THE TIMES' RANKINGS

THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

By Ben Bolch

Dec. 3, 2001 12 AM PT

Rankings of the Southland’s top 25 boys’ basketball teams:

1. Westchester (0-0)(CS--Western): The carnage begins Wed. vs. Locke.

2. Long Beach Poly (0-0)(SS--Moore): Jackrabbits keep tabs on football team.

3. Inglewood (0-0)(SS--Bay): Sentinels’ biggest opponent to date: boredom.

4. Fairfax (4-0)(CS--Western): Ten-point victory over Redondo Union caps great first week.

5. Mater Dei (1-0)(SS--Serra): Marcel Jones, Mike Garrity look like keepers.

6. Fremont (0-0)(CS--Coliseum): Geoffrey Clayton ready to put off-season behind him.

7. Redondo Union (3-1)(SS--Bay): Narrow loss to Fairfax no reason to drop Seahawks in rankings.

8. Villa Park (1-0)(SS--Century): Coach Kevin Reynolds wishes he had skinny post player Sean Phaler’s metabolism.

9. Glendora (1-0)(SS--Baseline): Tartans blow past Quartz Hill in opener.

10. Santa Margarita (3-0)(SS--Serra): Eagles devour three creampuffs.

11. Eisenhower (1-0)(SS--Citrus Belt): Sean Marshall and Cory McJimson combine for 34 points vs. Perris.

12. Riverside King (1-0)(SS--Sunkist): Wolves serve notice that Ocean View has been downgraded to a garden view.

13. Capistrano Valley (4-1)(SS--South Coast): Cougars play well at Clovis West tournament.

14. Canyon Springs (4-1)(SS--Ivy): Cowboys’ only loss at Clovis West tournament was to power Clovis West.

15. Corona Centennial (0-0)(SS--Mountain View): Huskies’ tired theme song--”Who Let The Dogs Out?”--thankfully muzzled in opening week.

16. Pasadena Muir (2-0)(SS--Pacific): Mustangs in gear after narrow opening win.

17. Thousand Oaks (0-0)(SS--Marmonte): Lancers spent first week pondering great mysteries--Rubik’s Cube and BCS standings.

18. Claremont (1-1)(SS--Baseline): Wolfpack not quite ready for prime time.

19. Compton Centennial (0-0)(SS--Bay): Apaches watch as city rival Dominguez implodes with 2-3 start.

20. El Segundo (4-0)(SS--Ocean): Eagles off to strong start; will it last?

21. Mission Viejo (4-0)(SS--South Coast): Travis Niesen stars in Diablo Inferno tournament.

22. Harvard-Westlake (4-0)(SS--Mission): Not only are the kids smart, they can play a little basketball too.

23. El Dorado (4-0)(SS--Empire): Golden Hawks need to do more to prove worth.

24. Downey Cal. Chap. (0-0)(SS--Academy): Grizzlies face stiff tests this week.

25. Price (0-0)(SS--Express): Opens with Leuzinger on Tuesday.

High School Sports

Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

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