Player of the Year Preview: The Favorites

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a>The Player of the Year race in the state will be one of the most interesting in recent memory.&nbsp; There is no clear leader going into the season.&nbsp; Here we examine the Favorites which includes four seniors and three sophomores!</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>The Vets</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1385292' first='Phoenix' last='Gill'] (St. Ignatius)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gill has the name recognition with his commitment to Northwestern, NBA dad, and he has been a top prospect from the moment he stepped into high school.&nbsp; Now it is his time to take over.&nbsp; If he does that and elevates Iggy as a senior he can win the award.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1385300' first='Antonio' last='Munoz'] (Whitney Young)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the transfers of numerous prospects the Dolphins are going to heavily rely on Munoz to not only stuff the stat sheet, but score.&nbsp; He impacts the game in so many ways and if Whitney Young wins at a high level he will be right there.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2326960' first='Tyreek' last='Coleman'] (Waubonsie Valley)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coleman is one of the favorites coming into the season.&nbsp; Combination of being one of the top lead guards in the class, momentum off a strong junior year, and his team will be one of the best in the state this year.&nbsp; Committed to in-state Illinois State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1545146' first='Matthew' last='Zobrist'] (Metamora)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zobrist is a Bradley commit that will be the man for a team that has been super successful the last two seasons.&nbsp; Now it is clearly his team and their success will be dependent on him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>The Youth</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is very rare for a sophomore to be even in contention for Player of the Year, but when you realistically look at it these three are the three best prospects in the state regardless of class, will be on winning teams, and should post monster numbers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2125612' first='Devin' last='Cleveland'] (Kenwood)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cleveland had a strong close to his freshman season with the Kenwood vets out in the playoffs.&nbsp; He has shown he can carry a team and this summer proved he is among the best sophomores in the country.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2323624' first='Davion' last='Thompson'] (Bolingbrook)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Thompson had some absolutely spectacular performances as a freshman then followed it up on a consistent basis in the EYBL doing it during the summer.&nbsp; Bolingbrook is easily a top 5 preseason team and he is the best player on the team!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2323571' first='Jaxson' last='Davis'] (Warren)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Davis proved last year how valuable he is to winning and his Warren squad.&nbsp; We expect him to take it to an even higher level as a sophomore.&nbsp; Impacts the game in so many ways and should lead Warren to a big season!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->