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
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