First of all…..what? Ok, so you apparently have to do better than win the two most elite AAU events in the entire country to finish better than 4th in the national rankings according to this piece from Five Star Basketball. Now, normally I like and respect the work of the guys over at Five Star, but this is a bit absurd. After all, the Louisville Magic won the Adidas Classic in Indianapolis last month and just picked up another title at the prestigious Super 64 event in Las Vegas last week. Also, the Magic absolutely steamrolled Team Thad (which finished 2nd in the rankings) by 20 points two weeks ago head to head. The Magic, coached by former Louisville great Ellis Myles, have a roster full of future D-1 prospects including a pair of top-25 players in Louisville-bound Quentin Snider and Louisville recruit D’Angelo Russell. Snider and Russell both put on an absolute clinic out in Vegas and brought home Co-MVP honors for the Super 64 event.

So, the moral of the story here is: Well, actually, I have no idea what the moral is. But apparently winning the most prestigious events in the country, having a stacked roster and beating other teams that finished ahead of you, isn’t enough to warrant a higher ranking than 4th. Got it.