High school girls basketball player of the year

Mikayla Coombs (left) and her basketball coach Jan Azar (right) of Weslayan School pose for a portrait at Wesleyan School on May 8, 2017. Coombs will attend the University of Connecticut on a basketball scholarship. While her school was the Class A state champions, she was named Miss Georgia Basketball and will also be trying out for the U.S. U-19 team, which narrows down to twelve players and the try-outs are invite only. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

Mikayla Coombs (left) and her basketball coach Jan Azar (right) of Weslayan School pose for a portrait at Wesleyan School on May 8, 2017. Coombs will attend the University of Connecticut on a basketball scholarship. While her school was the Class A state champions, she was named Miss Georgia Basketball and will also be trying out for the U.S. U-19 team, which narrows down to twelve players and the try-outs are invite only. (HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM)

Girls Basketball Player of the Year

Mikayla Coombs, Wesleyan

Achievements: Coombs averaged 16.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 4.0 steals for a Wesleyan team that finished 28-4 and won the Class A private-school championship. It was the Wolves' second state title during her career and their 12th in the past 17 seasons. She scored a game-high 17 points and added nine rebounds in a 51-48 victory against Holy Innocents' in the state final, and her 10 points in the last 4:11 of the second quarter helped Wesleyan rally from a 32-15 deficit. Coombs was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand Classic games, was the Gatorade state player of the year and was named Miss Georgia Basketball by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

Position: Shooting guard

Height/Weight: 5-foot-10, 140 pounds

Class: Senior

College choice: Signed with Connecticut

Why Connecticut: I felt that it was the best place for me. I know that I'm going to be asked to be my very best every day, and that's important to me. I also have a very good relationship with the coaching staff as well as the players.

Best high school moment: My best high school moment is winning state this year. It was amazing for me to be able to finish out my high school career with my senior classmates, coaches and other teammates with a win in our final game.

Why basketball: I have always had a passion for basketball. I've played a lot of sports in my life, but I've never had a true passion and drive for other sports like I do with basketball.

What you'd like to be doing in 10 years: I would love to be working as a sports broadcaster or playing professionally, and helping coach a local youth basketball team or basketball organization.

Favorite high school course/why: My favorite high school course is history. I like history because it tells you how and why certain things happened in the world.

People who helped along the way: First and foremost, my family. Secondly, I've had countless coaches and teachers shape me into the person I am today, but the two that stand out the most are Jan Azar and Alfred Motton, my high school and AAU coaches.

Toughest high school opponent: I would say our toughest high school opponent would be Holy Innocents'. They're our rival, and they're a team full of really talented players. You always know you're going to get a good game out of them. (Wesleyan and Holy Innocents' played each other 12 times in the past three seasons, including three consecutive meetings in the championship game. Holy Innocents' held an 8-4 advantage in those matchups, but Wesleyan won two of the three state titles.)

Favorite movie: My favorite movie would be "Like Mike" or any of the "Fast and Furious" series.

Favorite song: My favorite song is "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars.

Worst high school moment: My worst high school moment was tearing my ACL in the first game of my sophomore basketball season.

If you could be any other athlete on earth: I would be LeBron James, because he is a model athlete. He is extremely successful, and he has found a way to keep himself out of the media with any scandals.

Money or happiness: I would rather have happiness. There are countless rich people in the world today who seem miserable because people are constantly asking them for money or they spend all their money and are left bankrupt. I think having too much money can lead to unnecessary problems, but you can never have too much happiness.

Best word to describe yourself: Caring.

View of the world at this moment: My view of the world at this moment is skeptical. I feel like day-by-day the world is growing, but with the growth comes countless problems we still have to deal with.

What you would put in a time capsule: I would put a video of myself right now talking about what I want to have in the future, such as my family life, my career and where I would like to be in life. I think it would be cool to listen to this video in the future and see if I followed my dreams or not.