Freshman sensation Marvin Bagley had just finished his junior year of high school in the months before he announced he would be enrolling at Duke.

Naturally, I was wondering the same question that was on everyone’s mind: how exactly did he fit his senior year of high school into one summer?

In the process of finding out, I found myself following a couple of other storylines on how online education was changing the game for talented young athletes and performers, and why people should be beholden to normal timelines.

Turned out, the online education angle became quite relevant much sooner than I expected.

I’m proud of this award-winning story because I allowed myself to go where the facts took me without preconceived notions. Largely, the reaction was that I had captured the full story with key details, presenting the information for readers without choosing a side or editorializing.

PDF copies:

How basketball star Marvin Bagley went from high school junior to Duke freshman

Unique abilities help Marvin Bagley dominate on court, set sights on NBA

Athletes, other students find flexibility with online education


The original web versions are available behind a paywall as well.