Jewish Hoops America presents a weekly “Top 25” poll; the voters’ take on the best Jewish boys’ high school basketball teams among the nearly 80 across the U.S. and Canada that it tracks.

Comparing teams who never play each other and have few common opponents is not a simple task. And there’s nothing scientific about it, as it relies on word-of-mouth; games the voters happen to see; the game tapes that (many, but not enough) coaches are good enough to send in, and games simply heard about.

A lot of getting it right depends on schools playing as many other Jewish schools as they can. Obviously, that’s done in the Yeshiva League in New York and tournaments in Toronto, Memphis, Baltimore, Houston, and elsewhere certainly help reveal who’s where in the pecking order.

The poll follows the Associated Press format for college football and basketball (just with fewer voters). Each 1st place vote is worth 25 points, 2nd place is 24 points, etc. After the Top 25, it lists all the schools that received votes. The voters are spread out around the country, all with solid hoops resumes. Some are former or current college players, others have coached high school ball and the some are just lifelong fans.