Jrue Holiday - Gatorade Player of the Year
Words. HShoop
Jrue Holiday accepts the Gatorade National Player of the Year trophy.
Last week Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall H.S., North Hollywood, Calif.) was named Gatorade National Player of the Year after leading his team to its third state title in the last four years. The 6-4 senior combo guard is headed to UCLA this fall, where he’ll be the headliner in what’s being called the best recruiting haul in the country for the ‘08 class: Holiday, forward Drew Gordon, point guard Jerime Anderson and combo guard Malcolm Lee. We got up with Jrue a few days after he’d gotten word of his P.O.Y. win.
High School Hoop: How did you find out that you had been named Gatorade National Player of the Year?
Jrue Holiday: It was a surprise party. My cousin’s birthday was the day before, so everyone told me it was a party for her. All my friends and family, they all knew I’d won it, but I had no clue.
HSH: Did you think you were a serious contender for any national Player of the Year awards?
JH: To be honest, I wasn’t even thinking about it. I’d been accepted to the McDonald’s (All-American) game and the Jordan Classic and stuff, but I really wasn’t thinking about anything like that.
HSH: This is a pretty deep senior class, with you, Brandon Jennings, Greg Monroe, B.J. Mullens and a bunch of other guys who could have been Player of the Year. There wasn’t really a clear-cut wire-to-wire favorite, was there?
JH: No. It was most definitely a hard decision. You got Tyreke Evans, Brandon, Greg, DeMar DeRozan … There’s a lot of great players; they’re great at what they do. I guess they thought I kind of stood out.
HSH: What kind of numbers did you put up this year?
JH: I averaged like 25 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. We won state, which is the most important. I won state my freshman year and my junior year, but I really wanted to win my last high school game.
HSH: For the past few summers you’ve been playing AAU. Now that you won’t be doing that, what are you gonna be doing for the next couple of months to prepare for college?
JH: I’ve already started working out — I was in the gym until like 12:30, one o’clock last night working out. I might take a yoga class or something; I’ve heard it helps with your flexibility.
HSH: Is there any one thing in particular you’re trying to improve or add to your game going into college?
JH: My mid-range jump shot. I think I can kinda get to the basket whenever I want to, especially in high school, but I know in college it’s not gonna be like that. And I can always improve my defense.
HSH: When you watch UCLA, do you already envision where you’d fit in with that team?
JH: I can fit in wherever Coach Howland puts me, if it’s on point, or if somebody else runs point and I’m at the two. I can be a slasher/scorer. It doesn’t matter.
HSH: Talk about the high school talent coming out of California right now.
JH: It’s crazy because it seems like everyone out of California is going to UCLA now. We have the best recruiting class for 2008 — me, Malcolm Lee, Drew Gordon and Jerime Anderson. Then DeMar DeRozan is going to USC. Even Brandon Jennings, even though he plays out East, he’s from Compton. Then in ‘09 we’ve got Renardo Sidney and Jordan Hamilton, and Reeves Nelson, who’s going to UCLA.
HSH: Your team, Campbell Hall, played a national-TV game this year against Delvon Roe’s Lakewood (Ohio) team. What was that like being in front of the cameras?
JH: That was my first time playing on ESPN. It was cool, but we lost by three. I didn’t let the cameras affect me. I still played my game. It’s like you try to zone ‘em out, just like how you’d zone out the crowd or zone out the person trying to guard you.