Calvary Christian's Shon Abaev is the Broward 3A-1A Boys' Basketball Player of the Year
Calvary Christian senior forward Shon Abaev had long been considered one of the best high school basketball players in the nation.
But a state championship had been missing from his resume.
That changed this past season when Abaev stood at the forefront of a return to prominence for the Eagles' program.
'That was huge. It felt good to end my high school career as a state champion,' Abaev said.
Abaev capped an outstanding high school career with that title and led the Eagles to an impressive 22-1 record and a No. 5 national ranking by MaxPreps.
As such, Abaev is the Miami Herald's Broward County Boys' Basketball Player of the Year for Classes 3A-1A.
Led by Abaev, Calvary Christian won its fourth state title overall and first since 2022 after prevailing in a nail-biter, 66-64 in the Class 3A final against The Villages.
Abaev then went on to earn McDonald's All-American honors and participated in the recent McDonald's All-American Game, an event which has featured some of the game's greats for decades.
Abaev played for the East squad during the contest on April 1 in Brooklyn, which also included Cameron and Cayden Boozer from Columbus and several other top prospects.
'McDonald's was a big-time opportunity for me,' Abaev said. 'A lot of big names have been in that one. I felt blessed to be able to be another one.'
Abaev, a 6-7 small forward, is next headed to play for the University of Cincinnati in the fall. He is rated a five-star prospect by multiple evaluators and regarded as one of the best and most polished scorers in this year's class.
His work ethic, however, is what his teammates and coaches at Calvary Christian rave about.
'It's a different game in college. The speed and physicality gets tougher and I've got to prepare for that,' Abaev said. 'We played a lot of games with the shot clock at Calvary so that prepares you too. The schedule we played helped too because it's a lot of the guys I'll be playing against. 'I just have to keep focused and not get distracted. Just go over there and win, and help (Cincinnati) make it to March Madness next year.'
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