LAWRENCE, Kan. - The national Gatorade Player of the Year awards were released on Thursday and a future Jayhawk was included among them.
Bryce Thompson, a combo guard out of Booker T. Washington High in Tulsa, Okla., was named the 2019-20 Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
The 5-star guard who signed with Kansas last November also won the honor as a junior last year, but he turned in an even stronger senior season to win it again.
Thompson led the Hornets to a 20-5 record and a berth in the Class 6A state semifinals before the season was cut short because of coronavirus concerns.
The 6-foot-5, 185-pound do-everything guard averaged 24.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Those numbers also earned him a spot on the 2020 McDonald’s All-American roster.
“Bryce Thompson, in my opinion, is hands down the Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year,” said Rickey Bruner, head coach at Sapulpa High in a news release announcing the award. “He embodies what coaches want in a kid, on and off the court. On the court, he is dynamic in every way, and the most special thing about him is every time we have played them, he has gotten better and added something to his game. He is unstoppable. He is a competitor. He is a leader. And he is respectful and humble. He makes everyone around him better.”
The award, which recognizes both athletic excellence and academic achievement and all-around character, was established in 1985.
Several former Jayhawks have earned the honor in their home states in the past, and Thompson is no eligible to win the National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award, which will be voted on later this year.
Thompson, who led Booker T. Washington to a state title as a junior, was ranked as the No. 19 player in the 2020 recruiting class by Rivals.com. He owns a 3.28 grade-point average and also recently took part in the 2019 Team USA Junior National Team minicamp.
He also possesses musical talents and has served as a volunteer at a food bank and various youth basketball programs.