Nevada POY Watchlist: Week 1
The State Player of the year is one of the most prestigious awards a prep player can take home in his career. No POY race in recent memory has had as many potential candidates as this one. Throughout the season…
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Continue ReadingThe State Player of the year is one of the most prestigious awards a prep player can take home in his career. No POY race in recent memory has had as many potential candidates as this one. Throughout the season PH will keep you updated with the POY race. In this article, we take a look at the candidates after week 1.
Favorites:
Jaden Hardy 6’4 PG Coronado 2021 (#1 2021) – Has a chance to end up being the best player on the best team.
Noah Taitz 6’3 SG Bishop Gorman (#3 2020) – Taitz is off to a great year in helping BG to a 2-0 start.
Zaon Collins 6’1 PG Bishop Gorman 2021 (#2 2021) – Collins has been as effective as Taitz as Gorman cruised in its two tune-up games. Gorman plays one of the toughest schedules in the country, and it starts with a matchup against San Gabriel this weekend at the So Cal/ LV showdown.
Julian Strawther 6’6 SF Liberty 2020 (#2 2020) – Strawther has had a 48 point game and a 51 point game so far this year. He’s putting together a McDonald’s AA type season. Has a great opportunity to solidify his National ranking as he takes on Rancho Christian and #1 recruit Evan Mobley this weekend in Pasadena.
Daishen Nix 6’5 PG Trinity International 2020 (#1 2020) – His 42 point performance in a win against Compass last week has him as the early favorite. He also helped lead Trinity to a big victory over Punahou out of Hawaii.
Donavan Yap 6’2 SG Arbor View 2020 (#5 2020) – Yap’s performance last week against Liberty has catapulted him into the favorites category. He is a scoring machine that showed, the ability to take over a game. Arbor View is a legit state title contender, and Yap is a big reason why.
Contenders
Will McClendon 6’4 SG Bishop Gorman 2021 (#3 2021) – McClendon could easily fit in the favorite candidate, however, someone’s going to have to sacrifice numbers Taitz is a senior, Collins is a PG so McClendon fits right here.
Anthony Hunter 5’11 PG Durango 2020 (#6 2020) – Durango is off to a 3-0 start and Hunter is one of the main reasons why. He’s turning into one of the most complete players in the state, scoring, defending and setting up his teammates. We will have a better understanding of the Trailblazers after this week, as they host Clark and travel out to Pasadena to take on Harvard – Westlake in the So Cal/LV showcase.
Dark Horses
Mason Whittaker 6’5 PG Spanish Springs 2020 (#44 2020) – Mason is still hanging in there. Spanish Springs is 4-2 with their only two losses coming against California teams. Whittaker is showing off his usual stellar all-around game, averaging 18 – 6 – 2 for the Cougars.
Kareem Rowe 6’4 PF McQueen 2020 – Rowe has gotten off to a monster start. McQueen is 4-0 and he is a huge reason why. The low post-stud is averaging a double-double with 32 and 14 so far on the season.
Long Shots:
Milos Uzan 6’3 PG Desert Pines 2022 – Uzan has firmly put himself into the race. The sophomore has two of the key ingredients I look for in a POY contender, talent and a winning team. In his one game of the season so far he displayed a calm and next play mentality that is crucial in a team leader. He finished with 15 against Las Vegas. DP plays Etiwanda in the So Cal/ Vegas Showdown this weekend.
Martell Williams 6’2 SG Silverado 2020 (#7 2020) – After a slow start, Williams has come on strong. Silverado only has one loss, in a game they led by double digits into the 4th quarter. He’s currently averaging 14 and 8 on the season.