Duke Commit Luke Kennard wins 2014 Ohio's Mr. Basketball
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Many colorful superlatives have been used to describe the basketball prowess of Franklin’s Luke Kennard. Add this to the list: Ohio Associated Press Mr. Basketball.
“It’s a great accomplishment, not just for me but this community,” Kennard said Wednesday after being named the state’s best boys high school player. “I couldn’t have got it without my team and coaches. They’ve had my support and my back through everything. We had guys who fit in perfectly into their roles. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without them and I greatly appreciate that.”
The highly recruited 6-foot-6 junior averaged a state-best 40.0 points. Three times he surpassed 50 points, including a season-high 59 against Monroe. He also averaged 10.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He shot over 50 percent from the field, hit 42 percent on 3-pointers and converted 85 percent of his free throws.
“His numbers are just absurd,” Franklin coach Brian Bales said. “That’s the only way to really put it.”
Franklin (20-4) won its third straight Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division title. The Wildcats lost to Thurgood Marshall 69-52 in a Division II sectional final.
All-Ohio selections, including Mr. Basketball, are based on a panel of statewide media and recommended to the AP.
LeBron James is the only three-time Mr. Basketball winner. Others considered were Dakota Mathias (Elida), Javon Bess (Gahanna Lincoln), Esa Ahmad (Shaker Heights), Brady Arnold (Millersburg West Holmes) and Peyton Aldridge (Leavittsburg LaBrae).
Luke Kennard, the 27th annual winner of Ohio's AP Mr. Basketball award, has announced he'll play college ball at Duke.
His final five college choices — he said at the time "in no particular order" — were Duke, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina and Michigan.
He is also has a grade-point average of 4.3 and is among the top students in his school.
“It’s a great accomplishment, not just for me but this community,” Kennard said Wednesday after being named the state’s best boys high school player. “I couldn’t have got it without my team and coaches. They’ve had my support and my back through everything. We had guys who fit in perfectly into their roles. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without them and I greatly appreciate that.”
The highly recruited 6-foot-6 junior averaged a state-best 40.0 points. Three times he surpassed 50 points, including a season-high 59 against Monroe. He also averaged 10.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. He shot over 50 percent from the field, hit 42 percent on 3-pointers and converted 85 percent of his free throws.
“His numbers are just absurd,” Franklin coach Brian Bales said. “That’s the only way to really put it.”
Franklin (20-4) won its third straight Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division title. The Wildcats lost to Thurgood Marshall 69-52 in a Division II sectional final.
All-Ohio selections, including Mr. Basketball, are based on a panel of statewide media and recommended to the AP.
LeBron James is the only three-time Mr. Basketball winner. Others considered were Dakota Mathias (Elida), Javon Bess (Gahanna Lincoln), Esa Ahmad (Shaker Heights), Brady Arnold (Millersburg West Holmes) and Peyton Aldridge (Leavittsburg LaBrae).
Luke Kennard, the 27th annual winner of Ohio's AP Mr. Basketball award, has announced he'll play college ball at Duke.
His final five college choices — he said at the time "in no particular order" — were Duke, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina and Michigan.
He is also has a grade-point average of 4.3 and is among the top students in his school.