Top Candidates for Mr Basketball in 2020-21 season

<p>With the start of the OHSAA basketball season (hopefully) on the horizon, it’s time to look at some of the top candidates to win Mr. Basketball.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="593905" first="Malaki" last="Branham"], 6’5 SG STVM: Branham is the highest rated senior in the state, which always is a good case for winning the award. Playing on a team with as many marquee games as STVM doesn’t hurt either. I expect Branham to dominate the competition this season and be in strong contention for winning this award.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="714474" first="Logan" last="Duncomb"], 6’9 C Moeller: Big John Hugley made a compelling case to win Mr Basketball last year, which shows a traditional post player can make a run at this award. Moeller is also projected to be the best team in the state, so using best player on best team is an easy argument to make. Duncomb’s scoring numbers won’t be as high as others because of the amount of mouths to feed at Moeller and the pace they play, but there won’t be many more impactful players this season.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="726589" first="Kobe" last="Johnson"], 6’4 SG Canton McKinley: Johnson had a breakout Junior season but elevated his game to another level this off-season. After seeing highlights from an intense scrimmage against <a href="https://twitter.com/KobeJohnson930/status/1327693677934874624">Cleveland Heights</a>, I’m confident that Johnson will continue his excellent play during his Senior season.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="593932" first="Desmond" last="Watson"], 6’5 SF Columbus DeSales: Watson was a monster last season and looked even more dangerous this summer. With his explosive burst, he’s able to get to the basket at will and he’s shooting the ball with more confidence every time I watch him. While DeSales will be getting a late start to the season, a strong push from Watson could be enough to put him in contention for this award.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="919011" first="George" last="Mangas"], 6’4 SF Lima Shawnee: Mangas had a great case for winning this award last year, after leading Shawnee to an unbeaten season before the playoffs were cut short. Mangas is a pure scorer and when the lights shined brightest, he always came through for his team. With Shawnee returning a majority of their roster, expect them to be a tough out in the division II playoffs once again.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1041394" first="Chris" last="Livingston"], 6’6 SF Buchtel: With Akron Public Schools delaying the start to their season as well, I’m not sure how many opportunities Livingston will have in his return season to OHSAA. If he does get a decent amount of regular season games, there’s nobody more talented in the state. Livingston one of the most explosive athletes in the nation, and if he’s willing to attack the basket constantly, he will be a major problem for opposing defenses.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="616810" first="Sean" last="Jones"], 5’11 PG Gahanna: Jones is shooting the ball from 3-point range off the bounce, that was one of the last progressions he needed to make to his game. With this increased shooting range, he becomes even tougher to defend. Gahanna will be one of the top teams in the state and there’s no mistaking who their leader is.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="616817" first="Paul" last="McMillan IV"], 6’1 PG Cincinnati Woodward: McMillan is one of the top scorers in the state, a guy who knows how to get himself a bucket whenever he wants. McMillan had a strong freshman season at Hughes and continued this play at a new school as a Sophomore. With his scoring talent and naturally maturing as an upperclassmen, I expect McMillan to remind fans why he’s one of the top prospects in the state this season.</p> <p>I wanted to keep this list short but there are plenty of other players who could end up making cases for this award and maybe some players will come out of nowhere this season. Hoping all of these players get something close to a normal regular season but this seems unlikelier each passing day.</p>