# Mr. Basketball of Arkansas

The Mr. Basketball of Arkansas award is awarded every year to the student-athlete chosen as the best individual high school basketball player in the state of Arkansas in the U.S. This award was earned by the best of the best in the state of Arkansas. Players who were leaders on and off the court, showed sportsmanship, and lead their team to victory in most occasions.

## Award winners

| Year | Player | High School | College | NBA/NFL draft |
| 2023 | Annor Boateng | Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock | Missouri | |
| 2022 | Derrian Ford (2) | Magnolia High School, Magnolia | Arkansas then transferred to Arkansas State | |
| 2021 | Derrian Ford | Magnolia High School, Magnolia | Arkansas then transferred to Arkansas State | |
| 2020 | Jaylin Williams | Fort Smith Northside High School, Fort Smith | Arkansas | 2022 NBA draft: 2nd Rnd, 34th overall by Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 2019 | Isaac McBride | Baptist Prep High School, Little Rock | Oral Roberts | |
| 2018 | Isaiah Joe | Fort Smith Northside High School, Fort Smith | Arkansas | 2020 NBA draft: 2nd Rnd, 49th overall by Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2017 | Daniel Gafford | El Dorado High School, El Dorado | Arkansas | 2019 NBA draft: 2nd Rnd, 38th overall by Chicago Bulls |
| 2016 | Malik Monk | Bentonville High School, Bentonville | Kentucky | 2017 NBA draft: 1st Rnd, 11th overall by Charlotte Hornets |
| 2015 | KeVaughn Allen (2) | North Little Rock High School, North Little Rock | Florida | NBA G-League: Rio Grande Valley Vipers |
| 2014 | KeVaughn Allen | North Little Rock High School, North Little Rock | Florida | NBA G-League: Rio Grande Valley Vipers |
| 2013 | Bobby Portis | Hall High School, Little Rock | Arkansas | 2015 NBA draft: 1st Rnd, 22nd overall by the Chicago Bulls |
| 2012 | Archie Goodwin (2) | Sylvan Hills High School, Sherwood | Kentucky | 2013 NBA draft: 1st Rnd, 29th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder (traded to Phoenix Suns via Golden State Warriors) |
| 2011 | Archie Goodwin | Sylvan Hills High School, Sherwood | Kentucky | 2013 NBA draft: 1st Rnd, 29th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder (traded to Phoenix Suns via Golden State Warriors) |
| 2010 | Preston Purifoy | Conway High School, Conway | UAB | Undrafted Plays for FC Porto in Euro League |
| 2009 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2008 | A. J. Walton | Hall High School, Little Rock | Baylor | Undrafted Plays for Astoria Bydgoszcz in the Polish League |
| 2007 | James Anderson (2) | Junction City High School, Junction City | Oklahoma State | 2010 NBA draft: 1st Rnd, 20th overall by the San Antonio Spurs |
| 2006 | James Anderson | Junction City High School, Junction City | Oklahoma State | 2010 NBA draft: 1st Rnd, 20th overall by the San Antonio Spurs |
| 2005 | Brandon Ballard | Buffalo Island Central High School, Monette | Arkansas State | No NBA History |
| 2004 | Marcus Monk | East Poinsett County High School, Lepanto | Arkansas | 2008 NFL draft: 7th Rnd, 248th overall by the Chicago Bears |
| 2003 | Ronnie Brewer | Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville | Arkansas | 2006 NBA draft: 1st Rnd, 14th overall by the Utah Jazz |
| 2002 | Antwoine Blanchard | Parkview Magnet High School, Little Rock | Texas State | Undrafted |
| 2001 | Gavin Ludgood | Clarksville High School | Florida Atlantic University |
| 2000 | Kim Adams | J. A. Fair High School, Little Rock | Arkansas State | Undrafted |
| 1999 | Joe Johnson | Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock | Arkansas | 2001 NBA draft: 1st Rnd, 10th overall by the Boston Celtics |
| 1998 | Jason Harrison | Parkview High School, Little Rock | Mississippi | Undrafted |
| 1997 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1996 | Nick Bradford | Fayetteville High School, Fayetteville | Kansas | Undrafted |
| 1995 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1994 | Matt Daniel | Jonesboro High School, Jonesboro | Colorado/Harding | Undrafted |

### Schools with multiple winners

The universities that have multiple award winners tend to be schools that are in, if not, close to the state of Arkansas. These schools are known to have a rich history of basketball in their state and the players that earned the award multiple times have either been drafted to the NBA, or played for a team in the NBA G-League. Oklahoma State University was the first-ever school to have achieved the NCAA championships in back-to-back years. In addition, the school has a total of 6 final four appearances throughout the history of the school, so as you can see Oklahoma State is a school with huge success in the basketball department. The University of Kentucky was known to be successful in the first few years of their career, but there were a couple of setbacks that the school experienced, like a couple of Kentucky players being involved in illegal activities that almost costed the coach his job. The University of Florida, like most of the SEC schools, were once thought of as a football college but eventually after making the NCAA tournaments 3 times in a row, the school soon received recognition as a prestigious basketball university winning multiple SEC championships.
| School | Number of Awards | Years |
| Fayetteville High School | 2 | 1996, 2003 |
| Fort Smith Northside High School | 2 | 2018, 2020 |
| Hall High School | 2 | 2008, 2013 |
| Junction City High School | 2 | 2006, 2007 |
| Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock | 2 | 1999, 2023 |
| Magnolia High School | 2 | 2021, 2022 |
| Parkview High School | 2 | 1998, 2002 |
| Sylvan Hills High School | 2 | 2011, 2012 |

## Significance

George Mikan was a big influence in this award being developed, being that he was the first "Mr. Basketball" player to ever win the award. His influence on the award gave away the idea for each state in the U.S. to be able to have their own Mr. Basketball award. States, for example like, Illinois, Alabama, and Maine who were able to have significant stories regarding the Mr. Basketball award winners in their state.