Ray Felton Gets Naismith Prep Award
Ray Felton (right), the 6-2, 190 pound point guard from Latta (SC) High School will receive the Naismith Award as the top prep boy's basketball player in the country. The award will be presented in Atlanta on Friday, April 5, 2002. That will be an exciting week for this young man who will play in the 2002 McDonald's All Amerrica Game the previous night in New York City.
Felton, who is headed to North Carolina next season, led Latta to consecutive state championships in 2001-02. He set the state single-season record for 3-pointers with 117 and averaged 39 points, 8.9 assists, 9.1 rebounds and 5.6 steals this season. Felton also set the state's championship scoring mark with 45 points against Hunter-Kinard-Tyler. In Felton's four seasons at Latta, the Vikings had a 104-9 record.
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The other finalists for this award were:
Carmelo Anthony, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, VA) Syracuse
Chris Bosh, Lincoln High School (Dallas, TX) Georgia Tech
Paul Davis, Rochester High School (Rochester Hills, MI) Michigan State
Jason Fraser, Amityville Mem High School (Amityville, NY) Villanova
LeBron James, St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, OH) (junior)
Shavlick Randolph, Broughton High School (Raleigh, NC) Duke
Amare Stoudemire, Cypress Creek High School (Orlando, FL) Memphis (soft verbl)
Shelden Williams, Midwest City High School (Midwest City, OK) Duke
Bracey Wright, The Colony High School (The Colony, TX) Indiana
All except James are seniors; James is a junior. All of the seniors, except Williams, will also be competing in the McDonald's game.
Last year's winner, Dujuan Wagner of Camden (NJ) High School, was in action tonight as his 24 points led Memphis to an 80-69 win over BYU in an NIT second round game. Memphis will face Tennessee Tech in the tournament quarterfinals.
The girl's basketball award will go to 6-2 guard Ann Strother of Highlands Ranch High School in Colorado. Strother, who's headed to Connecticut, helped Highlands Ranch win a third consecutive state title in 2002. She averaged 17.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.7 steals as Highlands Ranch finished 23-2.