Dougie named Montana Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year

His list of awards and accolades is already impressive but this one is a really big one.  Earlier today, Butte Central Catholic High School's Dougie Peoples was named Gatorade's 2022-23 Montana Boys Basketball Player of the Year.  This is the 38th year Gatorade has bestowed the honor and Peoples is the first recipient in the history of Butte Central.

Peoples recently led the Maroons to a third-place finish in the State A tournament at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman a year after his 30-foot jumper at the buzzer against Lewistown gave the Maroons the championship.  Dougie's stat line heading into the State Tournament was impressive.  24.8 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 2.25 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  This season Dougie broke the legendary Mike McLeod's single-game school scoring record and has gone for over 40 points twice, once in a Divisional Semifinal.  He is the holder of the city record for most points scored with 1,404 heading into the state tournament.  But it is not just his athletic prowess that gave Peoples the award as Gatorade also looks at academic achievement and "exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court".  Off the court, Dougie has been a volunteer with the Special Olympics through his parish and he is the Student Body President of Butte Central High School where he maintains an "A" average and is a member of the National Honor Society.

Peoples is the third player from Butte to take home this honor joining Butte High Bulldog legends Scott Ferguson and Gary Kane who both won the award in the 1980s.  Here is Dougie's press release.