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FAMOUS BASKET BALL PLAYER

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 1/22/2020 11:07:38 AM

Deandre Ayton

Deandre Edoneille Ayton (born July 23, 1998) is a Bahamian professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference in the 2017–18 season and was a consensus five-star prospect in the Class of 2017, as well as a McDonald's All-American. Ayton was selected with the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft by the Suns. He was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team for the 2018–19 NBA season. Early life Ayton was born in Nassau, Bahamas to Bahamian father Alvin and Jamaican mother Andrea. Ayton was first scouted by an Annual Bahamian basketball magazine called the Bahamian Basketball Yearbook. At the age of 12, Ayton was scouted by the All Bahamian Brand who were visiting Bahamas Academy High School, a tiny private school then located on Wulff Road in Nassau. The scouts came when Ayton, a tuba and soccer player, was at band practice, rather than basketball practice, but were impressed by his 6'5" frame. Ayton moved to San Diego, California to play high school basketball. High school career Ayton attended Balboa City School in San Diego, California and started on the varsity basketball team for two years. As a sophomore in 2014–15, Ayton led Balboa to a 17-14 record, averaging 21 points, 16 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. He racked up double-doubles in 21 of 22 regular season games. That summer, he averaged 16.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks a game for Supreme Court AAU (California) on the Under Armour circuit. As a standout in his class, he elected to transfer from Balboa City School to explore an opportunity at a Prep Academy. Ayton, now a junior in 2015–16, transferred to Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, Arizona to play out his last two years. During this high school year, he became teammates with another top-tier Class of 2017 player in 2018's #2 pick Marvin Bagley III. Throughout his junior year, Ayton averaged 29.2 points, 16.7 rebounds, 3.8 blocks per game. As a senior in 2016–17, Ayton led Hillcrest to a 33-6 record and national rankings across multiple outlets while averaging 26 points, 15 rebounds and 3.5 blocks. While representing the World Select team, Ayton played at the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, chipping in with eight points to go along with seven rebounds.