FloHoops' Best Of The Best In January
FloHoops' Best Of The Best In January
The best of the best players, teams, plays, games, moments, and interviews from an action-packed January on FloHoops.
As the season has picked up steam across the country, so has the intensity. With several games still to be played, including many in the state playoffs, it is not crunch time quite yet for many elite high school teams and players, but January was the month everything went up a few dozen notches to set the stage for what's to come.
With 11 top 25 teams and a good portion of 2017 and 2018 Flo40 prospects featured live on FloHoops during the month at the ARS Rescue Rooter National Hoopfests in Memphis, Tennessee, and Tampa, Florida, Spalding Hoophall Classic and Breakdown USA Border Battle, the level of play was nothing short of amazing.
Here is the best of the best from an exciting 31 days of hoops.
The best high school basketball player on the planet has been sensational all season. He's filled up the stat sheet each game and has Nathan Hale (WA) sitting atop the FloHoops Top 25 undefeated. However, one performance stands out above the rest.
In the then-No. 2 Raiders' 80-77 win over then-No. 8 Oak Hill at the Spalding Hoophall Classic on January 16, the 6-foot-9 Porter was purely a pro, knocking down contested jumpers and finishing with authority to drop 37 points and keep his team's dream season alive.
Second-ranked Sierra Canyon has gone through the basketball equivalent of a gauntlet like nobody else this high school season. In a four-game, five-day stretch across the country, the Trailblazers came away from each matchup with a win. Three of them -- Findlay Prep, Oak Hill, La Lumiere -- were against teams ranked in the top 10.
Sierra Canyon won the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions and then followed it up with a gutty 76-74 comeback victory over then-No. 1 La Lumiere.
It was exhausting, sure, but it was the best string of wins by any team all season by a large amount.
The rematch of the City of Palms championship game lived up to its top 10 hype. And when it came down to the wire, Memphis East ran the play it always practices to perfection.
Memphis East (TN) walked out of the huddle late against Montverde Academy (FL) at the ARS Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest on January 7 oozing with confidence. Better yet, it was certainty. All that was left was last-second execution and heroics for some needed redemption.
With eight seconds remaining in a tie game, Alex Lomax, the Mustangs' best playmaker, took the inbound pass in the backcourt and began making his move.
The junior took four dribbles, faked going to the corner and put on a vicious spin move before finding himself in perfect position to find cutting big man Chandler Lawson.
Dunk.
Game over.
Memphis East got revenge over Montverde Academy.
The biggest attention-getter during the Spalding Hoophall Classic wasn't a thunderous dunk or a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. It actually had nothing to do with anyone on the court. Well, kind of. The loudest buzz came when Shaquille O'Neal walked into Blake Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the first time on January 14. It almost paused everything.
O'Neal, a 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, wasn't here for just kicks. The former dominant NBA center was in town to watch his son, 2018 Flo40 forward Shareef, hoop it up for Crossroads (CA).
Who's got laundry duty at Wisconsin next season? Listen to 2017 signees Brad Davison, Kobe King and Nathan Reuvers discuss the terms.
Prior to the season, Flo40 guard Matt Coleman was torn. He knew his final three schools in his college recruitment, but he didn't know when his commitment would come. All of the suspense ended on January 16.
A 6-foot-2 point guard for Oak Hill Academy (VA), Coleman, the No. 34 prospect in the class, picked Texas over other finalists Duke and Stanford inside Blake Arena before playing in the Spalding Hoophall Classic. He became the fourth member of the Longhorns' 2017 class with Jase Febres, Royce Hamm and Jericho Sims.
Best Underclassman: RJ Barrett (Montverde Academy (FL))
The top sophomore in the country needs no further introduction. Just watch the way guard RJ Barrett plays the game and you will see just how special he is becoming.
With 11 top 25 teams and a good portion of 2017 and 2018 Flo40 prospects featured live on FloHoops during the month at the ARS Rescue Rooter National Hoopfests in Memphis, Tennessee, and Tampa, Florida, Spalding Hoophall Classic and Breakdown USA Border Battle, the level of play was nothing short of amazing.
Here is the best of the best from an exciting 31 days of hoops.
Best Performance: Michael Porter Jr., Nathan Hale (WA)
The best high school basketball player on the planet has been sensational all season. He's filled up the stat sheet each game and has Nathan Hale (WA) sitting atop the FloHoops Top 25 undefeated. However, one performance stands out above the rest.
In the then-No. 2 Raiders' 80-77 win over then-No. 8 Oak Hill at the Spalding Hoophall Classic on January 16, the 6-foot-9 Porter was purely a pro, knocking down contested jumpers and finishing with authority to drop 37 points and keep his team's dream season alive.
Best Team: Sierra Canyon (CA)
Second-ranked Sierra Canyon has gone through the basketball equivalent of a gauntlet like nobody else this high school season. In a four-game, five-day stretch across the country, the Trailblazers came away from each matchup with a win. Three of them -- Findlay Prep, Oak Hill, La Lumiere -- were against teams ranked in the top 10.
Sierra Canyon won the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions and then followed it up with a gutty 76-74 comeback victory over then-No. 1 La Lumiere.
It was exhausting, sure, but it was the best string of wins by any team all season by a large amount.
Best Live Game: No. 10 Memphis East 75, No. 2 Montverde Academy 73
The rematch of the City of Palms championship game lived up to its top 10 hype. And when it came down to the wire, Memphis East ran the play it always practices to perfection.
Best Play: Memphis East Flushes Montverde At The Buzzer
Memphis East (TN) walked out of the huddle late against Montverde Academy (FL) at the ARS Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest on January 7 oozing with confidence. Better yet, it was certainty. All that was left was last-second execution and heroics for some needed redemption.
With eight seconds remaining in a tie game, Alex Lomax, the Mustangs' best playmaker, took the inbound pass in the backcourt and began making his move.
The junior took four dribbles, faked going to the corner and put on a vicious spin move before finding himself in perfect position to find cutting big man Chandler Lawson.
Dunk.
Game over.
Memphis East got revenge over Montverde Academy.
Best Moment: Shaq Makes Surprise Hoophall Appearance
The biggest attention-getter during the Spalding Hoophall Classic wasn't a thunderous dunk or a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. It actually had nothing to do with anyone on the court. Well, kind of. The loudest buzz came when Shaquille O'Neal walked into Blake Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts, for the first time on January 14. It almost paused everything.
O'Neal, a 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, wasn't here for just kicks. The former dominant NBA center was in town to watch his son, 2018 Flo40 forward Shareef, hoop it up for Crossroads (CA).
Best Interview: Wisconsin's Signed Trio
Who's got laundry duty at Wisconsin next season? Listen to 2017 signees Brad Davison, Kobe King and Nathan Reuvers discuss the terms.
Best Commitment: Oak Hill's Matt Coleman Picks Texas
Prior to the season, Flo40 guard Matt Coleman was torn. He knew his final three schools in his college recruitment, but he didn't know when his commitment would come. All of the suspense ended on January 16.
A 6-foot-2 point guard for Oak Hill Academy (VA), Coleman, the No. 34 prospect in the class, picked Texas over other finalists Duke and Stanford inside Blake Arena before playing in the Spalding Hoophall Classic. He became the fourth member of the Longhorns' 2017 class with Jase Febres, Royce Hamm and Jericho Sims.
Best Underclassman: RJ Barrett (Montverde Academy (FL))
The top sophomore in the country needs no further introduction. Just watch the way guard RJ Barrett plays the game and you will see just how special he is becoming.