Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Jrue Holiday

LOS ANGELES, March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced senior combo guard Jrue Holiday of Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.) as its 2007-08 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Holiday as the nation's best high school boys basketball player. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Holiday from the more than 556,000 high school boys basketball players nationwide. Holiday is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The state's returning Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year, Holiday averaged 25.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 4.4 steals and 2.4 blocks per game on the season, leading the Vikings (31-5) to their second straight California Interscholastic Federation Division IV state title and the program's third in four years. He is only the second player in Los Angeles-area history to surpass 2,600 career points, finishing with 2,666 (trailing Mitchell Butler, who netted 2,682 points for Oakwood of North Hollywood from 1986-1989). He ranks as the state's 14th all-time leading scorer, according to CalHighSports.com.

A McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand All-American Team selection, the 6-foot-4, 190-pound senior submitted a dominating performance against San Joaquin Memorial in the Southern California Regional Division IV title game, where he scored 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting, and collected 11 rebounds, nine assists and seven steals in a 76-45 victory. Holiday scored 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in the 83-61 state championship victory against Saint Mary's. He led Campbell Hall to an incredible 126-8 record in his four-year varsity career.

Holiday has maintained a B-average in the classroom. A member of the school's Gospel Choir and the percussion section leader in Campbell Hall's orchestra, he also teaches basketball fundamentals to youth players in association with the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer charity and raises funds to benefit cancer research through the Concern Foundation. Holiday has also traveled to Japan as a youth ambassador on behalf of the Shepherd of the Hills Christian Church, in addition to donating his time at Campbell Hall as a tour guide on Perspective Student Days and as team manager for the varsity girls' tennis squad.

"In my opinion, the most talented overall player among the elite players in the country is Holiday," said USA Basketball Junior Development Committee Chair Don Showalter. "I love the kid. I think he's a great teammate. He makes everybody else better. He's very coachable, he reacts so well to feedback, and his teammates just absolutely love him, and that's an important thing to note when you're talking about this level of talent."

Holiday has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at UCLA this fall. He joins 2008 Pac-10 Freshman and Player of the Year Kevin Love (2006-07, Lake Oswego High School/Lake Oswego, OR) and two-time NBA All-Star Baron Davis (1996-97, Crossroads High School/Santa Monica, CA) as UCLA recruits to be named Gatorade National Boys Basketball Players of the Year. Recent Gatorade National Boys Basketball Players of the Year include two-time winner Greg Oden (2004-05 & 2005-06, Lawrence North HS/Indianapolis, IN), Dwight Howard (2003-04, Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy/Atlanta, GA) and two-time winner LeBron James (2001-02 & 2002-03, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School/Akron, OH).

"Without question, Jrue is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school boys basketball player based on his statistics on the court and the impact his play had on Campbell Hall's success," said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. "But he is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. He represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

    Former notable Gatorade National Players of the Year include:
    -- NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith
    -- 2007 Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning
    -- WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie
    -- Reigning 200-meter world champion Allyson Felix
    -- Two-time American League Most Valuable Player Alex Rodriguez
    -- Softball gold medalist Cat Osterman
    -- Beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh

For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information and lists of past winners and future announcement dates, visit http://gatorade.com/playeroftheyear.

    ALL-TIME GATORADE NATIONAL BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONOREES

    Year      Name            High School                        Status

    2007-08  Jrue Holiday     Campbell Hall/North Hollywood, CA  High School
                                                                 Senior

    2006-07  Kevin Love       Lake Oswego/Lake Oswego, OR        UCLA

    2005-06  Greg Oden        Lawrence North/Indianapolis, IN    Portland
                                                                 Trail Blazers

    2004-05  Greg Oden        Lawrence North/Indianapolis, IN    Portland
                                                                 Trail Blazers

    2003-04  Dwight Howard    SW Atlanta Christian Academy/      Orlando Magic
                              Atlanta, GA

    2002-03  LeBron James     St. Vincent-St. Mary/Akron, OH     Cleveland
                                                                 Cavaliers

    2001-02  LeBron James     St. Vincent-St. Mary/Akron, OH     Cleveland
                                                                 Cavaliers

    2000-01  Kelvin Torbert   Northwestern Edison/Flint, MI      Michigan
                                                                 State U.
                                                                 Grad.

    1999-00  Jared Jeffries   North/Bloomington, IN              New York
                                                                 Knicks

    1998-99  LaVell           Pioneer/Ann Arbor, MI              U. of
             Blanchard                                           Michigan
                                                                 Grad.

    1997-98  Al Harrington    St. Patrick/Elizabeth, NJ          Golden State
                                                                 Warriors

    1996-97  Baron Davis      Crossroads/Santa Monica, CA        Golden State
                                                                 Warriors

    1995-96  Kobe Bryant      Lower Merion/Ardmore, PA           Los Angeles
                                                                 Lakers

    1994-95  Stephon Marbury  Abraham Lincoln/Brooklyn, NY       New York
                                                                 Knicks

    1993-94  Felipe Lopez     Rice/New York, NY                  Retired from
                                                                 NBA

    1992-93  Randy            Isidore Newman School/             Idaho
             Livingston       New Orleans, LA                    Stampede

    1991-92  Corliss          Russellville/Russellville, AR      Sacramento
             Williamson                                          Kings

    1990-91  Chris Webber     Detroit County Day/Birmingham, MI  Detroit
                                                                 Pistons

    1989-90  Damon Bailey     Bedford North Lawrence/            Retired from
                              Bedford, IN                        NBA

    1988-89  Kenny Anderson   Archbishop Molloy/Jamaica, NY      Retired from
                                                                 NBA

    1987-88  Alonzo Mourning  Indian River/Chesapeake, VA        Miami Heat

    1986-87  LaBradford       Bay City/Bay City, TX              Retired from
             Smith                                               NBA

    1985-86  J.R. Reid        Kempsville/Virginia Beach, VA      Retired from
                                                                 NBA