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News4JAX Super 6 boys basketball: Ponte Vedra moves up as Fortegra tourney looms

The News4JAX boys basketball rankings are published Wednesday's during the regular season. (News4JAX)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX Super 6 boys high school basketball rankings will be published each Wednesday — except during Christmas week — through the regular season. Records are through Dec. 4,

News4JAX Super 6 boys basketball

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Rank, Previous, School, Record, Classification

1. (1) Ribault (3-0, Class 4A)

Notable win: Riverside.

Glance: The Trojans have been off since our last Super 6 but they return in a huge way on Thursday. Ribault squares off with No. 2 Oakleaf in the opening round of the Fortegra Invitational at Florida State College at Jacksonville. G Caleb Williams is averaging 23.3 ppg and 9.3 apg. F Jamian Jackson (15.7 ppg) and Jaheim Robinson (11 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. Neither Ribault nor Oakleaf have much meat on the bone in terms of major wins thus far, but that can change this week.

2. (2) Oakleaf (3-0, Class 6A)

Notable win: Bishop Kenny.

Glance: The Knights beat Ridgeview 81-48 in their lone game since our last Super 6. As mentioned above, there hasn’t been a lot of tough competition early for the area’s top two teams. Oakleaf and Ribault meet on Thursday in the Fortegra, so that problem will be solved early.

3. (3) Episcopal (5-0, Class 3A)

Notable wins: Impact Christian, Lowndes (Ga.), Munroe.

Glance: The Eagles could easily jump to the top spot in the Super 6 after this week. They open the Fortegra against Georgia team Southwest on Thursday and would face the winner of Ponte Vedra-NFEI next. This team is uber talented, with G Kent Jackson one of the area’s best. I considered bumping Episcopal to the top spot this week but opted to leave ‘em here until after the Fortegra. They’re my sleeper pick to bring home the trophy.

4. (4) Paxon (5-0, Class 4A)

Notable wins: Keenan (SC), Nease, Ponte Vedra, University Christian.

Glance: Excellent start for coach Kenny Elliott and the Golden Eagles. They beat Englewood and UC since our last Super 6. They’ve played a more difficult schedule than several of our ranked teams and they’ve got a difficult Fortegra opener against Providence on Thursday at 4 p.m.

5. (6) Ponte Vedra (4-1, Class 6A)

Notable win: Impact Christian, University Christian.

Glance: The Sharks have won four straight since a loss to Paxon in the opener. They beat Impact (37-35) and UC (59-47) since our last Super 6. They’ve got NFEI to lead off the Fortegra on Thursday at 6 p.m. G Sam Ritchie (12.6 ppg), Tyler Cowan (11.4 ppg) and David Sanchez Barrera (10.6 ppg) are leading Ponte Vedra.

6. (5) Providence (2-3, Class 3A)

Notable win: Mater Lakes Academy, Villages Charter.

Glance: The Stallions schedule tough so they’ve got some losses early to out of area teams Gateway Charter, North Broward Prep and Sagemont, teams who are a combined 11.5. They had a quality win over Mater Lakes (56-45). They’ve got Paxon to lead off the Fortegra, a tournament they’ve won multiple times and could be considered a favorite to do it again. Chris Arias (15.6 ppg), Brady Patterson (9.2 ppg), Caleb McAbee (11.6 ppg) and David Fonville (12.2 ppg) lead Providence early.

On the bubble

Beachside (2-2, Class 6A); Bishop Kenny (3-4, Class 4A); Creekside (4-0, Class 7A); Fleming Island (3-2, Class 6A); Fletcher (2-1, Class 6A); Harvest Community (4-2, Class 2A); Impact Christian (1-3, Class 2A); Jackson (3-2, Class 4A); Mandarin (3-0, Class 7A); NFEI (2-3, Class 2A); Orange Park (2-1, Class 6A); Riverside (1-2, Class 5A); Tocoi Creek (2-2, Class 7A); Wolfson (5-1, Class 4A).


About the Author

Justin Barney joined News4Jax in February 2019, but he’s been covering sports on the First Coast for more than 20 years.

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