by MARK GREY

Playersvoice was asked which state turns out the best players, so we looked it up.  We tallied up how many all-stars each state has produced over the last 10 years in each of the three major sports (NBA, NFL, MLB).  The origin of each all-star was based on the high school they attended - excluding boarding schools (i.e Oak Hill Academy).

10. South Carolina - Although South Carolina only ranks 24th in terms of populated states in the country, there is a lot of All Star talent from the Palmetto state.  Over the last 10 years, South Carolina has produced over 20 different All Stars throughout the NBA, NFL, and MLB.  Fifteen different NFL pro bowlers hail from SC.  In the NBA, Jermaine O’Neal,  Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen have all been to multiple all-star games.

Notables from SC: Albert Haynesworth, Peter Boulware, Takeo Spikes, John Abraham, Shaun Ellis, Richard Seymour, and Brad Johnson

9. Virginia - Virginia is not just for lovers; it’s also the home of some of the best athletes in the world. Over the last 10 years, the tide water area of Virginia has produced 22 All Stars: 13 pro bowlers, 4 NBA all-stars, and 5 MLB all-stars.

Notables from VA: Allen Iverson, Bruce Smith, Grant Hill, Michael Vick, DeAngelo Hall, Thomas Jones, David Wright, Justin Upton, Dre Bly,  Darren Sharper, and Tiki and Ronde Barber. 

8. North Carolina - Known as the home of the greatest basketball player ever, many other kids from North Carolina have followed Michael Jordan’s footsteps.  The home of the Tar Heels has produced 23 different All-Stars.

Notables from NC: Chris Paul, Jerry Stackhouse, Josh Howard, Antawn Jamison, Tory Holt, Bruce Matthews, Joe Horn, Julius Peppers, Willie Parker, Adrian Wilson, Kevin Millwood, Josh Hamilton, and Ryan Zimmerman.

7. Illinois - Thanks to Chi-town, Illinois has produced many all-stars in all three major sports with double digit all-stars in both the NFL and MLB.  Despite being a cold weather state, Illinois has still produced the fourth most MLB all-stars over the last 10 years.

Notables from IL: Dwayne Wade, Michael Finley, Shawn Marion, Mike Alstott, Donovan McNabb, Rodney Harrison, Michael Turner, Jim Thome, Darryl Kile, and Shawn Green.

6. Georgia - Only three states have produced more NFL stars over the last 10 years than Georgia.  20 different pro bowl players have grown up in the Peach State.  Although Georgia isn’t known for its NBA stars, seeing as it only has three, it is still the place that brought us Dwight Howard.

Notables from GA: Dwight Howard, Kevin Mawae, Champ Bailey, Hines Ward, Shannon Sharpe, Jamal Lewis.

5. Ohio - Although best known as the birth place of LeBron James, James is hardly the only star to hail from the Buckeye state.  Over the last 10 years, Ohio has produced almost 30 different all-stars including 20 NFL pro bowlers.

Notables from Ohio: LeBron James, Michael Redd, Kevin Youkilis, Barry Larkin, Ken Griffey Jr, Mike Vrabel, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Chambers, Nate Clements, Chris Carter, Charles Woodson and Orlando Pace.

4. Pennsylvania - The Keystone state has produced more all-stars than any other cold weather state in the country.  Pennsylvania has produced a high number of all-stars in all three major sports. More than 30 different all-stars have come from PA.

Notables from PA: Kobe Bryant, Rip Hamilton, Jameer Nelson, Rasheed Wallace, Marvin Harrison, Rich Gannon, Eddie George, Curtis Martin, LaVar Arrington, Jason Taylor, Larry Johnson, Bob Sanders, Mike Piazza, and Mike Mussina.

3. Texas - The lone star state has raised over 50 all-stars in the last decade.  Texas is known for its High School football and it shows with the 34 NFL players who have made the Pro Bowl.  Baseball is also a big show in Texas producing 15 MLB all-stars.

Notables from TX:  Chris Bosh, Rashard Lewis, Tim Brown, Zach Thomas, Michael Strahan, Bubba Franks, Drew Brees, LaDainian Tomlinson, Shaun Rodgers,  Roy Williams, Donald Driver, Adam Dunn, Lance Berkman, Kerry Wood. Roger Clemens.

2. Florida - When it comes to producing star athletes, the Sunshine State is at the top of the class.  Florida has produced more NFL pro bowlers than any other state (45), and the second most MLB all stars (22).  Although Florida isn’t know for its basketball, its 5 NBA all-stars ranks second among all states.  In total, over 70 all-stars have come out of Florida.

Notables from FL: Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Amare Stoudemire, Eddie Jones, Ray Lewis, Edgerrin James, Jevon Kerse, Isaac Bruce, Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Chris Johnson, Chad Johnson, Andre Johnson, Sean Taylor, Frank Core, Lito Shepard, Fred Taylor, Willis McGahee, Alex Rodriguez, Jay Bell, Chipper Jones, Fred McGriff, and Jonathan Papelbon.

1. California - No surprise here, as the state of California produces more stars than any other.  In the past decade, Cali has produced over 100 all-stars in the three major sports.  While Florida has more NFL pro bowlers, California has more NBA and MLB all-stars than any other state.  In fact, the 55 MLB all-stars from California is more than the second, third, and fourth states combined.

Notables from CA: Tony Gonzales, Junior Seau, Tom Brady,Willie McGinest,Lorenzo Neal,T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nnamdi Asomugha,  Keyshawn Johnson, Larry Allen, John Lynch, Ricky Williams, Joey Porter, Troy Polamalu, Tedy Bruschi, Steve Smith, Carson Palmer, Gilbert Arenas, Reggie Miller, BaronDavis, Jim Edmonds, Barry Zitto, Jimmy Rollins, David Wells, Barry Bonds.

Notes:

New York, which ranks third in population with over 19 million people, did not make the top 10.  Although NY is known for great basketball, only 4 NBA all-stars over the last 10 years have come from NY and they have combined for only 6 all-star trips.

Louisiana, which ranks 25th in population, ranked 12th in total number of all-stars - inlcuding 4 different MVPs.

Along with New York, Michigan was the only other state in the top 10 in population that was not one of the top 10 all-star producing states.

Mississippi, which ranks 32nd in population, ranks in the top 15 in all-stars - inlcuding two MVPs.

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Crys   |2009-09-10 10:10:08 I thought the same thing about how convenient for FLA to be #2. lol and i'm glad that you threw the NY note up in there, cuz you know us NY'ers were lookin for it!

Brick City   |2009-08-09 08:26:51 I thought Jersey would be on the list

Ohio fan   |2009-08-09 08:24:26 ESPN top 150 is gonna break down like this 35% California 35% Florida 20% Texas 10% Everybody else It's the way it is and will most likely remain. High population in warm weather. Ohio State prepares student-athletes for the NFL better than ANYONE in college football. That's why we're one of the the very few that can recruit anywhere

Anonymous   |2009-08-09 08:21:57 If kids in New York played football instead of Basketball we'd have a deeper talent pool. There is some talent that comes out of Jersey, but few and far between in the North's most populated state. Even if New York produced half the talent as Ohio regional recruiting would go through the roof.

Buckeye   |2009-08-09 08:18:00 strictly from a football standpoint I'd put Ohio 4th, ahead of Pennsylvania, but it's close.

HeelsBaby   |2009-08-09 06:41:44 6 of the states are considered Southeast (VA, SC, NA, GA, TX, FL). SE hold the largest population of African Americans, so it is of no suprise to me that the SE dominates over any other region in the USA. CA is so big with the largest population, PA has PHI&Pitts and IL has CHI to draw from. Of course OH, is pretty large as well with Cincy, Cleveland and Columbus. The blue collard state has to produce.

Anonymous   |2009-08-08 10:46:20 man if you ask michael jordan where he's from he'll say north carolina.

Cali love   |2009-08-06 08:32:14 On top of their population, California has it all. Nice weather to train all year, plus awesome training facilities, plus they have snowy mountains for the winter sports.

NYNYNY   |2009-08-05 22:43:47 "Now i hope people will stop saying NY has the best Basketball players in the world." Kareem MJ Dr.J its ok though jealous ppl just trying to steal our stars.

Penn State   |2009-08-05 15:15:37 I'd love to see a list like that, except all-time, instead of just the last 10 years. I mean, think of all the greats that come out of PA: Dan Marino, Jim Thorpe, Kobe, Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka, Reggie Jackson, Joe Montana, Stan Musial, Joe Namath, Honus Wagner, Johnny Unitas and so many more.

Anonymous   |2009-08-05 15:12:19 Its about time Ohio got some love!! As for anyone that has not been there and talks trash about the state....Shut your ignorant mouths up! Most of you(that run your mouths) are from NY and you didnt even make the top ten list...LOL...thats because most(not all) of you guys spend most of your time running your mouths and not working on being better, IMO.

BK   |2009-08-05 15:11:24 NY still has the best ballers and competetion. Jordan was born in BK so the bloodline is much stronger than those other states

301 boy   |2009-08-05 15:06:30 lol @ NY what a shame

Skins   |2009-08-05 15:04:46 I'd say a combination of weather, total population along with both metro and rural areas. Pa's weather allows for a full high-school football season before it gets too cold. The winter months and it's all about basketball. Spring comes at just the right time and they're playing baseball. When high-school baseball is over, they move right into Legion ball during the summer months. Pa also has a good size population that is spread out in both rural and metro areas. Because the population is big in Pitt and Philly, the competition is strong, especially football in Pitt and Basketball in Philly. The rural areas just out side the metro areas produce all-stars because they get to play the strong metro competition as well as the other rural competition. You have central Pa that doesn't have any booming cities but a bunch of decent size towns near each other that'll produce competitive athletes.

Captin Jack   |2009-08-05 15:02:29 If you dont think there are hotbeds..how do you explain SC having 5 times as many stars then AZ..AZ has 2 million more people..and hot weather year round. Or Sc having more then ALabama. Or PA producing more then GA

Anonymous   |2009-08-05 15:00:59 It's largely weather and population driven. It really is that simple. Certain towns aren't hotbeds for talent, there is nothing magical in the water. Sometimes the truth isn't as sexy as we want it to be

Mecca?   |2009-08-05 07:19:22 Now i hope people will stop saying NY has the best Basketball players in the world.

Emanuela   |2009-08-05 00:55:01 yeah, school pride aside, the article exhibits strong facts, research, and hard work. I actually forgot Kobe was from Philly...I tend to associate players' home towns with where they play. Illogical, I know, but I still do it lol.

Sunshine state   |2009-08-05 00:02:45 Fla stand up

TLC   |2009-08-04 22:38:35 I wonder if theres some predjudice with Florida being #2 jk..and @Emanuela I would have thought that North Carolina would have been higher too. Good list definitely took a while to establish the stats dating all the way back to highschool oh this one.

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