Mr. Basketball is heading to Columbus.
For the second year in a row, Ohio State signee E.J. Liddell was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in a state championship-winning season with Belleville West. Liddell becomes the first player in state history to win the award in back-to-back years since Jabari Parker.
He averaged 20.3 points and 9.3 rebounds as a senior and earned 95-of-114 first-place votes for the award. Throughout his high-school career, Liddell accumulated 2,508 points, 1,004 rebounds, 500 blocks and 322 assists.
Liddell was the No. 45 overall prospect in the class of 2019 and, along with DJ Carton and Alonzo Gaffney, helped make up the top recruiting class in the Big Ten. Carton was named Iowa's Gatorade Player of the Year.
As a freshman next season, Liddell will compete immediately with Kyle Young to start at power forward.
