AHSAA Regular Season Awards

As postseason play begins all across the state, let's look back at some of the top players and give out four big awards: the MVP, the Defensive Player of the Year, the Most Improved, and the Rookie of the Year. <strong>Most Valuable Player: Colby Jones, Mountain Brook:</strong> Colby leads the charge for the dominant Mountain Brook Spartans and is making a push at a Mr. Basketball Award. He can score at all three levels. He quietly beats you up. He's a force on the boards. He's surrounded by incredible talent and knows exactly how to find it. It never is the flashiest performance, but blink and he'll put up 30 on you. He has committed to play with Xavier next year and continued to lead the neon green Spartans as the top team in the state. <strong>Defensive Player of the Year:</strong> <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-myers/">Jalen Myers</a>, Bob Jones:</strong> Jalen is a monster on the interior for the Bob Jones Patriots. He's a walking double-double anytime he steps out on the court. Standing at 6'8", his length makes it difficult for guards to shoot over him. He's guaranteed to block a shot or two a game and alter many more. Being so dominant on the boards, he prevents second chance opportunities. He is a little skinny and sometimes bullied by bigger players, but his athleticism and length lets him continue to make a difference. <strong>Most Improved Player: <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jd-davison/">JD Davison</a>, Calhoun:</strong> JD is only a junior and it's scary. He entered his junior campaign with 44 points in the win against Jeff Davis. He has always been an explosive player with emphatic dunks and unreal athleticism, but this season he has really developed his jump shot and making him a huge prospect to watch through the post season and into his senior season. He finished the regular season averaging 32.4 points per game. During the summer of 2018, he was unranked among the Class of 2021, but now he sits #18 according to ESPN. His stock will only continue to rise. He received several offers from various prep schools around the country, such as Oak Hill Academy in Virginia or St. Patrick from New Jersey. He's received collegiate offers from Auburn, Alabama, Xavier, among others. He's also starting to gain the attention of Duke, Louisville, and Kentucky. <strong>Rookie of the Year: RJ Johnson, Grissom:</strong> Johnson comes in as a freshman and has led the way for the Tigers. He's an exceptional 2-way player that is big and physical doing a little bit of everything. He has every making to be a star in this state already receiving interest from LSU, Auburn, Samford, Xavier, and Clemson. He can score in chunks and really distribute the ball well. He loves attacking the basket and finishing through contact. On defense, he almost always matches against the best players from the opposing teams and is really physical with them. Tell your children about him because we'll be hearing a lot about him in the next three years.