Before the season began, La Lumiere School (La Porte, Ind.) forward Isaiah Stewart II told USA TODAY Sports that he felt the Lakers were the No. 1 team in the country, but, instead of debating it, he wanted to prove it.
Mission accomplished.
FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Boys Basketball Rankings
Stewart and the Lakers earned their way to the top spot this week, knocking off then No. 1 Montverde (Fla.) Academy 58-51 in the semifinals of the Iolani Classic (Honolulu, Hawaii) then Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) 72-58 to claim that tournament title.
Stewart, who is ranked No. 4 overall in USA TODAY Sports’ Chosen 25 for 2019, pumped in 24 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in the championship game and was named MVP of the event.
Top five teams, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and University School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) all lost in the City of Palms Classic last week, making way for the Lakers to be on top.
McEachern High School (Powder Springs, Ga.) ran the gauntlet at the City of Palms Classic and proved to be the best team there. That catapulted the Indians from No. 10 to No. 2.
Imhotep Charter School (Philadelphia) fell to the Indians in the City of Palms Classic title game, but not before knocking off two top five teams; that moved Imhotep up nine spots from No. 20 to No. 11.
Cox Mill High School (Concord, N.C.) knocked off then No. 24 Greensboro (N.C.) Day School at the Crown Town Classic and took over that spot in this week’s rankings and Curie High School (Chicago) used it’s fast 10-0 start to break in at No. 25.
