Roughly five months after the initial unveiling of the SI99 basketball rankings for 2022, the very top has remained intact.
Westtown School (West Chester, Penn.) center Dereck Lively turned in a dominant high school finale of a season, averaging 14 points, 14 rebounds and 4.5 blocks a game and claimed a state title in the process.
His senior year dominance was a carryover from a summer where he led Team Final (Penn.) to the prestigious Nike Peach Jam title.
Lively’s ability to not only live up to the hype, but to also surpass it in a season where he wore the ultimate bull’s-eye kept his grip on the No.