The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA Today High School Sports, named Jayson Tatum of Chaminade College Preparatory School (St. Louis) as its 2015-16 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
"Jayson really deserves to be this year's Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year because he symbolizes everything the award stands for," said four-time NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway. "Not only has Jayson shined on the court, but he's also a good student and is a positive influence in the community. I'm excited to follow his career at Duke and watch all the things on and off the court he will accomplish in the future."
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Tatum as the nation's best high school boys basketball player.
A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Tatum from nearly 540,000 high school boys basketball players nationwide. Jayson is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 6-foot-9 senior wing led the Red Devils to a Class 5 state championship, scoring 40 points in a victory over Kickapoo High School March 19. In his first 30 games this season, Tatum averaged 29 points and nine rebounds per game while shooting 61 percent from inside the arc and 86 percent from the free throw line.
Tatum is a two-time returning Gatorade Missouri Boys Basketball Player of the Year, and also a 2016 McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic selection. He is ranked as the nation's No. 2 senior recruit in the ESPN 100. Tatum was also a member of the 2015 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team that won a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Heraklion, Greece last summer, averaging 13.9 points and 2.1 assists in seven games.
