MIAMI, Fla. – I’ve been waiting for this McDonald’s game and the festivities for about oh….365 days - since I attended my first Mickey D’s game last year in Milwaukee.
Remember the two stars of that one?
Tyreke Evans and Willie Warren did pretty well for themselves as true freshmen for pretty good programs, Memphis State and Oklahoma, which both just got knocked out the NCAA Tournament over the weekend.
Tyreke Evans, last year with ACA High, was 2008 McDonalds MVP.
File photo
Evans, a sleek 6-foot-6 guard who led the East to a 107-104 victory and was named the game’s MVP with 21 points, was so good this year he’s projected by draftexpress.com as the No. 9 pick in June’s NBA draft.
Warren (North Crowley, Fort Worth, Texas), a 6-4 guard, was actually even better in the game last year, hitting 11 of 17 shots and scoring 23 for the West. He was just as good at Oklahoma and is now projected to be picked two spots ahead of Evans.
Sure, it’s supposed to be a below par NBA draft this season, but the point is: this event delivers like no other.
And with a 74-percent McDonald’s-All-American-to-future-NBA player ratio, I can’t wait to see the kids lace ‘em up, put them down.
That goes for the gals as well. .
We were highly disappointed that Nimitz (Houston, Texas) senior and future WNBA game-changer Brittney Griner won’t be attending. Her parents said their daughter's school district wouldn’t allow three days off school but later it came out that there is a mechanism in place to handle such a layoff from school. .
We had hoped cooler, smarter heads would prevail.
Brittney Griner rises above but won't be making trip to Miami.
Photo by Jim Redman
It's righteous on the surface that a student athlete picks school over play. But then again, this isn’t some AAU event or showcase. This is the premier event in the country, splashed on national TV. The experience is truly one-in-a-million and the McDonald’s folks make sure the kids get a much broader view of the world than the lens of a TV camera or the circumference of a hoop.
The trip to the local Ronald McDonald House alone – with her future high-profile peers – is life-altering. Just ask Alonzo Mourning.
Anyway, the only thing more disturbing news out of Florida to me is this python invasion.
Have you heard?
Seems someone let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, or in this case several of those 12-to-15-foot monstrosities out at a pet store four years ago and well, now they got the gators shaking in their alligator skin.
One tried to down a 6-foot alligator and they recently found deer antlers in the belly of one of these slithering “pets.”
I’ll stick with my 20-pound pooch Dash and have him – and my daughter – stay planted in California.
So now that we’ve let loose with whom we’re disappointed we won’t see and wishful of specie that won’t be slithering nearby, let’s get to the 10 sights I can’t wait to see or questions I can’t wait to ask. In no particular order:
1. I’ve seen double with the Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) twins David and Travis Wear, but now we’ll get a preview of the North Carolina triplets. The Wears and John Henson (Sickles High, Odessa, Fla.) will all be given Roy Williams' double vision as each is 6-10 and all can play inside-out and outside-in.
Lincoln's Lance Stephenson will announce his college choice Tuesday.
File photo by Kevin Yen
2. I’ve got to know why Henson is on the West team and super high-flying point guard Peyton Siva (Franklin, Seattle Wash.) is on the East. And how do a trio from Mount St. Joseph in Baltimore, Md., get to coach the West?
3. Much is being made of New York’s all-time leading scorer Lance Stephenson making his college announcement during Tuesday's media day. I just want to see him make like Michael Jordan and take it to the rim. He is one amazing specimen.
4. Want to hear how much trash the North Carolina-bound trio is giving to Oklahoma signees Keith Gallon (Oak Hill Academy, Va.) and Tommy Mason-Griffin (James Madison, Houston). We’re betting Mason-Griffin is getting most of it because at 6-9, 293, Gallon might offer more than litter back.
5. Gallon, by the way, is from the Houston area, which begs the question: What in the world were moms and dads feeding their children in that area at the time. Besides Griner and Gallon, Texas also produced females All-Americans Kelsey Bone (6-5) and Cokie Reed (6-4). We knew everything is bigger down there, but taller?
6. In a possible matchup that could help decide the National Female Players of the Year, Skylar Diggins (Washington, South Bend, Ind.), of the East, will battle “Lady LeBron” herself, Tayler Hill (Minneapolis South, Minn.). Each is about 5-10, super skilled and lethal scorers.
Washington senior Skylar Diggins will match up against Tayler Hill.
File photo by Jim Redman
7. The Washington showdown of Abdul Gaddy Jr. versus Siva, should be highly entertaining, though we might see more of Gaddy against Florida’s own Kenny Boynton (American Heritage School, Pompano Beach).
8. I hope West coach Pat Clatchey (Mount St. Joseph) runs Fairfax (Los Angeles) senior Renardo Sidney (6-10, 250) and Gallon in a beefy double low block set.
9. Those quarter-pounders with cheese going against Big Macs DeMarcus Cousins (6-11, 265) and Derrick Favors (6-9, 235) is another matchup I’d pay to see.
10. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the New Jersey pair of Dominic Cheek (St. Anthony) and Dexter Strickland (St. Patrick) light it up on Wednesday. The duo probably had better junior seasons than senior campaigns, and each has a little to prove.
Senior writer Mitch Stephens and Florida correspondent James Oyola are in South Florida to cover the entire four-day event. Look for more stories, features and notebooks all week, including tonight's Jam Fest.
