The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Knight as the nation's best high school boys basketball player. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Knight from more than 552,000 high school boys basketball players nationwide. Knight is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year Award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound junior point guard led the Panthers to their second consecutive Class 3A state title, averaging 31.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and three steals per game this season. Knight scored 27 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished four assists in a 60-44 win over Jones High in the state final. A two-time First Team All-State selection and the Panhandle Sports Broadcasting 2009 Class 3A Tournament MVP, Knight shattered his own school single-season record by more than 200 points, finishing with 968 points this winter. He also set a school record by sinking 127 three-pointers, shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc. Knight committed only 63 turnovers in 864 minutes-played this past season.
Ranked as the No. 5 recruit in the class of 2010 on the ESPNU Super 60 and the No. 2 recruit in his class as rated by Rivals.com, Knight holds the following school records: points in a game (55); career points (2,589); career assists (594); single-season points (968); career 3-pointers (259); single-season 3-pointers (127); single-game assists (16) and single-season free throw percentage (81). A varsity player since eighth grade, he has pulled down more than 900 career rebounds.
Knight will begin his senior year of high school this fall. He becomes just the 11th high school junior (of 204 honorees) to win Gatorade National Player of the Year honors in any sport, joining LeBron James (2001-02 & 2002-03/Boys Basketball/Akron, OH), Greg Oden (2004-05 & 2005-06/Boys Basketball/Indianapolis, IN), Candace Parker (2002-03 & 2003-04/Girls Basketball/Naperville, IL), Matt Barkley (2007-08/Football/Santa Ana, CA), Kenzie Fowler (2007-08/Softball/Tucson, AZ), Ashley Brasovan (2007-08/Girls Cross Country/Wellington, FL), Melissa Henderson (2006-07/Girls Soccer/Richardson, TX), Marion Jones (1990-91, 1991-92 & 1992-93/Girls Track & Field/Thousand Oaks, CA), Bianca Knight (2005-06/Girls Track & Field/Ridgeland, MS) and Cynthia Barboza (2003-04 & 2004-05/Volleyball/Long Beach, CA).
For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.
ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL BOYS PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Year Name High School Status
2008-09 Brandon Knight Pine Crest School/ High School
Fort Lauderdale, FL Senior
2007-08 Jrue Holiday Campbell Hall/ UCLA
North Hollywood, CA
2006-07 Kevin Love Lake Oswego/ Minnesota
Lake Oswego, OR Timberwolves
2005-06 Greg Oden Lawrence North/ Portland
Indianapolis, IN Trail Blazers
2004-05 Greg Oden Lawrence North/ Portland
Indianapolis, IN Trail Blazers
2003-04 Dwight Howard SW Atlanta Christian Orlando Magic
Academy/Atlanta, GA
2002-03 LeBron James St. Vincent-St. Mary Cleveland
Akron, OH Cavaliers
2001-02 LeBron James St. Vincent-St. Mary Cleveland
Akron, OH Cavaliers
2000-01 Kelvin Torbert Northwestern Edison Michigan St.
Flint, MI Univ. Grad.
1999-00 Jared Jeffries North New York
Bloomington, IN Knicks
1998-99 LaVell Blanchard Pioneer Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI Grad.
1997-98 Al Harrington St. Patrick/ New York
Elizabeth, NJ Knicks
1996-97 Baron Davis Crossroads/ Los Angeles
Santa Monica, CA Clippers
1995-96 Kobe Bryant Lower Merion/ Los Angeles
Ardmore, PA Lakers
1994-95 Stephon Marbury Abraham Lincoln/ Boston
Brooklyn, NY Celtics
1993-94 Felipe Lopez Rice/New York, NY Gaiteros del
Zulia
1992-93 Randy Livingston Isidore Newman/ Retired from
New Orleans, LA NBA
1991-92 Corliss Russellville/ Retired from
Williamson Russellville, AR NBA
1990-91 Chris Webber Detroit County Day/ Retired from
Birmingham, MI NBA
1989-90 Damon Bailey Bedford No. Lawrence Retired from
Bedford, IN NBA
1988-89 Kenny Anderson Archbishop Molloy/ Retired from
Jamaica, NY NBA
1987-88 Alonzo Mourning Indian River/ Retired from
Chesapeake, VA NBA
1986-87 LaBradford Smith Bay City/ Retired from
Bay City, TX NBA
1985-86 J.R. Reid Kempsville/ Retired from
Virginia Beach, VA NBA
SOURCE Gatorade
Copyright (C: 2.65, 0.13, 5.16%) 2009 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment