by Alex Schwartz

The 2010-11 high school basketball season in the books. While there are a few all-star games left to be played, most notably the Jordan Brand Classic, all of the regular season high school contests have been completed. The season ended in style, with Montrose Christian (MD) defeating Oak Hill Academy (VA) in double overtime to win the ESPNRise National High School Invitational. The seven NHSI games were all that remained when the last poll was released.

As always there were some pleasant surprises this season, including top 20 finishers Benet Academy (IL), Chester (PA) and Dwyer (FL). In addition, there were the teams that did not live up to expectations, such as Bishop Gorman (NV), and Whitney Young (IL), who were in the top 10 of the preseason rankings.

At the end of the season there were four of the most tradition rich programs programs in the nation in the top 10, including a pair from the Garden State atop the list. However, the other six in the final top 10 all come from the public school ranks, including two from the Peach State.

The St. Anthony's (NJ) Friars are this year's mythical national champion, navigating through a difficult schedule that included the de facto national title game against St. Patrick's (NJ). Led by Rutgers-bound senior guard Myles Mack and junior forward Kyle Anderson, St. Ant's won yet another title for the Jersey City school and Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley.

Without further ado, have a look below at the final rankings of the top teams from the 2010-11 high school hoops season.

Rank. School (State), Record (Last Poll)
-underlined teams won state titles in their classification (some teams are not in state athletic associations and do not play for state titles)
-team records are courtesy of MaxPreps and an asterisk next to a team's record indicates that it lost to Dr. Krop (FL) and later had the outcome reversed to a forefit win when it was ruled Dr. Krop was ruled to have used an ineligible player

1. St. Anthony's (NJ), 33-0 (1)
2. St. Patrick's (NJ), 26-1 (3)
3. Montrose Christian (MD), 25-1 (5)
4. IC Norcom (VA), 29-1 (4)
5. Wichita Heights (KS), 25-0 (6)
6. Marcus (TX), 38-1 (7)
7. Miller Grove (GA), 32-1* (2)
8. Milton (GA), 29-3 (10)
9. Oak Hill Academy (VA), 31-4 (11)
10. Dwyer (FL), 33-2* (9)
11. Findlay Prep (NV), 28-4 (8)
12. Benet Academy (IL), 29-1 (12)
13. Simeon (IL), 30-2 (13)
14. Long Beach Poly (CA), 31-2 (14)
15. Lakeview Centennial (TX), 37-2 (19)
16. Mater Dei (CA), 32-3 (15)
17. Chester (PA), 31-1 (17)
18. Arlington Country Day (FL), 21-2 (16)
19. Hopkins (MN), 32-1 (18)
20. Kimball (TX), 38-3 (20)
21. Linn-Mar (IA), 27-0 (24)
22. Lincoln (CA), 31-2 (21)
23. North Central (IN), 22-3 (22)
24. Estacado (TX), 34-2 (HM)
25. Bloomington South (IN), 26-2 (HM)

Honorable Mentions: Boys & Girls (NY), 23-8; Chaminade (MO), 27-1; Eastern (KY), 34-3; Huntington Prep, 22-3; Lincoln (NY), 29-3; Lincoln (TX), 29-4; Montverde Academy (FL), 22-4; Pike (IN), 21-5; Westbury Christian (TX), 37-2; Winter Park (FL), 28-6*

New to Poll: Estacado (TX), Bloomington South (IN)

Out of Poll: Eastern (KY), Lincoln (NY)

In addition to the top 25 teams and the 10 honorable mentions, I would like to recognize 30 other squads on their fantastic seasons. Although these teams did not make the cut for the normal grouping of teams mentioned, I feel that with the season coming to an end, more teams should be listed for their accomplishments over the past several months.

The 30 teams are broken down into two sets, the first of which is the "next" 15 after the honorable mentions. The second group are the other teams—besides St. Anthony's, Wichita Heights and Linn-Mar—from all 50 states plus DC that, per MaxPreps, went through an 18+ game season without a blemish. They too deserve mention even though they do not have the strength of schedule the other teams in this post do. Now, have a look at these other teams below.

Next Fifteen: Ball (TX), 34-4; Bossier (LA), 32-2; Cedar Hill (TX), 33-4; Centennial (CA), 30-5; DeSoto (TX), 34-4; Douglass (OK), 25-4; Etiwanda (CA), 29-4; Grace Prep (TX), 22-6; La Salle (OH), 28-2; Mt. Vernon (NY), 23-5; Northland (OH), 26-2; Peoria Notre Dame (IL), 28-1; United Faith Christian Academy (NC), 28-8; Wayne County (MS), 31-1; Westerville South (OH), 24-2

Undefeated Teams: Big Horn (WY), Booker T. Washington (OK), Camden Hills (ME), Central Aroostook (ME), Hagerman (NM), Milford (NH), New London (CT), North Point (MD), North Star co-op (ND), Orme (AZ), Schoolcraft (MI), Sikeston (MO), Wade Hampton (SC), West Fork (IA), Wolf Point (MT)

Note- Hoopniks and MaxPreps used as sources for information
Note- photo is of the St. Anthony's Friars and is from http://highschoolhoop.com/