Center Grove’s Trayce Jackson-Davis enjoyed a breakthrough season on the basketball court, pushing his way onto the lists of the top players in the state and the country. On Wednesday, his place on that first list was further cemented when he was named to the core group of six players heading the Indiana Junior All-Stars.
Jackson-Davis was joined in the core six by Keion Brooks Jr. of Fort Wayne North, Armaan Franklin of Cathedral, Mason Gillis of New Castle, Brandon Newman of Valparaiso and Isaiah Thompson of Zionsville.
That sextet will play in three different exhibition games — two against the Kentucky Junior All-Stars on June 1 and 2 and one against the senior Indiana All-Stars on June 6. Sites for those games have not yet been determined.
Eighteen other juniors were named as All-Stars in the north, central and south regions of the state. Each of those groups of six will join the core six for one of the three exhibition contests.
The 6-foot-9 Jackson-Davis, who led Center Grove to the Class 4A regional finals this season, is a consensus top-30 recruit nationally in the Class of 2019. He currently is rated 25th in the country by ESPN.
Brooks and Jackson-Davis are widely considered to be the early front-runners for next year’s Indiana Mr. Basketball award.
