A detailed listing of the all-time top-rated public schools since the advent of the FAB 50 National Team Rankings in 1987-88. We take a look at the best team in the country if only public schools were involved in the rankings.
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We recently had a prominent event operator state to us that the gap between independent, academy–type programs and those belonging to state associations is “getting real noticeable”. He’s right, and there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight by these programs recruiting players off homegrown clubs.
There are two misnomers about programs such as those belonging to the EYBL Scholastic League and similar being much stronger than parochial schools and public schools. One, the best public school teams have been able to compete with parochial and independent clubs since the advent of mainstream team rankings in the 1980s. In fact, 12 special public schools teams have finished No. 1 in the FAB 50. Second, not everyone who plays for a full-time state association member school or a public school plays for their hometown team. Talented players are recruited and pushed to play at schools all over their region once it’s obvious their talents can help a program win or they are good enough to play at the next level. That recruitment is not like what we’re seeing in recent years when it comes to independent clubs playing for a FAB 50 title, but it has and does exist.
With that in mind, we take a look at the highest ranked public school team for each season in the FAB 50 era (1987-88 through the present). We are just taking a look at public schools, since in many states private and public schools are separated when it comes to competing for state titles. You might be surprised how close the best public school teams are to competing for a FAB 50 national title.
