Video: MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year Lonzo BallSoCal star became media sensation during hoops season while leading Chino Hills to national title.Lonzo Ball is a special athlete.
The 6-foot-6 UCLA basketball signee is such a unique talent that he became the first player to nab MaxPreps National Player of the Year honors without leading his team in scoring.
The
Chino Hills (Calif.) point guard adds another line to the resume today after being named MaxPreps 2015-16 Male High School Athlete of the Year.
As the lone senior on the roster this season at Chino Hills, Ball averaged a triple-double with 23.9
points, 11.5 assists and 11.3 rebounds per game. The Huskies grabbed the nation's attention en route to a 35-0 record and section, state and national titles.
Along with the MaxPreps POY honor, Ball claimed Naismith High School Player
of the Year, Morgan Wootten Player of the Year and the Gatorade State
Player of the Year.
"It was literally the perfect season," Ball told MaxPreps. "I felt we
had a chance to be the best ever, but I didn't expect this much
attention."
Photos: Heston Quan (Main) and Nick Koza (Background)
Joining brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo in the starting lineup, Lonzo was the catalyst for one of the most prolific offenses in high school basketball history. Chino Hills averaged 98.4 points per game and registered a state record 18 100-point games.
Ball saved some of this best work for big games.
In December, he notched 29 points, eight assists and six rebounds in an 83-82 win over then-No. 1
Montverde Academy of Florida at the City of Palms Classic.
Just days later in the final of the MaxPreps Holiday Classic, Ball tallied 33 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 96-80 victory over Redondo Union.
His final outing came at the McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago, where he dished out a record 13 assists.
While Ball was a runaway winner for MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year honors, the second and third place finishers are quite a story.
Brothers
Chazz and
Sage Surratt helped
East Lincoln (Denver, N.C.) go 42-2 combined this year in football and basketball while putting up monster statistics.
Chazz, a 6-3 senior headed to North Carolina, racked up 3,540 passing yards, 1,342 rushing yards and 63 total
touchdowns in directing the Mustangs to the North Carolina Class 2AA
state semifinals. On the hardwood, he posted 15.6 points, 8.2 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game in leading the school to a state final.
Sage, a 6-4 junior, hauled in 97 passes for 1,734 yards and 25 TDs in the fall. He was equally productive in the winter, piling up 31.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for East Lincoln.
Sage out-pointed older brother Chazz to finish as the runner-up to Ball.
Others receiving votes included three-sport star
Tim Tawa of
West Linn (Ore.), baseball POY
Kyle Muller of
Dallas Jesuit (Dallas, Texas), football/wrestling standout
Osawaru Odighizuwa of
David Douglas (Portland, Ore.), quarterback phenom
Dylan McCaffrey of
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and four-sport athlete
Andrew Daschbach of
Sacred Heart Prep (Atherton, Calif.).
Past MaxPreps Male High School Athletes of the Year
2014-15 — Kyler Murray, Allen (Texas): Football, baseball
2013-14 — Patrick Mahomes, Whitehouse (Texas): Football, basketball baseball
2012-13 — Derrick Henry, Yulee (Fla.): Football
2011-12 — Anthony Alford, Petal (Miss): Football, baseball
2010-11 — Kasen Williams, Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.): Football, basketball, track and field
2009-10 — Dorial Green-Beckham, Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.): Football, basketball, track and field
2008-09 — Garrett Gilbert, Lake Travis (Austin, Texas): Football
2007-08 — Terrelle Pryor, Jeannette (Pa.): Football, basketball
