 | Duke-bound Taylor King (7) will be one of the 30 McDonald's All-Americans to take the floor on Wednesday night at Louisville. Greg Nelson |
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By Ryan Canner-O'Mealy, Special to SI.com, RISE
For the 30th consecutive year, the nation's top high school boys' basketball players will get together for the McDonald's All-American Game. Add in the girls' game, which began in 2002, and 48 of America's top seniors will descend upon Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky., for the three-day event.
Festivities kick off on Monday night at 7 p.m. with the Powerade Jam Fest, which features a slam dunk contest and 3-point shootout. After a practice and an honors banquet on Tuesday, the games begin on Wednesday. The girls' game is at 5:30 on ESPNU with the boys' game following at 8 on ESPN.
There are plenty of intriguing matchups in both contests. In the boys' game, the nation's top two players and future college rivals, guard O.J. Mayo of Huntington (W.Va.) and forward/center Kevin Love of Lake Oswego (Ore.) square off. Mayo won't find himself guarding Love during the game, but it will be interesting to see whether the USC-bound Mayo or the UCLA-bound Love wins Round 1 of a battle that will continue in the Pac-10 next year.
The East team may have the best guard in Mayo, but the West has great depth in the backcourt. With guards Derrick Rose of Simeon (Chicago), Eric Gordon of North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Jerryd Bayless of St. Mary's (Phoenix, Ariz.), the West has three of RISE's top 10 seniors on its roster.
The Indiana-bound Gordon (No. 4-ranked recruit) and Memphis-bound Rose (No. 5) team up for the first time since last summer when they dominated the AAU circuit with The Mean Streets Express. Bayless, who has signed with Arizona, is the No. 8 recruit.
Duke, coming off a rare first-round NCAA tournament loss, shouldn't be down for long as it leads all colleges with three McDonald's All-Americans, all of whom are in RISE's top 30: No. 6 Kyle Singler of South Medford (Medford, Ore.), No. 22 Nolan Smith of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and No. 28 Taylor King of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
Syracuse and Georgetown each have a pair of recruits on the East roster, with the Orange inking guard Jonny Flynn of Niagara Falls (N.Y.) and forward Donte Greene of Towson Catholic (Towson, Md.). The Hoyas counter with guard Chris Wright of St. John's (Washington, D.C.) and Austin Freeman of DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.).
Down low, watching Love, RISE's No. 2 senior and Naismith Award winner as the country's top high school player, do battle with East big men Patrick Patterson of Huntington (Huntington, W.Va.) and Kosta Koufos of GlenOak (Canton, Ohio) will be interesting.
As with most all-star games, this one should be filled with monster dunks and no-look passes. Leading the high flyers are West players Michael Beasley of Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.), a 6-foot-9 Kansas State recruit, and James Anderson of Junction City (Ark.), an Oklahoma State-bound forward.
In addition to guards like Mayo, Rose and Gordon, pure point guards like Jai Lucas of Bellaire (Texas) should run the show and set up teammates for easy dunks and alley-oops.
In the girls' game, all eyes will be on Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.) guard Maya Moore, the UConn recruit and two-time winner of the Naismith Player of the Year Award. Moore averaged 25.2 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and five steals to lead Collins Hill to its third consecutive Georgia Class AAAAA crown.
Moore's future college teammate, Lorin Dixon of national power Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), will be her backcourt mate on the East team.
Top-five players and Tennessee recruits Angie Bjorklund, a guard at University (Spokane, Wash.), and Vicki Baugh, a forward at Sacramento (Calif.), suit up for the West. Fellow future Vol Kelley Cain, a center at St. Pius X (Atlanta, Ga.), will play for the East.
Other top players to watch include center and Ohio State recruit Jantel Lavender of Central Catholic (Cleveland), Stanford-bound guard/forward Kayla Pedersen of Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.), North Carolina-bound guard Italee Lucas of Centennial (Las Vegas) and a pair of Duke recruits, forward Krystal Thomas of First Academy (Orlando) and guard Jasmine Thomas (no relation) of Oakton (Vienna, Va.).
