Press release
Paige Bueckers Named 2019-20 Gatorade® National Girls Basketball Player of the Year
Minnesota Timberwolves Star Karl-Anthony Towns Surprises Winner with Honor MINNETONKA, Minn., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 35th year of honoring the
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[{"type":"text","content":"Minnesota Timberwolves Star Karl-Anthony Towns Surprises Winner with Honor\n\n\nMINNETONKA, Minn., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 35th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, The Gatorade Company today announced Paige Bueckers of Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minn. is the 2019-20 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Bueckers won the prestigious award for her accomplishments on and off the court, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year winners who have combined for nine WNBA MVP awards, 49 All-Star appearances and 14 became WNBA first round draft picks.\nMinnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns surprised Bueckers with the award in front of family, friends, teammates and coaches at her school. Check out a video of the announcement here. \n\"Winning the Player of the Year award was a day that I will always remember. That is why I am so excited to present Paige Bueckers with her award,\" said Karl-Anthony Towns. \"Being recognized by Gatorade as an elite athlete both on and off the court is an honor like no other and I am thrilled to see what great things Paige will accomplish in her career.\"\nThe award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Bueckers as the nation's best high school girls basketball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Bueckers from nearly a million high school girls basketball players nationwide. \nCompetition for the national award is fierce. Bueckers topped the list of 51 state winners in girls basketball who have an incredible list of accomplishments, including 12 McDonald's All-American Game selections, 12 Pac-12 committees, six ACC committees, 15 with GPAs above a 4.0 and 88 percent volunteering with at least two organizations. \nBueckers is now a finalist for the most prestigious award in high school sports, the Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, which is announced at a special ceremony after the 2020 ESPY Awards in July.\n\"Paige plays with natural instincts and an enthusiasm for the game that is becoming harder and harder to find at the elite level within our sport,\" sa...