{"id":115486,"date":"2015-11-18T01:26:55","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T09:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilcomprd.wpengine.com\/?p=115486"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:08:54","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T21:08:54","slug":"inside-look-at-mr-basketball-usa-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballislife.com\/inside-look-at-mr-basketball-usa-candidates\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Look at Mr. Basketball USA Candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mr. Basketball USA is the title bestowed upon the National High School Player of the Year honor presented by Ballislife.com. The Mr. Basketball USA Tracker tracks the progress of the top player of the year candidates throughout the season. We examine the resumes of four early favorites, five others with strong cases and list other potential candidates. Now in its ninth year, the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker begins with its preseason voting results Nov. 23. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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During the regular season, Ballislife.com<\/em> will publish the Mr. Basketball USA Tracker<\/strong>, an inside look at the nation's top on-court high school performers, according to a panel made up of 10 high school basketball and recruiting experts, including six McDonald's All-American selection committee members.<\/p>\n

Every season the race for national player of the year is altered by an early season occurrence. For instance, early in the 2012-13 season, current Los Angeles Laker forward Julius Randle<\/a> (Prestonwood Christian Academy, Plano, Texas) suffered a broken foot. There's no telling how strongly he would have challenged eventual Mr. Basketball USA honoree Andrew Wiggins<\/a>, last year's NBA Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Timberwolves.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the occurrence is injury, other times it's ineligibility or a player re-classifying up and leaving for college early (current Duke freshman Derryck Thornton Jr.<\/a> and N.C. State freshman Maverick Rowan<\/strong> come to mind).<\/p>\n

We can't recall a preseason like this one where the race has been so significantly altered before it really even has gotten started.<\/p>\n

First, athletic point guard Dennis Smith Jr.<\/a> of Trinity Christian (Fayetteville, N.C.) tore his ACL at the second-to-last major Grassroots event of the summer (adidas Nations). He was presumably one of the top candidates coming into the fall. Then, in the opening minutes of the opening game for preseason FAB 50 No. 1 Oak Hill Academy<\/a>, its best player, forward Harry Giles<\/a>, tore his ACL. One has to figure he was a favorite considering he was last year's National Junior of the Year.<\/p>\n

Then in the past week, Marvin Bagley III<\/a>, last year's National Freshman of the Year at Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), left Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.), a relatively new program with national aspirations. Even though the prep school Bagley attended was not formally recognized by the residing state athletic association (in this case the Arizona Interscholastic Association), therefore making it ineligible for the FAB 50, the sophomore power forward was still eligible for the nation's highest individual honor because he presumably was a student in good standing with three years of regular high school eligibility remaining.<\/p>\n

For now, Bagley is not eligible for any individual honor because he's not enrolled at a school, nor is he currently playing for a varsity program. Reports have surfaced that Bagley's family is inquiring about the possibility of him returning to Corona del Sol. Then the next natural question is, does he regain his athletic eligibility?<\/p>\n

As if that wasn't enough, last year's National Sophomore of the Year, 7-foot DeAndre Ayton<\/a>, joined the Hillcrest Academy program after playing his sophomore season at Balboa City School (San Diego, Calif.). For now Ayton is eligible for Mr. Basketball USA, but you have to wonder how playing with Bagley for a few games and then seeing Bagley leave the program, and the general uncertainty surrounding the program, is going to affect his candidacy.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned.<\/p>\n

For now, we present some of the eligible candidates who figure to factor in the 2015-16 Mr. Basketball USA race.<\/p>\n

The Early Favorites*<\/strong><\/p>\n

DeAndre Ayton<\/a>, Hillcrest Academy (Phoenix, Ariz.) 7-0 Jr. C<\/strong><\/p>\n

Resume:<\/strong> The 2014-15 national sophomore of the year averaged 21.1 points, 16.0 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals for Balboa City School (San Diego, Calif.), a private institution that played mainly prep school and academy program competition. Ayton didn't always get the ball in prime spots, but still put up impressive numbers.<\/p>\n

Why He Could Win:<\/strong> This talented center was a second five All-American by GrassrootsHoops.net<\/em> last season as a mere sophomore. At the time, some respected prep evaluators felt the Bahamian native might have the best long-term potential of any player in high school basketball regardless of class, sans Ben Simmons, the 2015 Mr. Basketball USA whom some feel is already one of the nation's top college basketball players. Ayton has that much potential.<\/p>\n

Why He Wouldn\u2019t:<\/strong> It seemed Ayton was a surefire national player of the year candidate with Ben Simmons moving onto college, but over the summer he wasn't as dominant and he seemed to labor at times. He has since left Balboa for another prep school situation where the program is not recognized by the residing state athletic association, and that could hurt his chances. He was supposed to team up with super sophomore Marvin Bagley III to form one of the best 1-2 big man punches in high school we've ever seen, but Bagley is now gone and the situation seems a bit shaky and that could scare the Mr. Basketball USA panel.<\/p>\n

Lonzo Ball<\/a>, Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) 6-6 Sr. G<\/strong><\/p>\n

Resume:<\/strong> The Cal-Hi Sports State Junior of the Year averaged 24.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 9.1 assists, 4.5 steals and 3.5 blocked shots per game for a team that advanced to the CIF Division I state title game. He was a third five All-American with now graduated standouts Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard, Dedric Lawson and Caleb Swanigan.<\/p>\n

Why He Could Win:<\/strong> One word that describes this UCLA commit is \u201cunique.\u201d He is a pin-point passer all 84 feet of the court and has grown to a true small forward size with uncanny rebounding ability for a true point guard. Ball is the CIF's best player (Josh Jackson's Prolific Prep team is an independent program), he's one of the state's best scorers, the best passer and could very well be the best rebounder. He's that good.<\/p>\n

Why He Wouldn\u2019t:<\/strong> Ball is one of the most polarizing elite players on social media, as some feel the style in which Chino Hills and his travel ball club play doesn't translate to the next level. Others feel he is a generational talent at the point guard position. Because of the mixed bag of opinions, Ball might be high on some lists and lower and others. Regardless, he's going to have to play his best at the City of Palms Tournament and winning a CIF state title would go a long way, too.<\/p>\n

Josh Jackson<\/a>, Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) 6-8 Sr. G<\/strong><\/p>\n

Resume:<\/strong> After earning National Sophomore of the Year honors two seasons ago at Consortium College Prep in Detroit, Jackson made the decision to leave the state of Michigan and attend an academy-type program based in Northern California. On a team that played a national schedule, Jackson averaged 28 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists per game. He also led his travel team, 1Nation, to the Las Vegas FAB 48 invitational title in July.<\/p>\n

Why He Could Win:<\/strong> With his size, explosiveness, passing and rebounding ability, Jackson is clearly one of the elite players in the country. At the USA Basketball Mini-Camp in October, he was the best performer and showed the alpha male mentality and competitive instincts to be a long-time NBA player.<\/p>\n

Why He Wouldn\u2019t:<\/strong> Jackson wasn't eligible for end-of-the season honors as a junior because the players on Prolific Prep's team attended various high schools (which made them an after-school academy). This season, all the players attend Justin-Siena High School, so Jackson returns as a serious candidate. The Mr. Basketball USA panelists were made aware Jackson is eligible, but some might favor a candidate from a traditional high school. Other than that or the injury bug, Jackson should be in the thick of the race.<\/p>\n