bottom Line: 1976-77 North Eugene High School
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Few high school athletes anywhere, ever, can compare with Danny Ainge at North Eugene High School. He led his school to back-to-back state championships in basketball in 1976 and 1977, including an unbeaten season in the latter, when he was one of six All-State selections.
Ainge also was a two-time All-State quarterback and one of the top high school baseball players in the nation as well. He starred in basketball for BYU but also played in the majors for the Toronto Blue Jays, where he became the youngest player in franchise history to hit a home run.
What Happened Next: North Eugene High School
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After three years playing Major League Baseball, Danny Ainge turned his focus to basketball, where he won NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 1984 and 1986.
Ainge also had success as an NBA executive, putting together the team that won an NBA championship for the Boston Celtics in 2008, when he was named NBA Executive of the Year.
49. 2012-13 Lone Peak High School
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Location: Highland, Utah
Record: 26-1
Head coach: Quincy Lewis
Key players: Nick Emery, T.J. Haws, Erik Mika, Talon Shumway, Connor Toolson
Bottom Line: 2012-13 Lone Peak High School
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MaxPreps said Lone Peak High was the top public school team in the country in 2012-13. Led by back-to-back Utah Mr. Basketball picks Nick Emery and T.J. Haws, they won the Class 6A state championship.
Lone Peak's only loss that season came to Florida powerhouse Montverde Academy, but the team's record included six wins over teams that were nationally ranked during the season. Emery and Haws both went on to play for BYU, where Haws was a two-time All-WCC selection.
What Happened Next: Lone Peak High School
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In all, Lone Peak has won eight state championships in boys basketball and all since 2001. It's worth noting the school didn't open its doors until 1997.
After the legendary 2012-13 team, Lone Peak repeated as state champs in 2014 and won again in 2018.
If we're trying to pick an all-time greatest player in Lone Peak history, we'd probably have to go with Jackson Emery, who went on to play for BYU and was named MWC Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.
48. 1986-87 Marion High School
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Location: Marion, Indiana
Record: 29-1
Head coach: Bill Green
Key players: Jay Edwards, Lyndon Jones, Nikki Mallory, Lefon Bowens, Jay Teagle, Eric Ewer, Daric Keys, Kyle Persinge
Bottom Line: 1986-87 Marion High School
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In the famous single-class system of high school basketball in Indiana, only two teams ever won three consecutive state titles — Franklin High from 1920 to 1922 and Marion High from 1985 to 1987.
Marion went 84-4 over that period, capped by a 69-56 win over Richmond in the 1987 state championship game, and had nine of its players go on to play college basketball. How popular were the Marion High teams in this stretch? They reportedly had 6,000 season-ticket holders.
Marion's star backcourt of Jay Edwards and Lyndon Jones both played for Indiana University, where Edwards was the Big Ten Player of the Year in 1989.
What Happened Next: Marion High School
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Marion High's eight state championships in boys basketball are the most in Indiana history, but the "Purple Reign" teams that won three consecutive titles from 1985 to 1987 are still the most well known.
One decade later, another great player took center stage and led Marion to a state championship when Zach Randolph helped the school win the 1998 title.
Randolph went on to star for Michigan State and played in the NBA for 18 seasons, where he averaged 16.9 points and 9.1 rebounds for his career and racked up $195.5 million in career earnings.
47. 2015-16 Chaminade College Prep
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Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Record: 26-6
Head coach: Frank Bennett
Key players: Jayson Tatum, Tyler Cook, William Gladson
Bottom Line: 2015-16 Chaminade College Prep
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No one could hold a candle to Chaminade College Prep's Jayson Tatum during his final two years as a high school player, when he led his school to the Class 5A state championships in 2016.
Even as a high schooler, Tatum was developing a reputation for lighting up the scorebook. The three-time Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year and McDonald's All-American had six 40-point games as a senior.
Tatum went on to star for Duke, where he played one season before he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft.
What Happened Right Before: Chaminade College Prep
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Jayson Tatum wasn't the first player out of Chaminade Prep to go No. 3 overall in the NBA draft. Five years before Tatum was selected, Chaminade's Bradley Beal was selected No. 3 overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2012 NBA Draft.
Beal was the Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2011 and played one season at the University of Florida. He's been a three-time NBA All-Star and will have made $214.2 million in career earnings when his current contract runs out after the 2022-23 season.
46. 1992-93 Wichita South High School
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Location: Wichita, Kansas
Record: 25-0
Head coach: Steve Eck
Key players: B.J. Williams, Jamall Walker, Manny Dies, Mark Eck, Robert Lolar
Bottom Line: 1992-93 Wichita South High School
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Wichita South High is the second team from Wichita, Kansas, to make the list and was coached by legendary high school coach Steve Eck, who won six Class 6A state championships with the Titans from 1986 to 1996.
His 1992-93 team had a gaggle of future Division I talent in forward and Class 6A Player of the Year B.J. Williams (Kansas), forward Manny Dies (Kansas State), point guard Jamall Walker (Saint Louis) and his nephew, Mark Eck, who led Fort Hays State to an NCAA Division II national championship in 1996.
What Happened Next: Wichita South High School
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Wichita South head coach Steve Eck made the move to college basketball after the 1995-96 season and his last state championship at South.
Eck spent 25 years coaching mostly on the junior-college level, most notably winning an NJCAA Division I National Championship at Hutchinson Community College in 2017.
In 2021, Eck returned to coaching high school basketball and back in Wichita at Kapaun Mount Carmel High School.
45. 2006-07 Huntington High School
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Location: Huntington, West Virginia
Record: 25-2
Head coach: Lloyd McGuffin
Key players: O.J. Mayo, Patrick Patterson, Jamaal Williams, Michael Taylor
Bottom Line: 2006-07 Huntington High School
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O.J. Mayo began playing high school basketball when he was a seventh-grader in Kentucky, where he was an All-State pick as an eighth-grader before transferring to a high school in Ohio for the first three years of high school.
Mayo played his final season at Huntington High and was named National Player of the Year while playing alongside another future NBA player, Patrick Patterson. Mayo had 41 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in the 2007 Class AAA state championship game — a 103-61 win over South Charleston.
What Happened Next: Huntington High School
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O.J. Mayo was one of the most highly sought basketball recruits of all time. He played one season at USC before he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves and was immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Mayo played eight years in the NBA before he was suspended two years for violating the league's "drugs of abuse" policy before the 2018-19 season.
44. 1978-79 Washington High School (N.C.)
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Location: Washington, North Carolina
Record: 29-0
Head coach: Dave Smith
Key players: Dominique Wilkins
Bottom Line: 1978-79 Washington High School (N.C.)
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Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins led Washington High to back-to-back Class 3A state championships in his final two years of high school, including a 29-0 season as a senior.
The 6-foot-8 forward began to pick up national attention as a senior when he had 48 points, 27 rebounds, 8 blocks and 9 dunks in a win over a much larger school — a performance that earned him a spot in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" section.
Can you imagine the sheer terror of trying to guard "The Human Highlight Film" in high school?
What Happened Next: Washington High School (N.C.)
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Dominique Wilkins went to the University of Georgia and played three seasons before leaving school early and declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft.
The Utah Jazz selected Wilkins No. 3 overall, but he refused to play for Utah and was traded to the Atlanta Hawks a few months later. Wilkins went on to become arguably the greatest player in franchise history.
43. 1995-96 Lower Merion High School
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Location: Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Record: 31-3
Head coach: Gregg Downer
Key players: Kobe Bryant, Guy Stewart, Dave Rosenberg, Evan Monsky
Bottom Line: 1995-96 Lower Merion High School
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Future NBA superstar and Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant was the first freshman to start on the varsity for Lower Merion High. And they went 4-20.
By his senior season, Bryant was the most heralded high school basketball player in the United States and led Lower Merion to a state championship while averaging 30.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.8 blocked shots. He was named the Naismith Player of the Year and drafted No. 13 overall in the NBA draft several months later.
What Happened Next: Lower Merion High School
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Lower Merion wasn't done winning state championships once Kobe left. After not winning a state title since 1943 before Bryant led them to the title in 1996, they added two more since then, in 2006 and 2013.
In December 2010, the school named its new gymnasium after Bryant after he donated $500,000 to refurbish the gymnasium — one of many times Bryant gave back to his alma mater.
After Bryant's death in a helicopter crash in January 2020, the school hosted a memorial service in the gym named after the fallen star. His No. 33 Lower Merion jersey now hangs above a door in the gym.
42. 2016-17 Westtown School
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Location: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Record: 29-3
Head coach: Seth Berger
Key players: Mo Bamba, Cam Reddish, Brandon Randolph, Anthony Ochefu, Jake Forrester
Bottom Line: 2016-17 Westtown School
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Westtown School's 2016-17 team was one of the more dominant high school basketball teams of all time. It featured a starting five of all future Division I players and two future NBA draft picks, Mo Bamba and Cam Reddish, the No. 10 overall pick in 2018.
The team, which also was featured in the 2018 documentary "We Town," won consecutive Independent Schools state titles in 2016 and 2017.
What Happened Next: Westtown School
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For all of Mo Bamba's basketball accomplishments, they now pale in comparison to a hit song named "Mo Bamba" written and performed by one of Bamba's childhood friends, rapper Sheck Wes.
The song was actually released in 2017 and didn't become a hit until 2018, when it went viral and climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 R&B/Hip-Hop chart.
41. 2006-07 Simeon Career Academy
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Location: Chicago, Illinois
Record: 33-2
Head coach: Robert Smith
Key players: Derrick Rose, Bryant Orange, Timothy Flowers, Kevin Johnson
Bottom Line: 2006-07 Simeon Career Academy
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There aren't too many high school basketball players with the electro-shock hops of Simeon Career Academy's Derrick Rose, a future NBA Most Valuable Player who made Simeon the first Chicago Public League School team to win back-to-back state championships.
Rose and Simeon won titles in 2006 and 2007. In his final season, he averaged 25.2 points, 9.1 assists, 8.8 rebounds and 3.4 steals and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball and a McDonald's All-American.
What Happened Next: Simeon Career Academy
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Simeon Career Academy didn't have to wait long for another generational talent to walk its halls.
Jabari Parker led Simeon to four consecutive Class 4A state championships from 2010 to 2013, becoming the No. 1 recruit in the nation before heading off to Duke University.
Parker was an All-American in his one season at Duke and the No. 2 overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2014 NBA draft.
40. 1976-77 Everett High School
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Location: Lansing, Michigan
Record: 27-1
Head coach: George Fox
Key players: Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Paul Dawson, Larry Hunter
Bottom Line: 1976-77 Everett High School
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The team featuring the greatest high school basketball player in Michigan history needed to be on the list. Earvin "Magic" Johnson led Lansing's Everett High to a state championship in 1977 when he averaged 28.8 points and 16.8 rebounds.
High school assists were not a stat they were recording yet. But we're guessing Magic may have averaged a triple-double.
The 1977 state champions were inducted into the Lansing Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
What Happened Next: Everett High School
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After Magic Johnson, Everett didn't win another state championship until 2004, defeating Flint Carman-Ainsworth High in the state championship game.
Everett did it in 2004 with another future Michigan State star and future NBA draft pick, 6-foot-11 center Goran Suton, who immigrated to the United States from Serbia with his family right before he entered high school.
39. 1956-57 Middletown High School
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Location: Middletown, Ohio
Record: 25-0
Head coach: Paul Walker
Key players: Jerry Lucas, Larry Emrick, Tom Sizer
Bottom Line: 1956-57 Middletown High School
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Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas was the star player on the second of back-to-back, undefeated state and national championship teams at Middletown High. He was at his most dominant as a junior in 1956-57, when he scored 45 points in the state semifinals.
Lucas, at 6-foot-8, was unlike any player anyone had ever seen. He was listed as a center but was by far the team's best outside shooter.
In three seasons with Lucas, the Middies went 76-1.
What Happened Next: Middletown High School
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Jerry Lucas had one of the more storied amateur careers of any basketball player in history, winning a national championship with Ohio State in 1960, then winning an Olympic gold medal that summer.
Lucas added an NBA championship as a member of the New York Knicks in 1973 and would have been totally at home in the current era of pro basketball. He was known for his long-distance shooting ability in an era with no 3-point line.
38. 1976-77 West Philadelphia High School
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Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Record: 30-0
Head coach: Joe Goldenberg
Key players: Gene Banks, Joe Garrett, Clarence Tillman, Darryl Warwick, Mike Powell, Vincent Ross, Tyrell Biggs, Pee Wee Thomas
Bottom Line: 1976-77 West Philadelphia High School
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West Philadelphia High won a mythical national championship in 1977 behind three-time high school All-American Gene "Tinkerbell" Banks, a 6-foot-7 forward who went on to star at Duke and play in the NBA for six seasons.
Banks scored 31 points for the Speedboys in a 72-52 win over Father Judge High in the city championship game. Alongside Tom Gola, Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant, Banks is often thought of as one of the greatest Philly-area high school players of all time.
What Happened A Long Time Ago: West Philadelphia High School
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Way before Gene Banks lit up the scoreboard and led West Philadelphia High to a mythical national championship in 1977, another star player was doing big things for West Philly.
In the late 1930s, Art Spector was the star for West Philadelphia. Spector went on to play for Villanova, then became the first player ever signed by the Boston Celtics.
37. 1963-64 Parker High School
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Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Record: 43-1
Head coach: William H. Brown
Key players: Samuel Pierce, Willie Minor
Bottom Line: 1963-64 Parker High School
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With no scheduling limitations, the 1963-64 Birmingham Parker High team played a whopping 44 games and was named National Black High School champions in an era before integrated schools had made their way to all parts of the United States.
After Parker won the Class AA state championship, they played in a national tournament, where they took down the defending national champions from Pearl (Tennessee) High before beating Armstrong (Virginia) High in the finals.
Samuel Pierce played for Vanderbilt and became the first Black player in SEC history.
What Happened Next: Parker High School
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The history of Parker High School encompasses much more than what happens on a basketball court.
Parker High opened in 1900 to serve African-American students. The first class was just 19 students and 1 teacher. It went by Negro High School until 1939, when it was named after its first principal, A.H. Parker.
By 1946, enrollment at Parker grew to 3,761 students, making it the largest exclusively African-American high school in the world.
36. 2002-03 Woodlawn High School
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Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Record: 39-0
Head coach: Kenny Almond
Key players: RoShon Jacobs, Kentrell Gransberry, Darnell Lazare
Bottom Line: 2002-03 Woodlawn High School
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The only team in the U.S. who could say they were better than Woodlawn in 2002-03 was the Lebron James-led St. Vincent-St. Mary High squad out of Akron, Ohio.
Woodlawn went a staggering 39-0 — unheard of scheduling even for the last 20 years — and finished No. 2 in all the major national polls. They also became the first Louisiana team to win back-to-back state championships in the large school division.
Woodlawn star RoShon Jacobs went on to become an All-Southland pick in both football and basketball for Louisiana-Monroe. Center Kentrell Gransberry became an All-Big East pick at the University of South Florida.
What Happened Next: Woodlawn High School
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Although none of the players off the 2002-03 Woodlawn High squad made it to the NBA, one of them did have a lengthy career in the pros.
After playing on back-to-back state championship teams at Woodlawn in 2002 and 2003, 6-foot-8 forward Darnell Lazare played for LSU, where he was a solid role player for four years and helped lead the Tigers to the Final Four in 2006.
Lazare played professional basketball for eight years. He was a Ukrainian Super League All-Star in 2009, NBA D-League All-Star in 2013 and NBL All-Star for the New Zealand Breakers in 2013.
35. 1989-90 King College Prep
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Location: Chicago, Illinois
Record: 32-0
Head coach: Landon Cox
Key players: Jamie Brandon, Damian Porter, Fred Sculfield, Anton Little, Rashard Griffith
Bottom Line: 1989-90 King College Prep
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Any conversation about the greatest teams and greatest players in Chicago high school basketball history should include King College Prep and 6-foot-4 Jamie Brandon, a three-time All-State pick who finished his career as the No. 3 scorer in state history.
As a senior in 1989-90, Brandon led King to a 32-0 record and the state championship before being named mythical national champions by USA Today.
Brandon, who originally committed to play for Illinois, teamed with Shaquille O'Neal at LSU and helped lead the Tigers to a Sweet 16 appearance.
What Happened Next: King College Prep
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Just a few years after King College Prep's national championship in 1990, King won another state championship in 1993 behind a pair of 7-footers — 7-foot-2 Thomas Hamilton and 7-foot Rashard Griffith.
Hamilton became a basketball oddity. He signed with the University of Illinois but never played after the school was put on probation. He attended the University of Pittsburgh but never played there.
He eventually played two seasons in the NBA three years apart, for the Boston Celtics in 1996 and the Houston Rockets in 1999-2000, where Calvin Murphy nicknamed him "Two Sandwiches" because of his size.
34. 2004-05 Lanier High School
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Location: Jackson, Mississippi
Record: 35-2
Head coach: Thomas Billups
Key players: Monta Ellis, R.L. Thornton
Bottom Line: 2004-05 Lanier High School
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High School All-American and Mississippi Player of the Year Monta Ellis capped his career with a second state championship for Lanier High and did it with one of the more amazing statistical seasons we've ever seen — 41.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 4.5 steals.
Lanier finished ranked No. 3 in the USA Today Top 25.
Ellis, a 6-foot-3 guard , was supposed to play for Mississippi State but made the improbable leap to the NBA in the final year high school players were allowed to go straight into the draft. He was picked No. 40 overall.
What Happened Next: Lanier High School
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Monta Ellis ended up having a 12-year career and averaged 17.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists. It's a pretty amazing stat line that was wasted on some pretty awful teams.
Ellis spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Golden State Warriors and made the playoffs just once, when he was named NBA Most Improved Player in 2007.
Don't feel too bad for Ellis. He cashed out a staggering $103.2 million in career earnings.
33. 1998-99 Hargrave Military Academy
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Location: Chatham, Virginia
Record: 27-3
Head coach: Kevin Keatts
Key players: Josh Howard, David West
Bottom Line: 1998-99 Hargrave Military Academy
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The Hargrave Military Academy 1998-99 basketball team was an absolute problem.
What were teams supposed to do when they faced off against Hargrave, led by current North Carolina State head coach Kevin Keatts and future NBA stars Josh Howard and David West? Pray for a rainout?
Keatts, Howard and West were all inducted into the Hargrave Hall of Fame in 2011.
What Happened Next: Hargrave Military Academy
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One of Hargrave's greatest players and its greatest coach teamed up to win a national championship on the college level. Sort of.
Former Hargrave star Luke Hancock transferred to the University of Louisville in 2011 after playing his first two seasons at George Mason. Former Hargrave head coach Kevin Keatts was hired as an assistant coach at Louisville around the same time.
In 2013, Hancock was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player after he led Louisville to the national championship. In a weird twist, Louisville was later stripped of its national title because of rules violations, but Hancock and a group of other players sued the NCAA, won, and his MOP and the team's tournament records stayed in place. But not the title.
32. 2019-20 Minnehaha Academy
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Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Record: 26-3
Head coach: Lance Johnson
Key players: Jalen Suggs, Chet Holmgren
Bottom Line: 2019-20 Minnehaha Academy
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The 2019-20 Minnehaha Academy team didn't need a state tournament to tell us what we already knew — they just don't make high school basketball teams like this very often.
Minnehaha featured a pair of future NBA draft lottery picks in future Gonzaga star Jalen Suggs and 2021 Gatorade Player of the Year Chet Holmgren, a 7-foot center.
Minnehaha won its third state championship in four years in 2021. They likely would have won four straight state championships if the 2019-20 season hadn't gotten shut down.
What Happened Next: Minnehaha Academy
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Chet Holmgren swept every major national player of the year award at Minnehaha in leading them to the Class 3A state title in 2021.
Holmgren is projected as either the No. 1 or No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft after spending one season at Gonzaga.
31. 1974-75 Kashmere High School
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Location: Houston, Texas
Record: 46-0
Head coach: Weldon Drew
Key players: Karl Godine, Jarvis Williams, Carl Byrd, Madison Lane
Bottom Line: 1974-75 Kashmere High School
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You're not reading that wrong. Kashmere High went 46-0 in 1974-75 in an era where states weren't quite as stringent on scheduling limits.
That was just part of an 83-game winning streak for Kashmere, which was led by future Texas A&M star Karl Godine and Jarvis Williams.
Kashmere brought home more than just a Class 4A state title in 1975. It also earned one of high school basketball's mythical national championships from the National Sports News Service.
What Happened Next: Kashmere High School
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The story of Kashmere High through the present day has been one of struggle. It's routinely viewed as one of the worst high schools in the country when it comes to academics.
In 2007, a study at John Hopkins University looking at graduation rates around the U.S. classified Kashmere as a "dropout factory." Forty percent of every freshmen class did not make it to graduation, and almost 60 percent of students zoned to attend Kashmere chose to attend different high schools.
30. 2008-09 Findlay Prep
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Location: Henderson, Nevada
Record: 30-0
Head coach: Michael Peck
Key players: Avery Bradley, Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph
Bottom Line: 2008-09 Findlay Prep
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Findlay Prep featured a roster with three future NBA players — Avery Bradley, Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph.
It was Bradley who was the star on this team, however, as the No. 7 overall recruit in the country. Bradley averaged 19 points per game, and playing all over the country in tournaments, he brought home MVP at every single one.
This was a two-year stretch under head coach Michael Peck in which Findlay went 61-1.
What Happened Next: Findlay Prep
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Findlay Prep was the most basketball factory school of all the basketball factory schools who ever existed and played on a high level. Findlay opened in 2006 and closed its doors in 2019, winning three mythical national titles and producing 17 NBA players and 70 Division I players in that stretch.
A Findlay Prep player was actually taken No. 1 overall in the 2013 NBA draft. But UNLV forward Anthony Bennett lasted just four seasons in the NBA and is widely considered one of the biggest draft busts in pro sports history.
29. 1980-81 Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
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Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Record: 26-0
Head coach: Mike Jarvis
Key players: Patrick Ewing, Kevin Headley
Bottom Line: 1980-81 Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
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Patrick Ewing swept National Player of the Year awards at Cambridge Ridge and Latin School in 1981 after leading his school to a third consecutive state championship.
One of the most highly recruited high school basketball players of all time, Ewing was coached by future Division I head coach Mike Jarvis and went 94-5 in four seasons.
With Ewing on its roster, Cambridge could beat just about anybody. Ewing won a national championship with Georgetown in 1984 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
What Happened Next: Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
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Five years after Ewing left Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (usually just called Rindge), another future NCAA champion led the team to a state title.
Point guard Rumeal Robinson was a star for Rindge in 1986, leading his school to the state title before heading to the University of Michigan, where he teamed up with Glen Rice to win the 1989 NCAA championship. It was Robinson who hit the game-winning free throws against Seton Hall in overtime of the championship game.
Robinson was the No. 10 overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft and played five seasons in the NBA.
28. 1966-67 Booker High School
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Location: Sarasota, Florida
Record: 33-1
Head coach: Al Baker
Key players: Howard Porter, Hugh Yancy, Arthur Johnson
Bottom Line: 1966-67 Booker High School
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In our wildest dreams we get to see a game between the 1966-67 Booker High state championship team and the 2019-20 Montverde Academy national championship team to determine the greatest high school team in Florida history.
Booker went 33-1 and won the FIAA state title — consisting of only segregated, all-Black schools. The team was led by Parade All-American Howard Porter and future MLB pitcher Hugh Yancy.
What Happened Next: Booker High School
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Howard Porter went on to become a three-time All-American at Villanova and led his team to the NCAA championship game against UCLA in 1971, where he was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player despite losing in the title game. He also played seven years in the NBA.
Booker High won two more state championships after moving from the FIAA to the FHSAA, in 1985 and 2006.
Markus Black, the point guard on the 2006 state championship team, became Booker's head coach in 2016 and coached there until 2021, when he was hired to join Eric Musselman's staff at the University of Arkansas.
27. 1959-60 McClymonds High School
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Location: Oakland, California
Record: 22-0
Head coach: Paul Harless
Key players: Paul Silas, Joe Ellis, Aaron Pointer
Bottom Line: 1959-60 McClymonds High School
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There were two future NBA players on McClymonds High's unbeaten 1959-60 team — Paul Silas and Joe Ellis.
McClymonds, which also counts NBA legend Bill Russell among its former players, also featured another star, future MLB outfielder Aaron Pointer.
Pointer wasn't even the most famous person in his family. Not by a long shot. He's the older brother of Ruth, Bonnie, Anita and Joan Pointer. Also known as the world-famous, Grammy Award-winning musical group The Pointer Sisters.
This was the third of three consecutive national title teams for McClymonds.
What Happened Next: McClymonds High School
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After California made its state championship games in basketball official in 1981, McClymonds didn't play in the championship game until 2007, when it finished as state runner-up, and won its only title to date in 2008 under head coach Dwight Nathaniel.
McClymonds went 32-0 that season, becoming the first high school basketball team from the East Bay to go unbeaten since Berkeley High in 1969-70.
26. 2009-10 Yates High School
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Location: Houston, Texas
Record: 32-0
Head coach: Greg Wise
Key players: Joseph Young, Brandon Peters
Bottom Line: 2009-10 Yates High School
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Yates High School gets all the love from us because they were a public school and won a national championship in the modern era of prep schools and diploma mills. That's a truly remarkable feat for coach Greg Wise's squad.
Yates won its second straight Class 4A state title in Texas and won games by an average of 40 points on the way to a 32-0 record.
Yates set a national record by scoring at least 100 points in 15 consecutive games.
They ended the year on a 58-game winning streak and defeated state champions from three different states, including national No. 2 Philadelphia Neumann-Goretti High.
What Happened Next: Yates High School
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Joseph Young was the star player on Yates' national championship team in 2010, when he averaged 27.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 3.8 assists.
The son of former University of Houston standout Michael Young, from the Phi Slama Jama years, Joseph Young signed with Providence before he decided to play for the University of Houston, then eventually landed at the University of Oregon, where he was the 2015 Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Joseph Young was a second-round pick in the 2015 NBA draft and played three seasons for the Indiana Pacers.
25. 1979-80 West Memphis High School
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Location: West Memphis, Arkansas
Record: 30-0
Head coach: Bill Terwilliger
Key players: Michael Cage, Keith Lee
Bottom Line: 1979-80 West Memphis High School
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Imagine trying to prepare your team to face West Memphis High during the 1979-80 season.
The undefeated Arkansas state championship team reached as high as No. 3 in the nation in the polls and featured two future NBA lottery picks, 6-foot-9 forward Michael Cage and 6-10 center Keith Lee, with Cage as the alpha dog of the group.
You can make an argument for Cage being the greatest high school basketball player in Arkansas history.
What Happened Next: West Memphis High School
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Of all the stars off the 1979-80 West Memphis High team, 6-foot-9 forward Michael Cage went on to have the best career.
Cage played in college for San Diego State, where he was a two-time WAC Player of the Year and an All-American in 1984. He held the career scoring record for the Aztecs until it was broken by Kawhi Leonard in 2011.
Cage played 15 seasons in the NBA and led the league in rebounding while playing for the Los Angeles Clippers in 1988. Cage needed 28 rebounds in the final game of the regular season to beat Chicago Bulls forward Charles Oakley for the rebounding title and grabbed 30.
24. 1955-56 Crispus Attucks High School
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Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Record: 31-0
Head coach: Ray Crowe
Key players: Oscar Robertson, Albert Maxey, Bill Brown, Stan Patton, Edgar Searcy
Bottom Line: 1955-56 Crispus Attucks High School
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Crispus Attucks High's most famous team was the 1955 state championship team, which became the first all-Black school to win a state championship in Indiana history.
The best team their school ever had was the next year, when future NBA legend Oscar Robertson was a senior and led the team to 31-0 record and was named Mr. Basketball in Indiana.
The Tigers had one close game in the sectional final but won games that season by an average of 28 points and won by an average of 23 points in the state tournament. Attucks went 62-1 over the last two seasons with Robertson as its star.
What Happened Next: Crispus Attucks High School
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Oscar Robertson left Crispus Attucks High and embarked on one of the greatest college and pro basketball careers of all time.
Robertson led the nation in scoring three times and was a three-time National Player of the Year at the University of Cincinnati before he became a 12-time NBA All-Star, nine-time All-NBA selection and was named to the NBA's 35th, 50th and 75th Anniversary Team.
Robertson teamed with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the 1971 NBA championship.
23. 2016-17 Nathan Hale High School
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Location: Seattle, Washington
Record: 29-0
Head coach: Brandon Roy
Key players: Michael Porter Jr.
Bottom Line: 2016-17 Nathan Hale High School
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Coached by a former NBA star in Brandon Roy, Nathan Hale High grabbed a state championship and a handful of national championships by going unbeaten behind future NBA star forward Michael Porter Jr.
Not everyone was a fan of how Nathan Hale put its team together, though. Porter Jr.'s father was hired as an assistant coach by the University of Washington before the season and brought his five-star recruit son with him to Seattle.
Porter Jr. averaged 36.2 points, 13.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.2 steals, 2.7 blocks and was named Gatorade National Player of the Year. Then, he went to play for the University of Missouri for his one college season.
What Happened Next: Nathan Hale High School
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Former Nathan Hale High star Michael Porter Jr. has become one of the most befuddling NBA prospects to come along in some time.
The 6-foot-10 forward has the skills of a guard and has shown he can compete with the league's best if not for his proclivity for injuries.
The Denver Nuggets saw enough in Porter to sign him to a five-year, $175 million contract before the 2021-22 season. Then he played nine games before he underwent season-ending back surgery.
22. 1954-55 Overbrook High School
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Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Record: 20-0
Head coach: Cecil Mosenson
Key players: Wilt Chamberlain, Vince Miller, Marty Hughes, Howard Johnson, Dave Shapiro
Bottom Line: 1954-55 Overbrook High School
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Wilt Chamberlain led Cecil Mosenson's Overbrook High teams to back-to-back Philadelphia city championships in his final two seasons and was never more dominant than in his senior season of 1954-55.
That year, Chamberlain scored over 70 points twice and 90 points once. He also reportedly spent time playing professionally under an alias during this time. And stories of what some colleges offered him (diamonds, movie roles, cash) are even unbelievable in today's day and age.
What Happened Next: Overbrook High School
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Wilt Chamberlain wasn't the only NBA player to come out of Overbrook High. In all, 11 Overbrook alums have made it to the league.
But it's another Overbrook product whose fictional persona (with the same name) is arguably one of the most famous fictitious basketball players in history. That would be none other than Bel-Air Academy shooting guard Will Smith, the star of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and played originally by Overbrook High grad Will Smith.
21. 1984-85 Spingarn High School
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Location: Washington, D.C.
Record: 31-0
Head coach: John Wood
Key players: Sherman Douglas
Bottom Line: 1984-85 Spingarn High School
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The two most sought-after players in the country in 1984-85 resided in the D.C. area with 6-foot-11 DeMatha High forward/center Danny Ferry and Spingarn High point guard Sherman Douglas, just 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds.
And it was Douglas who led his team to the city championship (over DeMatha) and mythical national championship as he averaged 26 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals.
Was Douglas, who starred at Syracuse and played 13 seasons in the NBA, the greatest player to ever come out of Spingarn? Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Dave Bing might have something to say about that.
What Happened Next: Spingarn High School
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Located in the Carver Langston neighborhood in Washington, D.C., Spingarn High opened its doors in 1952 and quickly established a reputation as one of the top high schools in D.C.
Spingarn wouldn't win another city title after its 1985 championship until 2000. The school ultimately closed its doors in 2013.
20. 1984-85 Flint Northwestern High School
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Location: Flint, Michigan
Record: 28-0
Head coach: Grover Kirkland
Key players: Glen Rice, Andre Rison, Jeff Grayer
Bottom Line: 1984-85 Flint Northwestern High School
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Being in the stands for a Flint Northwestern High basketball game in the mid-1980s must have been a treat. You got to see future NFL All-Pro wide receiver Andre Rison tossing alley-oop passes to future NBA All-Star Glen Rice. Simply breathtaking.
Michigan has had a lot of great teams — several made this list — but a young Rice was truly the show here. Four years later, he led Michigan to the 1989 NCAA championship. Three years later, Rison led Michigan State to the Rose Bowl.
Oh, did we mention 10-year NBA veteran and first-round draft pick Jeff Grayer was also on the roster?
What Happened Next: Flint Northwestern High School
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Flint Northwestern has not won a state title in boys basketball since Rice, Rison and Grayer led them to back-to-back championships in 1984 and 1985. They finished as state runner-up in 1988.
Rice played 15 seasons in the NBA, was a three-time NBA All-Star, All-Star Game MVP in 1997 and a two-time All-NBA pick.
No team from Flint Northwestern has won a state championship in any sport since the girls basketball team won it all in 1993.
19. 1978-79 Southwest Macon High School
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Location: Macon, Georgia
Record: 28-0
Head coach: Duck Richardson
Key players: Jeff Malone, Terry Fair, Bobby Jones, Michael Hunt, Hook McCarthy, Eric Hightower
Bottom Line: 1978-79 Southwest Macon High School
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Southwest Macon High coach Duck Richardson was so hard on his players they gave him a truly deplorable nickname we won't repeat here — feel free to look it up if you're so inclined — but the results are impossible to argue.
Southwest Macon won a state championship in 1978 and followed that with a mythical national title in 1979 led by Terry Fair and Jeff Malone.
While Malone would go on to have a better career, it was the 6-foot-8 forward Fair, who was the focus in high school.
What Happened Next: Southwest Macon High School
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Terry Fair went on to star at the University of Georgia then played 11 years of professional basketball overseas, mostly in Israel's top league.
Jeff Malone was the SEC Player of the Year in 1983 at Mississippi State, then played 13 seasons in the NBA, where he averaged 19.0 points for his career and was a two-time All-Star.
18. 2015-16 Chino Hills High School
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Location: Chino HIlls, California
Record: 35-0
Head coach: Steve Baik
Key players: Lonzo Ball, LiAngelo Ball, LaMelo Ball, Onyeka Okongwu, Eli Soctt, Andre Ball, Cameron Shelton
Bottom Line: 2015-16 Chino Hills High School
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Led by two future NBA draft lottery picks in brothers Lonzo Ball and LaMelo Ball (who was then just 5-foot-11 but would grow to 6-7), Chino Hills High was a national phenomenon in 2015-16 as they took down a schedule full of the nation's best teams.
Middle brother LiAngelo Ball, who actually led the team in scoring, was also key as Chino Hills took down ranked team after ranked team, including wins over Montverde Academy (Florida), Jefferson (New York), Bishop Gorman (Nevada) and Bishop MOntgomery (California).
What Happened Next: Chino Hills High School
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When Chino Hills hired Dennis Latimore as its coach before the 2017-18 season, LaVar Ball pulled his youngest son, LaMelo Ball, out of school and publicly criticized Latimore's hiring — adding to the Ball family's history of firebombing every bridge they crossed.
Latimore and Chino Hills responded by winning back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019.
17. 1992-93 Simon Gratz High School
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Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Record: 31-0
Head coach: Bill Ellerbee
Key players: Rasheed Wallace, Rondell Turner, Jamahal Redmond, Lynard Stewart, Reds Smith, Terrel Stokes, Alem Watson
Bottom Line: 1992-93 Simon Gratz High School
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Few high school big men in history can hold a candle to Philadelphia Simon Gratz High star Rasheed Wallace, who averaged 16 points, 15 rebounds and 7 blocks per game as a senior in 1992-93.
Wallace, who went on to star at UNC and play 16 seasons in the NBA, was the big story and was featured in Sports Illustrated that year. In Philadelphia-area prep hoops history, you can count him alongside players like Wilt Chamberlain and Kobe Bryant as the all-time greats.
What Happened Next: Simon Gratz High School
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Unfortunately for Simon Gratz High, the school became known for more than its basketball talent throughout the 1980s and 1990s, when it was a perennial member of the Persistently Dangerous Schools List.
Once the school was taken out of the hands of the School District of Philadelphia, things began to change. Placed under the control of Mastery Charter Schools in 2011, Simon Gratz changed its name to Simon Gratz High School Mastery Charter and was taken off the PDSL list in 2012.
16. 1990-91 Proviso East High School
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Location: Maywood, Illinois
Record: 32-1
Head coach: Bill Hitt
Key players: Sherrell Ford, Michael Finley, Donnie Boyce
Bottom Line: 1990-91 Proviso East High School
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Proviso East won the 1991 Class AA state championship with one of the more talented high school rosters we've ever seen — the Pirates had three players selected in the 1995 NBA Draft with Illinois Mr. Basketball Sherrell Ford (Illinois-Chicago), Michael Finley (Wisconsin) and Donnie Boyce (Colorado).
The trio — known as "The Three Amigos" — beat Peoria Manual 68-61 in the state championship game and were coached by a Proviso East alum in Bill Hitt.
Boyce is on his second stint as Proviso East's head coach after being re-hired in 2016.
What Happened Next: Proviso East High School
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Proviso East won another state title in 1992 but hasn't won again since, finishing as state runner-up in 2012 and taking fourth place in 2013.
Proviso East's legendary early 1990s teams weren't the last time multiple NBA players would be on the roster, either. Future NBA players Dee Brown and Shannon Brown were teammates in the early 2000s.
Dee Brown led the University of Illinois to the 2005 NCAA championship game while Shannon Brown won a pair of NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
15. 1963-64 Power Memorial Academy
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Location: New York City
Record: 30-0
Head coach: Jack Donohue
Key players: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bottom Line: 1963-64 Power Memorial Academy
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar should always be in the discussion when it comes to the greatest basketball players of all time. Few have dominated on every level like the 7-foot-2 center did.
Then known as Lew Alcindor, he led New York City's Power Memorial High to a 71-game winning streak and three consecutive city championships and was a two-time Parade All-American.
He also set the NYC scoring record and went 79-2 in those three seasons, with two national championships and one national runner-up finish.
What Happened Next: Power Memorial Academy
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Power Memorial Academy continued to pump out elite NBA talent long after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar graduated.
Len Elmore also played for Power Memorial after Abdul-Jabbar. Two-time NBA champion Mario Elie and five-time NBA All-Star Chris Mullin played alongside each other for Power Memorial shortly before it closed its doors for good in 1984.
14. 2009-10 Ames High School
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Location: Ames, Iowa
Record: 27-0
Head coach: Vance Downs
Key players: Harrison Barnes, Doug McDermott
Bottom Line: 2009-10 Ames High School
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Probably one of the more underrated teams on this list (if you can even say that), Ames High was led by a pair of future NBA first-round draft picks in Harrison Barnes and Doug McDermott.
Ames went 27-0 in 2009-10 — their second consecutive state championship — Vance Downs was named USA Today National Coach of the Year and the team finished No. 3 in the national rankings and won a Class 4A state championship.
What Happened Next: Ames High School
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Ames High hasn't won another state title in boys basketball since 2010, but its two stars have remained in the basketball spotlight on the next level.
Harrison Barnes has been in the NBA since he was selected No. 7 overall in 2012 and won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2015. Doug McDermott was named the National College Player of the Year at Creighton in 2014 and was the No. 11 overall pick in 2014. He's also still in the NBA.
Barnes and McDermott were actually teammates in the NBA, with both playing for the Dallas Mavericks in 2018.
13. 1976-77 Wichita Heights High School
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Location: Wichita, Kansas
Record: 23-0
Head coach: Lafayette Norwood
Key players: Antoine Carr, Darnell Valentine
Bottom Line: 1976-77 Wichita Heights High School
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In basketball-crazy Kansas, one high school team stands above all the rest — the 1976-77 Wichita Heights High team led by future NBA first-round draft picks Darnell Valentine and Antoine "Big Dog" Carr.
The two Parade All-Americans coached by Lafayette Norwood saw little in the way of competition throughout the year. They led state powerhouse Kansas City Wyandotte 25-0 to start the state championship game on the way to a 92-52 victory.
Valentine played 10 seasons in the NBA, while Carr played 16 seasons.
What Happened Next: Wichita Heights High School
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Some 30 years after the first Wichita Heights dynasty, the school would experience another basketball renaissance thanks to a once-in-a-lifetime recruit with 6-foot-8 forward Perry Ellis.
Ellis teamed with future Wichita State guard Evan Wessel and future West Virginia running back Dreamius Smith to win four consecutive state championships from 2009 to 2012 under the leadership of head coach Joe Auer.
Ellis was a three-time All-Big 12 selection and two-time All-American at the University of Kansas.
12. 1970-71 Washington High School
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Location: East Chicago, Indiana
Record: 29-0
Head coach: John Molodet
Key players: Pete Trgovich, Junior Bridgeman, Tim Stoddard, Darnell Adell, Ruben Bailey
Bottom Line: 1970-71 Washington High School
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East Chicago Washington High averaged 95 points per game during the 1970-71 season, led by a bevy of future pro and college talent. They also had size that could match up with anyone they played, led by 6-foot-6 leading scorer Pete Trgovich, 6-5 senior Junior Bridgeman and 6-7 senior Tim Stoddard.
Washington went unbeaten on the way to the state championship. Trgovich won two national titles at UCLA, Stoddard won a national championship at North Carolina State and pitched 11 seasons in the majors.
What Happened Next: Washington High School
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What happened next with former Washington High star Junior Bridgeman is one of the greatest (mostly) unknown stories in basketball history.
After Bridgeman left Washington, he was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year for Louisville, then played 12 seasons in the NBA.
During his NBA career, Bridgeman began buying up fast-food restaurants and started a catering/events service – an empire that eventually made him one of the richest men in America, with an estimated $600 million fortune.
11. 1999-2000 Dominguez High School
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Location: Compton, California
Record: 35-2
Head coach: Russell Otis
Key players: Tyson Chandler, Sherman Gay, Marcus Moore, Ellis Moore, Ellis Myles
Bottom Line: 1999-2000 Dominguez High School
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Tyson Chandler was such a great basketball talent that the 7-foot-1 center was featured on "60 Minutes" before he even played a high school basketball game, and by the time he reached his junior year at Dominquez High, the hype was out of control.
Chandler and Dominguez delivered and became the first and only California team to win a mythical national title in the era of weekly high school polls, along with their state title.
The team later became enveloped in scandal when head coach Russell Otis was charged with sexually molesting one of his former players and stealing money from the team's Nike sponsorship.
What Happened Next: Dominguez High School
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Dominguez repeated as state champions in 2001, then won another state title in 2004 — the last state championship in school history. Dominguez made it to the championship game again in 2008 but lost to McClymonds High.
Head coach Russell Otis was acquitted in his trial for sexually molesting one of his players and reclaimed his job before the 2002-03 season. Otis was eventually convicted of sexually molesting one of his players in 2009.
10. 1971-72 Thornridge High School
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Location: Dolton, Illinois
Record: 33-0
Head coach: Ron Ferguson
Key players: Quinn Buckner, Mike Bonczyk, Boyd Batts
Bottom Line: 1971-72 Thornridge High School
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Quinn Buckner was a winner wherever he went, starting with his time at Dolton Thornridge High, where he was a Parade All-American and led the team to a 33-0 record in 1971-72, state title and mythical national title.
Buckner, who was also the Illinois Player of the Year in football, also won a gold medal in the Olympics, led Indiana to an undefeated NCAA championship season in 1976 and won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics.
What Happened Next: Thornridge High School
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Thornridge High never won another state title in boys basketball after Quinn Buckner led them to back-to-back titles in 1971 and 1972.
Less than a decade after Buckner walked its halls, Thornridge's basketball program placed another player in the NBA with 7-foot center Kevin Duckworth. Duckworth was selected as an NBA All-Star twice and named NBA Most Improved Player in 1988.
9. 1994-95 Farragut Academy
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Location: Chicago, Illinois
Record: 28-2
Head coach: Willie Nelson
Key players: Kevin Garnett, Ronnie
Bottom Line: 1994-95 Farragut Academy
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Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett transferred to Chicago's Farragut Career Academy before his senior year in 1994-95 and created one of the greatest high school basketball duos of all time when he paired up with fellow phenom Ronnie Fields, who was one year behind him in school.
Garnett was the National Player of the Year in 1995 and became the first high school player picked in the NBA draft in 20 years, when he was selected No. 5 overall by the MInnesota Timberwolves.
What Happened Next: Farragut Academy
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While Kevin Garnett was the star, Ronnie Fields also was very talented. Fields, 6-foot-3, reportedly had a 50-inch vertical and once jumped over future Illinois star Sergio McClain for a dunk.
Fields' basketball career never reached the heights he'd once hoped. He fractured his neck in a car accident at the end of his senior season, then pled guilty to a misdemeanor sexual abuse charge later that year, which ended up keeping him out of DePaul, where he'd signed a letter of intent.
8. 2005-06 Lawrence North High School
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Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Record: 29-0
Head coach: Jack Keefer
Key players: Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., Stephen Van Treese, Damian Windham
Bottom Line: 2005-06 Lawrence North High School
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Few high school basketball duos can match up with Lawrence North High's Michael Conley Jr. and Greg Oden, who led their school to three consecutive state championships and ended their careers on a 50-game winning streak.
Oden was one of the most heralded recruits of the last 30 years and a two-time Parade All-American and the National Player of the Year. He teamed with Conley to lead Ohio State to the 2007 NCAA championship game, and the two were picked No. 1 and No. 4 overall in the 2007 NBA draft.
What Happened Next: Lawrence North High School
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Lawrence North High star Greg Oden was picked No. 1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2007 NBA draft and subsequently became one of the biggest busts in professional sports history.
Oden only ended up playing in 105 career games. His NBA career technically stretched over seven seasons, but he only played in three because of injuries.
7. 1989-90 Southwestern High School
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Location: Detroit, Michigan
Record: 30-1
Head coach: Perry Watson
Key players: Jalen Rose, Vashon Leonard, Howard Eisley, Garland Mance, Elton Carter
Bottom Line: 1989-90 Southwestern High School
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Detroit Southwestern High lost in the state championship game seven of the previous eight seasons before 1990. That was when superstar junior guard Jalen Rose led them to the first of back-to-back state titles.
Rose was hardly a one-man show for the Prospectors. He was just one of three future NBA players on the roster alongside junior Voshon Lenard and senior Howard Eisley.
Rose was the real prize, though. He went on to help lead Michigan to back-to-back Final Fours, alongside childhood friend Chris Webber, and played 14 seasons in the NBA.
What Happened Right Before: Southwestern High School
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The best player for Southwestern High who kept coming up short of a state championship was probably Anderson Hunt, who eventually got a title on a much bigger stage.
Hunt was one of the standouts on Jerry Tarkanian's famous UNLV teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s and was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1990 after he led the Runnin' Rebels to an NCAA championship.
6. 1992-93 Oak Hill Academy
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Location: Mouth of Wilson, Virginia
Record: 36-0
Head coach: Steve Smith
Key players: Jerry Stackhouse, Jeff McGinnis, Mark Blount, Makhtar Ndiaye, Alex Sanders, Curtis Staples, Jermaine Smith, Mike Brittain, Tavares Johnson
Bottom Line: 1992-93 Oak Hill Academy
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The truly bananas fact about Oak Hill Academy's 1992-93 season is that six of the 36 wins were against college teams on the way to winning the school's first mythical high school national championship.
Oak Hill featured a starting lineup with four future NBA players — Jerry Stackhouse, Jeff McGinnis, Mark Blount and Makhtar Ddiaye — and had another five future Division I players on the roster.
Even at that, no one outshined Stackhouse. He was either the No. 1 or No. 2 recruit in the country depending on which service you looked at, and ended up playing alongside the guy he shared those top rankings with at the University of North Carolina — Simon Gratz High's Rasheed Wallace.
What Happened Next: Oak Hill Academy
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Oak Hill Academy didn't stop winning national titles after that first one in 1993. They repeated in 1994 and have won nine total national championships.
The steady flow of NBA talent didn't stop, either. Dozens of future pros have walked through Oak Hill's doors — perhaps none greater than Carmelo Anthony, who led Syracuse to its lone national title as a freshman in 2003.
5. 1972-73 DeMatha Catholic High School
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Location: Hyattsville, Maryland
Record: 30-1
Head coach: Morgan Wooten
Key players: Adrian Dantley, Kenny Carr, Billy Langloh, Eric Coard, Ron Satterthwaite, Buzzy O'Connell, Vern Allen
Bottom Line: 1972-73 DeMatha Catholic High School
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By far the most difficult school to pick just one team from, we give the edge to Morgan Wooten's 1972-73 squad mainly because of the presence of Adrian Dantley and Kenny Carr, who would both become NBA lottery picks.
Dantley, 6-foot-6, and Carr, 6-7, absolutely terrorized opponents, and Wooten was a master at getting the most out of them. UCLA coach John Wooden once called Wooten "the finest coach on any level … high school, college, or pro. I stand in awe of him."
The only loss for DeMatha that season? Longtime rival Dunbar High.
What Happened Next: DeMatha Catholic High School
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Morgan Wootten coached DeMatha Catholic for 46 years, leading the school to five national championships and 33 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles.
Wooten finished his career with a 1,274-192 overall record and in 2000 became the first exclusively high school basketball coach inducted into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.
Wootten died in January 2020, at 88 years old.
4. 2019-20 Montverde Academy
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Location: Montverde, Florida
Record: 25-0
Head coach: Kevin Boyle
Key players: Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Moses Moody, Caleb Houstan, Day'Ron Sharpe
Bottom Line: 2019-20 Montverde Academy
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It's not recency bias to just believe what your eyes tell you. And our eyes tell us that the 2019-20 Montverde Academy team is one of the best collections of high school talent we've ever seen.
Led by 2021 NBA draft No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham, the Eagles had just one game decided by single digits on the way to a 25-0 record and mythical national title.
It wasn't just Cunningham who stood out for Montverde. Teammates Scottie Barnes and Moses Moody were also lottery picks in 2021.
What Happened Next: Montverde Academy
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Montverde Academy went 25-1 in 2020-21 and repeated as national champions and had another group of stars led by projected future first-round pick Calab Houstan and Creighton star Ryan Nembhard.
Montverde's 2021-22 team was making another push to be the best in school history, with six players ranked in the ESPN Top 25, led by No. 5 overall recruit Dariq Whitehead, a 6-foot-6 small forward signed to play for Duke.
3. 2002-03 St. Vincent-St. Mary High School
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Location: Akron, Ohio
Record: 26-0
Head coach: Dru Joyce II
Key players: LeBron James, Dru Joyce III, Sian Cotton, Romeo Travis
Bottom Line: 2002-03 St. Vincent-St. Mary High School
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The world was introduced to LeBron James in 2001-02 via a Sports Illustrated cover featuring the St. Vincent-St. Mary High star, and ESPN made the deft decision to start broadcasting his games on national television.
James would have been the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft after his junior season for sure and maybe his sophomore season and was a three-time Parade All-American and two-time National Player of the Year.
James was briefly suspended this year over an investigation into improper benefits, then reinstated, and the Irish not only won their third state title in four years but also took down national powers Mater Dei, Westchester and Oak Hill.
What Happened Next: St. Vincent-St. Mary High School
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St. Vincent-St. Mary didn't stop winning state championships after LeBron James embarked on one of the greatest NBA careers of all time.
Since James went No. 1 overall in the 2003 NBA draft, SVSM has won five more state titles, in 20009, 2011, 2017, 2018 and 2021.
In an interesting twist, James' oldest son, Bronny, scored the game-winning basket and finished with 15 points for Sierra Canyon (California) High in a win over SVSM in December 2019.
2. 1982-83 Dunbar High School
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Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Record: 31-0
Head coach: Bob Wade
Key players: Reggie Williams, Muggsy Bogues, Keith James, Mike Brown, Tim Dawson, Reggie Lewis
Bottom Line: 1982-83 Dunbar High School
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It's easy to understand why most people look at the 1982-83 Dunbar High squad as the de facto greatest high school basketball team of all time.
The Poets went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country in the USA Today poll and beat opponents by an average margin of victory of 36.5 points.
Dunbar finished the season 31-0 and beat teams from seven different states in the process. They were led by a pair of future NBA first-round draft picks, Muggsy Bogues and National Player of the Year Reggie Williams, and brought another first-round pick off the bench with the late Reggie Lewis.
What Happened Next: Dunbar High School
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Over the last few decades, Dunbar High School has become almost as well-known for putting out big-time football players as it once was for its elite basketball talent.
At one point in the early 2000s, the basketball and football teams featured a pair of future NFL Pro Bowlers as teammates — quarterback Josh Cribbs, who became an elite return specialist in the NFL, and tight end Vernon Davis.
1. 1988-89 St. Anthony High School
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Location: Jersey City, New Jersey
Record: 32-0
Head coach: Bob Hurley
Key players: Bobby Hurley, Rodrick Rhodes, Jerry Walker, Terry DeHere, Danny Hurley
Bottom Line: 1988-89 St. Anthony High School
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The first of St. Anthony High head coach Bob Hurley Sr.'s four mythical national championships came with his son, Bobby Hurley, leading the team at point guard.
Bobby Hurley was one of three future NBA players on the roster alongside Rodrick Rhdes and Terry Dehere, as St. Anthony defeated teams from 10 different states on the way to a 32-0 record.
Bobby Hurley went on to win two national championships at Duke in 1991 and 1992. St. Anthony's was a national phenomenon. They were featured on "Dateline," "Regis and Kathie Lee," and in People Magazine and ended the season on a 50-game winning streak.
What Happened Next: St. Anthony High School
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Bob Hurley Sr. would be St. Anthony High's coach for 45 years, staying at the school until the day it closed in 2017.
In that time, Hurley won 26 state championships, four national championships and was named USA Today National Coach of the Year three times.
Hurley's son Bobby is now the head coach at Arizona State, and his son Danny is the head coach at the University of Connecticut.