Newton point guard Ashton Hagans is the Gatorade Georgia high school boys basketball player of the year, Gatorade announced Thursday.
Hagans, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound junior, led Newton to a 27-4 record and the Class AAAAAAA semifinals. He averaged 20 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds and four steals a game. Hagans was the Region 8-AAAAAAA player of the year.
Hagans is rated the No. 6 player nationally among juniors, according to 247Sports.
The award considers the player’s basketball accomplishments but also academic achievement and character.
Hagans has volunteered locally to raise awareness about children with leukemia and participated in an annual Alzheimer’s walk with his grandparents. Hagans has maintained a B average in the classroom .
Recent Georgia winners of the Gatorade award have been current Duke forward Wendell Carter of Pace Academy (2017), UConn guard Alterique Gilbert of Miller Grove (2016), Virginia forward Isaiah Wilkins of Greater Atlanta Christian (2014) and NBA player Jaylen Brown of Wheeler (2015).
