Georgia’s Gatorade POY Award Early Candidates

<p><strong>Atlanta, Georgia</strong> - We are in the month of June and what does that mean exactly? High school coaches and players get back together for practice, workouts, film, etc. for the first time since March and for some teams February. High school team camps and player camps are really for the month of June only.</p> <p>With the NCAA recruiting calender with a few changes this year, college coaches and scouts are able to come out and spectate in person at certain team camps around the country. With that being said, here we take a look at a few early candidates and nominees who should be in the race to receive Georgia's Gatorade Player of the Year Award in the 2019-2020 season. </p> <p><strong>2020 PG Sharife Cooper of McEachern High School (Powder Springs, Georgia)</strong> - Meet the reigning Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year, if you have not heard of him already, Mr. Sharife Cooper. Cooper will certainly be the favorite once again to capture the award after leading McEachern to it's first ever boys state title and an amazing 32-0 overall record. The 6-foot-0 point guard is finally coming into his senior season and will have a strong load to carry after losing key pieces from last season's undefeated squad. It is only June and school picks back up in August and that means a lot can change from now and then. </p> <p><strong>2020 SG Brandon Boston Jr. of Norcross High School (Norcross, Georgia)</strong> - Cooper's AAU teammate, Brandon Boston Jr., will also be a favorite to capture such an award next March. Boston Jr. has had a fantastic three year's at powerhouse Norcross, stacking an 83-19 overall record with two trips to the class 7A championship game in the course of three years. The 6-foot-7 wing has recently cut his list of schools down to Duke, Florida, Auburn, and Kentucky. His senior season will be special and Brandon certainly will look to go out with a state championship title under his belt. </p> <p><strong>2020 PG KD Johnson of Southwest Dekalb High School (Decatur, Georgia) <em>pictured</em></strong> - The 6-foot-1 dynamic point guard Kadarius "KD" Johnson is probably the most underrated prospect in the country in the 2020 class. Johnson is the most consistent prospect that I have witnessed multiple times in his class. After a 24-7 season last year and appearing in the class 5A final four, Johnson, alongside <strong>2020 W Eugene Brown III</strong>, will be looking to take the next step next season and leading Southwest Dekalb to the class 5A state title game. KD will be another fan favorite to capture this award next season with his prolific style of play.</p> <p><strong>2020 PG Deivon Smith of Grayson High School (Loganville, Georgia)</strong> - After an amazing 25-4 season the Grayson Rams had, Deivon Smith will be looking to bring the Rams back on top as one of the state's best teams next season. Smith has taken the nation by storm with his stellar play on the court dating back to the beginning of the 2018-2019 high school season. His play has earned him a plethora of offers from high major programs and also have earned him invites to some of the nations best camps including the Pangos All American Cmap and NBA Top 100 Camp. The 6-foot-0 point guard will be the leader of next year's Grayson's squad once again and should have them roaming at the top of the state's rankings next season. </p> <p><strong>2020 C Walker Kessler of Woodward Academy (College Park, Georgia)</strong> - The 7-foot-0 Walker Kessler has been one of the most intriguing prospects in the nation over the last year or so. He is a 7-foot-0 plus big man with guard-like attributes and holds a nice looking stroke on his jumper from beyond the arc. Walker is coming off a junior campaign where he averaged 21.0 points per game, 11.9 rebounds per game, and 6.4 points per game and leading Woodward Academy to a 22-9 overall record and an appearance in the class 4A final four. Walker will be one of the Georgia prospects out representing Georgia at the USA U19 World Cup Team tryouts later next week. </p> <p><strong>Xavier commit 2020 PG Dwon Odom of St. Francis (Alpharetta, Georgia)</strong> - The future Xavier Musketeer Dwon Odom will be looking to receive next year's Gatorade Player of the Year Award and also leading the Knights of St. Francis to back-to-back state titles. The 6-foot-2 point guard holds an 80-14 overall record in a St. Francis uniform coming into his senior year in August. Dwon has been to two consecutive class A private state championship games and will be looking to make it a third by next March. Odom holds Russell Westbrook type athleticism and draws crowds with his acrabatic finishes at the rim during his games. </p> <p><strong>2021 F Jabari Smith Jr. of Sandy Creek High School (Tyrone, Georgia)</strong> - The 6-foot-9 forward, Jabari Smith Jr., has captured scouts, college coaches, and the national media's attention dating back to last November at the famous Holiday Hoopsgiving Event held during the week of Thanksgiving. Smith Jr. is one of the few 2021 prospects in the state of Georgia that will have a high chance of winning this award next March. His fluid game and high versatility at his size earned him a spot on the USA U16 World Cup Team and an invite to the famous NBA Top 100 Camp. Smith Jr. is special and we should expect a great junior and senior year from him in the state of Georgia.  </p> <p><strong>2021 SG Chance Moore of Holy Innocents (Atlanta, Georgia)</strong> - After suffering an injury that kept him out of AAU ball this spring, summer, now junior shooting guard Chance Moore will be looking to come back on the floor and hold his number one overall ranking in the peach state. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard was just beginning to open more eyes nationally as one of the guards in his class before getting injured a couple months ago. Chance has earned a few high major offers from schools like Auburn, Xavier, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, and others. He should be back and healthy before the start of his junior campaign at Holy Innocents. </p> <p><em><strong>Other Candidates Include:</strong></em></p> <p>2020 PG Eric Gaines of Lithonia High School </p> <p>2020 W Eugene Brown III of Southwest Dekalb High School </p> <p>2020 F Jermontae Hill of Tucker High School </p> <p>2020 G Caleb Murphy of Grayson High School</p> <p>2021 SG Garrison Powell of Holy Innocents</p> <p>2020 SG Toneari Lane of Grayson High School </p> <p>2020 C Ebenezer Dowuona of The Heritage School</p> <p>2020 C Jordan Meka of Mt. Bethel </p> <p>2021 W Matthew Cleveland of Pace Academy </p> <p>2021 G Peyton Daniels of Tri Cities High School</p> <p>2020 SG Nahiem Alleyne of Mountain View High School </p>