McDonald's tabs Austin Rivers, Elizabeth Williams top high school players in the country.
CHICAGO – McDonald's named
Austin Rivers and
Elizabeth Williams the 2011 male and female Morgan Wootten Player of the Year winners Tuesday.
Rivers, a 6-foot-4 senior guard from
Winter Park High School (Fla.), bested a field of finalists that included
Anthony Davis of
Perspectives (Chicago),
Michael Gilchrist of
St. Patrick (Elizabeth) and
James McAdoo of
Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, Va.). The future Duke Blue Devil averaged 28.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as a senior in leading the Wildcats to their second-straight Class 6A state title.
Austin Rivers, Winter Park
Photo by Stuart Browning
Rivers was surprised at the announcement with an appearance from his father, Boston Celtics head coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers, a McDonald's All-American himself in 1980.
"I'm very surprised he is here," Austin Rivers said. "I thought he was in Boston somewhere. This is a great honor. These awards mean a lot to me."
The Rivers duo is the second father-son combination to be selected as McDonald's All-Americans, following Milt and Dajuan Wagner.
Williams, also a Duke signee from
Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.), topped fellow finalists
Cierra Burdick of
Butler (Matthews, N.C.),
Ariel Massengale of
Bolingbrook (Ill.) and
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis of
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). The 6-3 senior forward scored 19 points, grabbed 19 points and swatted nine shots to lead the Cavaliers to Virginia's Group AAA state title last weekend, the team's second-straight.
It was the second title in her four-year career, during which
she scored 1,628 points and pulled down 1,205 rebounds. The Cavaliers
finished with a 31-1 record and 24-game winning streak.
Boo
Williams, who has been coaching youth basketball for 30 years, called her "one of the best female players to come out of the state. She is a
female version of Alonzo Mourning. She can dominate a game on defense
like Alonzo."
See story on Williams.
The Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award is presented in conjunction with the McDonald's All-American Game, which will be held March 30 at the United Center in Chicago.
Senior writer Dave Krider contributed to this report.
