Paste BN High School Sports Awards: Atlanta boys basketball nominees
The Paste BN High School Sports Awards are slated to celebrate the top student-athletes in the Atlanta area.
On June 18, 2020, at 6 p.m., Paste BN will fete high school standouts with a star-studded online show available free of charge to all viewers. The show will also be available on demand after the initial live event.
Here are the 11 nominees for Atlanta Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Quincy Ademokoya
School: Norcross High
Class: 2020
Position: Small forward
College: Temple
Noteworthy: Need a shooter? The Temple recruit hit 7 of his 11 attempts from beyond the arc to beat Tucker.
Eugene Brown III
School: Southwest Dekalb High
Class: 2020
Position: Small forward
College: Ohio State
Noteworthy: Despite drawing all kinds of attention from defenses, Brown averaged 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.9 steals and 2.6 blocks.
Matthew Cleveland
School: Pace Academy (Atlanta)
Position: Shooting guard
Class: 2021
College: Undecided
Noteworthy: The wiry wing led off the Knights Class AAA semifinal game by finishing an alley-oop on the opening play and led the offensive charge in the state title win as well.
Sharife Cooper
School: McEachern High (Powder Springs, Ga.)
Class: 2020
Position: Point guard
College: Auburn
Noteworthy: Cooper spearheaded the Indians’ state championship defense by averaging 30.6 points, 7.8 assists and 3.6 steals per game before falling in the state Class 7A semifinal.
Sam Hines Jr.
School: Wheeler High (Marietta, Ga.)
Position: Small forward
Class: 2020
College: University of Denver
Noteworthy: The 6-foot-6 small forward proved to be efficient – 11 of 12 shooting – in scoring 28 points to push Wheeler past Grayson in the Class 7A title game.
Walker Kessler
School: Woodward Academy (College Park, Ga.)
Position: Center
Class: 2020
College: North Carolina
Noteworthy: The 7-foot-1 center concluded his prep career with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds and five blocked shots in a 75-56 win over Cross Creek as Woodward claimed its first Class AAAA championship.
Caleb Murphy
School: Grayson High (Loganville, Ga.)
Class: 2020
Position: Shooting guard
College: South Florida
Noteworthy: Murphy absorbed all blows while energizing Grayson’s attack on both ends of the court all season, but his three-quarters-court heave didn’t fall at the buzzer in the title game loss to Wheeler.
Dwon Odom
School: St. Francis School (Alpharetta, Ga.)
Class: 2020
Position: Point guard
College: Xavier
Noteworthy: Odom was the do-it-all dynamo for St. Francis as he averaged 20.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game and went off for 27 points in the championship game to help the Knights claim back-to-back Class A Private titles.
Deivon Smith
School: Grayson High (Loganville, Ga.)
Class: 2020
Position: Point guard
College: Mississippi State
Noteworthy: Smith scored 21 points to knock off McEachern, the defending Class 7A champions, in the semifinals, but Grayson couldn't topple Wheeler in the title game.
Jabari Smith Jr.
School: Sandy Creek High (Tyrone, Ga.)
Class: 2021
Position: Power forward
College: Undecided
Noteworthy: The top junior in the state served notice of his promise when he scored 25 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked five shots in a 56-55 loss to Woodward Academy in the Class AAAA quarterfinal.
J.T. Thor
School: Norcross High
Position: Power forward
Class: 2020
College: Undecided
Noteworthy: Thor was a threat in all facets of the game as he displayed in a postseason performance that included 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.