Thursday, 10 players were announced as semifinalist for the 2022 Jersey Mike’s Naismith High School Trophy for Boys Player of the Year.
Amari Bailey, Cason Wallace, D.J. Wagner, Dariq Whitehead, Dereck Lively II, Dillon Mitchell, Gradey Dick, Keyonte George, Kyle Filipowski and Nick Smith Jr are all in the running for high school basketball’s top individual award. The final five finalist will be announced two weeks from now on February 17, 2022 and the final winner will be revealed March 7, 2022.
A full look at the semifinalist below:
| Amari Bailey | Sr. | SG | Sierra Canyon H.S | UCLA |
| Cason Wallace | Sr. | PG | Richardson H.S | Kentucky |
| D.J. Wagner | Jr. | PG | Camden H.S | Undecided |
| Dariq Whitehead | Sr. | SF | Montverde Academy | Duke |
| Dereck Lively II | Sr. | C | Westtown School | Duke |
| Dillon Mitchell | Sr. | SF | Montverde Academy | Texas |
| Gradey Dick | Sr. | SF | Sunrise Christian Academy | Kansas |
| Keyonte George | Sr. | SG | IMG Academy | Baylor |
| Kyle Filipowski | Sr. | C | Wilbraham & Monson Academy | Duke |
| Nick Smith Jr. | Sr. | SG | North Little Rock H.S | Arkansas |
FEW THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SEMIFINALIST
Amari Bailey – UCLA commit
UCLA has had three previous Naismith high school boys POY winners with the most recent being Lonzo Ball in 2016; the others being 2012 Shabazz Muhammed and 2007 Kevin Love. Bailey would be the first ever from Sierra Canyon (CA) to receive the honor.
Cason Wallace – Kentucky commit
Ron Mercer is the only Kentucky commit to win Naismith high school boys POY honors, doing so in 1995. He could become just the second player from Texas to win the award joining Cade Cunningham, who did it in 2020.
D.J. Wagner – Undecided
History could be made if Wagner continues his high level play. No underclassmen has ever won the award since it was introduced in 1987. Six of the previous winners have gone on to be drafted in the first round of the NBA after one year removed from high school.
Dariq Whitehead – Duke
Could join Ben Simmons, R.J. Barrett and Cade Cunningham as the only Montverde Academy (FL) players to win the award. Each of the three were selected within the top-3 picks of their respective drafts.
Dereck Lively II – Duke
Lively II could join R.J. Barrett, Austin Rivers and Shane Battier as the only Duke prospects to win the award. Each of the three were selected in the top 10 of their respective draft classes.
Dillion Mitchell – Texas
Mitchell could be the first ever Naismith winner to attend Texas out of high school and third ever to play in the Big 12 conference joining Cade Cunningham, Cliff Alexander and Andrew Wiggins.
Gradey Dick – Kansas
No player from the state of Kansas has ever won the award. Two Kansas commits have won the award prior to attending Kansas for their freshman season: Cliff Alexander and Andrew Wiggins.
Keyonte George – Baylor
No player from IMG Academy (FL) has never won the honor, nor has a Baylor commit. He could become the first to do both.
Kyle Filipowski – Duke
Three prior Duke commits have won the award and Kyle Filipowski could become the fourth.
Nick Smith Jr – Arkansas
No player from the state of Arkansas has ever won the award, nor has an Arkansas commit. He could become the first SEC commit to win the award since Ben Simmons in 2015
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