2019 Mr. Basketball Rankings Halfway Through the Season
Until 3 weeks ago, the 2019 Mr. Basketball race appeared to be all but over with Dontaie Allen the presumed winner. That’s no longer the case. With Allen out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL, David Johnson out for…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingUntil 3 weeks ago, the 2019 Mr. Basketball race appeared to be all but over with Dontaie Allen the presumed winner. That’s no longer the case. With Allen out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL, David Johnson out for the last 3 weeks (and likely even longer) with a knee injury and Michael Moreno out another 3-4 weeks with a broken foot suffered at the Beach Ball Classic, the award now seems to be wide open. Let’s take a look at the likely rankings as they stand today.
The Favorite: KyKy Tandy (University Heights Academy)
How He Wins: With so many injuries and Tandy’s impressive numbers and winning team record, he becomes the favorite because he’s signed to a high major school (Xavier) and has gotten his team to Rupp once already and should be back this year.
How He Loses: Kentucky’s Mr Basketball is always political. Tandy’s dad made a lot of people mad last year with some remarks about the University of Kentucky’s recruitment of his son. KyKy also has a reputation for not playing hard on defense. If voters want the most complete player to win, he’s not it.
The Second Favorite: Isaiah Cozart (Madison Central)
How He Wins: Already the state’s all time leading shot blocker, Cozart is having a huge season on both ends of the floor. Averaging 21 points and 13 rebounds per game while leading the state in blocks (again) and shooting 63% from the floor, Isaiah’s stats are comparable to Tandy’s as far as impact on the game. And he’s committed to in-state Western Kentucky which is a big deal to some voters.
How He Loses: Before all the injuries, no one was mentioning him as a real contender. Moreno was assumed by many to win the 11th region nomination and Isaiah would need to beat out Kyle Rode as well. On top of that, Madison Central isn’t having the best year with an 8-9 record right now.
Dark Horse: Kyle Rode (Lexington Christian Academy)
How He Wins: He’s probably the most valuable player to any team in the state and having a huge statistical season. Kyle is averaging 24.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game with 52/41/82 shooting splits and playing (and guarding) and 5 positions on the floor. Take him off the team and LCA’s record likely flips from 11-6 to 6-11.
How He Loses: Name recognition. Kyle has been around for a while but the generic voter who only knows the “big names” may not know Rode. He’s a quiet kid who committed to play college at Liberty. Not many outside of Lexington may think of him as a potential Mr. Basketball.
So You’re Saying There’s a Chance: Michael Moreno (Scott County), David Johnson (Trinity), Dontaie Allen (Pendleton County)
How Moreno Wins: The best player on the best team in the state. Not to mention he’s got over 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in his career.
How Johnson Wins: He returns from injury and has a great last 6 weeks or so of the season. He plays well enough to regain votes he could have lost while missing due to his knee injury.
How Allen Wins: Voters view the award as a career award and not just a Senior year award. With over 1,200 rebounds and well over 3,000 points, Allen has the best career numbers and was averaging 43 points and 16 rebounds per game when he was hurt. Not to mention the UK factor. He could still get many votes thanks to his commitment to the state’s flagship university.
How All 3 Lose: The time lost to injury is too much and voters consider the award to be the best player this season and not as a career award.