Jayson Tatum Presents Gradey Dick the Gatorade National Boys Player of the Year Award

Sunrise Christian Academy standout Gradey Dick received a special surprise Tuesday when he was presented with the 2021-22 Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year by Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. 

Tatum informed Dick of the news as he was being presented with the trophy. 

Dick beat out Chris Livingston (Oak Hill Academy, Virginia) and Dariq Whitehead (Montverde Academy, New Jersey) to win the award. 

The 6'7" forward will be playing college basketball at Kansas. He committed to the Jayhawks in March 2021. 

Per 247Sports' composite rankings, Dick is a 5-star prospect and the No. 24 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class. 

Dick has been on the national radar since his freshman year at high school. The Wichita, Kansas, native was named to the all-league first team as a freshman and sophomore when he attended Wichita Collegiate School.

He won the Kansas boys basketball Gatorade Player of the Year award in 2019-20 after averaging 20.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 23 games. 

Dick announced in April 2020 that he was transferring to Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas. The academy has a stellar reputation for developing high-level college and NBA talent, with Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings being the most famous alum. 

ESPN.com has Sunrise Christian Academy ranked as the No. 1 boys' basketball team in the nation with a 25-1 record. The Buffaloes are the No. 1 seed in the high school national tournament and will take on Prolific Prep in the quarterfinals on March 31.