MURFREESBORO- - -The winner of the Division I, Class A and Class AA Mr. Basketball Awards was announced at the conclusion of the championship games today at the Murphy Center on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
In Class A, Malcolm Smith of Clarksville Academy was named Mr. Basketball for 2010. Thomas Greer of West Carroll and Brandon Herman of Grace Baptist were the other two finalists.
Malcolm Smith is a 6'5", junior, forward. He is a three-year starter for the Cougars who averages 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.5 steals per game. He shoots 58.4% from the field, 48.6% from three-point range, and 67.3% from the free-throw line. He has been named to the All-District team and was chosen as the District Player of the Year for three consecutive years. He was an All-State selection in 2008 and 2009. He has been named to the All-District tournament team three times and the All-Region team twice.
Jalen Steele of Fulton High School was named the Class AA Mr. Basketball winner. The other two finalists were Kedren Johnson of Marshall County and Lester Wilson of Carter.
Jalen Steele is a 6'3", senior, guard. He is a four-year starter for the Falcons who averages 24 points, six rebounds, three assists, and four steals per game. He shoots 54% from the field, 38% from three-point range, and 86% from the free-throw line. He has been named to the All-District team each year of his career and was named the District Player of the Year three times. Jalen was the District Tournament MVP in 2008 and the Region Tournament MVP in 2008 and 2009. He was selected to the All-State Tournament team in 2008 and 2009. He was named the Class AA state tournament MVP in 2009. He is the all-time leading scorer in Fulton High School history with over 2,000 career points.
Joe Jackson of White Station High School was named Class AAA Mr. Basketball for 2010. The other two finalists were Casey Prather of Jackson North Side and Adonis Thomas of Melrose.
Joe Jackson is a 6'0", senior, guard. He is a four-year starter for the Spartans who averages 32.3 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals per game. He shoots 48.7% from the field, 36.3% from three-point range, and 81.3% from the free-throw line. As a freshman, he was named the Region 8-AAA MVP. During his sophomore season he was named to the All-State Tournament team and was a first team All-State selection. Last year he was the District 15-AAA Player of the Year and was named the MVP of the Class AAA state tournament. This year he is one of only 24 players in the nation selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American game on March 31. Joe has scored over 3,300 points in his career which is in the top 10 all-time in state history and is second all-time in Memphis basketball history.