Atlanta Tipoff Club Announces Finalists for 2013 Naismith Boy’s High School Player of the Year
The selections were based on player performances during the 2012-2013 basketball season.
ATLANTA (Feb. 7, 2013) – Then there were three. Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty High School, San Jose, Calif.), Jabari Parker (Simeon Career Academy, Chicago, Ill.) and Andrew Wiggins (Huntington Prep, Huntington, W.Va.) constitute the remaining contenders for this year’s Naismith Boy’s High School Player of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. Parker has committed to play at Duke University for the 2013-2014 season, while Gordon and Wiggins remain undecided on a college choice.
The candidates were selected by basketball journalists from around the country, who form the Naismith Trophy national high school voting academy. The selections were based on player performances during the 2012-2013 basketball season. The winner will be recognized at the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Naismith Awards Banquet on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, in Atlanta.
“The competition in boy’s high school basketball becomes tougher each year, especially as the athleticism and talent of the finalists continue to reach new levels,” said Eric Oberman, Executive Director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “There are three extraordinarily talented contenders remaining and we know that it will be a close call to determine a winner.”
The Naismith Boy’s 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. 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 in Atlanta, Ga.). Last year’s boy’s winner was Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas, Nev.) who is now playing at UCLA.
For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.
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2013 Naismith Boy’s High School Player of the Year Finalists
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Last Name
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First Name
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Hometown
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High School
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Position
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Class
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College Choice
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Gordon
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Aaron
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San Jose, CA
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Archbishop Mitty High School
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PF
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Senior
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Undecided
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Parker
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Jabari
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Chicago, IL
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Simeon Career Academy
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SF
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Senior
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Duke
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Wiggins
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Andrew
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Thornhill, Ontario
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Huntington Prep
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SF
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Senior
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Undecided
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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.
