Best High School Boys Basketball Player in Every State 2022: South

These are the best boys basketball players from America's southern region as we head into the 2022-23 season.

The Stadium Talk preseason lists of the best boys basketball player in every state are upon us, and this week we’re covering the southern region — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The South is especially packed with talent in 2022-23, led by players who are thought of as the top-ranked in their class for 2023, 2024 and 2025, which might make this a once-in-a-lifetime season in a few southern states.

Here’s a look at the best boys basketball players in the southern region by state.

Alabama: Labaron Philon

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High School: Baker High School (Mobile, Alabama)

Position: Guard

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 177 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Labaron Philon is quickly becoming one of the top guards in the Class of 2024. The talented guard averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals, as he led Baker High to the Class 7A Final Four and was named Class 7A Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2021-22.

Philon is continuing a recent run of high-profile point guard recruits coming out of Alabama. Stadium Talk named current Boston Celtics guard J.D. Davison the best player in the state headed into the 2020-21 season. Philon already has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, LSU and defending national champion Kansas.

Arkansas: Rashaud Marshall

Blytheville High Forward Rashaud Marshall

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High School: Blytheville High School (Blytheville, Arkansas)

Position: Forward

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-9, 215 pounds

College: Ole Miss (committed)

Bottom Line: Blytheville High’s Rashaud Marshall was an All-State selection as a junior in 2021-22, as he averaged 20.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 blocks and shot 72 percent from the field.

Marshall is one of several elite players from the Class of 2023 who’s committed to play for Ole Miss alongside Madison-Ridgeland (Miss.) Academy point guard Josh Hubbard, and the two could provide an immediate impact for the Rebels once they hit campus.

Florida: Cameron Boozer

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High School: Christopher Columbus High School (Miami, Florida)

Position: Power Forward

Graduation Year: 2025

Height/Weight: 6-foot-9, 215 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Cameron Boozer isn’t just the best high school basketball player in Florida — the sophomore forward might be the best high school basketball player in the entire country.

Boozer, the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, averaged 18.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.2 blocks as a freshman and led Columbus High to a Class 7A state championship — Florida’s largest division — alongside his twin brother, Cayden Boozer. Carlos was named MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year following his team’s state title and is the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Georgia: Isaiah Collier

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High School: Wheeler High School (Marietta, Georgia)

Position: Point Guard

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 190 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Georgia is chock-full of high school basketball talent, and none of them are better than Wheeler High guard Isaiah Collier, the No. 1 player in the nation from the Class of 2023.

Collier is already a two-time state champion and averaged 19.0 points, 6.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 steals as a junior. Wheeler went 25-5 and made it to the Class 6A state quarterfinals, while Collier was named a MaxPreps All-American.

Kentucky: Reed Sheppard

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High School: North Laurel High School (London, Kentucky)

Position: Guard

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 175 pounds

College: Kentucky (committed)

Bottom Line: North Laurel High’s Reed Sheppard became the first Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year from his school and was also named Kentucky MaxPreps Player of the Year after he averaged 25.5 points, 7.6 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 steals as a junior in 2021-22.

Sheppard helped lead North Laurel to the Kentucky Sweet 16 as he shot 54.7 percent from the field, including 38.5 percent on 3-pointers and over 90 percent on free throws. He’s committed to playing college basketball for the University of Kentucky.

Louisiana: Chris Lockett Jr.

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High School: Isidore Newman School (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Position: Shooting Guard

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 200 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Chris Lockett Jr. helped lead Isidore Newman to the Division III state championship as a junior in 2021-22 as he averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.0 steals. In the state championship game, Lockett put up 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals — even with stitches on the palm of his shooting hand. It was the first state title for Newman since 1993.

Lockett was named Class 2A Player of the Year as a junior and is already a two-time All-State selection. He has offers from Baylor, Georgetown and Houston, among others.

Mississippi: Josh Hubbard

Madison-Ridgeland Academy Guard Josh Hubbard

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High School: Madison-Ridgeland Academy (Madison, Mississippi)

Position: Point Guard

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot, 180 pounds

College: Ole Miss (committed)

Bottom Line: Madison-Ridgeland Academy’s Josh Hubbard has already earned his spot among the greatest high school basketball players in Mississippi history — he became the MAIS (Midsouth Association of Independent Schools) career leading scorer as a junior in 2021-22 with 3,233 career points, breaking a 42-year-old record.

Hubbard, who is committed to Ole Miss, averaged 28.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals as a junior, leading Madison-Ridgeland to a 33-7 record and MAIS Class 6A state runner-up finish. He was also named to The Clarion-Ledger All-State Team.

North Carolina: Jarin Stevenson

Nicole Stevenson

High School: Seaforth High School (Pittsboro, North Carolina)

Position: Power Forward

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-8, 200 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: The top spot among high school boys basketball players in North Carolina seemed locked down for the next two years until reigning North Carolina Gatorade and MaxPreps Player of the Year Paul McNeil from Richmond Senior High moved to Prolific Prep in Napa, California, in June.

Into that void steps Seaforth High power forward Jarin Stevenson, a junior who is already ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect in the Class of 2024. Stevenson averaged 20.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.3 steals per game as a sophomore and has offers from North Carolina, Georgetown, Missouri, North Carolina State and Virginia, among others.

Both of Stevenson’s parents played Division I basketball — mom Nicole played at North Carolina and dad Jarod played for Richmond and was the 1998 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year.

South Carolina: Cam Scott

Lexington High School

High School: Lexington High School (Lexington, South Carolina)

Position: Shooting Guard

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 175 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Cam Scott is the No. 1 recruit in South Carolina from the Class of 2024 and is already a three-time Class 5A All-State selection (he played varsity in eighth grade) and led Lexington High to the Class 5A Lower State semifinals as a junior in 2021-22.

Scott, who has 20/10/5 potential, has offers from North Carolina, Florida State, Texas Tech, Georgia, LSU and Wichita State, among others.

Tennessee: Cooper Haynes

Briarcrest Christian Guard Cooper Haynes

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High School: Briarcrest Christian School (Eads, Tennessee)

Position: Guard

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 170 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Briarcrest Christian guard Cooper Haynes made history as the fastest player to 1,000 points in school history and averaged 22.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a junior on the way to being named a MaxPreps Sophomore All-American.

Haynes also shot 56 percent from the field and 46 percent on 3-pointers.

Texas: Ronald Holland

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High School: Duncanville High School (Duncanville, Texas)

Position: Forward

Graduation Year: 2023

Height/Weight: 6-foot-9, 215 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Ronald Holland helped lead Duncanville High to the Class 6A state championship and the MaxPreps National Championship as a junior in 2021-22 after the Panthers went 35-1 and Holland averaged 15.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.0 steals. Holland was also named MaxPreps National Junior of the Year.

While Duncanville was eventually stripped of the state title over the use of an ineligible player, Holland is still one of the most coveted recruits in the country from the Class of 2023. Holland’s list of college suitors is long, including Texas, UCLA, Arkansas and also the option of going to play for the G-League Ignite — don’t be surprised if Holland becomes an NBA lottery pick in 2025.

Virginia: Darren Harris

Paul IV Catholic High Forward Darren Harris

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High School: Paul IV Catholic High School (Chantilly, Virginia)

Position: Small Forward

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-6, 200 pounds

College: Duke (committed)

Bottom Line: Paul IV Catholic High’s Darren Harris is already the No. 1 player in Virginia from the Class of 2024 and could play his way into being a Top 20 national recruit with a big junior season.

Harris has already established himself as one of the best shooters in his class and committed to Duke in October 2022. He’s the first Blue Devil commit from the Class of 2024 and the third to come out of Paul IV Catholic in recent years, following guards Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels, who was taken No. 42 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.

West Virginia: Maki Johnson

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High School: Huntington Prep (Huntington, West Virginia)

Position: Guard

Graduation Year: 2024

Height/Weight: 6-foot-4, 180 pounds

College: Uncommitted

Bottom Line: Huntington Prep’s Maki Johnson established himself as one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation as a junior playing for one of the nation’s elite prep school teams. Johnson has offers from Maryland, Kansas, Cincinnati and Auburn, among others, and won’t be the first in his family to play Division I basketball, following older sisters Mychal (Notre Dame) and Mychelle (Marshall).

Available Now: The Stadium Talk Podcast

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