Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year: Kevin Love

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, Gatorade(R) Thirst Quencher, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced senior center Kevin Love of Lake Oswego High School (Lake Oswego, Ore.) as its 2006-07 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

The award, which recognizes not only athletic performance, but also meeting high standards of academic achievement while demonstrating exemplary personal character on and off the court, distinguishes Love 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 selected Love from more than 546,000 high school boys basketball players nationwide. Love is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Male High School Athlete of the Year Award, to be presented at a special ceremony the afternoon prior to The ESPY Awards this July in Hollywood, Calif.

The senior center averaged 33.6 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and three blocks per game in leading the Lakers (26-2) to the Class 6A title game, where they fell to South Medford, who ended the season ranked No. 13 in the final USA TODAY Super 25 boys basketball rankings. The 6-foot-10, 260-pound Love was named a McDonald's All-American, the nation's Naismith player of the year and a three-time Oregonian state player of the year -- the first-ever three-time boys basketball winner. For his career, in which he broke a 50- year-old state record for points scored (finishing with 2,628), he averaged 26.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.

Love put on a dominating performance in the final game of the Nike Extravaganza on Feb. 3, where he had 36 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks in leading Lake Oswego to a 61-52 victory over Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), who ended the season ranked No. 10 in the final USA TODAY Super 25 rankings. As a junior, he led Lake Oswego to their first-ever Class 6A state title and had 24 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in their 59-57 championship game win over South Medford. He led Lake Oswego to a 92-21 record in his four-year varsity career.

Love has maintained a B-average in the classroom and shines as an active volunteer in his community, serving as a youth basketball coach as well as a visiting mentor for at-risk students at a local elementary school. As part of a school fundraiser, Love auctioned off his time by offering a private skills clinic to the highest bidder.

"His ability to dominate at both ends of the floor is pretty historic at the high school level," said Lake Oswego head coach Mark Shoff. "This state has produced players like Richard Washington and Danny Ainge, who went on to great college and pro careers, but we've never had anyone of Kevin's caliber at this point in his career. I think he's truly set himself apart."

The son of Stan Love, a former NBA player and Oregon Duck, Kevin Love will attend UCLA on a basketball scholarship this fall. He joins two-time NBA All- Star Baron Davis (1996-97, Crossroads High School/Santa Monica, CA) as UCLA recruits named Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Recent Gatorade National Boys Basketball Players of the Year includes 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, Kevin 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 Lake Oswego'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 recognizes one winner in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in football, girls volleyball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field. 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. Previous Gatorade National Players of the Year include:

  -- NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith
  -- Two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and 2007 Super Bowl Most Valuable
     Player Peyton Manning
  -- 2005 American League Most Valuable Player Alex Rodriguez
  -- 2004 MLS Cup MVP Alecko Eskandarian
  -- WNBA all-time leading scorer and rebounder Lisa Leslie
  -- Beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh
  -- Reigning 200-meter world champion Allyson Felix

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

    PAST GATORADE NATIONAL BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR HONOREES


   Year       Name                 High School                 Status
  2006-07 Kevin Love       Lake Oswego/                  High School Senior
                            Lake Oswego, OR
  2005-06 Greg Oden        Lawrence North/               The Ohio State
                            Indianapolis, IN              Univ.
  2004-05 Greg Oden        Lawrence North/               The Ohio State
                            Indianapolis, IN              Univ.
  2003-04 Dwight Howard    SW Atlanta Christian          Orlando Magic
                            Academy/Atlanta, GA
  2002-03 LeBron James     St. Vincent-St. Mary/         Cleveland
                            Akron, OH                     Cavaliers
  2001-02 LeBron James     St. Vincent-St. Mary/         Cleveland
                            Akron, OH                     Cavaliers
  2000-01 Kelvin Torbert   Northwestern Edison/          Michigan State U.
                            Flint, MI                     Grad.
  1999-00 Jared Jeffries   North/Bloomington, IN         New York Knicks
  1998-99 LaVell Blanchard Pioneer/Ann Arbor, MI         U. of 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 Livingston Isidore Newman School/New     Idaho Stampede
                            Orleans, LA
  1991-92 Corliss          Russellville/                 Sacramento Kings
           Williamson       Russellville, AR
  1990-91 Chris Webber     Detroit County Day/           Detroit Pistons
                            Birmingham, MI
  1989-90 Damon Bailey     Bedford North Lawrence/       Retired from NBA
                            Bedford, IN
  1988-89 Kenny Anderson   Archbishop Molloy/            Retired from NBA
                            Jamaica, NY
  1987-88 Alonzo Mourning  Indian River/                 Miami Heat
                            Chesapeake, VA
  1986-87 LaBradford Smith Bay City/Bay City, TX         Retired from NBA
  1985-86 J.R. Reid        Kempsville/                   Retired from NBA
                            Virginia Beach, VA