New England’s Gatorade Players of the Year

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Earlier this week, Gatorade announced the 2023-2024 Boys Basketball Players of the Year for all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are New England's honorees:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In <em><strong>Connecticut</strong></em>, [player_tooltip player_id='1106041' first='Tyler' last='Betsey'] took home the honor for a second consecutive year. The senior, a <em>University of Cincinnati</em> commit, averaged 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game this year while leading St. Thomas More to the semi-final round of the NEPSAC AAA tournament. A 6'8" skilled wing, Betsey is widely regarded as a Top-50 prospect nationally.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After leading his Orono squad to back-to-back state championships, [player_tooltip player_id='2379301' first='Pierce' last='Walston'] received the honor for the state of <strong><em>Maine</em></strong>. A senior point guard, Walston, who is undecided on his college destination, averaged nearly 17 points and 7 assists per game this season. He also added over 6 rebounds and 3 steals per game while leading Orono to a 19-3 record overall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In <strong><em>Massachusetts </em></strong>the honor went to [player_tooltip player_id='1529071' first='Jaylen' last='Harrell']. The power wing, who is a consensus Top-100 prospect in the class of 2025, averaged 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. After leading CATS Academy to a 21-10 record this winter, Harrell announced his Top 6 which includes Alabama, Providence, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Xavier.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1157223' first='Nojus' last='Indrusaitis'], a newcomer to the region this winter, took the honor in <strong><em>New Hampshire</em></strong>. A senior at Brewster Academy that is committed to <em>Iowa State University</em>, Indrusaitis averaged more than 14 points and 4 rebounds per game. The guard is a Top-90 prospect in the country and was a key piece to Brewster going 27-7 in their first season in the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In <strong><em>Rhode Island</em></strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='2313158' first='Wayne' last='McNamara'] received the honor. The senior guard, who will attend <em>Brown University</em> as a walk-on, averaged over 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals per game. He led Lincoln to a 26-1 overall record; winning the Division 2 state championship for the first time in 25 years and losing only to the Division 1 champion in the RI Open State Championship semi-finals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The final honoree in New England was [player_tooltip player_id='2312980' first='Drew' last='Bessette'], who claimed player of the year in <strong><em>Vermont</em></strong>. The senior, who has committed to the <em>University of Vermont</em>, averaged over 16 points and 7 rebounds per game. A 6'8" forward, he led Rice Memorial to 21-2 overall record and their fourth Division I State Championship in the last five years.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->