RELATED: All-Time Mr. Basketball USA Winners?| Final 2022-23 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker

Let's rewind back to the 2007 USA Basketball Training Camp in Las Vegas as Team USA was preparing to restore its dominance of international basketball. The late Kobe Bryant had requested a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers a few months before the camp and the media was going to get a chance to talk to him for the first time since as camp opened. Bryant would eventually emerge as the leader of the "Redeem Team" that won the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics in China, but at that time in 2007 he wasn't particularly close to his future Olympic teammates.

With the help of J.J. Redick, Bryant was getting up his shots without any dribbling, without any wasted motion and with little communication with his teammates. He knew there was going to be a media onslaught and it was consistent once practice was over all the way until the players left together from the gymnasium. Other Team USA players, such as Carmelo Anthony, gave Bryant a hard time about the media onslaught and enjoyed their precious time away from the spotlight.

After leaving the practice and heading to the next grassroots basketball event on our schedule that day, we ran into Chris Rivers, then Reebok Basketball's Sports Marketing Director, about the practice. We told him about the jovial practice session everyone had, expect for Bryant in how serious he took it. Rivers uttered this statement: "It's LeBron's league, but it's Kobe's world."

Rivers' statement echoes our sentiment about high school basketball and this year's race for the nation's most prestigious individual honor: Mr. Basketball USA. For the first time since LeBron James in 2002-03, high school basketball has a returning Mr. Basketball USA. That would be 6-foot-9 Cameron Boozer of FAB 50 No. 3 Columbus (Miami, Fla.), the nation's top player in 2022-23. He was the first sophomore to ever earn national player honors. In terms of accomplishment over a career, Boozer has a chance to dominate the high school game like no player since James did in the early 2000s.

If the preseason voting results by the 10-man Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel, plus comments from one of its senior members, are any indication, it's actually someone else who might be the most skilled American-born high school player with positional NBA size since the former St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) wunderkind.

That player is 6-foot-9 Duke-bound Cooper Flagg, a re-classed senior from Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) who was a third five All-American last season for the Eagles as a sophomore. While Boozer was last season's most dominant high school player and deserving of any and all accolades that come his way, the high school and grassroots world currently belongs to the sinewy forward originally from Newport, Maine.

Flagg is the top vote-getter in the?preseason 2023-24 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com with 95 total points, besting Boozer by seven (87) points overall. In a season in which 20 players received preseason recognition as a national player of the year candidate, Flagg and Boozer clearly lead the pack. The nation's top senior prospect and its top junior were the only two players to appear on each of the 10 ballots that make up the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel. Flagg, who committed to Duke on October 30 and was the 2022 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, received six first-place votes (10 points each), three second-place votes (nine each) with one ballot listing him in third place. Boozer, who beat out Isaiah Collier (USC) and Ron Holland (G-League Ignite) for the prestigious honor in 2022-23, received two first-place ballots, five second-place ones, two third-place and one fifth-place (worth six points) for his 87 points.

The two other candidates to receive a first-place vote (one each) was undecided guard Dylan Harper of FAB 50 No. 18 Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) and Rutgers-bound forward Airious "Ace" Bailey of FAB 50 No. 21 McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.). Many recruiting experts feel Harper will join Bailey at Rutgers in the fall of 2024.

Flagg made a big jump during the 2023 grassroots season in order to supplant Boozer as the top national player of the year candidate as the 2023-24 season tips off. Following his sophomore campaign for the regular season National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) champions, Flagg finished in tenth place overall while appearing on four ballots in the final Mr. Baskeball USA tally of 2022-23. Flagg averaged 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 blocked shots per game and he helped Montverde Academy qualify for GEICO Nationals for the eleventh consecutive season, but pure numbers don't begin to tell the tale of his impact. He runs the floor like a deer, is known for his defensive versatility and his big play-ability on the most talent-laden team in the country.

"There may not be a U.S. high school player of his size, 6-foot-9-ish, with his combination of skill and size since LeBron," said panel member and U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame member Frank Burlison. "I think Boozer is great, it's close, plus he's a year younger. In most other years, either guy would be a hands-down No. 1."

Two factors may play in a role in the voting that saw last year's honoree come in second this preseason. One, the top player on the No. 1 ranked team currently leads the way. Second, each season is judged differently and last season has little or no bearing on the panelists' perceptions of this year. As he did last year when he overcame the country's elite seniors, Boozer is once again going to have to overcome someone else in the pole position for Mr. Basketball USA honors.

The great thing is, the national player of the year race will be decided on the hardwood. Columbus and Montverde Academy will lock horns on December 1 (on ESPN2) at MVA to follow up on the terrific trilogy the two players had during the summer grassroots season. The two teams could meet more than once this season as well. Boozer will have plenty of opportunities to defend his title as the nation's best player, and by that December 1 game will have already played three FAB 50 ranked clubs, including versus No. 6 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) on November 22.

The voting results and the amount of terrific early season games create the most highly-anticipated early-season, high level high school hoop matchups in recent memory.

Make sure to like and subscribe to the "In the Paint" podcast and 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 five 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.

The post Preseason POY Tracker: Boozer's Crown, Flagg's World! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Related: 2022-23 All-American Elite Team | 2022-23 Mr. Basketball USA: Cameron Boozer | 2022-23 Class Players of the Year | Ballislife Podcast Network?|

Four fantastic sophomores and two juniors named to the 29th Annual All-American Elite Team headline a group of 80 elite players selected to the 2022-23 Underclass All-American team powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

In the 29 seasons of publishing annual All-American teams (and on the retroactive teams dating back to the 1954-55 season), we’ve never had four sophomores named to the All-American Elite Team or named Mr. Basketball USA.

Until now.

Power forward Cameron Boozer?of Columbus (Miami, Fla.) is not only this year’s National Sophomore of the Year, he was the leading vote-getter in the final Mr. Basketball USA Tracker by eight points (84 to 76) over senior guard Isaiah Collier?of Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.). Thus he was the first tenth-grader ever to earn the nation’s highest individual honor. Not even future NBA Hall of Famers who were National Player of the Year selections as juniors (Jerry Lucas in 1957, Lew Alcindor in 1964 and LeBron James in 2002) were as highly-honored tenth-graders as Boozer was for the 2022-23 season.

There was another tenth-grader on each of the four fives that compromised the 20-man first team: second five selection Cooper Flagg of FAB 50 No. 2 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), third five selection Koa Peat of FAB 50 No. 22 Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) and fourth five selection Meleek Thomas of FAB 50 No. 50 Lincoln Park (Midland, Pa.). Boozer and that trio is considered the top four recruits in the national 2025 class.

Two juniors were named to the first team and four more were named to the 30-man second team. Included on the second team was point guard Elliot Cadeau of FAB 50 No. 1 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.). Cadeau has already committed to North Carolina. He set two GEICO Nationals records by racking up 29 assists in three tournament games and by recording 14 in a hard-fought quarterfinal win over Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.).

Each season, players classifying up in order to speed up the recruiting process or transfer in hopes the move will be more advantageous to their development and this off-season is no different.

Zoom Diallo, who led Curtis (University Place, Wash.) to a WIAA Class 4A state crown in 2022-23, has announced he will spend his senior season at Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.). Sophomore Jeremiah Fears, the younger brother of second five All-American Elite Team selection Jeremy Fears Jr., will leave Joilet West (Joliet, Ill.) for NIBC member club Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.). Defending NIBC champion Montverde Academy has picked up point guard Robert Wright II of Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) for his 2023-24 senior campaign.

There will undoubtedly be some who seek a transfer to explore Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) endorsement deals. Some state laws prohibit or restrict NIL deals for high school athletes, but in most states it is not illegal or against state association rules to sign an endorsement deal, provided that endorsement is not facilitated with the athlete wearing or promoting garments or items trademarked by the state association or the NCAA.

Regardless of how much true NIL value talented high school All-Americans hold, expect more player movement as the summer rolls on.

National Grassroots Editor Ronnie Flores selects this performance-based squad with input from Mr. Basketball USA panelists. It is chosen after the conclusion of the season, which makes the Underclass All-American Team more reflective of players who made state championship runs.

Our national coach of the year is Pat Clatchey of Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.).

Juniors to Watch (2024)

F — Airious "Ace" Bailey, McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 6-9
G — Jalil Bethea, Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) 6-4
C — Flory Bidunga, Kokomo (Ind.) 6-10
F — K. Annor Boateng, Central (Little Rock, Ark.) 6-5
G — Elliot Cadeau, Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) 6-2
G — Zoom Diallo, Curtis (University Place, Wash.) 6-3
G — V.J. Edgecombe, Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, N.Y.) 6-5
F — Isaiah Evans, North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) 6-6
G — Johnuel “Boogie” Fland, Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 6-3
G — Riley Fox, Conrad (West Hartford, Conn.) 6-5
F — Donnie Freeman, St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) 6-8
G — Dylan Harper, Don Bosco Tech (Ramsey, N.J.) 6-5
F — Darren Harris, Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 6-5
G — Ian Jackson, Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) 6-5
F — Morez Johnson, St. Rita (Chicago, Ill.) 6-9
G — Tre Johnson, Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas) 6-5
F — Ryan Jones Jr., The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.) 6-8
F — Karter Knox, Tampa Catholic (Tampa, Fla.) 6-5
F — Kon Knueppel, Wisconsin Lutheran (Milwaukee, Wis.) 6-5
C — Peyton Marshall, Kell (Marietta, Ga.) 6-10
F — Sir Mohammed, Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C. ) 6-6
G — Ahmad Nowell, Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-0
G — Dink Pate, Pinkston (Dallas, Texas) 6-7
G — Travis Perry, Lyon County (Eddyville, Ky.) 6-2
G —Trent Perry, Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) 6-4
G — Tahaad Pettiford, Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.) 5-11
G — Labaron Philon, Baker (Mobile, Ala.) 6-4
G — Drake Powell, Northwood (Pittsboro, N.C.) 6-5
F — Derik Queen, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-8
F — Cameron Scott, Lexington (S.C.) 6-6
C — Thomas Sorber, Archbishop Ryan (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-9
F — Jarin Stevenson, Seaforth (Pittsboro, N.C.) 6-9
G — Dedan Thomas, Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) 6-1
F — Dylan Warlick, Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 6-6
G —Robert Wright II, Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-0

2023 National Junior of the Year: Tre Johnson

Sophomores to Watch (2025)

G — Darius Acuff, Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.) 6-1
G — Dante Allen, Riviera Prep (Miami, Fla.) 6-4
F — Kenyon Aguino, Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.) 6-7
F — Cameron Boozer, Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 6-8
C — DeWayne Brown, Hoover (Ala.) 6-10
C — Badara Diakite, Northwest Catholic (Hartford, Conn.) 6-9
G — Jerry Easter, Emmanuel Christian (Toledo, Ohio) 6-5
G — Jeremiah Fears, Joilet West (Joliet, Ill.) 6-3
F — Cooper Flagg, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 6-8
G —Akai Fleming, Osborne (Marietta, Ga.) 6-4
G — Kingston Flemmings, Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) 6-4
G — Jalen Haralson, Fishers (Ind.) 6-7
G — Elzie Harrington, St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 6-5
G — Tyler Jackson, St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.) 6-1
G — Dorian Jones, Richmond Heights (Richmond Heights, Ohio) 6-3
G — Nyk Lewis, Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 6-0
G — Chance Mallory, St. Anne’s-Bellfield (Charlottesville, Va.) 5-9
G — Trey McKenney, St, Mary’s Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 6-3
G — Jaron McKie, St. Joseph Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-2
F — Koa Peat, Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) 6-7
G — Darryn Peterson, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) 6-5
F — Pupu Sepulona, St. Louis (Honululu, Hawaii) 6-7
G — C.J. Shaw, Mojave (North Las Vegas, Nev.) 6-4
F — Trent Sisley, Heritage Hills (Lincoln City, Ind.) 6-8
F — Brandon Stores Jr., St. Raymond (Bronx, N.Y.) 6-4
G — Meleek Thomas, Lincoln Park Performing Arts (Midland, Pa.) 6-3
G — Cameron Ward, Largo (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 6-5
F — Zymicah Wilkins, R.S. Central (Rutherfordton, N.C.) 6-8
F — Sadiq White, Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.) 6-9
F — Toundre Yessoufou, St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) 6-5

2023 National Sophomore of the Year: Cameron Boozer

Freshmen to Watch (2026)

F — Latrell Almond, John Marshall (Richmond, Va.) 6-8
F — Alexander Costanza, Westminster Christian (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 6-8
G — Jason Crowe Jr., Lynwood (Calif.) 6-2
F — A.J. Dybantsa, St. Sebastian (Needham, Mass.) 6-7
C — Sam Funches, Germantown (Madison, Miss.) 6-10
F — Caleb Gaskins, Holy Trinity Episcopal (Melbourne, Fla.) 6-7
G — Emmanuel Green, Cedar Grove (Ellenwood, Ga.) 6-5
G — Caleb Holt, Buckhorn (New Market, Ala.) 6-5
G — Kaden House, Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 6-3
F — Brannon Martinsen, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 6-8
F — Jalen Montonati, Owasso (Okla.) 6-7
G — Jayden Moore, Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) 6-0
G — Trent Perry, Lone Star (Frisco, Texas) 6-3
F — Tyran Stokes, Prolific Prep (Napa. Calif.) 6-7
G — Quincy Wadley, Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) 6-4

2023 National Freshman of the Year: Caleb Gaskins

National Coach of the Year: Pat Clatchey of Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.)

Related: 2022-23 All-American Elite Team | 2022-23 Mr. Basketball USA: Cameron Boozer | 2022-23 Class Players of the Year | Ballislife Podcast Network?|

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

The post 2022-23 Underclass All-American Elite Team appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

RELATED: All-Time Mr. Basketball USA Winners?| Final 2021-22 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker?

When putting together the 2022-23 preseason FAB 50 National Team Rankings, it was evident this was going to be a wide-open season. There was no dominant high school team over the other elite ones. On that note, it wasn't difficult to peg FAB 50 power and six-time national champion Montverde Academy (Fla.) as preseason No. 1. It was the safe pick. ?

On November 22, preseason No. 4 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), playing in its first-ever National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) game, downed Montverde Academy, 65-54. If this early-season game is any indication, the race for the FAB 50 national title will be wide open. ?

The same can be said about the nation's most prestigious individual honor: Mr. Basketball USA. If the preseason voting results by the 10-man tracker panel is any indication, a number of worthy candidates can emerge as the nation's best player for the 2022-23 season. In a season in which 21 players received recognition as a national player of the year candidate, five different candidates received at least one first-place vote (worth 10 points) and four more received at least one second-place vote (worth nine points).?

The top vote-getter in the?Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com with 71 total points was Kentucky-bound guard D.J. Wagner of preseason FAB 50 No. 7 Camden (N.J.). Wagner was the returning top vote-getter in last season's final balloting (coming in fifth place behind Mr. Basketball USA honoree Dariq Whitehead?of Montverde Academy in Florida) and led the way to begin this season by garnering four first place votes, two second place votes, a third place vote and one sixth place vote. Wagner appeared on eight ballots and no player among the?21 candidates appeared on all ten ballots. So for now Wagner leads the way, but based on the 16-year history of the tracker, where the eventual honoree usually appears on all 10 ballots and receives over 90 points, he's not a slam dunk choice. At least not yet, as Camden opens up its season in early December. ?

Similar to Montverde Academy on the team side, it would seem Wagner is a solid and the safe?choice in a year where there is no sure-fire future No. 1 NBA Draft choice.?

"No one in the senior class has established himself over the class, so D.J. (Wagner) holds up, because no one wanted it enough," said said panel member Van Coleman of Global Sports Television and Nothing But Net Magazine. "The most improved player of the summer was Cameron Boozer. If he has a season like he played at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, he could be the one. He's on course to be a special player."

Boozer, a sophomore (2025 class) at FAB 50 No. 18 Columbus (Miami, Fla.), received one first place vote and came in fourth place overall with 40 points while appearing on six ballots. Kentucky-bound Justin Edwards of No. 10 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) received one first place vote and finished tied for fifth place with returning All-American Ronald Holland of No. 7 Duncanville (Texas), who did not garner a first place vote, but did receive two second place votes and appeared on five ballots. Both Edwards and Holland finished with 36 overall points.

Michigan St.-bound big man Xavier Booker of No. 13 Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.) also garnered a single first place vote, in addition to two second place votes, and came in No. 3 overall in total points with 43. Coming in No. 2 overall behind Wagner with 57 overall points was USC-bound power guard Isaiah Collier of No. 12 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.). Collier garnered three first place votes, but no second place votes. His point total also consisted of two third place votes, one fourth place vote and one seventh place vote.

While we've known for a while the 2023 class has some work to do to match the accomplishments of the elites of recent classes, the sophomore class looks like it could develop into the best one since the 2020 class that included second year NBA players Cade Cunningham (Pistons), Evan Mobley (Cavs), Jalen Green (Rockets) and Scottie Barnes (Raptors). Not only is Boozer, the son of former NBA player Carlos Boozer, a legit national player of the year candidate, Montverde Academy's Cooper Flagg and guard Meleek Thomas of Lincoln Park Performing Arts (Midland, Pa.) were two other sophomores that also received recognition from the tracker panel.

Only two sophomores have been first five All-Americans in the last 25 years: NBA star?LeBron James of St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) in 2000-01 and Eastern Michigan wing?Emoni Bates of Lincoln (Ypsilanti, Mich.) in 2019-20. By the middle of his sophomore year when he had a spectacular outing against eventual FAB 50 champ Oak Hill Academy (Va.) in a one-point loss, there were whispers James was the best player in the country over any seniors. That 2001 class, ironically, included Wagner's father and eventual Mr. Basketball USA honoree Dajuan Wagner, who was a teammate for a time in the NBA with James.

D.J. Wagner, Dajuan and grandfather Milt (a 1981 All-American at Camden) are likely to be the first ever third generation McDonald's All-Americans next March. Should D.J. earn Mr. Basketball USA honors, he and his father would become the first father-son national player of the year combo.?

Bates finished fourth in the 2010-20 season's Mr. Basketball USA voting behind honoree Cunningham, Mobley and Green. Bates was the first sophomore ever to earn a credible national player of the year honor (Gatorade). Is what transpired to Bates over the past two years keeping Boozer from being the top candidate this season? Will the tracker panel have some reservations about placing a sophomore on too high of a pedestal? ? ? ? ?

LISTEN and WATCH (23:39) what the hosts of Ballislife's podcast have to say about the Boozer-Bates dynamic and their breakdown of the preseason Mr. Basketball USA voting.?

The post Preseason POY Tracker: Who Wants It Most? appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Related: 2021-22 All-American Elite Team | 2021-22 Mr. Basketball USA: Dariq Whitehead?| 2021-22 Class Players of the Year

Three juniors named to the 28th Annual All-American Elite Team headline a group of 80 elite players selected to the 2021-22 Underclass All-American team powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

Shooting guard DJ Wagner of Camden (Camden, N.J.), this year’s National Junior of the Year, was named to the overall All-American Elite second five and came in fifth place in the final Mr. Basketball USA Tracker. Wagner has been named class player of the year in each of his first three seasons.?Ron Holland, the ringleader for the No. 1 team in the FAB 50 at Duncanville (Texas), was also a second five selection. ??A third junior, Simeon Wilcher of Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), was the lone underclassman to make the 30-man second team. Wilcher led his team to the final New Jersey Tournament of Champions title over Wagner’s Camden club. Wilcher averaged 17.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 7.1 apg for the No. 9 team in the FAB 50 and went for 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the TOC title game.

Each season, players classifying up in order to speed up the recruiting process or transfer in hopes the move will be more advantageous to their development and this off-season is no different.

Marvel Allen, a terrific guard from Calvary Christian Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), has already announced he will spend his senior season at Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.). Forward Naasir Cunningham of Gill St. Bernard’s (Gladstone, N.J.), one of the top sophomores in the country, has announced he will forgo his final two seasons of traditional high school eligibility to sign with Overtime Elite. ??OTE was created as an alternative route to professional basketball outside the path the majority of prospects take, which is NCAA college basketball. Normally signing with OTE signals the end of amateur stats, as the fledging league has been promoted as one that offers a salary to young basketball players. It’s been reported Cunningham will forgo an OTE salary, which is designed to preserve his eligibly to play NCAA basketball should he choose that route after his time with OTE.

OTE will explore Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) endorsement deals for Cunningham. Some state laws prohibit or restrict NIL deals for high school athletes, but in most states it is not illegal or against state association rules to sign an endorsement deal, provided that endorsement is not facilitated with the athlete wearing or promoting garments or items trademarked and/or licensed by the state association or the NCAA.

Despite some of these underclass All-Americans being perceived with NIL valuations up to seven figures by recruiting networks, not many details for the few NIL deals that do exist for high school athletes have been made public.

Will NIL eventually have a major impact at the high school level in light of the various laws and policies around the country? NIL will eventually be regulated to some extent at the NCAA level since all the programs fall under the jurisdiction of the NCAA. That uniform regulation won’t exist at the high school level.

Regardless of where NIL is headed at the collegiate and high school level, expect more player movement as the summer rolls on.

National Grassroots Editor Ronnie Flores selects this performance-based squad with input from Mr. Basketball USA panelists. It is chosen after the conclusion of the season, which makes the Underclass All-American Team more reflective of players who made state championship runs.

Our national coach of the year is Joe Auer of Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.).

Juniors to Watch (2023)

G — Marvel Allen, Calvary Christian (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) 6-4
F — Matas Buzelis, Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) 6-9
G — Layden Blocker, Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 6-2
G — Kylan Boswell, AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) 6-1
G — Stephon Castle, Newton (Covington, Ga.) 6-6
G — Isaiah Collier, Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 6-2
G — Gabe Cupps, Centerville (Centerville, Ohio) 6-2
G — Freddie Dilione, Word of God (Raleigh, N.C.) 6-5
G — Robert Dillingham, Donda Academy (Simi Valley, Calif.) 6-2
F — Justin Edwards, Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-7
C — Baye Fall, Denver Prep (Denver, Col.) 6-10
G — Caleb Foster, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 6-2
C — Brandon Garrison, Del City (Del City, Okla.) 6-9
F — Greg Jones, Hayfield (Alexandria, Va.) 6-6
F — Rayvon Griffith, Taft (Cincinnati, Ohio) 6-6
F — Amani Hansberry, Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 6-7
F — Ronald Holland, Duncanville (Duncanville, Texas) 6-8
G — Josh Hubbard, Ridgeland Academy (Madison Miss.) 5-10
F — G.G. Jackson, Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.) 6-9
G — London Johnson, Norcross (Ga.) 6-4
G — Ty-Laur Johnson, St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, N.J.) 6-0
G — K.J. Lewis, Chapin (El Paso, Texas) 6-4
G — Jared McCain, Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 6-2
F — Mackenzie Mgbako, Gill St. Bernard (Gladstone, N.J.) 6-7
G — Ruben Rodriguez, Reading (Reading, Pa.) 6-1
G — Jackson Shelstad, West Linn (Ore.) 6-0
G — Reed Sheppard, North Laurel (London, Ky.) 6-3
F — Sean Stewart, Windmere (Fla.) 6-8
F — Dusty Stromer, Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) 6-7
F — Daily Swain, Africentric Early College (Columbus, Ohio) 6-6
G — R.J. Taylor, Grand Blanc (Mich.) 5-11
G — D.J. Wagner, Camden (N.J.) 6-2
F — Ja’Kobe Walter, McKinney (McKinney, Texas) 6-5
G — Simeon Wilcher, Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) 6-4
G — Wesley Yates III, Beaumont United (Beaumont, Texas) 6-4

2022 National Junior of the Year: D.J. Wagner

Sophomores to Watch (2024)

G — Marcus Allen, Norland (Miami, Fla.) 6-6
F — Jason Asemota, Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) 6-7
F — Airious Bailey, McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) 6-7
C — Flory Bidunga, Kokomo (Ind.) 6-10
G — Tayshawn Bridges, Milwaukee Academy of Science (Milwaukee, Wis.) 6-1
G — David Castillo, Bartlesville (Bartlesville, Okla.) 6-2
F — Naasir Cunningham, Gill St. Bernard’s (Gladstone, N.J.) 6-7
C — Ayden Davis, Onsted (Mich.) 6-9
G — Zoom Diallo, Curtis (University Place, Wash.) 6-3
G — Isaiah Elohim, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) 6-4
F — Donnie Freeman, St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) 6-8
G — Johnuel “Boogie” Fland, Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.) 6-3
G — Ian Jackson, Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) 6-6
F — Morez Johnson, St. Rita (Chicago, Ill.) 6-9
G — Tre Johnson, Lake Highlands (Garland, Texas) 6-5
F — Karter Knox, Tampa Catholic (Tampa, Fla.) 6-5
F — Liam McNeeley, John Paul II (Plano, Texas) 6-7
G — Vyctorius Miller, Crean Lutheran (Irvine, Calif.) 6-4
G — Juni Mobley, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 6-0
G — Sir Mohammed, Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C. ) 6-5
G — Ahmad Nowell, Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-0
G — Paul McNeil, Richmond Senior (Rockingham, N.C.) 6-5
G —Travis Perry, Lyon County (Eddyville, Ky.) 6-2
G — Tahaad Pettiford, Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.) 5-11
G — Jamari Phillips, Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.) 6-4
F — Jarin Stevenson, Seaforth (Pittsboro, N.C.) 6-9
F — Bryson Tucker, Mt. St. Joseph (Baltimore, Md.) 6-6
F — Dylan Warlick, Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 6-6
G — Robert Wright II, Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) 6-0
F — Sammie Yeahay, The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.) 6-8

2022 National Sophomore of the Year: Ian Jackson

Freshmen to Watch (2025)

F — Cameron Boozer, Columbus (Miami, Fla.) 6-8
F — Brayden Burries, Poly (Riverside, Calif.) 6-5
G — Josh Dixon, North Cobb Christian (Kennesaw, Ga.) 6-0
G — Jerry Easter, Emmanuel Christian (Toledo, Ohio) 6-5
F — Cooper Flagg, Nokomis Regional (Newport, Maine) 6-8
G — Isiah Harwell, Century (Boise, Idaho) 6-5
F — Bryce Heard, Kenwood Academy (Chicago, Ill.) 6-5
C — Parker Jefferson, Waxahachie (Texas) 6-10
F — Jamier Jones, Riverview (Sarasota, Fla.) 6-5
G — Trey McKenney, St, Mary’s Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) 6-3
F — Koa Peat, Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) 6-7
G — Darryn Peterson, Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) 6-5
G — Jovani Ruff, Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 6-4
G —Cameron Ward, Largo (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 6-5
F — Tounde Yessoufou, St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) 6-5

2022 National Freshman of the Year: Cameron Boozer

National Coach of the Year: Joe Auer of Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.)

Related: 2021-22 All-American Elite Team | 2021-22 Mr. Basketball USA: Dariq Whitehead?| 2021-22 Class Players of the Year

Note: ESPN selections 2010-2012; EA SPORTS selections 2003-2009; Student Sports selections prior to 2003; Selections are based on high school accomplishment, not future college/pro potential, and are reflective of those that lead their teams to state championships. The editors of www.ebooksnet.com do not knowingly select fifth-year players, and those ineligible due to age or academics, Mr. Basketball USA or to its various All-American teams.

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

The post 2021-22 Underclass All-American Elite Team appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

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.

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1	NR	Dereck Lively (10)	Westtown School (PA)	7	0	0	0	84
2	17T	Amari Bailey (8)	Sierra Canyon (CA)	0	5	3	0	69
3	12T	D.J. Wagner (7)	Camden (NJ)	2	0	1	1	49
4	NR	Keyontae George (6)	IMG Academy (FL)	0	2	2	2	48
5	NR	Dariq Whitehead (6)	Montverde Academy (FL)	0	1	1	1	40
6	NR	Jaden Bradley (4)	IMG Academy (FL)	1	1	1	0	33
7	NR	Cason Wallace (4)	Richardson (TX)	0	0	0	2	25
8	NR	Nick Smith (4)	North Little Rock (AR)	0	0	1	1	24
9	NR	Chris Livingston (4)	Oak Hill Academy (VA)	0	0	0	0	20
10	NR	Collin Chandler (3)	Farmington (UT)	0	0	0	1	16
11	NR	Baye Fall (2)	Denver Prep (CO)	0	1	0	0	14
12	NR	Arterio Morris (2)	Kimball (TX)	0	0	0	1	13
13	23T	J.J. Taylor (1)	Donda Academy (CA)	0	0	1	0	8
14	NR	Tre White (1)	Prolific Prep (CA)	0	0	0	1	7
15T	NR	Adem Bona (1)	Prolific Prep (CA)	0	0	0	0	6
15T	NR	Rob Dillingham (1)	Donda Academy (CA)	0	0	0	0	6
15T	NR	Mackenzie Mgbako (1)	Gill St. Bernard (NJ)	0	0	0	0	6
18T	NR	Kylan Boswell (1)	AZ Compass Prep (AZ)	0	0	0	0	5
18T	NR	Naasir Cunningham (1)	Gill St. Bernard (NJ)	0	0	0	0	5
20T	NR	Isaiah Elohim (1)	Sierra Canyon (CA)	0	0	0	0	4
20T	NR	Kwame Evans (1)	Montverde Academy (FL)	0	0	0	0	4
20T	NR	Mark Mitchell (1)	Sunrise Christian Academy (KS)	0	0	0	0	4

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.

The post Preseason POY Tracker: Change Brings Uncertainty appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

RELATED: All-Time Mr. Basketball USA Winners | Preseason 2020-21 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker |How To Make A HS Version Of March Madness 

There was always plenty of uncertainty surrounding the 2020-21 high school basketball season way before any sanctioned games were played. Would health departments give guidance and clearance to state associations? Would school districts follow suit with sanctioned games after their state associations created guidelines?

Fortunately for a vast majority of states around the country, high school basketball and winter sports are being played. As of February 18, only seven states have yet to play sanctioned games, with the Baltimore Catholic League set to tip-off this week. Not every state will have a full slate of regular season games and some states, such as Illinois and Indiana, have canceled their post-season.

Chet Holmgren, the nations' best center and unsigned prospect in the 2021 class, leads the way as the top national player of the year candidate in the latest Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com. The 7-foot-1 center from FAB 50 No. 9 Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.) was the top vote-getter (10 points) on seven ballots and No. 2 on the other three for 97 points out of a possible 100.

"Holmgren is easily the top player in any class over the past two years," said panelist Frank Burlison of burlisononbasketball.com. "Along with Zion Williamson, he's one of the two most compelling prospects I’ve seen over the past 10 years or so."

One only needs to look at the plight of the other top candidates after Holmgren in the updated Mr. Basketball USA Tracker voting results to realize how much the response to COVID-19 has affected the high school basketball landscape.

The two other candidates who appeared on all 10 ballots in the preseason voting, undecided forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. of Hamilton (Sussex, Wis.) and undecided guard Jaden Hardy of Coronado (Las Vegas, Nev.), are no longer on the ballots. Baldwin, the national class player of the year the past two seasons, was No. 2 behind Holmgren in the preseason but a severe ankle injury has sidelined him since early December. Hardy, who was No. 5 in the balloting, was able to play in some fall league contests, but the Clark County Unified School District that Coronado belongs to cancelled the winter high school basketball season on December 1.

The player who was No. 3 in the preseason voting behind Baldwin, Duke-bound power forward Paolo Banchero of O'Dea (Seattle, Wash.), has also seen his fortunes changed. He is now No. 4 in the balloting with 59 overall points while appearing on seven ballots. Banchero's positioning is based on the premise O'Dea, currently No. 12 in the FAB 50, will play its season in the spring. WIAA programs are supposed to conduct two, 10-week seasons beginning April 26. Banchero is without question one of the nation's most dominant talents, but the fragmented season means he won't get to play out-of-region competition or have any matchups against any of the other 18 Mr. Basketball USA candidates.

It was also announced today the 2021 McDonald's All-American Game is canceled. All the above mentioned players are shoo-ins for the game and it's practices are usually a good barometer to gauge many of the Mr. Basketball USA candidates in one setting. That is another opportunity taken away from the 16 senior candidates. McDonald's will still announce its rosters for the game and celebrate the honorees virtually.

The top candidate who has participated in what one would consider a "normal" season is Auburn-bound Jabari Smith of FAB 50 No. 35 Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Ga.) and his production is reflected in voting tally. Sandy Creek's season began on November 21 and the team is 21-4 against a tough schedule. Smith, a versatile forward who impacts both ends of the floor, is No. 2 in the balloting with 73 overall points whole posting season norms of 23.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.7 spg, and 2.8 bpg. Although he didn't garner a No. 1 vote, Smith did garner two No. 2 votes (nine points each) and joins Holmgren as the only two candidates to appear on all ten ballots.

Besides Holmgren (7) and Banchero (2), the only other candidate to receive a first place vote is junior center Jalen Duren of FAB 50 No. 1 Montverde Academy. Duren, a physical presence underneath who defends the glass well for the nation's top-ranked team, appeared on nine ballots with 63 points, good for third place overall. On the season, he’s the leading scorer (14.9 ppg, 63.6% FG) for a Eagles team with three players averaging over 13 points per game, while adding 9.4 rpg and 2.2 bpg.

Duren has supplanted Emoni Bates of YSPI Prep Academy (Ypsilanti, Mich.) as the top vote-getter among underclassmen and is a legitimate national POY candidate should he close the season strong. Bates, No. 4 overall in the preseason balloting, is now No. 6 after garnering 32 overall points, including one second place vote and one third. He appeared on eight ballots in the preseason (including four second-place votes), but appeared on five ballots is the updated tracker. YSPI Prep, a start-up, independent prep program, has had some trouble building its schedule thus far because of COVID-19 and sanctioning regulations and is 7-2 on the season with Bates averaging 23.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 3.0 apg.

Bates was one of the hottest rising names in basketball at all levels last season, but that has slowed somewhat in 2020-21.

The fast-risers in the latest Mr. Basketball USA Tracker are a pair of point guards who didn't garner any preseason attention. Kennedy Chandler, the catalyst for FAB 50 No. 2 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Air, Kan.), came in at No. 5 in the balloting while appearing on seven ballots. The Tennessee-bound Chandler has hit big shots throughout the season for a 18-2 club and is currently averaging 15.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 6.6 apg and 3.5 spg.

The second point guard to garner serious national POY consideration is TyTy Washington of AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.). He too has been a catalyst for one of the best teams in the country (which owns a win over Sunrise Christian Academy). The Creighton-bound lead guard had 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists in the Sunrise Christian victory and is currently averaging 21.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.9 apg, and 2.6 spg.

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.

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1	1	Chet Holmgren (10)	Minnehaha Academy (MN)	7	9	0	0	97
2	6	Jabari Smith (10)	Sandy Creek (GA)	0	2	4	2	73
3	8	Jalen Duren (9)	Montverde Academy (FL)	1	2	1	0	63
4	3	Paolo Banchero (7)	O’Dea (WA)	2	2	2	0	59
5	NR	Kennedy Chandler (7)	Sunrise Christian (KS)	0	0	0	4	44
6	4	Emoni Bates (5)	YSPI Prep (MI)	0	1	1	0	32
7	NR	TyTy Washington (3)	AZ Compass Prep (AZ)	0	0	1	2	22
8	10T	D.J. Wagner (3)	Camden (NJ)	0	0	1	0	16
9	NR	Hunter Sallis (3)	Millard North (NE)	0	0	0	0	15
10	12T	Mike Foster (2)	Hillcrest Prep (AZ)	0	0	0	1	13
11T	7	Kendall Brown (2)	Sunrise Christian (KS)	0	0	0	0	11
11T	16T	J.D. Davison (2)	Calhoun (AL)	0	0	0	0	11
13	10T	Daimion Collins (1)	Atlanta (TX)	0	0	0	1	7
14	NR	Trevor Keels (1)	Paul VI (VA)	0	0	0	0	6
15	16T	Daron Holmes (1)	AZ Compass Prep (AZ)	0	0	0	0	5
16T	NR	Kobe Bufkin (1)	Grand Rapids Christian (MI)	0	0	0	0	4
16T	NR	Moussa Diabate (1)	IMG Academy (FL)	0	0	0	0	4
16T	12T	Nolan Hickman (1)	Wasatch Academy (UT)	0	0	0	0	4
16T	9	Caleb Houstan (1)	Montverde Academy (FL)	0	0	0	0	4

About Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel
www.ebooksnet.com's panel of 10 experts, which includes five 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.

The post POY Tracker: Fortunes Change For Nation's Elite appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

The final, expanded 2019-20 Mr. Basketball USA ballots are in and after they are tallied, there is a clear-cut top candidate. Oklahoma State-bound point guard Cade Cunningham of FAB 50 national champion Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) out paces preseason top vote-getter Evan Mobley of Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) with 95 overall points out of 100.

Talent, on-court production and winning have always been tried and true factors in determining elite high school basketball individual accolades that truly take high school achievement as the No. 1 consideration.

Using those three factors in this year's race for national player of the year is clearly reflected in the results of the final 2019-20 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

Cade Cunningham

6'7"   -   PG   -   2020

Cade Cunningham, a 6-foot-7 point guard, led Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) to a perfect 25-0 season and No. 1 FAB 50 finish as the leader of one of the most talent-laden rosters of all-time. Without the benefit of GEICO Nationals or the national all-star game circuit because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, what occurred during the high school season became more prevalent and that's where Cunningham separated himself from the pack.

The Oklahoma St-bound big point guard led a team that beat 12 FAB 50 ranked opponents and have an average victory margin on 38.9 points per game. On a team with 12 sure-fire D1 players, three Nike Hoop Summit honorees (first time that has ever happened), three McDonald's All-American selections (the second time that has ever happened) and potentially two first five All-Americans, Cunningham led the way. His unselfish offensive play led the way, as Montverde Academy coach Kevin Boyle had seven players averaging 8.3 ppg or more led by Cunningham’s 13.9. He also averaged 4.2 rpg and a team-high 6.4 apg for the best team in program history, one that captured its fifth mythical national title in the last eight seasons.

Evan Mobley

6'11"   -   C   -   2020

Cunningham out-distanced preseason leading vote-getter Evan Mobley of Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.), 95 points to 81, the latter which was four points (77) more than third-place Jalen Green of Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.). Cunningham, a native of Texas, received seven of the 10 first place votes with Mobley nabbing two and Green one.

Cunningham, Mobley and Green were the only three out of 21 national player of the year candidates to garner at least a vote on all 10 ballots of the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel. Mobley collected three second-place votes and Green four. The main difference in their point total was a seventh-place finish for Green on one ballot.

"Cade was a great player and leader and reminds me of a combination of Jason Kidd and Oscar Robertson," said Boyle said. "He is truly deserving of this prestigious award."

"Cade Cunningham is a team first player and a great player," said tracker panelist and McDonald's All-Amerian voter Clark Francis of the Hoop Scoop. "He led the City of Palms in assists and (Kevin) Boyle has compared him to Oscar Robertson. He's the reason Montverde Academy is the team to come down the pike perhaps ever."

Mobley, the preseason top vote-getter with 95 points, including six first-place votes, averaged 19 ppg, 12 rpg, 4 apg, 4 bpg and led his team in all four of those statistical categories, but Rancho Christian went 22-8 and didn't lead his team to the national-level victories that perhaps the panel wanted to see him do in order to retain his position at the top. Cunningham was able to gain five points from the preseason and take over the top spot despite only modest statistics because the panel rewarded him for his team's play.

Green was likely the one candidate hurt the most from the COVID-19 pandemic as he could have used the big national stage that GEICO Nationals normally provides to enhance his candidacy. Prolific Prep was scheduled to open the eight-team event with FAB 50 No. 1 Montverde Academy. On Thursday, Green announced he would forgo a collegiate career to turn professional and join the NBA G League, where he will play on a select team that could potentially include other elite 2020 prospects.

Emoni Bates

6'8"   -   SF   -   2021

Coming in fourth in the balloting was sophomore forward Emoni Bates of Lincoln (Ypsilanti, Mich.) with 48 points and coming in fifth place was Cunningham's teammate, jack-of-all-trades forward Scottie Barnes, with 34 points. Bates and Barnes with the only two candidates to appear on eight ballots, with Bates getting one third place vote and Barnes two fourth-place votes.

Earlier this week, Bates became the first sophomore ever to earn the Gatorade National Player of the Year award. Will he become the first sophomore since LeBron James in 2001 named to the first five on the Elite All-American Team?

"I think Jalen Green is No. 2," Francis said. "He transitioned himself from a great athlete into a good basketball player. He's no longer a feast or famine type of guy. He brings it every night and now because of that he belongs in the elite group with Cunningham and Mobley.

"Mobley is the perfect example of how things can change in basketball. He still might be the guy with the best potential, but right now he deserves to be No. 3, but don't write him off yet. Right now, Bates might be No. 1 based on potential and upside, but hasn't earned a Top 3 spot yet. Nobody else has put themselves in that elite group. The rest of the group are not guys to get overly excited about."

In light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, were grateful 21 candidates earned recognition as a national player of the year candidate in the final, expanded tracker. Actually were excited and grateful they were able to play enough games to even conduct final balloting despite not being able to incorporate all the elements that usually are part of the Mr. Basketball USA selection process (regular season, post-season, GIECO Nationals, all-star events).

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. Preseason tracker results are also listed ("Prev.").

2019-20 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel
Paul Biancardi, ESPN National Director of Basketball Recruiting
Frank Burlison, BurlisonOnBasketball.com Publisher
Van Coleman, TheBasketballChannel.net VP of Content
Ronnie Flores, www.ebooksnet.com National Grassroots Editor
Clark Francis, Hoop Scoop Editor & Publisher
Bob Gibbons, All-Star Sports
Jerry Meyer, 247Sports.com Director of Scouting
Scott Phillips, NBC Sports National College Basketball Writer
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.

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

The post Cade Cunningham TOPS Final POY Tracker! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

RELATED: Inside Look At Top Mr. Basketball USA Candidates | 2016-17 Preseason Mr. Basketball USA Tracker | Updated Tracker No. 1 |  All-Time Mr. Basketball USA Winners

There is not much suspense at the top of the updated 2016-17 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com. There is, however, some interesting developments as candidates position themselves for our annual All-American team.

Michael Porter Jr. of FAB 50 No. 1 Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) continues to appear on every ballot of the  10-man Mr. Basketball USA Tracker Panel and was the first-place vote-getter on each ballot. With regards to Porter's candidacy, it seems the only question remaining is will he collect every single first-place vote on each ballot throughout the entire season? The first player to do that in the 10-year history of the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker was Ben Simmons of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) during the 2014-15 season.

"He's about as consensus a top pick there can be, based on what he did last summer on the EYBL circuit and what he's done for Nathan Hale," said panel member Frank Burlison of BurlisononBasketball.com. "Not only what he's done in terms of his individual performances, but from the standpoint of winning. He's helped a program that was nondescript last year to within a couple of week's of a potential national championship."

The only change among the top five candidates is the flip-flopping between point guard Trevon Duval of FAB 50 No. 6 IMG Academy (Brandenton, Fla.) and power forward Marvin Bagley III of FAB 50 No. 12 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.). In the last go-around, Bagley was the No. 3 candidate with 63 overall points while Duval was in fourth place with 53 points. In the latest  tracker, Bagley appeared on one additional ballot (9 up from 8) and gained an additional point (64), but Duval gained an additional 13 points to move ahead of the standout junior from Sierra Canyon by two points and into third place behind DeAndre Ayton of Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Ayton's candidacy has lost some steam as Duval's has picked up. The Arizona-bound big man collected six second-place votes and two third-place in the previous tracker, but three less second-place votes and two additional third-place votes this time around. He also disappeared from one ballot, as Duval is now the only other candidate besides Porter to appear on all 10 ballots. The IMG standout averaged 16.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 7.7 apg, 2.9 spg and shot 54 percent from the field during the regular season for a team looking to win Dick's Nationals for a shot at the mythical FAB 50 national title. Duval, who remains uncommitted for college, has seemingly ended the debate as to whom the nation's top overall point guard is with one third-place vote, five fourth-place votes, three fifth-place votes and one for sixth-place.

"Duval is the consensus top point guard in the country," Burlison said. "I personally thing (Trae) Young is, but Duval is explosive and has been on the radar for so long."

Young, who is averaging well over 41 pointer per game for Norman North (Norman, Okla.), averaged 23.2 ppg, 7.1 apg, and 2.3 spg for EYBL champion Mokan Elite and is headed to Oklahoma, collected one second-place vote and collected 23 points while appearing on four ballots.

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.

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1	1	Michael Porter (10)	Hale (WA)	10	0	0	0	100
2	2	DeAndre Ayton (9)	Hillcrest Academy (AZ)	0	3	4	1	71
3	4	Trevon Duval (10)	IMG (FL)	0	0	1	5	66
4	3	Marvin Bagley (9)	Sierra Canyon (CA)	0	3	2	0	64
5	5	Zion Williamson (7)	Spartanburg Day (SC)	0	2	1	1	49
6	6	Wendell Carter (6)	Pace Academy (GA)	0	0	1	2	34
7T	7	Collin Sexton (4)	Pebblebrook (GA)	0	0	1	0	23
7T	8	Trae Young (4)	Norman North (OK)	0	1	0	0	23
9	NR	Ethan Thompson (3)	Bishop Montgomery (CA)	0	0	0	1	16
10	NR	Jontay Porter (1)	Hale (WA)	0	1	0	1	9
11T	11T	Quade Green (1)	Neumann-Goretti (PA)	0	0	0	0	6
11T	13T	Jaren Jackson (1)	La Lumiere (IN)	0	0	0	0	6
11T	11T	P.J. Washington Jr. (1)	Findlay Prep (NV)	0	0	0	0	6
14	9	Brian Bowen (1)	La Lumiere (IN)	0	0	0	0	5
15T	15T	R.J. Barrett (1)	Montverde Academy (FL)	0	0	0	0	4
15T	NR	David Collins (1)	First Love Academy (PA)	0	0	0	0	4
15T	15T	Davy Singleton (1)	Bishop Montgomery (CA)	0	0	0	0	4

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 the previous tracker.

The post Mr. Basketball USA Tracker: Trevon Duval, Zion Williamson MAKE MOVES appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

RELATED: Inside Look At Top Mr. Basketball USA Candidates | All-Time Mr. Basketball USA Winners

Plenty of factors go into an individual award such as high school basketball national player of the year: Playing for a winning team, where the team is located and whom it will have the opportunity to play, and how a candidate performed in the previous summer and high school season are important and go a long way in determining the preseason pecking order among elite players.

Sometimes, however, it's not so complicated. The top candidates are simply the most talented players and the ones national scouts, in this case the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel, believe have the brightest future in the game with natural progression.

That simplicity is clearly reflected in the voting results of the preseason 2016-17 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

Michael Porter, a 6-foot-9 forward who attended Father Tolton (Columbia, Mo.) as a junior but will play his senior year at Nathan Hale (Seattle, Wash.) before matriculating to Washington next fall, and DeAndre Ayton, a 7-foot center from Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.) who is still undecided, are the two best prospects in the country, according to national scouting services and other veteran scouts on our tracker panel. Some like Ayton because of his vast potential and talent level, while others like Porter because of his ability and winning resume.

When the preseason votes were tallied, those two players were deemed head-and-shoulders above the other 16 players who received some consideration for 2016-17 national player of the year. Porter is the top candidate right now and the leading vote-getter by the slimmest of margins. Porter, whose younger brother Jontay will join him on a Hale squad which opens the season No. 38 in the FAB 50, tallied 94 points to Ayton's 93. They were the only two among 18 candidates to appear on all 10 preseason ballots, with the difference being Porter receiving four second-place votes (which equal 9 points apiece) while Ayton received three and one more third-place vote.

"Basically we see what the body of work is," said long-time panel member Clark Francis of

"Sometimes the best player is just the best player and better than everyone else. Is Michael Porter better than DeAndre Ayton and Marvin Bagley? No. But consistency counts and so does production. Whose team won the Peach Jam last year? Great players find a way to beat you and keep getting better. That's why I have Michael Porter No. 1 right now."

Bagley, the nation's top junior prospect who did not play high school basketball as a sophomore, came in a distant third in the voting results. The Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) big man garnered two second-place votes, finishing with 57 points, and was the only player to appear on nine ballots.

Five players who appeared on last year's final Mr. Basketball USA Tracker collected votes. Ayton (who came in fourth place), point guard Trevon Duval of IMG Academy in Florida (the only player to appear on eight ballots), Duke commit Wendell Carter Jr. of Pace Academy in Atlanta, dynamic point guard Chris Lykes of FAB 50 No. 10 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) and junior guard David Singleton of FAB 50 No. 7 Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.).

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.

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1	NR	Michael Porter (10)	Hale (WA)	5	4	1	0	94
2	4	DeAndre Ayton (10)	Hillcrest Academy (AZ)	5	3	2	0	93
3	NR	Marvin Bagley (9)	Sierra Canyon (CA)	0	2	1	1	57
4	17T	Trevon Duval (8)	IMG (FL)	0	0	2	1	53
5	24T	Wendell Carter Jr. (6)	Pace Academy (GA)	0	1	2	1	42
6	NR	Mohamed Bamba (5)	Westtown School (PA)	0	0	1	2	31
7	NR	Collin Sexton (4)	Pebblebrook (GA)	0	0	1	1	25
8	NR	Zion Williamson (3)	Spartanburg Day (SC)	0	0	0	1	18
9	NR	Trae Young (3)	Norman North (OK)	0	0	0	1	16
10	NR	Romeo Langford (2)	New Albany (IN)	0	0	0	1	11
11	NR	Gary Trent Jr. (2)	Prolific Prep (CA)	0	0	0	0	10
12	NR	Quade Green (2)	Neumann-Goretti (PA)	0	0	0	0	8
13	NR	Billy Preston (1)	Oak Hill (VA)	0	0	0	1	7
14T	24T	Chris Lykes (1)	Gonzaga (DC)	0	0	0	0	6
14T	NR	P.J. Washington Jr. (1)	Findlay Prep (NV)	0	0	0	0	6
16	NR	Mitchell Robinson (1)	Chalmette (LA)	0	0	0	0	5
17T	NR	Brian Bowen (1)	La Lumiere (IN)	0	0	0	0	4
17T	20	Davy Singleton (1)	Bishop Montgomery (CA)	0	0	0	0	4

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.

The post Michael Porter EDGES DeAndre Ayton In 2016-17 Preseason POY Tracker! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

RELATED: 2015-16 Preseason Tracker | Tracker No. 2 | Tracker No. 3 | Tracker No. 4 |  Final Tracker

Many factors go into naming a national player of the year. As it turns out, playing for a winning program is a big one if the past two high school basketball seasons are any indication. For the second consecutive season, the best player off the nation's No. 1 ranked team has earned the title Mr. Basketball USA.

Last year is was 6-foot-9 forward Ben Simmons of FAB 50 champ Montverde Academy (Fla.) earning the nation's most prestigious honor and this season it's 6-foot-6 point guard Lonzo Ball of Chino Hills (Calif.). Ball's team finished 35-0 and ranked No. 1 in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com and his impact on an unbeaten, championship team was the determining factor.

Last year Simmons, who has declared for the NBA Draft after one season at LSU and is a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, was the first and only candidate to ever be No. 1 on all 10 ballots turned in by the Mr. Basketball USA panel. Simmons was a unanimous No. 1 on each ballot all season long. This time around, the voting was quite different.

Ball, a 6-foot-6 point guard headed to UCLA, began the season in sixth place, appearing on four preseason ballots with no vote higher than third place. That all changed as Chino Hills piled up wins and he piled up triple doubles. He ended the season with a new reported California record of 25 triple-doubles in a season while averaging 23.9 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 11.7 apg, 5.1 spg, and 2.0 bpg. Ball moved up the ladder and actually became the top vote-getter in the fourth tracker of the season, surpassing preseason favorite Josh Jackson of  Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) by two points (87 to 85 points) and was No. 1 on seven ballots. Jackson closed strong with a strong performance at the McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago. He scored the same amount of points, but gained more second and first place votes. In the final Mr. Basketball USA Tracker, Ball finished with six No. 1 votes and Jackson with four.

We don't and will never have ties in our honors or team rankings, so a decision had to be made. We considered dropping the lowest vote total for each candidate and having a re-vote between Ball and Jackson. At the end of the day, however, we want to keep the process as credible as possible. The voting at times for both top candidates was erratic considering their season resume, but in the end all ten panel members voted either Ball or Jackson as their top candidate -- six for Ball and four for Jackson.

"I knew he was going to be a good player when I saw him for the first time in fifth or sixth grade at my camp in Chino Hills," said Steve Baik, his coach for four seasons at Chino Hills High School who resigned in the off-season and recently was named the head coach at Fairfax (Los Angeles). "He already was a good passer and meeting his parents (Lavar and Tina Ball) with his size potential, I immediately knew I had something special."

Ball is indeed a special player and this was the closest national player of the year race in the nine-year history of the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker. Jackson is also special and a few of the panel members feel he is the most NBA-ready player in high school basketball. Jackson could have easily been the choice, but this is production-based honor, not one based on potential down the line and/or recruiting lists, so it's hard to knock Ball's resume for the 2015-16 season and his career.

Today Ball becomes the first player from California to earn Mr. Basketball USA honors since future NBA Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd of St. Joseph (Alameda, Calif.) in 1991-92 and the sixth overall. He's the first choice from a West Coast program since Minnesota Timberwolves' small forward Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas, Nev.) was chosen for 2011-12.

Ironically, Ball and Kidd both won a CIF state championship in the top division as seniors and end their respective prep careers with similar career numbers. Kidd finished with 2,662 points (20.6), 1,123 rebounds (8.7), 1,165 assists (9.0), 719 steals (5.57), and approximately 279 blocks in 129 games for St. Joe's. Ball finished with 2,522 points (19.1), 1,204 rebounds (9.1), 1,214 assists (9.2), 592 steals (4.48) and 343 blocks (2.6) in 132 games for the Huskies. Ball was often compared to Kidd the past two years and now as national player of the years they'll forever be linked.

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

The post Lonzo Ball Named Mr. Basketball USA appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

The tidal wave known as the Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) boys basketball team has slowly grown since the start of the season and with potentially two games to go, is about to crest. It started when the Huskies opened the season No. 11 in the preseason FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com, caught the nation's attention when they captured the City of Palms Tournament championship and eventually elevated to No. 1 in the national rankings, and reached a fevered pitch when BIL live-streamed their 71-67 victory over Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.) in late January.

Since then, it has been turn-away, standing room only crowds to catch the nation's No. 1 ranked high school team as it chases a perfect 35-0 season and a mythical national title. The only thing standing in the way of perfection for Chino Hills is a SoCal Open regional final rematch with Bishop Montgomery (currently ranked No. 20 in the FAB 50) and a CIF Open Division state final victory on March 26 against a likely FAB 50 ranked foe from Northern California.

With the team success Chino Hills has enjoyed so far, it's no surprise its best player, 6-foot-6 UCLA-bound senior point guard Lonzo Ball, has seen his individual status among his peers and personal accolades also rise. Ball has already earned Gatorade State Player of the Year, Naismith and McDonald's Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year Accolades, so it's should come with little surprise Ball moved up a spot to take over as the leading national player of the year candidate in the 2015-16 Mr. Basketball USA Tracker powered by www.ebooksnet.com.

Ball tallied 87 points on nine ballots, two more than 6-foot-8 small forward Josh Jackson of Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), who still is the lone candidate among 19 to appear on every single ballot. Jackson, who has missed seven of Prolific Prep's games, is averaging 26.9 ppg, 13.1 rpg, 6.3 apg, 3.5 steals and 3.9 blocks. Ball, through 30 games, is averaging 24.4 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 12.9 apg, 4.5 blocks and 4.1 steals with 17 double doubles and 14 triple-doubles. That production, combined with the Huskies's success, helped Ball garner seven first place votes and one second place vote.

Jackson tallied one first place vote, as did Duke-bound forward Jayson Tatum of Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) and junior DeAndre Ayton of Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.). Ayton actually surpassed Tatum in total points from the previous tracker (up to 67 points from 66 while Tatum fell from 68 to 63).

"If his team wins the next two games, then Chino Hills will go down as one of the most dominant state champions ever from the region and state," said panel member Frank Burlison of BurlisonOnBasketball.com. "Ball is the best high school player in the country and, in reality, I'm not sure it's close based on both ends of the floor production and team performance."

Ball started out No. 6 in the preseason voting on four ballots with 30 points, worked his way up to No. 3 in the second voting go-around in early January (67 points on eight ballots), and to No. 2 behind Jackson on the third go-around (79 points on nine ballots).

It's been an amazing season for Chino Hills so far, but after the CIF state championships, Ball will participate in the McDonald's All-American Game, where Jackson, Tatum and others can still make one last impression on the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker panel. For Mr. Basketball USA honors, the whole season is accounted for, as it's not an award basically decided upon before the beginning of state tournaments around the country.

That makes Ball's ascension, and the race, that much more interesting. There are some panelists who don't write think the race is over yet. Will the triple double maestro hold off all challengers until the entire high school season is complete?

"Lonzo Ball has really helped himself this winter and he's the go-to guy on the undefeated, best team in the country, but that's a bit ridiculous (his point total)," said panel member Clark Francis of the Hoop Scoop. "Physically, athletically, and skill-wise, Josh Jackson is most ready to make the jump to a higher level right now."

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.

Rank	Prev.	Name	High School	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
1	2	Lonzo Ball (9)	Chino Hills (CA)	7	1	1	0	87
2	1	Josh Jackson (10)	Prolific Prep (CA)	1	5	3	0	85
3	4	DeAndre Ayton (9)	Hillcrest Academy (AZ)	1	2	1	3	67
4	3	Jayson Tatum (8)	Chaminade (MO)	1	1	2	2	63
5	5	De'Aaron Fox (9)	Cy Lakes (TX)	0	0	2	0	53
6	8	Miles Bridges (4)	Huntington Prep (WV)	0	0	0	0	22
7	9T	Mustapha Heron (3)	Sacred Heart (CT)	0	0	0	1	18
8T	6T	Markelle Fultz (3)	DeMatha (MD)	0	0	0	1	15
8T	6T	T.J. Leaf (3)	Foothills Christian (CA)	0	0	0	1	15
10	11	Bam Adebayo (2)	High Point (NC)	0	0	0	1	12
11	NR	Shamorie Ponds (2)	Jefferson (NY)	0	0	0	1	11
12	NR	Alterique Gilbert (1)	Miller Grove (GA)	0	0	1	0	8
13	12	Malik Monk (1)	Bentonville (AR)	0	0	0	1	7
14	14	Mohamed Bamba (1)	Westtown School (PA)	0	0	0	0	6
15	17T	Ethan Thompson (1)	Bishop Montgomery (CA)	0	0	0	0	5
16T	NR	Marques Bolden (1)	DeSoto (TX)	0	0	0	0	4
16T	NR	Frank Jackson (1)	Lone Peak (UT)	0	0	0	0	4
16T	15T	Braxton Key (1)	Oak Hill (VA)	0	0	0	0	4
16T	NR	Davy Singleton (1)	Bishop Montgomery (CA)	0	0	0	0	4

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 the previous tracker.

The post POY Tracker: Lonzo Ball is New Front-Runner! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.