Collegiate, Miege high school hoops stars win Kansas Gatorade player of year awards
.JPG "Collegiate’s Gradey Dick")
Collegiate’s Gradey Dick is already one of the top prospects in the country, but after picking up a special honor Thursday, he is one of just three high school sophomores in the U.S. to hold a special distinction.
Dick has been recognized as the Gatorade Kansas High School Basketball Players of the Year for 2020, and only two other sophomores earned the same honor in their respective states.
Lincoln’s Emoni Bates out of Michigan and Cannon School’s Jaden Bradley from North Carolina were the other two sophomores garnering Gatorade awards this year.
Bishop Miege junior Payton Verhulst won the Girls Gatorade Player of the Year award, making Kansas one of the only states in which a senior was not named a Gatorade Player of the Year winner.
Dick is a 6-foot-6 guard for the Spartans who averaged 20.4 points, five rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game while playing in a five-in, five-out system under coach Mitch Fiegel.
He helped Collegiate get back to the Class 3A state tournament and finished the season 20-3 with a spot in the state semifinals.
“Gradey is a phenomenal basketball player who is really good at scoring the ball at all three levels,” Rose Hill coach Josh Shirley told Gatorade. “He is very efficient and fluid in the full court. He makes great reads in transition and is a tough player to stop.”
Dick holds offers from all of Kansas’ Division I programs among several others. He is a frequent participant in USA Basketball camps.
Verhulst, too, is one of the top prospects in the U.S. She averaged 17.8 points, seven rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 blocks per game as part of a Stags team that finished with a semifinal berth at the state tournament and an 18-2 record.
She was captain of the USA Basketball U16 Women’s National Team and earned MVP honors at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
“Payton Verhulst is the best basketball player I have ever coached against,” Mill Valley coach Drew Walters told Gatorade. “She is a great defender and offensively she can get to any spot on the floor. She’s very willing to share the ball, but she knows when to take control of games.”
In Missouri, Christian Brothers College senior Caleb Love picked up the boys honor. He averaged 26.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game for the St. Louis-area high school. He was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game and is signed to play at North Carolina.
Carl Junction senior Katie Scott won the Missouri girls award. At 6-foot-3, she averaged 21.9 points, 11.7 points, 5.2 assists and 3.3 steals per game. Scott is signed to play at Drury University.
See all of the Gatorade Players of the Year