LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA – Well, there wasn’t much mystery about who was going to be the national high school Player of the Year. Shabazz Muhammad was the front-runner going into his senior season, and remained in that position after leading Las Vegas Bishop Gorman to a Nevada state title.
And then Muhammad proceeded to trample whatever competition existed by returning from Chicago (McDonald’s All-American Game), Portland (Nike Hoop Summit) and Charlotte (Jordan Brand Classic) with Most Outstanding Player hardware.
Muhammad is joined on the BurlisonOnBasketball Senior All-American first team by a future UCLA teammate (Kyle Anderson), a soon-to-be shot-blocking specialist for Kentucky (Nerlens Noel) and a couple of guards headed to the ACC (Rodney Purvis) and Big 12 (Marcus Smart), respectively.
A couple of junior forwards were the strongest contenders for Top Underclassmen for 2011-12 honors.
They head up the first team All-Underclassmen All-American squad, with Jabari Parker getting the nod over Aaron Gordon after much deliberation for Top Underclassmen designation.
The other BurlisonOnBasketball honorees, followed by the complete All-American teams:
Top post defender: Nerlens Noel
Top perimeter defender: Marcus Smart
Top floor leader-playmaker: Marcus Smart
Top scorer: Shabazz Muhammad
Top coach: Bob Hurley (Jersey City St. Anthony)
All-American Teams
Seniors
First Team
Kyle Anderson | 6-8 | Jersey City, NJ, St. Anthony (UCLA)
Shabazz Muhammad | 6-5 | Las Vegas, NV, Bishop Gorman (UCLA)
Nerlens Noel | 6-9 | Tilton, NH, Tilton School (Kentucky)
Marcus Smart | 6-3 | Flower Mound, TX, Marcus (Oklahoma St.)
Rodney Purvis | 6-3 | Raleigh, NC, Upper Room Christian Academy (NCSU)
Second Team
Grant Jerrett | 6-9 | La Verne, CA, Lutheran (Arizona)
Cameron Ridley | 6-10 | Richmond, TX, Ft. Bend Bush (Texas)
Sam Dekker | 6-7 | Sheboygan, WI, Lutheran (Wisconsin)
Rasheed Sulaimon | 6-3 | Houston, TX, Strake Jesuit (Duke)
Yogi Ferrell | 6-0 | Indianapolis, IN, Park Tudor (Indiana)
Third Team
Katin Reinhardt | 6-5 | Santa Ana, CA, Mater Dei (UNLV)
Amile Jefferson | 6-9 | Philadelphia, PA, Friends Central
Marcus Paige | 6-1 | Marion, IA, Linn-Marr (North Carolina)
Glenn Robinson | 6-6 | St. John, IN, Lake Central (Michigan)
Archie Goodwin | 6-4 | Little Rock, AR, Sylvan Hills (Kentucky)
Fourth Team
Alex Poythress | 6-8 | Clarksville, TN, Northeast (Kentucky)
Isaiah Austin | 7-0 | Arlington, TX, Grace Prep (Baylor)
Brandon Ashley | 6-7 | Henderson, NV, Findlay Prep (Arizona)
Ricardo Ledo | 6-6 | South Kent, CT, South Kent (Providence)
Kris Dunn | 6-3 | New London, CT, New London (Providence)
Underclassmen
First Team
Andrew Wiggins | 6-7 | So. | Huntington, WV, Huntington Prep
Jahlil Okafor | 6-10 | So. | Chicago, IL, Whitney Young
Jabari Parker | 6-7 | Jr. | Chicago, IL, Simeon
Aaron Gordon | 6-7 | Jr. | San Jose, CA, Mitty
Kasey Hill | 6-1 | Jr. | Montverde, FL, Montverde Academy (Florida)
Second Team
Julius Randle | 6-8 | Jr. | Plano, TX, Prestonwood Christian
Ishmail Wainright | 6-5 | Jr. | Rockville, MD, Montrose Christian
Andrew Harrison | 6-4 | Jr. | Houston, TX, Travis
BeeJay Anya | 6-9 | Jr. | Hyattsville, MD, DeMatha
Tyus Jones | 6-1 | So. | Apple Valley, MN, Apple Valley
