Diving into the 2019 portion of the high school boys basketball season, there are a lot of players throwing their name into the Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award conversation.
Some players have made some big additions to their résumés, including Dansville's Caleb Hodgson grabbing his 1,000th career rebound and Wayne Memorial's Isaiah Lewis recording his 1,000th career point. Lewis is also one of the two new players on the list as well, joining Caleb Bates of St. Clair Shores Lake Shore.
The players below are presented in alphabetical order of last name. MLive's Mr. Basketball watch list neither officially associated with BCAM nor its Mr. Basketball voting process. Also, if there is a senior we are missing or you would like to pass along stat updates on anyone, please let us know in the comments section or email japurcell@mlive.com with your thoughts.
Voted on annually by members of the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, the award is presented in March during the week leading into the state championships.
Romeo Weems, G/F, New Haven 6-7
College commitment: DePaul
Finalist potential: High
Trending: Stable
Weems has been nothing short of dominant for the 7-1 Rockets so far. Weems had 34 points, 19 rebounds, 10 blocks, four assists and four steals in a win over St. Clair Shores Lake Shores. He also had another triple-double with 30 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals, five assists and four blocks in a win against Grosse Pointe North. He also tallied up 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and five assists in a victory over St. Clair Shores South Lake while adding 27 points and 14 rebounds in a win over Detroit U-D Jesuit. New Haven faces 7-1 Warren Mott Tuesday night at Macomb Community College and then hosts Romeo on Friday.
SirQuarius Ball, F, Bridgeport 6-5
College commitment: Uncommitted.
Finalist potential: Moderate
Trending: Stable
The first full month of the season was a good one for Ball and Bridgeport. With the Bearcats off to a 7-0 start, Ball is averaging 22 points per game including a trio of 30-point games. One was a 30-point effort against Everett while adding 14 rebounds and five steals. He also had a 30-point effort in a win over Detroit Henry Ford, where he was 11-for-14 from the field. He will face Frankenmuth on Friday.
Caleb Bates, F, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore 6-6
College commitment: Uncommitted
Finalist potential: Moderate
Trending: Up
Lake Shore averages 70 points per game and it is no surprise since Bates is one of the top scorers in the state. Averaging 26.4 points and 13.0 rebounds per game, he has recorded a double-double in every game this season. In an 83-68 win over Waterford Kettering, he piled on a massive double-double with 44 points and 22 rebounds. He'll look to continue to dominate at home against Warren Cousino on Tuesday and at Utica on Friday.
Mike Fletcher, C, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 6-7
College commitment: Michigan State (football)
Finalist potential: Low
Trending: Stable
Fletcher got off to a strong start this year 19 points and 8 rebounds in a season opening win. Since then, he has not been lighting up the scoreboard as much but he has remained a key fixture on both ends of the floor. He also had 10 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Davison and 10 points in a low-scoring win over Flushing. He will face Flint Powers Catholic on Friday.
Daniel Friday, G, Detroit U-D Jesuit 6-4
College commitment: Brown
Finalist potential: Low
Trending: Stable
He has been leaned on a lot to start the season as Jesuit has had to play without star center Jalen Thomas (Massachusetts). Despite missing a game with the flu, Friday has stepped up plenty for Jesuit. He had 17 points in a win over Grand Blanc and 16 more in a loss to Chicago Morgan Park. Jesuit has a big road matchup tonight at Orchard Lake St. Mary's and then hosts Birmingham Brother Rice on Friday.
Caleb Hodgson, C, Dansville 6-10
College commitment: Central Michigan
Finalist potential: High
Trending: Stable
The big man has been off to a big start this season. Through nine games, he is averaging 24.7 points, 17 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game. He has scored less than 20 points just once -- a 19 point effort in early December -- and is coming off of a 35-point, 17 rebound effort to cap 2018. He also has three games of 20-plus points and 20-plus rebounds. To top it all off, he collected his 1,000th career rebound with a 28-point, 17-rebound effort in a win over Potterville on Monday. Dansville hosts Fulton on Friday.
Isaiah Lewis, G, Wayne Memorial 6-1
College commitment: Uncommitted
Finalist potential: Moderate
Trending: Up
Lewis recently had two great accomplishments in one night. In a 91-56 win over Dearborn, Lewis set a new school record with 50 points in a game and surpassed the 1,000 career-point milestone as well. So far he is averaging 25 points, 7 assists and 5 steals wile shooting 49 percent. Wayne Memorial hosts Livonia Stevenson on Tuesday before traveling to Dearborn Fordson.
Note: Lewis' averages have been updated to be more current.
Drew Lowder, G, Ann Arbor Pioneer 6-0
College commitment: Holy Cross
Finalist potential: Moderate
Trending: Up
Lowder has been the heart of Pioneer's 7-2 start. He had 23 points in a win over Arbor Prep, 18 points in a win over Jackson and 19 in a loss to Canton. He will be looked upon for a bif performance on Friday this week as Pioneer hosts rival Ann Arbor Skyline.
West Bloomfield guard Donavan Moore 6-2
Donavan Moore, G, West Bloomfield6-3
College commitment: Toledo
Finalist potential: Moderate
Trending: Up
Despite the Lakers entering the week with a 4-4 record, it has not been for a lack of effort on Moore's part. An explosive athlete on the court, Moore has looked unstoppable most of the time. He had 31 points in a win over Warren De La Salle, 29 points in a buzzer-beater loss to Macomb Dakota, 27 points in a win over Troy, 27 points in a loss to Clarkston. He leads West Bloomfield into a home Tuesday matchup against Oak Park before traveling to Bloomfield Hills on Friday.
Eonte Tornes, G, Muskegon 5-9
College commitment: Uncommitted
Finalist potential: Low
Trending: Down
Muskegon is off to a 4-2 start and Tornes has had some solid performances but sometimes gets overshadowed in Muskegon's balanced roster. He had 14 points in a 4-point loss to nationally-ranked Chicago Curie, 12 points and 4 rebounds in a win over Kenowa Hills and 7 points in a win over East Kentwood. Muskegon travels to Grand Rapids Union for its only game this week.
Chandler Turner, G/F, Detroit Renaissance 6-6
College commitment: Bowling Green
Finalist potential: Moderate
Trending: Up
With Renaissance losing Carrington McCaskill to transfer (SPIRE Academy, OH), Turner has been doing everything he can to lead Renaissance. He had 14 points and 20 rebounds in a win over Detroit Henry Ford, 16 points and 9 rebounds in a win over Detroit Mumford and 18 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Detroit CMA. In a win over Detroit Edison, he had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Ryan Wade, G, Ann Arbor Skyline 6-1
College commitment: Holy Cross
Finalist potential: Moderate
Trending: Up
Following in his brother's footsteps, Wade has been a consistent scorer and distributor for Skyline so far this season. He had 21 points and 5 assists in a win over Dexter, 20 points in a last-second loss to Saginaw. He also had 19 points and 5 assists in a win over Belleville. He had 20 points and 6 rebounds in a loss to Wayne Memorial. He has a big game this week on the road at rival Ann Arbor Pioneer on Friday.
B. Artis White, G, Canton 5-11
College commitment: Western Michigan
Finalist potential: Moderate
Trending: Up
He has done a great job of lobbying himself as one of the top point guards in the state. Showing up big night after night, White scored 23 points in a win over Northville, 17 points in a win over Ann Arbor Pioneer and 17 points in a close loss to Detroit Edison. Canton hosts Novi on Tuesday and travels to Hartland on Friday.
On the bubble
- Julian Dozier, G, Detroit U-D Jesuit
- Donavan Freeman, G/F, River Rouge
- Davis Lukomski, F, Detroit Catholic Central
- Jiovanni Miles, G, Novi
- Kasean Pryor, F, Ann Arbor Pioneer
- Tariq Shepherd, G, Farmington
- Jalen Thomas, C, Detroit U-D Jesuit
- Josh Warren, G, Woodhaven