Top 10 holds strong in Week 1 Super 25 Boys Basketball Rankings

Montverde Academy remains No. 1 in Week 1 of the USA Today Super 25 boys basketball rankings.

[jwplayer dMUaeX2j-BmKM743H]

The proverbial dust has settled on the preseason Super 25 Boys Basketball rankings, and the top 10 have remained intact in the Week 1.

FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Boys Rankings, Week 1

Top-ranked Montverde (Florida) Academy had a strong showing at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Dallas this past weekend, demolishing then No. 22 Duncanville (Texas) 84-51 and then Yates (Houston) 98-46.

RELATED: ALL-USA Boys Basketball Teams

Eagles point guard Cade Cunningham, an Oklahoma State signee who is ranked No. 1 overall in USA Today Sports’ Chosen 25 for 2020, led a balanced attack averaging 14 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the weekend.

Prolific Prep (Napa, California), ranked No. 5, was also impressive at the Hoopfest, but the Crew will face its toughest challenge of the early season when they square off against No. 3 Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix) at Hoophall West on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2).

McEachern (Powder Springs, Georgia), ranked No. 6, had an impressive 87-79 home win over then-No. 12 Mayfair (Lakewood, California) at the Thanksgiving Shootout; reigning ALL-USA Player of the Year Sharife Cooper, an Auburn signee who is ranked No. 2 in the Chosen 25, posted 44 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the win.

RELATED: Chosen 25 Basketball Rankings

Both Duncanville and Rancho Christian School (Temecula, California) suffered two losses and subsequently fell out of the rankings, which opened the door for Briarcrest Christian School (Eads, Tennessee) and Gonzaga College (Washington, D.C.) to debut in the Super 25.

Hoopfest: Cade Cunningham happy be back home as a Cowboy

Cade Cunningham said he knows he made the right decision picking Oklahoma State.

[jwplayer QwsOWqXc-BmKM743H]

DALLAS – Cade Cunningham knew the question was coming at some point and, while he’ll concede that “it’s a fair question,” he’s not ready to give an answer.

HOOPFEST: Harrison Ingram earns respect

Earlier this month when Cunningham committed to Oklahoma State he released a video and said, “To be honest, I was this close to picking a different school, but blood is always thicker than water,” eluding to his brother Cannen being on staff at Oklahoma State as the reason the Cowboys ultimately won out.

“I’m not gonna say which school it was,” said Cunningham, the No. 1 overall player in USA Today Sports’ Chosen 25. “But the small space between my two fingers was how close I came to going to another school. Things changed though and I’m happy where I’m at. I wouldn’t want to be at any other school; I can honestly say that. It feels good to know you made the right decision.”

HOOPFEST: Bryce Thompson thrives after committing to Kansas

On Friday at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest, Cunningham channeled that positive energy into a big win, scoring 15 points and handing out eight assists to lead the No. 1 Eagles past No. 22 Duncanville (Texas) 84-51. It was Cunningham’s first high school game in his home state since transferring to Montverde from Bowie (Arlington, Texas) the summer before his junior year.

“it was great to be back home,” Cunningham said. “It’s been a minute for me, but it just felt great to get the chance to play in front of everybody. Now, I’m just focused on winning a GEICO Nationals title with my guys.”

Last year in the GEICO Nationals semifinals, Montverde blew a 16-point second half lead and fell to eventual champion IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida), who currently checks in at No. 2.

HOOPFEST: Elite sophomore Arterio Morris stars at the Hoopfest

“We’re No. 1, but we’re the hunters,” Cunningham said. “We’re trying to beat the brakes off every team we play like they’re No. 1. We’re just hungrier this year than we’ve ever been. We’re coming for everybody.”

Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY

Hoopfest: Harrison Ingram, St. Mark’s (Texas) earn respect in loss

Harrison Ingram managed to earn respect despite losing at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest.

DALLAS – Given that St. Mark’s (Dallas) combo guard Harrison Ingram isn’t happy with the loss, he finds solace in knowing he and his teammates earned respect in their game against No. 5 Prolific Prep (Napa, California) on Saturday at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest.

“Coming in to the game everyone was saying we were gonna lose by 30 and all that,” said Ingram, a junior. “They’re ranked high and they have all the top ranked players, but we took it as a challenge that everyone was just disrespecting us like that.”

HOOPFEST: Bryce Thompson thrives after committing to Kansas

In the end, the Lions earned respect in the 57-44 loss, pushing the Crew and even leading for most of the first half.

“We wanted to prove that we could play with anybody, and we did that,” Ingram said. “I knew Jalen (Green) and Nimari (Burnett) from USA Basketball, but I knew there weren’t gonna be any friends in the game. We’re all competitors like that.”

Ingram did it all for the Lions, posting 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

That should enhance his profile with hordes of college coaches who watched the 6-foot-4 guard on Saturday.

HOOPFEST: Elite sophomore Arterio Morris stars at the Hoopfest

Ingram said Stanford, SMU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, UCLA, Kansas, Purdue, Arkansas and Baylor are coming the hardest.

He took an official visit to Stanford this fall and will take an official to Texas Tech in March.

Ingram broke out this summer, leading Marcus Smart YGC36 (Texas) to the adidas Gauntlet title in July, averaging 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists a game.

“I don’t really have a timetable for a decision,” Ingram said. “I’m just gonna feel it out and when I’m ready I’m not gonna wait. I’m gonna go ahead and pull the trigger.”

Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY

Hoopfest: 2022 combo guard Arterio Morris steals the show

Elite sophomore Arterio Morris stole the show in day one of the Thanksgiving Hoopfest.

DALLAS – Kimball (Dallas) combo guard Arterio Morris won’t go as far as saying he was more excited to be playing against another elite player in Christian Brothers College (St. Louis, Missouri) point guard Caleb Love, a North Carolina signee who is ranked No. 25 overall in USA Today Sports’ Chosen 25, but he was clear that Love was in the opposing jersey.

HOOPFEST: Bryce Thompson thrives after committing to Kansas

“I just go in to every game trying to dominate,” said Morris, a sophomore. “Doesn’t matter who it is, but I do like playing against guys like that. I just like to compete.”

Morris parlayed that mindset into a dominant performance, scoring 27 points, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking four shots to lead the Knights past the Cadets 75-67 on Friday at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest.

“I just have the mentality this year to kill on the court,” Morris said. “In everything I do, on each side of the court it’s kill, kill, kill. That’s it.”

This summer, Morris averaged 12 points, five rebounds and six assists for Showtime (Texas) and picked up offers from Texas Tech and Texas-Arlington, but with three years left in high school, naturally, Morris said he’s more focused on improvement.

HOOPFEST: Nimiari Burnett’s halfcourt shot goes viral

“I want the offers, of course, but I have to focus on my game,” Morris said. “I know that’s the thing that takes care of everything else. I want to get more offers and get noticed more so the way to do that is to produce on the court. I put all of my energy into that.”

Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY

Hoopfest: Bryce Thompson thriving without stress of recruiting

Without the pressure of the recruitment process, Bryce Thompson is thriving.

[jwplayer 9rFTpalX-BmKM743H]

DALLAS – Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Oklahoma) combo guard Bryce Thompson had heard about the stress relief that accompanies a college commitment but didn’t fully understand the extent of it until he committed to Kansas earlier this month.

“I know people say this all the time, but it’s true; it’s really a weight lifted off of your shoulders,” Thompson said. “Just in practice and training I feel so much more relaxed and calmer.”

He used that newfound tranquility to score 27 points in the Hornets’ 79-72 loss to Christian Brothers College (St. Louis, Missouri) Saturday at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest.

Thompson said he developed a more dominant mindset this summer after leading the Under Armour Association in scoring, averaging 25.3 points per game on the Oklahoma Run PWP.

“I just proved to myself what I could do on one of the biggest stages against some of the best players,” Thompson said. “I just hold myself with a higher standard when it comes to scoring.”

To that end, Thompson said he’s “already preparing” for Kansas in everything he does now, from training to mentality.

“College is the next level for me so preparing for a higher level only helps me in high school,” said Thompson, who added more than 5,000 followers on social media after committing to Kansas. “I have big goals and I want to be as prepared as possible for next year. I’m continuing to work on my ball handling and my jumping and my body; just anything that will put me in a better position to help Kansas, I’m in.”

Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY

Thanksgiving Hoopfest moving to American Airlines Center

The Thanksgiving Hoopfest will give high school players a chance to play on an NBA court.

Prolific Prep (Napa, California) point guard Nimari Burnett is the last player on the roster who needs extra motivation to get up for games.

“I’m just always ready to compete,” said Burnett, a Texas Tech signee.

Still, come Nov. 30 when he and the Crew lace ‘em up for the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Dallas, he’ll have a little built-in motivation.

RELATED: Super 25 Boys Basketball Rankings

To accommodate the massive number of fans unable to attend the Hoopfest due to the showcase selling out within the first hour tickets went on sale, Hoopfest founder Glenn Smith has decided to move the venue on the second day to American Airlines Center, the home of the Dallas Mavericks.

Games will remain at Duncanville (Texas) High School on Nov. 29 and for the morning session on Nov. 30.

That night, games will tip at AAC, beginning with Prolific Prep (Napa, California), ranked No. 5 overall in the USA Today Super 25, against St. Mark’s School (Dallas) at 5 p.m. The Hoopfest will provide a comp ticket for every ticket purchased for Saturday’s games at Duncanville.

“I’ve never played on an NBA court before so I’m hype,” said Burnett, who is ranked No. 15 overall in USA Today Sports’ Chosen 25. “We’re all ready to get out there and get that experience.”

RELATED: Day one of the Early Signing Period

Prolific Prep is one of three Super 25 competing in the Hoopfest; No. 8 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) and No. 22 Duncanville (Texas) will also participate. The Hoopfest made our list for the top 16 high school hoops events of the year.

“My dream is to play in the NBA, and to know that I’ll be able to play on an NBA court in high school is like a dream come true,” Burnett said. “We go hard in every game, but I know we’ll be going extra hard in this one.”

AAC schedule for Nov. 16:

5 p.m: (Boys) Prolific Prep (Calif.) vs St. Marks School (Texas)

6:30 p.m: (Girls) Sierra Canyon (Calif.) vs. Duncanville (Texas)

8 p.m: (Boys) Sierra Canyon (Calif.) vs. Duncanville (Texas)

9:30 p.m: (Boys) Yates (Houston) vs. Montverde (Fla.) Academy

Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY