Northeast Florida high school boys basketball Power Poll: Perfect Orange Park tops ranking

Clayton Freeman, Florida Times-Union
·3 min read
Orange Park's Josiah Sabino (right) blocks a shot against Choctawhatchee during the playoffs. The Raiders are unbeaten to start 2021-22.
Orange Park's Josiah Sabino (right) blocks a shot against Choctawhatchee during the playoffs. The Raiders are unbeaten to start 2021-22.

Here are this week’s Times-Union’s high school boys basketball Power Rankings, highlighting the leading teams in Florida High School Athletic Association competition from across Northeast Florida. The rankings are released each Sunday through the end of the regular season. In the 2021-22 season, three Jacksonville-area teams are fighting to return to the FHSAA final four: Impact Christian, West Nassau and Jackson all qualified for the 2020-21 state tournament at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. Records are through Dec. 23 games. The girls rankings appear Saturdays. In addition, rankings for girls and boys soccer appear Mondays and Tuesdays, respectively.

1. Orange Park (11-0, 5A).

Last week: 3.

This week: The Raiders are moving up, and celebrating another Josiah Sabino milestone along the way. The explosive senior achieved his latest magic moment on Monday, tallying a career-high 38 points in an 80-47 rout of Panhandle foe Fleming Island. That concludes an unbeaten first half to the season for Orange Park, which won't play again until Jan. 3 at Providence.

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2. Jackson (9-2, 4A)

Last week: 5.

This week: A perfect week for the Tigers, who emerged victorious from the Battle on the Island against three top opponents. Jackson beat Auburndale 66-58, topped Eleanor McMain of Louisiana 44-42 and then downed formerly-unbeaten host Fleming Island 67-51. The star of the show was guard Andre Myers, who nailed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the semifinal and combined with backcourt teammate Fred Gaines to lead the success against Fleming Island. After a few days off, Jackson starts Wednesday in the Northwest Christmas Tournament at Ribault, with Raines first on the list.

3. Fleming Island (13-1, 6A).

Last week: 1.

This week: The winning run ended at 13 games for the Golden Eagles. Fleming Island romped past Plant City Durant 87-67 and Sanford Seminole 83-58 in the Battle on the Island, before a 67-51 loss to Jackson in the final. Even without guard Bennie McDuffie, Fleming Island put up points in bunches, including two double-doubles from forward Ahman Greenidge and back-to-back double-digit scoring nights from Antoine Sandy, Gavin Rayes and Colton Zapp. Next up is a trip across the border to Georgia for the Showdown in Savannah.

4. Riverside (9-3, 5A).

Last week: 4.

This week: An off week for the Generals. They're back on the court Monday for the Mainland Christmas Shootout in Daytona Beach, where they're scheduled to tip off against Lake Wales, Eustis and West Orange.

5. North Florida Educational (8-4, 2A)

Last week: 2.

This week: NFEI went 0-2 this week in Las Vegas, playing the second half of the Tarkanian Classic. Playing in the Spalding Silver division, the Eagles went down 83-77 to Trinity Leadership and 73-61 to Legacy (Texas). NFEI begins more tournament action Monday at the Big Shots High School Winter Jam in Advance, N.C., with opponents to include Elevation Prep and Quality Education Academy of North Carolina.

On the bubble: Creekside (6-2, 7A), Fletcher (9-3, 6A), Nease (8-3, 6A), Palatka (6-2, 4A), Paxon (9-1, 4A), Ponte Vedra (7-2, 6A), Providence (7-3, 3A), Raines (7-4, 5A).

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville boys basketball power rankings: Orange Park climbs