Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (Preseason 1) Simeon (Chicago), 1-0
The Wolverines overwhelmed Milton (Ga.) Saturday at the Chicago Elite Classic, 56-35. The big story was the unexpected return of senior star Jabari Parker from a broken foot suffered over the summer. Parker played sparingly and scored only six points but reports out of Chicago in recent weeks indicated he would miss at least one game and maybe more.

2. (2) Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas), 5-0
The Tigers passed two tough tests over the weekend at the Marshall County Hoopfest in Kentucky, beating Quentin Snider and Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) 78-76 on Friday and Madison Central (Richmond, Ky.) 64-57 on Saturday.

3. (6) Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), 2-0
Lone Peak took the Windy City by storm at the Chicago Elite Classic, dominating 2012 Illinois Class 4A runner-up Proviso East – playing without national Top 100 senior Sterling Brown – 84-46. The Knights also recorded a 20-point victory last week over Brighton (Salt Lake City), the same team they beat for Utah's Class 5A state title last season.

4. (4) Long Beach Poly (Calif.), 4-0
The Jackrabbits won the Pacific Shores Tournament at Redondo Beach with a 60-55 win over Westchester (Los Angeles) despite wet floor conditions that forced a mid-game change of venue. Future USC Trojan Roschon Prince tallied 23 points and 11 rebounds in the championship contest.

5. (5) Chester (Pa.), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 11 vs. J.P. McCaskey (Lancaster)

Photo by Wayne Litmner

Johnathan Williams III (left) and JaJuan Johnson (far right) were unable to help No. 9 Southwind stop Oak Hill Academy's win streak at the Marshall County Hoopfest.

6. (7) Rainier Beach (Seattle), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 4 vs. Ingraham (Seattle)

7. (8) Whitney Young (Chicago), 1-0
Statement made against DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) on Saturday at the Chicago Elite Classic. The Dolphins thoroughly controlled the action against a 30-win team a year ago, getting 34 points and nine rebounds from 6-foot-10 junior center Jahlil Okafor.

8. (10) Salesian (Richmond, Calif.), 1-0
The Pride took care of Menlo (Atherton) 64-32 in their opener Saturday, getting a team-high 20 points from California-bound senior Jabari Bird. A tough early test awaits this weekend at the Gridley Invitational, where Antelope, Bullard (Fresno), Newark Memorial and Sacramento would all love a crack at the defending state champs.

9. (9) Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.), 4-1
The Jaguars stand pat despite an 89-73 loss to Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) over the weekend at the Marshall County Hoopfest. No shame in that, as Oak Hill has won 54 games in a row and is ranked No. 4 in the MaxPreps Academy Top 10.

10. (11) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 7 vs. Lower Merion (Ardmore)

11. (12) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 16 vs. Neptune

12. (14) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 7 vs. Jesuit (Carmichael)

13. (17) Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.), 5-0
Reigning Florida Player of the Year Joel Berry is off to a productive start for the Highlanders, posting 28.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 3.8 assists per game.

14. (18) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 3 vs. Gonzaga

15. (21) Tift County (Tifton, Ga.), 1-0
Future Kansas Jayhawk Brannen Greene was impressive in his Blue Devil debut Saturday night, scoring 30 points as Tift County rocked Westover 89-67.

16. (16) Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.), 1-0
The Huskies survived an upset bid by San Leandro last Monday, prevailing 77-72. Next up is No. 12 Archbishop Mitty on Saturday.

17. (22) St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 3 vs. Banning at El Rancho Tournament

18. (NR) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 1-0
Six teams from one state feels like an awful lot, but for now all of the Golden State entrants are deserving. Senior guard Elijah Brown led the Monarchs with 28 points in a 65-55 win over St. Joseph (Westchester, Ill.) at the Chicago Elite Classic.

19. (NR) Duncanville (Texas), 12-1
The Panthers were stunned by Mansfield Timberview (Arlington) on Saturday, but boast an impressive resume with notable wins over No. 20 DeSoto, North Crowley (Fort Worth) and Prestonwood Christian (Plano). Under first-year coach Danny Henderson, who is coming off back-to-back 5A titles at Marcus (Flower Mound), Duncanville is allowing just 43.6 points per game.

20. (19) DeSoto (Texas), 10-1
The Eagles captured the title at the Arlington Classic over the weekend, thumping highly regarded South Grand Prairie in the final, 60-37. DeSoto's only loss came in the final of the McDonald's Texas Invitational to No. 19 Duncanville.

21. (24) Omaha Central (Neb.), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 7 vs. Omaha Westside

22. (25) Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone, N.J.), 0-0
Season opener: Dec. 14 vs. Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.)

23. (NR) Ridgeway (Memphis, Tenn.), 2-0
The Roadrunners replaced all five starters from last year's 30-win club, but already own a win over White Station, which brings us to ...

24. (20) White Station (Memphis, Tenn.), 5-1
Things are going to get crazy in Memphis this season. The Spartans knocked off the top team in Arkansas (Little Rock Hall) on its home floor Saturday. Guess what? White Station and Ridgeway play again Tuesday.

25. (NR) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.), 4-0
Several teams that haven't played could have slipped into this spot, but the Tigers – Xcellent 25 regulars in recent years – played their way in by outscoring their first four opponents by nearly 30 points per game. Junior transfer point guard Lance Tejada II is averaging 16.5 points and eight assists per outing.

Dropped out: No. 3 Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas), No. 13 Proviso East (Maywood, Ill.), No. 15 Indianapolis Cathedral, No. 23 Callaway (Jackson, Miss.)