Gary Harris Named Gatorade Indiana Boys Basketball Player of the Year

CHICAGO (March 22, 2012) — In its 27th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Gary Harris of Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.) as its 2011-12 Gatorade Indiana Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Harris is the first Gatorade Indiana Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Hamilton Southeastern High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Harris as Indiana's best high school boys basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March, Harris joins an elite alumni association of past state boys basketball award winners, including Dwight Howard (2003-04, SW Atlanta Christian Academy, Ga.), Chauncey Billups (1993-94 & 1994-95, George Washington HS, Colo.), Jason Kidd (1991-92, St. Joseph Notre Dame HS, Calif.), Paul Pierce (1994-95, Inglewood HS, Calif.) and Chris Bosh (2001-02, Lincoln HS, Texas).

The 6-foot-5, 180-pound senior shooting guard averaged 25.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.2 steals and 3.7 assists per game this past season, leading the Royals (22-3) to the Class 4A sectional final. A 2012 McDonald's All-American Game selection and a 2012 Jordan Brand Classic game invitee, Harris is the No. 11 ranked recruit in the Class of 2012 as rated by ESPNU.

Harris has maintained a 3.55 GPA in the classroom. He has volunteered locally on behalf of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and as a youth basketball coach and camp counselor.

"Gary Harris is an extremely unselfish player and he can do it all on the court," said Hamilton Southeastern Head Coach Brian Satterfield. "The things he does on offense are well-documented, but what separates him is what he can do at the defensive end. He can play any position on the court. He's strong enough to play on the inside and he's quick enough to cover anybody on the perimeter."

Harris has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on an athletic scholarship at Michigan State University this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPNHS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Harris joins recent Gatorade Indiana Boys Basketball Players of the Year Cody Zeller (2010-11, Washington High School), Travis Carroll (2009-10, Danville Community), Jordan Hulls (2008-09, Bloomington High School South), Tyler Zeller (2007-08, Washington High School), and Eric Gordon (2006–07, North Central) among the state's list of former award winners.

To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.