OAK BROOK, Ill. — Let the madness and build-up begin for America’s premier high school basketball all-star games.
The McDonald’s All American Games released the official rosters for the 36th McDonald’s All-American Boys Game and 12th Girls Game on Thursday.
The annual event will again be played at Chicago’s United Center on April 3. The boys game begins at 9:30 p.m. ET on April 3, on ESPN. The girls game tips at 7 ET on ESPNU.
The 2013 McDonald’s boys team features top ranked prep talent and Canadian-born Andrew Wiggins (Huntington Prep, W.Va.) playing alongside hometown hero Jabari Parker (Simeon – Chicago). Aaron and Andrew Harrison (Travis – Richmond, Texas) mark the first set of twins since 2009 – the most recent pairs include David and Travis Wear (2009) and Brook and Robin Lopez (2006). The Harrison twins, who will be attending Kentucky in the fall, account for two of the McDonald’s All American Games record five boys recruits that will be attending the same university, including Dakari Johnson (Montverde Academy, Fla.), Marcus Lee (Deer Valley – Antioch, Calif.) and James Young (Rochester, Mich.). The previous record of four was held by Michigan (1991), Duke (1999) and Kentucky (2011).
The girls squad features the first-ever McDonald’s Games father/daughter duo with Taya Reimer (Hamilton Southeastern – Indianapolis), daughter of Ben Davis (1991). Other top female talent includes Mercedes Russell (Springfield, Ore.), Diamond DeShields (Norcross, Ga.) and local Chicago star Linnae Harper (Whitney Young – Chicago). California will be well-represented with four female student-athletes making the final team, including Oderah Chidom (Bishop O’Dowd – Oakland, Calif.), Kendall Cooper (St. Anthony – Carson, Calif.), Erica McCall (Ridgeview – Bakersfield, Calif.) and Kelsey Plum (La Jolia Country Day School, Calif.).
Freddy Johnson of Greensboro (N.C.) Day School will coach the Boys East team, while Mike Flaherty of Chicago’s Mount Carmel will lead the West team. Fred Priester of Oakton (Vienna, Va.) will coach the Girls East team, while Anthony Smith of Bolingbrook (Ill.) will man the sidelines for the West squad. Combined, the four coaches have won more than 2,450 games and 12 state championships.
“It’s becoming a tradition for the top high school basketball stars to gather in Chicago for the McDonald’s All American Games,” said Douglas Freeland, director of the McDonald’s All American Games. “These players are the ‘heirs apparent’ to the basketball royalty throne, and we look forward to hosting them in the Windy City for this can’t miss event.”
Since 1978, more than 1,100 players have competed in the McDonald’s All American Games, forming an elite list of some of the top names in basketball history including, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Sylvia Fowles, Candace Parker and Maya Moore.
