A Look Back at the Best High School Basketball Programs in History
On Friday, Sports Illustrated will premiere its new full-length original documentary, We Town, only on SI TV. The new documentary follows the story of Westtown School, a small quaker school in Pennsylvania that also happens to be home to arguably the greatest starting five in history. The star players on its 2016-17 team were Mo Bamba and Cameron Reddish; other top players included heralded recruits Brandon Randolph, Anthony Ochefu and Jake Forrester.
Westtown isn't the only school that has featured future NBA players on one team. MaxPreps did its own ranking a few years back, and here, SI takes a look at some of the most dominant high school programs in history.
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Dunbar (Baltimore), Early '80s
NOTABLE STARS:Muggsy Bogues (1st-round pick; 14-year NBA career); Reggie Lewis (1st-round pick; NBA All-Star; Reggie Williams (1st-round pick; 10-year NBA career)
Dunbar was an absolute powerhouse in the early 1980s. It had three first round draft picks in Bogues, Lewis and Williams. The 1981–1982 and 1982–1983 teams went undefeated, and 11 players went to Division I schools. David Wingate led the 1982 team and went on to spend 15 years in the NBA.
St. Anthony's (Jersey City, New Jersey), 1989
NOTABLE STARS: Coach Bob Hurley (Hall of Fame); Terry Dehere (1st-round pick); Bobby Hurley (1st-round pick); Rodrick Rhodes (1st-round pick)
The incredible thing about St. Anthony's, which shut its doors in 2017 after struggling financially for years, was how often, and how long, the program was successful. Under the direction of legendary Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr., it became one of the best programs in high school sports history. The 1989 team, which finished 32–0 and was inducted into the NJSIAA Hall of Fame in 2017, is the one that will be remembered, but the program seemed to constantly churn out NBA-level talent, (including current San Antonio Spur Kyle Anderson). Hurley won more than 1,000 games with the team and led the program to 28 state titles.
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Chino Hills (Chino Hills, California), 2015-16
NOTABLE STARS: Lonzo Ball (1st-round pick); LiAngelo Ball; LaMelo Ball
Whether you love or love to hate the Ball family, there's no keeping this team off the list. The trio of Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo helped lead Chino Hills to a 35–0 record and state championship in 2016. The team averaged 98 points per game (yes, you read that correctly). Everyone knows the saga of the Ball brothers since, (particularly LiAngelo's shoplifting drama), but at least they'll always have Chino Hills.
Thornridge (Dolton, Illinois), 1971-1972
NOTABLE STARS: Quinn Buckner (1st-round pick; 1976 gold medalist)
While Chicago always has a big pool of consistent talent, Thornridge's 1972 team is regarded as arguably the best in state history. The 33–0 team was led by Quinn Buckner, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1976 and a title with the Celtics in 1984. Thornridge won back-to-back state championships in 1971 and 1972.
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia), 1992-93
NOTABLE STARS: Jerry Stackhouse(1st-round pick); Jeff McInnis (2nd-round pick);
The school's 1993 undefeated and national title-winning team, which had an average margin of victory of 32 points, sent eight players to Division I schools with four going on to the NBA. Stars Jerry Stackhouse, Jeff McInnis and Makhtar Ndiaye were on the squad. And that's certainly not the end of the line when it comes to dominant Oak Hill teams—it has stayed a basketball powerhouse over the years, winning national titles again in 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2016. Oh, and Carmelo Anthony is also an alumnus.
Simeon (Chicago), Mid-late aughts
NOTABLE STARS: Derrick Rose (1st overall pick); Jabari Parker (2nd overall pick)
As we've seen from this list alone, Chicago is a basketball city. While Morgan Park, Orr and Whitney Young are constantly battling it out, Simeon has had a complete stranglehold over the high school basketball scene in the mid-to-late aughts. Derrick Rose led it to back-to-back state titles in 2006 and 2007, while the Wolverines went on to win four(!!) straight state championships from 2009 to 2013, a team that Jabari Parker was a part of.
Information from MaxPreps was used in this article.
