It is that time of the year to give out some awards and recognize some outstanding performances from this travel season.  The first category is Most Outstanding Player.  The MOP is simply based on who performed the best regardless of team success.  This year we have decided to break this down in two ways:  The first way will be by the player’s graduating class. This gives players who played up in age group an opportunity for recognition.

2027 – Cayden Daughtry, FL Rebels 17U: The 6’2 rising senior at Calvary Christian in Fort Lauderdale was consistently incredible this spring and summer.  Whether playing on Nike’s EYBL circuit, in the NBAPA Top 100 Camp or for USA Basketball, Daughtry never failed to produce at a high level and draw praise from media, college and in some instances pro scouts.  In the EYBL, he was named both the season MVP and Peach Jam MVP.  He finished the season with averages of 28 ppg on shooting splits of 56.3% overall from the field, 39.1% from behind the arc and 90.5% from the foul line.  Daughtry set a Peach Jam record by averaging 32.3 points per game in leading the Rebels to the championship.  Not to be overlooked is his playmaking ability as he racked up 133 total assists to just 46 turnovers over the course of 22 EYBL contests, a near 3:1 ratio.  Even better is that he had more steals than turnovers.  Daughtry was key in leading Team USA to the Gold Medal in the U17 World Championships in Turkey this summer.  He has his pick of college destinations to choose from and will be a fan favorite the moment Daughtry steps onto whatever campus he chooses.  Without question, he is the best guard to come out of South Florida since Brandon Knight fifteen years ago.

2028 – Nijaun Harris, FL Rebels 17U: The 6’5 rising junior, now at Boca Ciega, was a major contributor in the Rebels’ run to the EYBL title.  Harris’ ability to create mismatches on the offensive end gave opponents that much more to worry about besides teammates Daughtry and rising 6’4 senior Oneal Delancy.  Harris was able to use his strength and frame to overpower smaller players on offense while using those same physical gifts to outbattle bigger players on the defensive end.  He notched double-figures in 20 of the 23 games he played, finishing with averages of nearly 14 points a game on 50% shooting from the field, 40% shooting from three, and 67% shooting from the charity stripe.  He grabbed nearly seven rebounds a contest and came up with one steal and one block averages per game.  Harris was active on the offensive glass and in the passing lanes, getting some easy opportunities.  His experience and success playing up this season should give his recruitment and extra boost, not that any was needed.

2029 – R.J. Evans, SE Elite 17U: The 6’6 rising sophomore is slated to play at The Academy of Central Florida in Orlando this coming season.  While it isn’t THAT rare for a player to play up an age level in the spring and summer, it IS rare for one to play two age levels up.  Add to that the high level of production from Evans on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, and you have a talent whose future is blindingly bright.  For the season, Evans averaged just over fourteen points a contest, shooting 49.2% from the field and almost 76% from the foul line.  While his success rate from behind the arc was short of 30%, there is more than sufficient time to make that more respectable in the future.  He drew praise for his efforts at the USA Basketball mini-camp earlier in the spring.  In June, he was one of the youngest players at the Adidas Eurocamp.  Evans played well against older and more physically mature players.  Evans never failed to make a 3SSB all-event team and was named the Underclass MVP at the Palmetto Road Championships, the circuit’s season finale.  There, he averaged a scintillating 22 points and 8 rebounds per contest.  Just last week, Evans was one of the brighter stars at the revitalized ABCD Camp, now run by former Florida and NBA great Tracy McGrady.  Get used to reading about Evans for the foreseeable future.