Preseason NPP Top 25: No. 11 DeMatha

11. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
Last year: 31-4, Washington Catholic Athletic Conference champion
Coach: Mike Jones
Top players: G Jerian Grant (6-4, Sr.); G Victor Oladip (6-4, Sr.); C Chris Frank (6-10, Sr.); G Quinn Cook (6-1, Jr.); F Mikael Hopkins (6-9, Jr.); G James Robinson (6-2, So.)
Top games: Dec. 12 vs. Benedictine (Va.); Jan. 18 vs. No. 8 Mater Dei at Hoophall Classic (Springfield, Mass.)
Notable: Four starters and five more players with varsity experience are back for the Stags, who won their sixth WCAC championship of the decade. Blue chipper Cook was the starting point guard for USA Basketball’s 16-under team last summer. His backcourt mates – Grant (Notre Dame) and Oladipo (Indiana) – are Division I recruits. If DeMatha has a weakness, it might be settling on one go-to guy.
Quotable: “We will have tremendous balance. Guard play will be as good as we have ever had and our inside game will be dominant on both ends of the floor.” – Jones, who was a starter on DeMatha’s last undefeated team (1991) before playing collegiately at Old Dominion.