National high school boys basketball blocks leaders

Video: Bryant Thomas' highlights vs. Harding University High School
See the South Mecklenburg rejection machine reject five shots in a game.

Few things get a basketball team hyped more than a good block. Sure, a monster dunk ignites the offense and the crowd, but a defensive rejection tells an opponent "Not in my house."

Daniel Gafford of El Dorado is a 4-star talent headed to Arkansas and national swat master, averaging 7.9 blocks per game with 198 rejections in 25 games. One of his 198 blocks was so vicious that it made No. 6 in the MaxPreps Top 10 Basketball Plays of the Week in December. In all, Gafford has nine games with double digit rejections. 

Close behind is Bryant Thomas of South Mecklenburg, who averages 7.3 snuffs per game and does so in convincing fashion. He has eight double-digit block games with a high of 16. Leaders are from teams that submit stats to MaxPreps.

See the MaxPreps national boys basketball stat leaders


Daniel Gafford, El Dorado (Ark.) – 7.9 blocks per game, 198 total
Bryant Thomas, South Mecklenburg (Charlotte, N.C.) – 7.3, 176
Garrett Pumphrey, Cambridge City Lincoln (Ind.) – 7.1, 127
Ikey Obiagu, Greenforest (Decatur, Ga.) – 7.0, 146
Theo Akwuba, Brewbaker Tech (Montgomery, Ala.) – 6.8, 156
Karim Gunter, Wilson (Dallas) – 6.5, 104
Kareem Reid, Bowne (Flushing, N.Y.) – 6.3, 145
Kaleb Carter, Stagg (Stockton, Calif.) – 6.3, 169
Charnpreet Bansal, River Valley (Yuba City, Calif.) – 6.1, 128
Blaize Marshall, Covenant Classical (Fort Worth, Texas) – 6.1, 109
Trey Wood, Anthem Prep (Ariz.) – 6.0, 127
Tydus Verhoeven, Manteca (Calif.) – 6.0, 150
Zack Fitz, North Myrtle Beach Christian (Longs, S.C.) – 6.0, 132
Joey Mucha, Brevard HEAT (Palm Bay, Fla.) – 6.0, 131
Zach Applelo, Christ's Church Academy (Jacksonville, Fla.) – 5.6, 163
Andres Czechowicz, Downey Christian (Orlando, Fla.) – 5.5, 138
Mitchell Robinson, Chalmette (La.) – 5.5, 148
Mitchell Eason, Dunbar (Washington, D.C.) – 5.4, 125
Cope Gleaton, Andrew Jackson Academy (Ehrhardt, S.C.) – 5.4, 119
Mehkel Harvey, Ocean View (Huntington Beach, Calif.) – 5.3, 142