RELATED:  Preseason Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | All-Time Honorees | Ballislife Podcast Network |

In the race for national player of the year honors, the post-season and national all-star games are traditionally a big factor in deciding who earns the title Mr. Basketball USA, the production-based national player of the year honor selected by Ballislife's 10-man panel of national scouts. This year's national player of the year race was wide-open from the start and the results of the final Mr. Basketball USA Tracker reveal some surprising results.

Dariq Whitehead, the Duke-bound wingman who contributed to four excellent Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) teams over his career, capped off his four-year run by topping the voting tally in this season's final tracker. Today, Whitehead is honored with the title of 2021-22 Mr. Basketball USA.

In his career, Whitehead helped the Eagles win back-to-back FAB 50 national titles in 2020 and 2021. In 2020, Whitehead was a reserve on one of the greatest teams of all-time and one of seven players to average between 8.3 ppg and 13.9 ppg. The team's ringleaders were leading scorer and 2020 Mr. Basketball USA Cade Cunningham and third leading scorer Scottie Barnes (11.6 ppg), who was also second in rebounding (6.5), second in assists (4.6 apg) first in deflections (1.7 dpg), and first in steals (1.9 spg). Just this week, Barnes was named NBA Rookie of the Year for the Toronto Raptors, while Cunningham came in third in the voting behind 2020 Mr. Basketball USA runner-up Evan Mobley (Barnes was No. 5 in the final voting).

Last season, Whitehead averaged 10.4 ppg on a balanced team that won its second consecutive mythical national title. That team was led by national junior of the year Jalen Duren, who finished third in the final 2021 Mr. Basketball USA voting with 66 total points behind unanimous honoree Chet Holmgren of Gonzaga (100 points out of a possible 100) and runner-up Jabari Smith of Auburn (79 points). Duren, along with highly-regarded prospect Emoni Bates (the 2020 National Sophomore of the Year) both re-classed up and played for Memphis in 2021-22. The void they left helped create the wide-open race heading into 2021-22.

Whitehead came in No. 5 in the preseason balloting (40 points while appearing on six of 10 ballots). The leader in the clubhouse was 7-foot-1 center Dereck Lively of Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.), who appeared on all ten ballots, received seven first place votes and finished with 84 points.

Whitehead stepped up big-time after Duren left for Memphis and the Mr. Basketball USA panel took notice. Whitehead led Montverde Academy to a 22-4 season, including a GEICO Nationals title and final No. 2 FAB 50 ranking. Whitehead hit the big jump shot in the GEICO Nationals title game win over Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) and averaged 15.7 ppg, 5.7 apg, and 3.0 rpg in three games at the end-of-season event. For the season, Whitehead averaged 17.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 3.8 apg for the nation's No. 2 team in the FAB 50.

Whitehead cemented his status as 2021-22's top performer at the national all-star games, which allowed him to over take preseason front-runner Lively, his future Duke teammate as part of new coach John Scheyer's top-rated recruiting class. Whitehead was named MVP at the McDonald’s All-American Game (13 pts, 7 rbs, 7 asts) and also shined for Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit with a team-high 17 points, including 5-of-7 3-pointers.

Whitehead and Lively received all 10 first place votes, with Whitehead receiving seven, one second place vote (9 points), one fifth place vote (six points) and one sixth place vote (five points) for 90 total points. Lively didn't appear at all on one ballot and, in addition to his three first place votes, received two second places votes, one third place vote, one fourth, one sixth and one 10th place vote for a total of 69 points.

"I'm so happy and proud of Dariq," said Montverde Academy coach Kevin Boyle. "He started at Montverde Academy in the eighth grade and has matured to incredible heights as a person, player and student."

Only one other player appeared on all ten ballots alongside Whitehead among 24 candidates: shooting guard Keyonte George of IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). He garnered one second place vote and three third place votes and finished five points behind Lively with 64 points. Two of Whitehead's teammates at Montverde Academy (Texas bound Dillon Mitchell and junior Kwame Evans) and two of George's teammates at IMG Academy (Houston bound Jarace Walker and Alabama bound Jaden Bradley) also received player of the year votes. It speaks to the wide open nature of the balloting and the consensus opinion of the panel that there are no sure-fire top NBA Draft pick types at the level Holmgren and Smith were graded at the top of the 2021 class, which made the voting this season as difficult as any in the 15-year history of the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker.

"I believe there is very little separation between No. 1 and No. 10 and no clear cut best combination of player talent and season production," said panel member Van Coleman of Nothing But Net Magazine. This was the toughest voting in years, likely due to class hopping and pro opportunities."

"This was perhaps the toughest selections ever; not just one (or even two or three) clear cut candidates for No. 1," said panel member Frank Burlison of BurlisonOnBasketball.com. "I gave Whitehead the nod because Montverde 'won it all' on the prep school level, plus he was very good in all of his team’s key games, as well as during the all-star game circuit."

The 10-man Mr. Basketball USA panel feels there is still time and room for this class to grow, which is exactly what Whitehead did during his five years at Montverde Academy. It will be interesting to see how the majority of these fine high school players develop and perform at the college level next season.

For now, Whitehead exhibited all the qualities and met the criteria to be named the nation's best high school player. If history is any indication, Whitehead is one the path to a successful career at the next levels of the game.

Editor's Note: Click on the "+" sign next to each player's number to view how many first, second, third or fourth place votes he got and his overall point total. Previous tracker results are also listed ("Prev.").

2021-22 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel

Paul Biancardi, ESPN National Director of Basketball Recruiting
Frank Burlison, BurlisonOnBasketball.com Publisher
Van Coleman, Nothing But Net Magazine
Jordan Divens, Maxpreps.com National Basketball Editor
Ronnie Flores, www.ebooksnet.com National Grassroots Editor
Chris Lawlor, Blue Star Media National Analyst
Jerry Meyer, McDonald's All-American Voter
Horace Neysmith, AllMetroHoops.com
Patrick Stanwood, Patrick Stanwood Basketball
Dinos Trigonis, Fullcourt Press Editor & Publisher

About Basketball USA Tracker Panel
www.ebooksnet.com's panel of 10 experts, which includes six McDonald’s All-American selection committee members, casts its vote for the top national player of the year candidates. Each panelist lists his top seven candidates regardless of class. The votes are then tabulated on a 10-point scoring system with a first-place vote equaling 10 points, a second-place vote earning nine points and down to four points for a seventh-place vote. The number in parenthesis refers to the numbers of ballots on which a player appeared and previous rankings refers to position in the previous tracker.

For the all-time list of Mr. Basketball USA honorees, CLICK HERE.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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RELATED: All-Time Mr. Basketball USA Winners | Final 2020-21 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker 

As a young player on the Team Final travel ball club, Dereck Lively II of Westtown School (West Chester, Pa.) once backed up Jalen Duren. Duren was physically advanced and it was evident he was going to be an elite player. Not only did Lively begin on his travel ball club as a back-up, his development was further slowed by a broken foot during his freshman campaign. Just as any developing big man, it took some time for him to grow into his body and show signs of becoming one of the nation's most sought-after recruits.

So after backing up his good friend, it's ironic Lively is now replacing him as the top vote-getter for the nation's most prestigious individual honor: Mr. Basketball USA. After leading Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) to the 2020-21 FAB 50 national title and teaming up with Lively to lead Team Final to the 2021 Nike EYBL Peach Jam title, Duren decided to re-classify up and join Memphis for the 2021-22 season.

Duren's decision came after finishing last season as the No. 3 vote-getter in the final 2020-21 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker behind Jabari Smith (Auburn) and 2020-21 honoree Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga). Duren decided to team up with Emoni Bates, who finished tied for No. 7 in last year's final Mr. Basketball USA voting and briefly played for Team Final, at Memphis. It's a foregone conclusion without the nationwide Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) policy the NCAA approved on July 1, 2021, Duren and Bates would not be playing for Memphis right now The duo still might be in the high school ranks or pursuing professional opportunities.

NCAA NIL reform, along with emerging professional opportunities for elite high school players (G League Ignite, Overtime Elite, NBL Next Star program), has undoubtedly changed the high school and grassroots landscape. This change is reflected in the preseason voting for national player of the year. With Duren, Bates and a few other underclass elites gone from the high school game, Lively was the top vote-getter among the 10-man tracker panel that make up the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com. Lively was the only player among 22 candidates to appear on all ten ballots.

Lively tallied seven first place votes and finished with 84 out of a possible 100 points to easily best second place vote-getter Amari Bailey of preseason FAB 50 No. 9 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) with 69 points. The explosive shooting guard headed to UCLA received five second place votes and three third place ones, but didn't appear on two ballots.

Lively's point total perhaps is a bit surprising only because he is the first leading preseason vote-getter in 15 years whom did not appear on a single ballot in the final tally from the previous season. Not only did Lively have to recover from his foot injury, the COVID-19 pandemic was another hurdle he had to overcome. When it broke out in winter of 2020, he was a nondescript prospect from a national perspective. College scouts were unable to see him live in the summer of 2020 and Westtown School only played three games during his junior season.

He was regarded as a Top 50 national prospect until last spring, when he began displaying his ability on a national scale as a big-time defensive game-changer and rim protector. Lively led the EYBL in blocked shots (3.7 big) and added 8.4 ppg and 6.7 rpg in 15 outings. He then led Peach Jam in blocked shots as Team Final captured the prestigious event title for the first time in program history.

He was also rated as our No. 2 performer at the 2021 Pangos All-American Camp behind, you guess it, his friend and teammate Duren. That was, of course, before Duren decided to take advantage of new NIL legislation and jump early to the college ranks. Of the 22 preseason vote-getters, only Bailey and No. 3 vote getter DJ Wagner of FAB 50 No. 4 Camden (N.J.) were significant candidates during the 2020-21 season and Bailey is the only returning Elite All-American still in high school basketball. Duren, Bates and Scoot Henderson of Kell (Marietta, Ga.), who signed a two-year with the NBA G League Ignite team, were high school All-Americans that left the high school ranks early.

"The biggest thing I see is this is the first year affected by high school players going to pro leagues and it's an anomaly year," said said panel member Van Coleman of Global Sports Television and Nothing But Net Magazine. "The top two prospects in high school basketball going into this year (Duren and Bates), didn't really challenge Chet Holmgren last year, but at that point it didn't seem like they knew what they were going to do in the off-season. NIL options for college, plus Overtime Elite and the NBA G League taking high school players with eligibility, all affects how this year's voting will go."

The race to challenge Lively for the only production-based national high school basketball national player of the year honor is wide open, especially with last year's top underclass candidates no longer part of the equation. Twelve candidates appeared on only one ballot, which indicates a host of prospects can challenge the top core group as the season rolls along based on their individual play and team success. This year should also see a return of the plethora of national level holiday tournaments and showcases where many of the top candidates will have the opportunity to play in head-to-head matchups. Last season those were limited in scope and some regions did not have official seasons at all.

Bailey was the only other candidate besides Lively to appear on eight ballots, with Wagner nabbing two first place votes despite his absence on three ballots. The third candidate to receive a first place vote was point guard Jaden Bradley of preseason FAB 50 No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). He also had a No. 2 vote, and a No. 3, while finishing in sixth place with 33 overall points. His new IMG Academy teammate Keyonte George, had two second place, third place and fourth place votes apiece to finish at No. 4 in the balloting with one less overall point than Wagner (49 points), the only junior among the top 10 candidates.

"The jury is still out how these new pro leagues are going to affect the first couple of classes with these options," Coleman said. "Things may settle down after a couple of years, but it's still too early to tell if these changes are positive or negative for the best players."

Stay logged in to www.ebooksnet.com to track the progress of the nation's top individual players and the nation’s Top teams.

Editor's Note: Click on the "+" sign next to each player's number to view how many first, second, third or fourth place votes he got and his overall point total.

About Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel
www.ebooksnet.com's panel of 10 experts, which includes six McDonald’s All-American selection committee members, casts its vote for the top national player of the year candidates. Each panelist lists his top seven candidates regardless of class. The votes are then tabulated on a 10-point scoring system with a first-place vote equaling 10 points, a second-place vote earning nine points and down to four points for a seventh-place vote. The number in parenthesis refers to the numbers of ballots on which a player appeared and previous rankings refers to position in last season's final tracker.

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