St. Jude's Green, Watkins named Mr. Basketball finalists
JaMychal Green's senior season has seemingly been one highlight after another.
From signing with Alabama in the preseason, to being named a McDonald's All-American during the season and helping St. Jude win a second Class 1A state title, there aren't many ways the season could be any better.
Well, there is one way. Green could cap his high school career as Mr. Basketball.
The 6-foot-9 forward is one of 42 finalists being recognized by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Three boys finalists and three girls finalists were chosen for each of the six AHSAA classifications and the AISA. From those finalists, the ASWA's Mr. and Miss Basketball will be chosen. A boys player of the year and a girls player of the year for each class will also be named.
The winners will be announced in the coming weeks.
Green, a two-time Class 1A Player of the Year is one of the frontrunners for the coveted Mr. Basketball title.
"He's what you look for when you're trying to build a program," St. Jude basketball coach William Brown said. "You want talented players, but you also have to have good kids with good backgrounds who are grounded in the Lord."
Green averaged 25.3 points, 17 rebounds and five blocked shots per game as a senior and has scored more than 2,500 points for his career.
Two-time Class 2A Player of the Year and Auburn signee Frankie Sullivan of R.C. Hatch is another Mr. Basketball contender.
"Frankie has worked hard and set high goals," R.C. hatch coach Homer Davis said. "Frankie only knows one way to play -- hard. He was brought up that you play hard or go home."
Sullivan averaged 26.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 3.6 assists per game this season as the Bobcats won a third straight title and a fifth title in six years. In six varsity seasons, Sullivan has scored more than 4,000 points.
Two other Montgomery players are among the finalists. In 1A, Green's teammate Kyle Watkins joins Green and Sulligent's Caleb Massey. Watkins averaged 20 points and eight rebounds a game for the Pirates.
"It's great for our program to have two guys as finalists," Brown said. "JaMychal and Kyle gave us a great one-two punch. We were blessed to have both those guys."
Robert E. Lee's Brandon Crawford is a 6A finalist. Crawford averaged 24.5 points, eight rebounds and 4.6 assists for the Generals and joins LeFlore's Nick Williams and Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa's Wayne Dedrick as finalists.
"It says a lot about Brandon," Lee coach Bryant Johnson said. "I've known he was good enough to be in that group. He's worked hard the three years he's been with us and it's paying off."
In Class 4A, Bullock County's Courtney Mack and Central-Coosa's Jamal Murray are two of the finalists. Mack averaged 23.4 points, 15.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game for the state champion Hornets. Murray averaged 22.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists for the state runner-up Cougars.
Barbour County's Devondrick Richardson joins Sullivan as a finalist in 2A.
On the girls side, Central-Hayneville's April Williams is a finalist in 3A, Reeltown's Shaina O'Neal is a finalist in 2A and Eufaula's Terran Condrey is a 5A finalist.
Williams, the Montgomery area's dominant small-school girls player this year, led the Lions with 24 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. The 6-1 forward had 27 double-doubles in 27 games.
O'Neal led Reeltown with 15.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. Condrey averaged 22 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game for Eufaula and finished with 2,603 career points.
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