Braylon Mullins named Indiana Mr. Basketball
Before star incoming freshman Braylon Mullins heads to UConn this summer, the 6-foot-6 guard is leaving Indiana with arguably the state's most impressive achievement - Mr. Basketball. Mullins earned the award in a landslide after averaging 32.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season for Greenfield-Central high school. Mullins earned 182 votes to become UConn's first-ever Mr. Basketball winner in the state of Indiana, and no other player received more than 65 votes.
'It means the world,' Mullins told IndyStar. 'There are really not enough words to speak about it. I feel like I did a lot for this community and being able to show that this basketball program is something and having that No. 1 jersey framed on the wall and everything that comes with it is a blessing. It wasn't even a goal of mine when I came into high school. I didn't have that on my mind at all. But once I saw I had a chance I thought, 'Why not go for it?''
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Mullins joins a pretty impressive list of Mr. Basketball winners in the Hoosier state. Since the award's inception in 1939, 37 Mr. Basketball award winners in Indiana have gone on to be drafted in the NBA. Notable names include Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson (1956), Sean May (2002), Greg Oden (2006), Eric Gordon (2007) and Gary Harris (2012).
The award caps off an impressive high school career for Mullins, who set a litany of records at Greenfield-Central to cement himself as a hometown legend. Mullins led the Cougars to a 23-4 record this season with the greatest season in school history, setting school records with 887 points this season and the single game points record with 52 in one game, all while shooting 47.6 percent from three. He finished his career at Greenfield-Central with 2,158 points — also a school record — and won Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana this season on top of being named a McDonald's All-American.
Mullins will wrap up his time in Indiana with the state's all-star game against Kentucky before heading to Storrs in June. At UConn, he will join an elite recruiting class with big man Eric Reibe and Tasmania product Jacob Furphy, supplemented by two impact transfers in Silas Demary Jr. and Malachi Smith. Even with all this talent coming in, Mullins, the No. 15 player in the country in the 247Sports composite rankings, is the crown jewel of the Huskies' recruiting class. Huskies head coach Dan Hurley will likely lean on Mullins like he did with star freshmen Stephon Castle and Liam McNeeley as UConn tries for a third national title in the last four season.
Mullins, who received some flak for picking the Huskies over his home state school Indiana and North Carolina, seems ready to play for Hurley and the pressure of playing for UConn.
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'I wanted to do something that challenges myself and I felt like this was the best opportunity to do that,' Mullins said to IndyStar. 'That's why I picked UConn. I wanted that challenge, and I want to prove everybody wrong. I know it's going to be tough. I'm going to be 13, 14 hours from home. But I knew that when I picked UConn. I'm excited for it now that it's almost here. They are going to push me to be my best and I'm willing to work for that.'
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