UPDATE: Georgia's Gatorade POY Nominees

Atlanta, Georgia - The New Year has begun and what does that mean? We are halfway through the regular season in high school hoops. In November we told you who the 2018-2019 Gatorade Player of the Year nominees were for this upcoming season and now that list has been reduced to a few finalist. Below we have pointed out what prospects have a high chance of receiving this year's Georgia's Gatorade Player of the Year Award at the end of the season (no order).   2020 PG KD Johnson (Southwest Dekalb) Not sure if Kadarius "KD" Johnson leads the race so far this season for Georgia's Gatorade Player of the Year award but if it was up to me I think he is certainly towards the top. The junior point guard has had to carry the load for his Southwest Dekalb squad this year who have been dealing with injuries and eligiblity issues for other players. KD is averaging 23.3 points per game, 5.6 assists per game, and 6.0 rebounds per game and has led Southwest Dekalb to a 13-5 overall start to the season. After the summer he had on the circuit, Johnson was expected to have a year like this and he is sure living up to the hype. He has become one of the best prospects here in the southeast and he should definitely receive more national attention after this summer. You cannot ignore his passion and competitiveness when he is on the court. He has improved in his all around point guard skills and is becoming more and more of a pure scorer. Oh and how good is Johnson defensively? He is currently averaging 4.7 steals per game. He is a pitbull defender that loves to play defense.   2020 PG Sharife Cooper (McEachern) We all know the summer Sharife just had in the Nike EYBL and his skills have not yet changed coming into the high school season. The 6-foot-1 point guard is currently averaging 24.0 points per game while dishing out 6.0 assists per game and is one of the reasons the Indians of McEachern are undefeated and are one of the best teams in the nation so far. Game after game Sharife proves why is considered one of the best point guards in the country. His IQ is off the charts and he makes scoring the ball at 6-foot-1 look too easy at times. Besides his player of the year nomination in the state of Georgia, Cooper has been put on MaxPreps player of the year award as well along side Anthony Edwards of Holy Spirit. There is no question Sharife is at the top of the list to receive Georgia's Gatorade POY award, but the question is, could he lead his squad to a state title appearance in Georgia's class 7A?   2020 C Walker Kessler (Woodward Academy) The 7-foot-0 center Walker Kessler burst onto the scene after a great summer in the 16U Adidas Gauntlet with Game Elite (FL). Walker is not your original 7-foot-0 center, instead he is even better and could fit with the modern NBA big man today. What makes Walker Kessler so different from most big men his age? He can step out and knock down perimeter jumpers from almost anywhere on the floor when in the halfcourt. Though his Woodward Academy squad is only at an overall 9-7 record right now, Kessler is averaging a double-double with 21.0 points per game while snagging down 11.1 rebounds per game. That is not a surprise and we expected these kind of stats from the junior big man. Kessler is definitely still in the race to capture this year's Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year award and it has been a couple of years since a big man took home such an award. Last time a big man won the award? Chicago Bulls Wendell Carter Jr. who attended Pace Academy.   2019 SG Anthony Edwards (Holy Spirit Prep) One of the nations most exciting players this year has been Anthony "Ant-Man" Edwards. "Ant-Man" this year has lived up to his hype and has been putting on show after show in every game he has played in so far this year. Up to this point in the season, he is averaging 25.2 points per game while pulling down 9.2 rebounds per game for Holy Spirit Prep. Edwards recently reclassified up to the 2019 class after being in the 2020 class, and it was a great decision. His game speaks for itself. Talk about an NBA ready player, Anthony has the skillset and body type already to effect the NBA game. The now senior two-guard plays with such finesse and swagger to his game, somewhat like a James Harden offensively. He also recently cut his list of schools down to five. Those progams include Florida State, Kansas, UNC, Kentucky, and Georgia. Anthony is one of the nations top available seniors and has the highest chance of receiving Georgia's Gatorade Player of the Year award.   2019 F Isaac Okoro (McEachern/Auburn commit) With the departures of Georgia natives Jared Harper and Bryce Brown, the Auburn Tigers are potentially getting another superstar in the making and that superstar's name is Isaac Okoro. The 6-foot-7 forward has had a stellar season so far up to this point, leading McEachern to a 12-0 overall record and to one of the nations top teams once again. Isaac was recently named on the City of Palms Classic all tournament team alongside his teammates Northwestern commit Jared Jones and 2020 PG Sharife Cooper, who won MVP. Isaac and Sharife were both nominated earlier in the season to win this award and have been put on the finalist list after their performance in Fort Myers, Florida. Okoro has been putting his talents on display in front of the national media and will be looking to capture a state title in his last year of high school and along side this award.   2020 W Brandon Boston Jr. (Norcross) Probably one of the states and nations most improved player this season has been Brandon Boston Jr. of Norcross High School. The 6-foot-7 wing has been efficient for the Blue Devils and currently leads them in scoring with 21.0 points per game and grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game. If you do not know by now, BJ is an elite shooter and one of the best shooters in the country. He is right up there with Sharife Cooper and Anthony Edwards, in my opinion, in this race. Boston Jr. is putting up these type of numbers against the national competition and is certainly not done yet. The junior wing will be en route to lead to his Blue Devils team to another class 7A championship appearance, but will the third time be the charm? Since Brandon's arrival at Norcross, he has been to the state title game his whole high school career but has yet to actually bring it back home to Norcross. Will that change this year? We shall see.   2019 F Marcus Watson (Buford/Oklahoma State commit) Oklahoma State commit Marcus Watson has had a heck of a first half in his senior year. The 6-foot-6 forward is currently averaging 20.6 points per game and has led the class 5A program Buford to a 14-1 overall record up to this point. Watson has not been talked about as much as he should so far this season. I think a lot of people forget he is one of the few Georgia prospects in the senior class that is actually ranked, according to ESPN, and that he should. He has a very huge body frame and he has always been able to utilize his size to get buckets. He is a powerful forward who is able to score in bunches if his opponents allow him too. Marcus will be looking to leave with a bang in his senior campaign and also capture another Georgia class 5A state title like he did in his sophomore season.   2020 PG Dwon Odom (Saint Francis/Xavier commit) pictured above The closest prospect in high school that I have seen to a Russell Westbrook type player, in terms of athleticism, is junior point guard Dwon Odom. Wow can this kid here play, as if it would be a surprise. Odom holds and draws comparisons to NBA star Russell Westbrook. He plays on another speed when he is in the open floor and is always able to make a few acrobatic plays when he has the ball. So far this season Odom has lead his Saint Francis team to a 12-3 overall record. The 6-foot-3 point guard is certainly one of the finalist to receive Georgia's Gatorade Player of the Year award and will be looking to return to the Georgia A-Private state title game as he did just a year ago.   Other's Receiving Attention: 2019 W Elias King (Lincoln Academy/Mississippi State) 2019 F Jaylin Williams (Brantley County/Auburn) 2019 SG Devin Butts (Stratford Academy/Mississippi State) 2020 SG Toneari Lane (Shiloh) 2019 PG Kyle Sturdivant (Norcross/USC)