Saint Mary’s-bound point guard Jordan Ford was a standout for three years at CIF Sac-Joaquin Section powerhouse Folsom. Photo: SportStarsOnline.com.
As is another of our traditions, we present our expanded, final Top 40 overall boys basketball team rankings, this time covering the 2015-16 season. Teams getting a bump based on the CIF state finals are Corona Centennial and Inglewood, but we only dropped Open Division finalist De La Salle from fourth to fifth. For reasons why did those moves, plus writeups on all 40 teams, check out this post.
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Cal-Hi Sports Final Top 40
Boys Basketball State Rankings
(Preseason ranking in parentheses; through games of Saturday, March 26; additional writeups by Mark Tennis & Paul Muyskens)
1. (1) CHINO HILLS 35-0
The Huskies were officially named Cal-Hi Sports State Team of the Year on Monday, and are the No. 1 team in the FAB 50 National Rankings with the final rankings to be released on April 4. Lost in all the hoopla is that the Huskies are the first ever team from the greater Inland Empire region to finish ranked No. 1 in the state, no small feat in itself. Chino Hills was the preseason No. 1 ranked team in the state (at least in our rankings) and played up to expectations, averaging 98.5 points per game and simply dominating the state’s top teams in the CIF Southern Section and in the CIF Open Division. An underrated aspect of Chino Hills’ title run was the team defensive concept, anchored by freshman Onyeka Okongwu, which came into focus during the regional playoffs. Of course, this team was led by UCLA-bound Lonzo Ball, the state’s all-time assist leader who had one of the state’s best individual seasons in recent memory. The main reason the team went from 24-8 on the court with a loss in the D1 state title game to a historic season one year later, however, was the addition of Okongwu and junior Eli Scott.
