- Austin Rivers
Since 1980, the McDonald’s High School All-American game has allowed the nation to get a glimpse of future NBA stars during their senior year in high school.
Notable NBA players who played in the annual game include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
Rolling out sports was on hand as the top high school basketball players in the country battled on the hardwood at the 2011 McDonald’s All-American game.
Held at the United Center in Chicago, the game had the feel of an organized street ball game in the early minutes. Players from both squads threw alley-hoop dunks, behind the back passes and showed off their tricky ball-handling skills to get a rise out of the record-breaking 20,000 fans in attendance.
But during the waning minutes of the game, the East squad used stifling defense to defeat the West by a score of 111-96. Michael Gilchrist (University of Kentucky signee) and James McAdoo (UNC signee) walked away with co-MVP Awards.
Other standout players included Brad Beal (17 points, 5 rebounds), Austin Rivers (14 points, 5 rebounds) and Khem Birch (15 points, 10 rebounds).
“To play in front of 20,000 people is an honor,” McAdoo said. “There are a lot of kids who didn’t get this opportunity and we were chosen. It was fun being out there, but it’s always room for improvement.” –amir shaw
