(Daryl T. Jarvinen photo) Iron Mountain’s Foster Wonders (00) dunks the basketball in a game at Ishpeming on March 5. Wonders, who scored a career-high 45 points in the game, was recently named a finalist for the BCAM Mr. Basketball award.

IRON MOUNTAIN — Annually, the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan awards the trophy for best high school senior boys basketball player in the state: “Mr. Basketball.”

Five candidates are named as finalists for the award. In most years, all of those candidates are from below the Mackinac Bridge.

For this pandemic-shortened 2021 season, one of the five finalists is from the Upper Peninsula — Iron Mountain senior Foster Wonders. The six-foot five-inch Wonders, who currently sits at 2,201 career points, became the all-time boys leading scorer in the U.P. on Thursday in Iron Mountain’s MHSAA Division 3 regional championship victory over Oscoda at Sault Ste. Marie.

“It feels amazing to be a finalist and I am very grateful,” said Wonders via text message on Monday evening. “It would mean a lot to me to win the award, because of how much I have worked on my game throughout my life.”

He is the first U.P. boys finalist since 1991, when North Dickinson’s Todd Lindeman was nominated, according to retired Detroit Free Press columnist Mick McCabe.

Wonders’ 34.5 points, eight rebounds, three assists and 2.5 steals per game set shim up to make a solid run at the award. The winner will be announced after the state finals for the first time in the award’s history, because of the shortened regular season this winter.

A University of Southern Illinois recruit, Wonders has played AAU basketball both with and against two of the other finalists.

Pierre Brooks II of Detroit Douglass, is a 6’6 guard. His stat line is 33 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. The Michigan State recruit has been both a teammate and opponent of Wonders in AAU.

An AAU teammate of both Wonders and Brooks is finalist Julian Roper of Orchard Lake St, Mary’s. Roper, who stands at 6’4, is signed with the Big 10 Conference’s Northwestern. He averages 20 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Another finalist is Legend Geeter, a 6’8 forward from River Rouge High School, averaging 20 points and 14 rebounds per game. Geeter will be heading to Providence to play in the Big East Conference.

The last finalist is six-foot four-inch Kobe Bufkin of Grand Rapids Christian, who is a Michigan recruit. Bufkin’s stat line is 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game.