Leal wins Mister Basketball, Parrish wins Miss Basketball

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Big Ten and PAC-12 conferences will have Indiana’s top basketball talent next season.

Bloomington South senior Anthony Leal, an Indiana University commit, is the IndyStar’s 2020 Mister Basketball.

“It’s incredible. Coach [J.R.] Holmes gave me a call earlier in the week to break the news to me,” Leal said. “When he first told me, it was surreal, but when it truly got announced today, I was speechless. I was kind of in shock knowing it was a reality.”

“Honestly, it really hasn’t hit me yet. I got a couple texts from some of the old Miss Basketball winners,” Parrish said. “They’re like, ‘oh it’s great for you to be a part of the club.’ It has been such a dream of mine since I was little.”

Leal will be the third straight Mr. Basketball winner to play for the Hoosiers, which is a first for the IU men’s basketball program. Leal follows Trayce Jackson-Davis (2019) and Romeo Langford (2018).

The guard averaged 18.2 points per game this past season. He was one of five seniors that guided Bloomington South to a 26-0 record. The Panthers’ post-season run was alive when the IHSAA canceled the remainder of the state tournament amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Parrish is Hamilton Southeastern’s first Miss Basketball winner. She averaged 24.8 points per game as a senior. Parrish is not only HSE’s all-time scoring leader, her 1,925 career points also top the Hamilton County history books. She led the Royals to the 4A girls championship in 2019, the only basketball title in school history.