USA TODAY High School Sports’ boys basketball Super 25 for March 1, 2022

USA TODAY High School Sports ranks the top 25 high school basketball programs in the nation.

USA TODAY High School Sports’ boys basketball Super 25 for Feb. 22, 2022

USA TODAY High School Sports ranks the top 25 high school basketball programs in the nation.

Southern California Academy is Dior Johnson’s 10th high school

Dior Johnson recently transferred to Southern California Academy — his 10th high school.

Five-star class of 2022 point guard Dion Johnson is what one would call a high school basketball nomad.

The uberly talented Oregon commit recently announced his intention to transfer to Southern California Academy in Los Angeles. Transfers are commonplace in high school basketball and nobody knows that better than Johnson, as Southern California Academy is his 10th stop on the high school circuit.

That’s right. 10 different high schools in less than four years.

Johnson started in his native New York at Saugerties, where he played for its varsity team as a middle schooler and scored 1,000 points before ever taking a high school class. Johnson enrolled at national powerhouse IMG Academy for his freshman year before returning to Saugerties, only to wind up at Findlay Prep in Nevada by the end of the year.

Johnson’s next move was facilitated by the unexpected end of Findlay Prep’s basketball program. He landed in Phoenix to play for Hillcrest Prep, but reversed course a couple of weeks later and made his way to Fairfax — his first of many stops in California.

Johnson never played a minute at Fairfax. Instead, he wound up at Mayfair in Lakewood, Calif., and dominated as a sophomore playing alongside five-star recruit Josh Christopher, who went on to play at Arizona State. Johnson transferred to Oak Hill Academy after his sophomore season, but wound up back in California at Centennial in Corona for his junior year.

Johnson made an instant impact at Centennial, helping his team go 21-2 and win a state title. That was the only season Johnson would play at Centennial, though, as he wound up transferring to Prolific Prep before landing at Southern California Academy.

There’s still plenty of time left in the scholastic year and basketball season is still in its infant stages, so there’s always a chance Johnson makes it 11 high schools before graduating. Either way, his high school basketball journey has been unlike any other of a recruit of his caliber.

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Iowa HS basketball player arrested after throwing punches in handshake line

An Iowa boys high school basketball player was arrested and charged after throwing punches in the postgame handshake line.

Postgame handshakes following a Tuesday matchup between two Iowa high school basketball teams went awry when one player on Carlisle (Iowa) threw punches to the stomach and face of an opponent on the Nevada (Iowa) HS team.

The student who appeared to throw the punches was arrested and charged with willful injury, according to KCCI. A student who attended the game told the news outlet that the Nevada player who got punched “was out for a good couple minutes.”

The player who got punched suffered a concussion and a cut to his lip that required four stitches, according to Yahoo. The Superintendent told KCCI that “it sounds like our student-athlete is going to be alright.”

KCCI said some students told the outlet that the two players had “traded insults during the game.” After the Carlisle player threw the punch, a Nevada player jumped on top of him. Carlisle players and a Nevada player bend down over the two, appearing to try to break up the fight.

The disturbing video can be viewed in this tweet.

Carlisle Superintendent Bryce Amos released a statement to KCCI that read: “This is without question an unfortunate incident that is not representative of the school culture that exists in Carlisle Community School District. I want to make it clear that this type of conduct is not tolerated at Carlisle CSD.”

High School athlete is the heart of the team

17-year-old Jevon Dunn was recognized by the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards for his contributions to his basketball team.

California HS basketball team stripped of state title after tortilla throwing incident

Coronado High School has been stripped of its basketball championship due to a tortilla-throwing incident that took place after the game.

Coronado High School has been stripped of its first California Southern Regional boys basketball championship due to a tortilla throwing incident that took place after the game.

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) levied several sanctions against Coronado on Wednesday, vacating its championship and placing the school on probation through the 2023-24 school year. Coronado is also banned from hosting postseason boys basketball section or regional playoff games through the 2022-23 season.

The CIF’s ruling comes less than two weeks after a racially charged tortilla throwing incident took place after Coronado’s title game win over Orange Glen High School. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, at least two people threw tortillas at the team from Orange Glen after the final buzzer.

Orange Glen High School features a prominent Latino population.

Just days after the tortilla-throwing incident occurred, the Coronado Unified School Board voted unanimously to relieve veteran Coronado High School head coach JD Laaperi of his duties. Laaperi reportedly cursed at an Orange Glen coach after the game, which played a role in his firing. In 12 years as Coronado’s head coach, Laaperi posted a 215-121 record, including a 24-5 mark in this year’s COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season.

RELATED: California high school basketball coach fired after alleged racist tortilla throwing incident

The CIF’s investigation into the incident lasted just over a week before sanctions were handed down.

Jalen Duren passes Emoni Bates for top spot in 2022 rankings

There is a new player top-ranked recruit on the high school basketball scene.

247Sports updated its class of 2022 rankings on Wednesday and they were full of change — including a big one at the top. Emoni Bates, who had been the No. 1 player in the class of 2022 for over a year, dropped to No. 2. Taking his spot atop the rankings is Montverde Academy center Jalen Duren, who out-played Bates in a head-to-head matchup on the Nike EYBL circuit earlier this offseason.

Bates endured some inconsistent stretches of play throughout his junior season and those struggles spilled over to the early parts of the spring on the AAU circuit. Duren, meanwhile, helped lead Montverde to a national championship in front of a national audience and improved with each game played for Montverde and Team Final, one of the top EYBL programs in the nation.

Bates and Duren are now teammates with Team Final, giving the Philadelphia-based program the top two players in the class of 2022.

Bates originally committed to Michigan State on June 29, 2020, over offers from DePaul, Florida State, Kentucky and Michigan. The 6-foot-7, 185-pound small forward recently decommitted from the Spartans, though, and is now expected to consider other opportunities from the collegiate and professional ranks.

The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn reported in March that Bates is expected to skip college and seek the “most lucrative deal the G League can muster” before entering the NBA draft. However, it remains to be seen if that is the route Bates will ultimately decide on.

Duren, meanwhile, visited Kentucky, Miami and Memphis during June while pondering a reclassification to the class of 2021. There is also the pull of skipping college basketball and jumping straight into the pros. Duren’s 247Sports Crystal Ball currently favors the Philadelphia native opting for the professional route. Between the NBA G League Ignite, playing overseas and numerous other leagues that have popped up recently, Duren would not be short on professional options, with the G League serving as his most likely landing spot.

California high school basketball coach fired after alleged racist tortilla throwing incident

A high school basketball coach in California was fired in wake of a racist tortilla throwing incident that took place after a championship.

A high school basketball coach in California was fired just three days after winning a state championship in wake of a racist tortilla throwing incident that took place at the title game.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Coronado Unified School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to relieve veteran Coronado High School head coach JD Laaperi of his duties. Coronado defeated Orange Glen High School in the CIF Division 4-A championship when at least two people threw tortillas at the team from Orange Glen.

Orange Glen High School features a prominent latino population.

Laaperi took to social media after the game to address the incident, tweeting “”Unfortunately a community member brought tortillas and distributed them which was unacceptable and racist in nature. …. I do not condone this behavior. Coronado High School does not condone this behavior and is already taking appropriate action.”

Coronado’s school board ultimately decided removing Laaperi from his position as head basketball coach was among the action that needed to be taken. Laaperi reportedly cursed at an Orange Glen coach after the game, which played a role in his firing.

Coronado team captain Wayne McKinney said at Tuesday’s board meeting that his team did not know people brought tortillas to the game and those who did had no ties with the team. McKinney also told the Union-Tribune that Coronado players and coaches had been receiving death threats since the incident.

“It was not based on race or class; it was simply a great game between two teams,” McKinney said. “I think many people are making Saturday out to be something it was not.”

The CIF released a statement last weekend addressing the incident, stating “We are therefore working with the administration of both high schools in addressing this matter and upon receipt and review of incident reports from both schools, the CIF will determine the appropriate next steps.”

In 12 years as Coronado’s head coach, Laaperi posted a 215-121 record, including a 24-5 mark in this year’s COVID-19 pandemic-shortened season.

Each SEC basketball program’s highest-ranked 2021 commit

With the fall signing period long in the books and the spring signing period underway, it’s time to take a deeper look at the crop of prospects ascending to the college ranks in the coming weeks months. The SEC is set to welcome a boatload of talent …

The SEC is set to welcome a boatload of talent into the conference next season, with five programs having at least one-star recruit on board. Kentucky wasn’t Kentucky a year ago, but the Wildcats are set to bounce back with a talented recruiting class coming in, and Tennesse is set to build on a strong 2020 season with two incoming five-star recruits.

Let’s take a look at the highest-ranked commit in each SEC program’s 2021 recruiting class.

Note: List is subject to change pending the outcome of the spring signing period and decisions of currently uncommitted recruits.

Each Big East basketball program’s highest-ranked 2021 commit

USA Today High School Sports takes a look at each Big East basketball program’s highest-ranked 2021 commit.

Despite Creighton and Villanova making it to the Sweet 16, 2020 was thought to be a down year for the Big East on the court. The conference is primed to bounce back in a big way next season thanks to an influx via the recruiting trail, though. UConn’s 2021 recruiting class ranks atop the conference, but the Huskies are not the only Big East team set to welcome a host of talent into their program next season.

Let’s take a look at the highest-ranked commit in each Big East program’s 2021 recruiting class.

Note: List is subject to change pending the outcome of the spring signing period and decisions of currently uncommitted recruits.