Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones (3) scored 32 points as the Wildcats topped 100 points during an 108-56 win over Halls at Wildcat Arena on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. (File photo by Luther Simmons)
Note: This story was last updated at 1:50 p.m.
Oak Ridge senior Tajion Jones has been named as one of three finalists for Mr. Basketball in Class AAA in Tennessee.
Among other accomplishments, Jones is second on the all-time Oak Ridge list for career three-point shots with 189, according to broadcaster David Clary.
The other two Mr. Basketball finalists in Class AAA are Tyler Harris of Cordova High School and Alex Lomax of Memphis East High School.
It’s the second year in a row that Oak Ridge has had a Mr. Basketball finalist. Last year, Tee Higgins, who was then a junior, was named a finalist.
This year’s finalists were announced Friday by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, or TSSAA. The Mr. and Miss Basketball awards will be presented to the top boys and girls in five TSSAA classifications in the Murphy Center at Middle Tennessee State University on Tuesday, March 7.
The Miss Basketball finalists in Class AAA are Anastasia Hayes of Riverdale High School, Jayla Hemingway of Houston High School, and Rhyne Howard of Bradley Central High School. The Lady Wildcats played against Hayes and Riverdale in the Class AAA state championship game in March 2016, and they played against Howard and Bradley Central in the championship game of the Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic in Greeneville on December 31.
Winners of this year’s awards were selected by a statewide committee of sportswriters based on the players’ performances during the 2016-2017 regular season. Academics and character were also taken into consideration. High school head basketball coaches and members of the media nominated the finalists.
The TSSAA said this is the 33rd year that the Mr. and Miss Basketball Awards have been presented to Tennessee’s best high school basketball players. American General was the sponsor of the event since the inception of the awards in 1985 until 2001. The Memphis Grizzlies were sponsors of the awards from 2002-2004. From 2005-2015, the Mr. and Miss Basketball Awards were presented at the conclusion of each respective championship game as part of the post-game trophy ceremony.
The draw for the Division I boys’ state basketball tournament will be held prior to the Mr. and Miss Basketball Awards on the floor of Murphy Center at 5 p.m. March 7. The draw for the Division I girls’ state tournament brackets will be scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, March 5 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Murfreesboro.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
See the complete list of Mr. and Miss Basketball finalists here.
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