McDonalds Highschool All-Star Game

[Dirkenstien]

Anybody else watching this right now? Havent seen much from Dwight Howard yet but J.R. Smith is doing quite well. A lot of talent and even more potential in this game

[Dirkenstien]

Howards began to come around....looking pretty good on the court

[Dirkenstien]

oooo mmyyyy goosh...Josh SMith just just had a major block and then a great dunk back to back...awesome

[dirno2000]

Really not much to look at since it kind of mirrors the rookie game. It's all transition. The funny thing is that half the players in this game are saying that they're going to base their decision on weather or not to go pro on this game. The good news for Texas fans; Lamarcus Aldridge has pretty much been non-existent.

[Dirkenstien]

After watching this game it seems as though a team would have to be insane to take Dwight Howard before they took Okafor.

[OutletPass]

Dirno (or anyone else).....have you seen a box score for the game anywhere ?

I can't seem to find one on ESPN or anywhere else, even the MCDonald's game site.

Did LeMarcus ever pick it up ? Obviously I'm hoping that he stays in school for a year or two. He definitely could use it, though I'm afraid that he'll go to the NBA.

[dirno2000]

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Jones' Daniel Gibson and Milby's Jawann McClellan looked forward to Wednesday's McDonald's All-American High School Basketball Game. As West teammates, they had plays set up for each other.

But everything didn't work out as planned for the pair. They only shared the court for about one minute. And to add to the letdown, their West team lost 126-96 to the East at the Ford Center.

"Very disappointed," Gibson said of not getting to play more with McClellan. "But I had a lot of fun with the guys. The game was all right."

Gibson was the first Texas player off the bench. With Gibson nursing an injured ankle, West coach A.D. Burtschi wanted to play him sparingly. Gibson didn't have the same plan for himself.

He and McClellan both played 16 minutes. Texas signee LaMarcus Adridge, who is still deciding between college and the NBA, was limited to 11 minutes. Aldridge said he had a "semi-stress fracture" in his back diagnosed one week ago before traveling to Oklahoma City. After the game, the Seagoville center said he is 60 percent sure he will go to UT.

The 7-0 Aldridge and 6-5 McClellan said they felt a little left out in the ball-hogging atmosphere. Aldridge finished with five points, one rebound and two steals. McClellan had three points -- all from the free-throw line -- two rebounds and two steals.

"There was a lot of selfishness from the start," McClellan said. "It was OK. Just in a game like this where they don't share the ball, you force your shot a lot."

Before Gibson -- who finished second in Monday's Powerade Jam Fest 3-point contest -- even got in the game with 15:31 left in the first half, the East led 14-9.

The East was in tune with dunks. It also had four players with four or more assists -- including Louisville signee Sebastian Telfair's game-high 11 -- compared to just UCLA signee Jordan Farmar for the West. The East's Dwight Howard and North Carolina signee J.R. Smith were co-MVPs. Howard had 19 points and eight rebounds, while Smith had 25 points and five assists.

"This game doesn't bother me," McClellan said. "I'll go to college and make a name for myself."

Gibson had a little more fun with the game. He made two 3-pointers, but his goals were more on the defensive side. He wanted to slow down the scoring of Telfair, a 6-0 point guard who is considering going straight to the NBA.

Gibson succeeded. Telfair finished with only three points, and Gibson got some key steals and assists.

It was a sweep for the East as the girls beat the West -- coached by Duncanville's Cathy Self-Morgan -- 91-66. Self-Morgan hoped to put behind the bad taste of losing to Westfield in the Class 5A finals.

It wasn't meant to be. An Essence Carson 3-pointer gave the East the lead at 10-9, and it never looked back. Tennessee recruit Alexis Hornbuckle was the game's MVP with 22 points -- a record for the 3-year-old McDonald's girls game -- and six rebounds for the East. Candace Parker, the Tennessee recruit who made history by becoming the first girl to win the slam-dunk contest on Monday, led the West with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

[dirno2000]

Lamarcus Aldridge:

"If I'm top five or top 10, I have to go," Aldridge said. "I'm going to put my name in the hat and see what happens. If it's low first round or second round, I'm going to go to school and win a national championship."

"He's changed the program to make players want to go there and win," Aldridge said, referring to Barnes. "T.J. Ford started a trend of All-Americans. He made it OK to stay at home. "What if this whole class makes it? I think we're a national champion."

Mike Williams:

"Right now, everybody is talking about the Texas basketball team. Back in Alabama, everybody is talking about the basketball team," Williams said. "It has changed a lot."

[OutletPass]

Thanks Dirno...

Got to school, LeMarcus...go to school !

[MavsFanatik33]

Dwight Howard was awesome! Where was Sebastian Telfair? I missed a lot of the game so maybe I missed when he was in...

[dirno2000]

Telfair really didn't impress me. If I'm a GM, I take Shaun Livingston, the lanky 6'7 pg who signed with Duke, but probably won't go. If you're going to miss, at least miss big.

I read this morning that Sabastian had 10 TO's in his last high school game. He's just too risky for me.

[MavsFanatik33]

I've heard Livingston has decided to head to Durham instead of the NBA...I'd make the exact same decision...

[mavsman55]

Robert Swift didn't have too bad of a showing either... that kid is vicious. Pretty reminiscent of Brian Scalabrine.

[OutletPass]

I've heard Livingston has decided to head to Durham instead of the NBA...I'd make the exact same decision...

Doubtful since he's a solid top 5 pic in almost every mock draft...but the Nike summit is still to be played.

Still hoping that LeMarcus takes a back seat in that one and goes to UT. He and DGibson and Mike Williams will absolutely bomb some people next year as freshman. I may even have to learn that strange "Go Horns Go" thing that's augmented by the "3 times thrusting of the Horns" finger sign.

[OutletPass]

just to talk about these HS kids in perspective, Here's how NBADRAFTNET projects them as of today:

In the entire NBA draft, this is how the HS seniors who've indicated that they may come out are ranked:

#2 - Dwight Howard (Okafor has moved to #1)
#3 - Shaun Livingston
#4 - Josh Smith
#12 - Sebastian Telfair
#19 - LeMarcus Aldridge
#30 - Robert Swift
#34 - Dorrel Wright

Stay in school, LeMarcus !!!!

[dirno2000]

Still hoping that LeMarcus takes a back seat in that one and goes to UT. He and DGibson and Mike Williams will absolutely bomb some people next year as freshman

Don't forget Dion Dowell, I hear great things about him. He may be the most athletic of the bunch.