News4JAX boys basketball Super 6: Clay County teams make turn into new year 1-2

The Super 6 basketball polls are published Tuesday (girls) and Wednesday (boys) during the regular season.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX Super 6 boys basketball rankings will be published each Wednesday during the regular season with the exception of a break for the holidays. Records are through Dec. 21.

Super 6 boys basketball rankings

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Rank, (Previous), School, Record, Classification

1. (1) Fleming Island (12-0, Class 6A)

Notable wins: Auburndale, Episcopal, Impact Christian, Nease, Oakleaf, Raines, Riverside (twice).

Glance: Fleming continues to surge. The Golden Eagles passed their most difficult challenge of the season last Saturday in a 64-60 win over Auburndale. They also beat Durant (87-67) and Impact (56-37) in their other two games since our last Super 6. Colton Zapp (13.4 ppg), Antoine Sandy (11.2 ppg), Ahman Greenidge (10.4 ppg, 8.9 rpg) all ticked up their scoring averages since last check-in. Even with G Bennie McDuffie sidelined the last three games, Fleming hasn’t missed a beat.

2. (4) Orange Park (11-0, Class 5A)

Notable wins: Bishop Kenny, Bolles, Creekside, West Nassau.

Glance: The beat goes on for the Raiders. Two of the area’s best teams are in Clay County this season, with OP and top-ranked Fleming still unbeaten as the Super 6 hits the Christmas break. Three wins for the Raiders since our last rankings, with a solid W over Bishop Kenny (67-47), and easy wins over out-of-area teams Port St. Joe (80-37) and Franklin County (80-47). OP makes the turn into the new year with a tough Jan. 3 game at Providence and a Jan. 8 showdown at Jackson.

3. (2) North Florida Educational (6-2, Class 2A)

Notable wins: Impact Christian, Potter’s House, Riverside, Villa Park (Calif.), West Nassau.

Glance: The Eagles went 2-2 at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, beating Villa Park (67-63) and Millenium (68-63) and losing to Trinity Leadership (83-77) and Legacy (Texas), 73-61. Not a bad finish in a national event for the Eagles. They’re off until Monday.

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

Notable wins: Bishop Snyder, Fletcher, Jackson, Ponte Vedra, Raines.

Glance: Two wins since our last Super 6 for the Generals, a 72-35 rout of Atlantic Coast, and a big W, 51-46 over previous No. 3 Jackson. Tournament time next week for Riverside, which gets Lake Wales, Eustis and West Orange, all sub-.500 teams, after Christmas. Riverside’s losses are to NFEI and Fleming Island (twice).

5. (3) Jackson (7-2, Class 4A)

Notable wins: Auburndale, Florida High, PK Yonge.

Glance: The Tigers’ return to the court after a 10-day break wound up a 51-46 loss to Riverside. They rebounded with a 66-58 win over a very good Auburndale team in the Fleming Island tournament. They’ll wrap up their pre-Christmas stretch in that event before going into post-Christmas mode with another tournament beginning Dec. 29 with a game against a much-improved Raines team.

6. (6) Ponte Vedra (7-2, Class 6A)

Notable wins: Bolles, Impact Christian, Nease, Providence.

Glance: The Sharks have won three in a row since dropping their first two games in the Fortegra tournament. Their lone win since the last Super 6 was a 74-30 rout of Westside. They’re off the rest of the week and pick things back up Monday in the Naples Golden Gate tournament. Ross Candelino (11.6 ppg), Nathan Bunkosky (10.4 ppg), JT Kelly (10.3 ppg) and Luke Pirris (9.8 ppg) lead an exceptionally balanced Sharks team. Some strong contenders for this No. 6 spot (Paxon, Raines, Ribault), but I’m keeping the Sharks here this week.

On the bubble

Bishop Kenny (4-5, Class 4A); Bishop Snyder (3-5, Class 3A); Bolles (4-5, Class 4A); Clay (5-3, Class 5A); Columbia (5-3, Class 6A); Creekside (6-2, Class 7A); Episcopal (4-6, Class 3A); Fletcher (7-3, Class 6A); Hope Christian (7-3, independent); Impact Christian (4-6, Class 2A); Mandarin (6-4, Class 7A); Nease (8-3, Class 6A); Palatka (6-2, Class 4A); Paxon (9-1, Class 5A); Providence (6-2, Class 3A); Raines (7-4, Class 5A); Ribault (6-2, Class 5A); St. Augustine (7-4, Class 6A); San Jose Prep (7-2, independent); Sandalwood (6-4, Class 7A); Seacoast Christian (8-5, Class 2A); West Nassau (3-5, 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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