Harrison Barnes of Ames (Iowa) and Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas) standout Chiney Ogwunmike are the Morgan Wootten/McDonald’s All-American basketball National Players of the Year it was announced Wednesday morning.
Harrison Barnes during the summer.
Photo by Nicholas Koza
Barnes, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound wing, is the 14th annual male winner and he beat out
Kyrie Irving (
St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.)),
Perry Jones (
Duncanville (Texas)),
Brandon Knight (
Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)),
Jared Sullinger (
Northland (Columbus, Ohio)) and
Tristan Thompson (
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) for the award, the first of many national selections that runs in conjunction with the McDonald’s All-American game.
Wootten is a legendary coach and McDonald’s games selection chair.
Barnes led Ames to a 29-0 record and state crown last year and his team is currently 24-0 and No. 7 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national ranking. Barnes had 35 points last week in a 97-53 win over Des Moines to qualify for the state tournament.
He joins previous winners such as LeBron James (2003), Dwight Howard (2004) and Kevin Love (2007).
Off-the-court excellence is also a consideration in the award and Barnes qualified there with his involvement in numerous charities including Students Helping Eliminate Poverty and Hunger (SHEPH).
“I feel blessed that my name will be linked with everything this award embodies,” Barnes said in a statement.
Ogwumike, a 6-3 post who has signed to Stanford, just led Cy-Fair to a Texas 5A title with a signature performance when she had 31 points, 18 rebounds, seven steals and three blocks in a 65-41 win over Hightower in the title game.
She edged Bria Hartley (North Babylon (North Babylon, N.Y.)), Kaniesha Horn (Ramsay (Birmingham, Ala.)), Natasha Howard (Waite (Toledo, Ohio) and Odyssey Sims (MacArthur (Irving, Texas)).
Ogwuimike is the ninth female winner of the award and joins such stars as Candace Parker (2004), Tina Charles (2006) and Maya Moore (2007).
She led her teams to state titles in 2008 and last week and among her many community service contributions are as a volunteer for Cypress Assistance Ministries. She also organized a charity dance that raised money to stop child abuse.
Ogwumike will join her sister Nneka at Stanford. Remarkably, Nneka was picked the Pacific-10 Player of the Year the same day her sister chosen Player of the Year.
“I am extremely honored and grateful to receive this recognition,” Ogwumike said. “I’m indebted to everyone who had faith in me to get to this point — from my coaches and teammates to my family, friends and school.”
