Curtis Pashelka, mercurynews.com, March 8, 2019
Archbishop Mitty senior Haley Jones was named the Gatorade California Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second time Friday and is one of three finalists for National Player of the Year honors.
Jones, the nation’s No. 1 recruit who signed a letter of intent to attend Stanford in the fall and play for the Cardinal next season, joins Paige Bueckers, a junior guard from Minnetonka, Minnesota and sophomore guard Azzi Fudd of Washington D.C. as national finalists. The winner will be announced later this month.
Also a finalist for the Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year Award and the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award, Jones helped Mitty capture the Central Coast Section Open Division crown last month.
Earlier this season, Jones was chosen to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game and was a starter for the gold-medal winning USA Basketball U17 Women’s World Cup Team in 2018.
According to Gatorade, the state player of the year award “recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field.”
According to the release, Jones has a 3.55 grade point average and is member of her church youth group and a student ambassador in her school, She has also volunteered locally on behalf of a retirement community and youth sports programs.
“Haley Jones can do it all,” Presentation girls coach Wade Nakamura said in a news release. “She can handle the ball, pass, shoot the three, finish at the basket, defend guards and posts. She takes over games in a variety of ways and makes it look effortless.”
Another Stanford signee, Fran Belibi, the No. 23 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100, landed on the Naismith All-America third team and won recognition as Colorado’s Gatorade Player of the Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment