Apr. 30—Star junior guard pivotal in another successful season for Warren Township
Jaxson Davis repeated as News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year after another stellar season for Warren Township. Doing so made the 6-foot-1 guard just the fourth player to earn multiple player of the year honors. Should he three-peat in 2026-27 — a real possibility — he’d be in a class all to himself.
Which is notable. A lot of rather impressive players claimed the N-G’s top boys’ basketball honor. Here’s a look at what the eight previous winners (the ones from my era of the award) are doing now:
Morez Johnson Jr., Thornton (2024)
Johnson, who spent his freshman season at Illinois, just won a national championship with Michigan. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Wolverines and had 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in the title game against Connecticut. Johnson declared for the 2026 NBA Draft and is projected as a first-round pick.
Jeremy Fears Jr., Joliet West (2023)
Fears established himself as one of the top point guards in the Big Ten — and the country — during the 2025-26 season. The Michigan State standout was named an All-Big Ten First Team selection and claimed multiple All-American honors after averaging 15.2 points and a Big Ten-leading 9.4 assists.
Braden Huff, Glenbard West (2022)
A dislocated left kneecap cut Huff’s breakout junior season at Gonzaga short. Before the mid-January injury, Huff was averaging 17.8 points on 66 percent shooting overall to go with 5.6 rebounds per game.
Max Christie, Rolling Meadows (2021)
Christie just wrapped up his fourth season in the NBA. The 6-5 guard, who was part of the trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers last season, started 68 of 77 games for the Dallas Mavericks and averaged 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and two assists.
Adam Miller, Morgan Park (2020)
Miller is technically in the transfer portal — again — but the former Illinois, LSU, Arizona State and Gonzaga guard should be out of eligibility. Miller teamed up with Huff for his sixth season of college basketball, started 25 of 35 games for the Bulldogs and averaged 7.3 points as a 42/30/75 shooter.
E.J. Liddell, Belleville West (2017, 2018)
Liddell signed a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the 2025-26 season. He ultimately split his season with the Nets and their G League affiliate. He averaged 17.6 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Long Island Nets and also played 26 games for Brooklyn where he put up 5.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
Mark Smith, Edwardsville (2017)
Smith returned to Germany — where his professional career started — for the 2025-26 season. The former Illinois, Missouri and Kansas State guard put up 12.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and three assists per game for Ratiopharm Ulm in the Basketball Bundesliga and was even more productive in 16 EuroCup games.
Jordan Goodwin, Belleville Althoff (2016)
Year five in the NBA was another good one for Goodwin even though his Phoenix Suns were eliminated from the playoffs this week via an Oklahoma City Thunder first-round series sweep. Goodwin, who missed the entire first round with a calf injury, played a key role off the bench for Phoenix during the regular season. The 6-3 guard averaged 8.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists and knocked down 37 percent of his three-pointers.