ATLANTA, Ga. – The sponsoring Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today that Derrick Favors and Skylar Diggins have been named winners of the prestigious Naismith National High School Basketball Player of the Year awards.
Diggins, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, won the girls award after leading Washington (South Bend, Ind.) to a 26-1 record and state runner-up honors in Class 4A. During her four-year career, she scored 2,790 points while leading the Panthers to one state title and three second-place finishes. She has signed with the University of Notre Dame.
Skylar Diggins, Washington
Photo By Jim Redman
Favors, who still is playing for a state title in Georgia, is averaging 27.5 points, 13.3 rebounds and 5.0 blocks for South Atlanta. The 6-foot-9 senior, who is one of the nation's premier shot blockers, has signed with Georgia Tech.
The national coaching awards went to Steve Smith, who has guided Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) to a 38-0 record and the No. 1 ranking in MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 with one tournament remaining; and to Stan Benge, who guided the Indianapolis Ben Davis girls to an unbeaten season, an Indiana state 4A title and probably the No. 1 national ranking by at least one publication. {VIDEO_01c4f69d-5b27-49ef-ab04-d8dbfc3b7a5c,floatLeftWithBar}
