Louisiana 2A Player of the Year Contender
2019:
Mylik Wilson 6’3 SG Rayville
So far, Wilson has established himself as the top player of the 2019 class. The last time that we saw Wilson playing high school ball, he was capping off an undefeated season in the state title game against North Caddo. Rayville has a high standard to live up to this season, as last year they ended up as the top team in the state, regardless of class. They also ended the year as a top 10 public school team in the country. This season, Rayville will be playing a much tougher schedule in state, so another undefeated season won’t be coming easily. However, if Wilson is able to lead Rayville to another undefeated record, or close to it, he won’t just be going home with the player of the year for 2A. He’ll be walking away with Mr. Basketball for Louisiana.
Jordan Wright 6’5 SG Dunham
While Mylik Wilson is still at the top of 2019, this is the closest that the race has been in quite some time. The last time we saw Wright playing high school ball, he hit the shot of Marsh Madness, knocking down a shot at the elbow over 3 Episcopal defenders at the buzzer in order to take home the Division III state title. Wright was able to play really well for Pro Skills this summer on the EYBL, and lead them to a 9-7 record on the circuit, surprising a lot of people. He’s been able to make up ground on Wilson as far as best player in the state goes, and this year he definitely has a chance to do that. In order to win POY for 2A or Mr. Basketball this year, he is going to have to lead Dunham to a top 5 team in the state regardless of class, and lead them to contention for back to back state titles.
I considered writing about some other players, such as Shawn Royal (2020), Javon Ruffin (2021), and Emareyon McDonald (2021), but the reality of the situation is that none of them are actually going to win it. The 2A POY race is a two man race, but those two players are the two leading contenders for Mr. Basketball this year, let alone just the 2A POY race.