Ohio Mr Basketball Candidates Part 2

The high school season is just a few weeks away and there's no better time to start previewing what we could expect to see this winter. We've already posted top 10 preseason rankings in each Division and are now shifting our focus to Mr Basketball. This award has some noticeable trends to consider but a handful of players always will be in the mix for the award. We discussed five leading candidates in <a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/11/ohio-mr-basketball-candidates-part-1/">part 1</a> and have five more top picks in this article to break down.    Every 'forward' who has won the award since 2009 has come from the Columbus area. Jared Sullinger (Northland) Kaleb Wesson (Westerville South) VonCameron Davis (Walnut Ridge) and Devin Royal (Pickerington Central). If any big is going to win the award this season, Kropp and [player_tooltip player_id='1432034' first='Damon' last='Friery'] (mentioned in part 1) are the two most likely candidates. Kropp is extremely skilled and very productive. Olentangy Liberty also had a Mr Basketball Candidate in 2019 with Ben Roderick, who fell just short to Samari Curtis. Roderick was the first Division I commit from the Patriots program, could Kropp see similar success as he is BIG 10 bound to Northwestern.     The most improved player in Ohio from the end of his Junior season to the start of his Senior season, Henderson's stock was soaring like a rocket this summer. After going from a relative unknown for Division I programs, Henderson got his first offer from Stetson then saw his recruitment spike at Midwest live with some dominant performances. That weekend tells me that Henderson is set for a monster senior season and should be in the mix to win the award.     A defending state champion who is committed to a high major program and our favorites to run it back? Greer is one of the players I could see winning the award when it's all said and done. An elite shooter, Greer was second in the GCL-Co Ed in scoring at 16 PPG as a Junior and scored 20.5 PPG in the state tournament under the bright lights of UD Arena. For Greer, staying healthy and helping Alter through a difficult schedule will be keys for him this winter.     Our number one team in Division I heading into the season is Olentangy Orange. The Pioneers have been to back-to-back regional finals and I believe this is their most talented team. [player_tooltip player_id='1480848' first='Devin' last='Brown'] is the unquestioned leader of the group and if you are a state title contender in Division I, you probably have a player capable of winning Mr Basketball.     I consider the GMC the conference with the most depth of talent in Ohio. 8 of the 10 teams in the conference won double-digit games last season and everybody beats each other up in conference play almost every year. Perry led the conference in scoring by over 7 PPG last season and I'd expect him to again be in the 22-26 PPG mark as a senior. If Lakota East can end up winning the conference, I'd have to give strong consideration for Perry to be a finalist for Mr Basketball.

The high school season is just a few weeks away and there's no better time to start previewing what we could expect to see this winter. We've already posted top 10 preseason rankings in each Division and are now shifting our focus to Mr Basketball. This award has some noticeable trends to consider but a handful of players always will be in the mix for the award. We discussed five leading candidates in part 1 and have five more top picks in this article to break down.