Apple Valley's Tre Jones Wins Gatorade MN Player Of Year

In its 32nd year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, Gatorade Company announced Tre Jones of Apple Valley High School as its 2016-17 Gatorade Minnesota Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Tre is the younger brother of Timberwolves point guard Tyus Jones.

Jones is the third Gatorade Minnesota Boys Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Apple Valley High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic
achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Jones as Minnesota’s best high school boys basketball player.

Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year award to be announced in March, Jones joins an elite alumni association of past state boys basketball award
winners, including Karl-Anthony Towns, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Chauncey Billups, and Jason Kidd.

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior guard had led the Eagles to a 26-2 and a berth in the Section 3AAAA Tournament championship game at the time of his selection.

Jones averaged 23.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 3.6 steals through 28 games.

A three-year varsity starter, Jones was an All-State Tournament member as both a freshman and
sophomore and was a member of the USA Basketball Under-16 team that won the 2015 FIBA Americas U16
Championship, according to a news release.

He entered the sectional tournament final with 1,457 points in his prep basketball career.
Jones has volunteered with Feed My Starving Children and on behalf of elementary school literacy-outreach programs.

He has also donated his time as a youth basketball coach and as part of multiple community-service initiatives through his church youth group.

“Tre’s ability to make others better is unmatched,” said Keenan Shelton, head coach of
Rosemount High.

“He has the ability to score, gets others involved and has led a team that wasn’t expected to be as
good as they are to a [26-2] record.”

Jones has maintained a weighted 3.57 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track and field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.

The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Jones joins recent Gatorade Minnesota Boys Basketball Players of the Year:

• Gary Trent Jr. (2015-16, Apple Valley High School)
• J.T. Gibson (2014-15, Champlin Park High School)
• Tyus Jones (2013-14, 2012-13 & 2011-12, Apple Valley High School)
• Joe Coleman (2010-11, Hopkins High School)
• Kevin Noreen (2009-10, Minnesota Transitions Charter School)
• Mike Bruesewitz (2008-09, Henry Sibley High School)
• Jordan Taylor (2007-08, Benilde-St. Margaret's School)
• Cole Aldrich (2006–07, Jefferson High School)

As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Tre will be able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program.

Every Gatorade Player of the Year state winner receives a $1,000 grant to donate and will have the opportunity to enter for an additional $10,000 spotlight grant by writing a brief essay
explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support.

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