K'dyn Waters named boys basketball player of the year

Trey Vaughan, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·3 min read

Jun. 9—Unbelievable.

That's how Neosho boys basketball coach Zane Culp described the season K'dyn Waters put together in 2021.

"In one word, you'd have to say unbelievable," Culp said. "Because a kid that just moves, that you didn't even know, and then just shows up and has one of the best offensive seasons in Neosho's history and leads us to the most wins in almost 20 years."

Waters has been named the Globe's boys basketball player of the year for the 2021-22 school year.

That win total Waters led the Wildcats to was 17 in a 17-11 season that saw them reach the Class 5 District 6 semifinals before falling to eventual district champion Bolivar.

The 6-foot-4 guard tallied 23 points per game and finished the season averaging 25-plus ppg in Central Ozark Conference play.

"Obviously his basketball skill was just top-notch," Culp said. "But the thing that set him apart was he just loved basketball. and his ability to adapt and assimilate to different situations was just uncanny.

"In his first COC game — which is a different level of basketball than we played all year — he was held to 11 points. By the end of the (season) he was averaging 25 points in conference."

Waters was the engine behind leading Neosho to its first title in the Neosho Holiday Classic since 2002, in which he earned Most Valuable Player honors.

The senior picked up an all-state selection as well, the first to do so in 20 years for the Wildcats. He was a unanimous first-team All-Central Ozark Conference member as well.

4-States Basketball Coaches Association chose Waters as player of the year for his performances this year.

Those performances led to Waters eclipsing the 1,000-point mark.

It wasn't just Waters' individual awards and numbers that stood out.

Coach Culp said what stood out the most about Waters was his ability to step up in the clutch.

"You can win games with a bunch of role players and that's what we had," Culp said. "We had a good team coming back anyways, but then when you have a guy whenever you need a bucket you can give it to (them). (Waters) rose up in big moments, scoring 38 points in the Neosho holiday tournament championship, and then our first round of districts he scored 25 points."

The transfer from Florida finished the final season of his high school career shooting over 40% from the 3-point line, over 60% on two-point shots and north of 80% at the charity stripe.

Culp added that Waters' ability to score at all three levels and his skill set on offense helped to set him apart this season:

"Every single offensive skill you can pretty much think of he was good at," Culp said.

That skill set certainly helped him get to the next level as Waters signed to play at NJCAA Division II North Arkansas College last month.

More than a basketball player, Waters made his mark with the Wildcats as a person.

"Sometimes when you get a superstar to move in like that you don't know how things are going to go, but he was nothing but top-notch to his coaches, teammates and teachers," Culp said.