Way-Too-Early Season Preview: Mr. Basketball Sleepers
Basketball is built on underdog stories. Nobody ever pulls hard for the one-seed to make a championship run (unless, of course, you are a fan of said team). We all want to see David slay Goliath. The Mr. Basketball award…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingBasketball is built on underdog stories. Nobody ever pulls hard for the one-seed to make a championship run (unless, of course, you are a fan of said team). We all want to see David slay Goliath. The Mr. Basketball award in the 2020-21 season will be no different. Prospects like Patrick Baldwin Jr. Patrick Baldwin Jr. 6'9" | SF Sussex Hamilton | 2021 State #2 Nation WI and David Joplin David Joplin 6'8" | SF Brookfield | 2021 State #54 Nation WI seem to already be far ahead of their counterparts in the race for the trophy. But, just like everything else in basketball, fans don’t want to see the favorites pull away and win in a landslide.
Here is a list of six underdog prospects who fans could get behind in the Mr. Basketball race:
1. Jayden Jackson Jayden Jackson 6'2" | SG Whitefish Bay | 2021 State WI — Whitefish Bay — SG
Jackson is one of the better athletes in Wisconsin. There are plenty of prospects who play multiple sports, but he is the only player in Wisconsin to earn a Division One scholarship offer for football and basketball. On the gridiron, he stars at wide receiver. On the court, he is a top shooting guard in Wisconsin. I was really impressed by the Whitefish Bay star during the summer AAU session. At the Hard Work Region Finals, Jackson led his team (ABC Young Lions) all the way to the 16U semifinals before getting beat by a loaded Minnesota Heat team.
His junior year was just as impressive. Jackson scored 19.7 points per game on 52 percent shooting while guiding Bay to an 18-7 season. Over the course of his high school career, Jackson has steadily improved statistically in every major category. If he makes the expected leap from his junior to senior year, he could work his way into the Mr. Basketball conversation.
2. Jakobe Thompson Jakobe Thompson 6'1" | PG Racine Case | 2021 State WI — Racine Case — PG
In the 2020-21 season, Racine Case will return as favorites in the Southeast Conference, and Thompson will enter his final season as the popular preseason pick to win player of the year. After averaging 19 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, Thompson was voted the best prospect in the conference as a junior. Now, he will return with his eyes on an even bigger prize. Mr. Basketball will be within reach for Thompson in his senior season. The point guard is a streaky player who can suffer from the occasional bad shooting day, but when Thompson gets hot, the game is completely in his hands. He may be a bit behind the rest of his peers in the race right now, but Thompson can easily make up ground during the season.
3. Jordan Johnson Jordan Johnson 6'2" | CG Elkhorn | 2021 State WI — Elkhorn — CG
A couple of years ago, associating Johnson’s name with Mr. Basketball would have seemed impossible. Averaging just 10.5 minutes per game in his sophomore season, Johnson certainly seemed like the last player primed for a breakout season. But here we are. Johnson’s unlikely breakout season happened. Making the rare transition from role player to star, Johnson scored 24 points, grabbed 5.3 rebounds, and handed out 2.3 assists per game as a junior. If it wasn’t for the cancelation of the season, the combo guard and his teammates would have likely made it to the Kohl Center for the second straight season.
Next, Johnson will look to introduce himself to Mr. Basketball voters during his senior season.
4. Ben Nau Ben Nau 6'1" | PG Brookfield Central | 2021 State WI — Brookfield Central — PG
Nau is the ultimate winner. He is more than happy to do whatever his team needs to win. This year, Brookfield Central needed the point guard to run the offense, play great defense, and take a backseat in the scoring department. Nau did his job almost perfectly. The 6-foot-1 point guard locked up the opposing team’s best player, averaged 5.2 assists per game, and was very efficient on offense. His numbers may seem underwhelming, even mediocre. But trust me, if Nau wanted to load the stat sheet, he would. And next year, the Central guard might have to step up his production. Eric Racidevich and Malik-Abdul-Wahid will both graduate this summer and leave for college. The void left by these two prospects will put more pressure on Nau to score the ball. We all know that Nau will lead Central to many wins next year, but if he can also make his stats a little bit prettier, the point guard could make a push for Mr. Basketball.
5. Quinton Murrell Quinton Murrell 6'5" | SG Milwaukee King | 2021 State WI — Milwaukee King — PG
Murrell was one of the most pleasant surprises this season. The Milwaukee King point guard had a solid sophomore year, but he took his play to another level as a junior. Murrell led King to an undefeated regular season, scored 18 points per game, and he won Milwaukee City Conference Player of the Year. By all accounts, Murrell was one of the top prospects in the state. Next season, he will be a player that nobody will want to guard. With his ability to get buckets at all three levels, the MK guard will give defenders headaches.
He could also give Mr. Basketball voters a headache. A great senior season by Murrell would make naming Mr. Basketball much more difficult
6. Zac Johnson Zac Johnson 6'3" | SG River Falls | 2021 State WI — River Falls — SG
I don’t believe that Johnson gets enough props for how great of a scorer he is. The River Falls shooting guard is often recognized as one of the best pure shooters in the state, but Johnson’s offensive skills don’t stop there. Johnson is able to finish at the rim and he has a great shooting touch in the midrange. He averaged 21.6 points per game last season, and he will undoubtedly improve on those numbers next year. The one thing Johnson has going against him is that he doesn’t play for a powerhouse program located in Madison or Milwaukee. River Falls is a solid squad that performs well, but it is located far away from the center of Wisconsin high school hoops. This means that Johnson will have to be extra good if he wants to force his way into the Mr. Basketball race.