March 15, 2010
CHICAGO – In its 25th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, today announced Georgia Tech signee Dawnn Maye of Dillard High School as its 2009-10 Gatorade Florida Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Maye is the first Gatorade Florida Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Dillard High School.
The 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 Maye as Florida’s best high school girls basketball player. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award announced in March, Maye joins an elite alumni association of past state girls basketball award-winners, including Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Diana Taurasi (1998-99 & 1999-00, Don Antonio Lugo HS, Calif.), Maya Moore (2005-06 Collins Hill HS, Ga.), Rashanda McCants (2004-05, Asheville HS, N.C.), Shyra Ely (1999-00, Ben Davis HS, Ind.) and Lisa Leslie (1988-89, Morningside HS, Calif.)
The 5-foot-7 senior point guard led the Panthers (26-4) to the Class 5A state tournament title this past season, averaging 12.5 points, 9.1 assists, 5.6 steals and 4.0 rebounds per game. A Women’s Basketball Coaches Association High School 2010 All-America Game Honorable Mention selection, Maye clicked for 25 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists in the 53-44 state championship victory against Boca Ciega. Also a returning Class 5A First Team All-State honoree as named by the Florida Sports Writers Association, she concluded her high school career with 1,220 points, 885 assists, 563 steals and 500 rebounds.
Maye has maintained a 3.13 weighted GPA in the classroom. In addition to serving in her school’s student government, she has volunteered as part of multiple community-service activities on behalf of her church’s youth group and choir.
“Dawnn Maye is the best player in the state right now,” said Patrick Gajardo, director of Maye’s Amateur Athletic Union club, Team Breakdown. “She’s versatile. She’s a vocal leader. She puts numbers up. She’s a winner. She does everything but serve the popcorn and drive the bus.”
Maye has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Georgia Tech this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.
The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
Maye joins recent Gatorade Florida Girls Basketball Players of the Year Ashley Jones (2008-09, Lake Howell), Tiffany Hayes (2007-08, Winter Haven), and Krystal Thomas (2006-07, The First Academy) among the state’s list of former award winners.
To celebrate the award’s 25th anniversary, Gatorade wants you to vote for the All-Time Greatest Players of the Year at gatorade.com/POY25. To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of past winners, and the announcement of the Gatorade National Player of the Year, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
