Atlanta Tipoff Club Announces 2012 Naismith High School Boy's and Girl's Player of the Year Finalists
Two of the four boys and one of the five girls considered among the best prep basketball players in the country have not yet decided where they will play their college careers, the Atlanta Tipoff Club today announced with the release of the finalists for the Naismith Boy’s and Girl’s High School Player of the Year awards.
ATLANTA (Feb. 13, 2012) – Two of the four boys and one of the five girls considered among the best prep basketball players in the country have not yet decided where they will play their college careers, the Atlanta Tipoff Club today announced with the release of the finalists for the Naismith Boy’s and Girl’s High School Player of the Year awards. Undecided players include the overall No. 1-ranked boy’s player in the class of 2012, Shabazz Muhammad, of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nev., who is currently still deciding between six schools.
Moriah Jefferson (T.H.E.S.A., Glenn Heights, Texas), Breanna Stewart (Cicero-North Syracuse High School, Syracuse, N.Y.) and Morgan Tuck (Bolingbrook High School, Bolingbrook, Ill.) all have committed to Connecticut, joining last year’s Naismith High School Girl’s Player of the Year, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (Mater Dei High, Santa Ana, Calif.).
The finalists were chosen by leading basketball journalists from around the country who form the national voting academy and identify players and coaches under consideration for these awards. The winners will be recognized by the Atlanta Tipoff Club at its season-ending Naismith Awards Banquet presented by AT&T and Newell Rubbermaid, March 22, 2012, at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC) in Atlanta.
“Just as we’ve seen in the past, there are no runaway winners in any of the Naismith High School award categories this year – each player has a compelling basketball resume that makes them a solid choice for the award, and we anticipate the voting to come right down to the wire,” said Eric Oberman, Executive Director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “Whoever wins the award will join a prestigious list of Naismith Trophy alumni.”
| 2012 Naismith High School Boy’s Player of the Year Finalists |
| Name |
School
|
Hometown
|
Position
|
College Choice
|
|
Kyle Anderson
|
St. Anthony High School
|
Jersey City, N.J.
|
Small Forward
|
UCLA
|
|
Isaiah Austin
|
Grace Prep Academy
|
Arlington, Texas
|
Center
|
Baylor
|
|
Shabazz Muhammad
|
Bishop Gorman High School
|
Las Vegas, Nev.
|
Small Forward
|
Undecided
|
|
Nerlens Noel
|
The Tilton School
|
Everett, Mass.
|
Center
|
Undecided
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| 2012 Naismith High School Girl’s Player of the Year Finalists |
| NAME |
School
|
Hometown
|
Position
|
College Choice
|
|
Breanna Stewart
|
Cicero-North Syracuse High School
|
Syracuse, N.Y.
|
Forward
|
Connecticut
|
|
Moriah Jefferson
|
T.H.E.S.A.
|
Glen Heights, Texas
|
Point Guard
|
Connecticut
|
|
Morgan Tuck
|
Bolingbrook High School
|
Bolingbrook, Ill.
|
Forward
|
Connecticut
|
|
Jewell Loyd
|
Niles West High School
|
Skokie, Ill.
|
Guard
|
Notre Dame
|
|
Linnae Harper
|
Whitney Young High School
|
Chicago, Ill.
|
Guard
|
Undecided
|
The Naismith High School Player of the Year award was first presented in 1987 to Dennis Scott of Flint Hill Prep (Oakton, Va.), who later starred at Georgia Tech and with the Orlando Magic in the NBA. The girl’s winner in 1987 was Lynne Lorenzen of Ventura, Iowa, who played at Iowa State University.
Other notable winners include Jason Kidd (1992, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School, Alameda, Calif.), Kobe Bryant (1996, Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, Pa.), LeBron James (2003, St. Vincent-St. Mary, Akron, Ohio) and Derrick Favors (2009, South Atlanta High School, Atlanta, Ga.).
Last year’s boy’s winner was Austin Rivers (Winter Park High, Orlando, Fla.) who has gone on to play at Duke University.
For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.
ABOUT THE ATLANTA TIPOFF CLUB
The Atlanta Tipoff Club, an Atlanta Sports Council property, is committed to promoting the game of basketball and recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of those who make the game so exciting. The Atlanta Tipoff Club, founded during the 1956-57 season, has presented the Naismith Trophy every year since UCLA’s Lew Alcindor first won the award in 1969. Old Dominion’s Anne Donovan won the inaugural Women’s Naismith Trophy in 1983.
The Naismith Award has become the most prestigious award in all of college basketball, recognizing the Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year, Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Coach of the Year, as well as awards for outstanding achievement in high school basketball, officiating, and contribution to the game.
