Some basketball players just hope to start on their high school basketball teams. Others want to make All-District. Others try to level-up and make All-State. Then, there’s two-time Mr. Basketball in Illinois, and current Ohio State forward E.J. Liddell.
He didn’t just stop at being the best basketball player in his state or at winning two state titles, he can now say he’s been named one of the best players in his area over an entire decade. That’s because the St. Louis Post Dispatch named the 6-foot, 7-inch Liddell as its Player of the Decade.
For context, Liddell is from Illinois, but just across the Missouri state line and only about 25 minutes from downtown St. Louis. He earned the recognition over guys like Jayson Tatum (Duke/Boston Celtics), Bradley Beal (Florida/Washington Wizards), Courtney Ramey (Texas), and Roosevelt Jones (Butler). The period in question was from 2010-2019.
Introducing our All-Decade boys basketball teams https://t.co/9mphpw98dQ
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch (@stltoday) May 9, 2020
It’s not a bad deal to be named as the player of a decade over a couple of guys that were eventually named to an NBA All-Star team. Liddell is still working his way into the player he’s going to be in college, but he showed flashes of that player at the tail end of last season.
Look for Liddell to make a big leap during the 2020-2021 season.
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