A trio of the best young high school basketball players in the United States are finalists for this year’s Gatorade National Player of the Year award. While naming a winner is up in the air right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a release, Gatorade has nonetheless named these youngsters as the finalists for its top individual boys basketball honor: Emoni Bates, Cade Cunningham, and Evan Mobley.
Cunningham and Mobley are both recruits in the class of 2020, and will spend next year playing collegiate ball. Cunningham, a 6’6 guard and the top player in his class at Montverde Academy, will head to Oklahoma State, where he will earn the distinction of being the first No. 1 recruit to ever suit up for the Cowboys. Mobley is the No. 2 recruit in the same class. The 6’11 center from Temecula will invite foes to meet him on the hardwood at USC, where he’s slated to fill the sizable shoes left by potential 2020 lottery pick Onyeka Okongwu.
The third nominee, Bates, still has a whole lot of time to make a decision on where he’ll play his college ball. The Michigan native is a 6’8 small forward and the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2022(!), and according to Evan Daniels of 247Sports, was “arguably the best freshman prospect since LeBron James.”
Beyond these finalists, Gatorade also revealed the winners of each state’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year award. Here’s how the entire list breaks down, with each youngster’s plans for next year in parentheses:
- Alabama: JerDarrian Davison (high school senior)
- Alaska: Isaiah Moses (Alaska-Anchorage)
- Arizona: DaRon Holmes (high school senior)
- Arkansas: Jaylin Williams (Arkansas)
- California: Evan Mobley (USC)
- Colorado: Dominique Clifford (Colorado)
- Connecticut: Micawber Etienne (high school senior)
- Delaware: Elijah Allen (undecided)
- D.C.: Terrance Williams (Michigan)
- Florida: Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State)
- Georgia: Walker Kessler (North Carolina)
- Hawaii: Christmas Togiai (undecided)
- Idaho: Austin Bolt (Boise State)
- Illinois: Adam Miller (Illinois)
- Indiana: Trey Kaufman (high school senior)
- Iowa: Bowen Born (Northern Iowa)
- Kansas: Grady Dick (high school junior)
- Kentucky: Alex Matthews (undecided)
- Louisiana: Reece Beekman (Virginia)
- Maine: Bryce Lausier (undecided)
- Maryland: Hunter Dickinson (Michigan)
- Massachusetts: Dallion Johnson (Penn State)
- Michigan: Emoni Bates (high school junior)
- Minnesota: Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)
- Mississippi: Daeshun Ruffin (high school senior)
- Missouri: Caleb Love (North Carolina)
- Montana: Rollie Worster (Utah State)
- Nebraska: Chucky Hepburn (high school senior)
- Nevada: Jaden Hardy (high school senior)
- New Hampshire: Jordan Geronimo (Indiana)
- New Jersey: Cliff Omoruyi (undecided)
- New Mexico: Joziah Ramos (undecided)
- New York: R.J. Davis (North Carolina)
- North Carolina: Jaden Bradley (high school junior)
- North Dakota: Boden Skunberg (North Dakota State)
- Ohio: VonCameron Davis (Kent State)
- Oklahoma: Bryce Thompson (Kansas)
- Oregon: Ben Gragg (high school senior)
- Pennsylvania: Ethan Morton (Purdue)
- Rhode Island: Erickson Bans (Bryant)
- South Carolina: P.J. Hall (Clemson)
- South Dakota: Matthew Mors (high school senior)
- Tennessee: Jonathan Lawson (high school senior)
- Texas: Greg Brown III (undecided)
- Utah: Dallin Hall (undecided)
- Vermont: Logan Wendell (undecided)
- Virginia: Jeremy Roach (Duke)
- Washington: Paolo Banchero (high school senior)
- West Virginia: Jaemyn Brakefield (Duke)
- Wisconsin: Patrick Baldwin (high school senior)
- Wyoming: Sam Lecholat (Montana State)
