Way-Too-Early Season Preview: Mr. Basketball Favorites

<p>At the conclusion of each season, Mr. Basketball is handed out to Wisconsin’s top senior. The award not only recognizes the chosen player’s greatness in his final season, but it also commemorates his outstanding career and contribution to Wisconsin high school basketball. La Crosse Central’s [player_tooltip player_id="544493" first="Johnny" last="Davis"] took home the hardware this year, joining the illustrious group of Kobe King, Jordan McCabe, and Marcus Domask as recent players to win the award. </p> <p>Which senior will separate himself from the pack in the 2020-21 season? Prep Hoops Wisconsin names the six favorites to take home the trophy next year: </p> <p>1. [player_tooltip player_id="544570" first="Patrick" last="Baldwin Jr."] -- Sussex Hamilton -- SF</p> <p>Baldwin is undoubtedly the favorite to win Mr. Basketball in his senior year. There will be a handful of prospects that give the five-star small forward a run for his money, but I don’t see Baldwin being replaced as the state’s most talented prospect any time soon. Playing in the always tough Greater Metro Conference, Baldwin scored 24.3 points and grabbed 10.8 rebounds per game. As a junior, the Sussex Hamilton star was tabbed Gatorade Player of the Year in Wisconsin, third-team All-American by Nasmith, and fourth-team All-American by MaxPreps. If Baldwin is able to win Mr. Basketball, he would end his career as one of the most decorated players in Wisconsin high school basketball history. </p> <p>2. [player_tooltip player_id="804893" first="David" last="Joplin"] -- Brookfield Central -- SF</p> <p>Joplin may have been the only player in the state that successfully went toe-to-toe with Baldwin last season. On February 14th, Joplin scored 36 points for Brookfield Central in a 78-73 victory over the Chargers. Next year, he will have a great shot to steal the Mr. Basketball award from Baldwin. The two are guaranteed to match up at least twice during the regular season, which means that the small forward will have the chance to prove his merit against the reigning Gatorade POTY. Toward the end of his junior season, Joplin really started to hit his stride. In the last seven games of the year, Joplin failed to score 30 or more points just once.</p> <p>3. [player_tooltip player_id="804895" first="Tyrese" last="Hunter"] -- Racine ST. Catherines -- PG</p> <p>In the summer, Hunter was earning scholarship offers from the likes of UW-Milwaukee, UC Davis, and South Dakota State. Since then, his offer list has expanded. He now owns offers from Marquette, Florida, Minnesota, and Texas A&amp;M, with plenty more sure to come in the near future. This new attention from high major college programs is a byproduct of his incredible junior season. In 2019-20, Hunter scored 21.4 points per game while leading his team to a perfect 25-0 record. As he continues to dominate the Racine area, Hunter is sure to pull in some awards at the end of his high school career. Will Mr. Basketball be one of them? </p> <p>4. [player_tooltip player_id="830582" first="Cameron" last="Palesse"] -- Waukesha West -- PG</p> <p>Palesse carried Waukesha West last year, and he will probably have to put the Wolverines on his back again next year. I believe that this heavy workload will only help the point guard in his race to win Mr. Basketball, though. Palesse will have the opportunity to lead WW to a lot of wins while also putting up some crazy numbers. In his junior season, the wins didn’t come as easy, but Palesse still played great basketball on a nightly basis. West will return as the favorites in the Classic Eight Conference and sleepers in Division Two. If the point guard can lead his squad to a conference title and a deep march run, he should definitely be considered for Mr. Basketball. </p> <p>5. [player_tooltip player_id="929231" first="Kobe" last="Johnson"] -- Nicolet -- PG</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="544492" first="Jalen" last="Johnson"] was never able to win Mr. Basketball, something that seems odd because the Duke commit will go down as one of the greatest Wisconsin products ever. But, [player_tooltip player_id="929231" first="Kobe" last="Johnson"], Jalen’s younger brother, will have the chance at the crown next season. With the Knights once again favorites to take home the Gold Ball in D2, Johnson will have plenty of opportunities to impress on the biggest stage. Johnson is a do-it-all prospect that will likely have no problem checking the box on all the prerequisites to win Mr. Basketball. </p> <p>6. [player_tooltip player_id="701965" first="Cade" last="Meyer"] -- Monroe -- PF</p> <p>Meyer is as talented as any other prospect on this list. The 6-foot-7 power forward won a state championship in the high jump last year and he uses this athleticism on the basketball court. The only reason that Meyer isn’t higher up is because I don’t believe he is anywhere close to reaching his full potential. He has shown flashes of greatness, but the Monroe star is capable of utter dominance. If Meyer takes another big leap this summer, then he could easily climb up the list of Mr. Basketball hopefuls. </p>