Nation’s Top-Rated High School Players Compete in Milwaukee to Raise Money for Ronald McDonald House Charities(R)
OAK BROOK, Ill., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ — The McDonald’s All American Basketball Games selection committee unveiled the 24 members of the 31st Boys Game and 24 members of the seventh annual Girls Game to be played March 26 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
Proceeds from the 2008 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games will go to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC(R)) of Eastern Wisconsin and its Ronald McDonald House(R) program. Millions of dollars have been raised since the first Game was played in 1978.
“The McDonald’s All American Games is the premiere prep showcase for the top talent in college and pro basketball,” said Alonzo Mourning, captain of the new McDonald’s All American Advisory Council. “Not only will these young stars be added to the list of the best basketball players of all time, but they will aid in raising money for a very important cause.”
The 2008 McDonald’s All American Boys Team features a wide-spread talent pool, including: Greg Monroe (Helen Cox High School — Harvey, La.) the number one overall rated high school basketball player in the nation according to Scout.com and Rivals.com. Also taking the floor will be Demar DeRozan (Compton High School — Compton, Calif.), Samardo Samuels (St. Benedict’s Preparatory School — Newark, N.J), Tyreke Evans (American Christian Academy and Prep School — Aston, Pa.) and Scotty Hopson (University Heights Academy
— Hopkinsville, Ky.) The Boys Game will tip-off at 9:30 p.m. (EST) March 26, and will broadcast live on ESPN.
The 2008 McDonald’s All American Girls Team also boasts a talent-rich roster including Elena Delle Donne (Ursuline Academy — Wilmington, Del.), who has led Ursuline to three straight Delaware State Championship titles and was ranked as the No. 1 overall high school recruit by Scout.com. Also suiting-up for the girls will be Amber Gray (Lakota West High School — West Chester, Ohio), She’la White (Norfolk Collegiate School — Norfolk, Va.), LaSondra Barrett (William B. Murrah High School — Jackson, Miss.), Ashley Gayle (Bishop Gorman High School — Las Vegas, Nev.), Samantha Prahalis (Commack High School — Commack, N.Y.) and Nikki Speed (Marlborough School — Los Angeles, Calif.). The Girls Game begins at 7:00 p.m. (EST) March 26, and will broadcast live on ESPNU.
Every athlete who participates in the McDonald’s All American Games will visit the host city’s local RMHC Chapter to experience first-hand how the Games impact the local community. For a complete list of players and more information on the McDonald’s All American Games and RMHC, please visit: http://www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com/ or http://www.mcdepk.com/2008allamericangame/.
This year, 48 players were selected from 2,500 nominees by a committee of basketball experts. They were chosen not only for their on-court skills, but for their performances off the court as well. Coach Morgan Wootten, who had more than 1,200 wins as head basketball coach at DeMatha High, is chairman of the selection committee. Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, who has been involved in the McDonald’s All American Games since its inception, serves as chairman of the Games and as an advisor to the selection committee.
Since 1977, more than 850 players have competed in the McDonald’s All American Games, forming an elite list of basketball superstars. McDonald’s All American(R) athletes include NBA greats Alonzo Mourning (Miami Heat), Magic Johnson (retired), Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), as well as WNBA star Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx) and women’s NCAA stars Tina Charles (Connecticut), Maya Moore (Connecticut) and Candace Parker (Tennessee).
Tickets to the Games and POWERade(R) Jam Fest are available through Ticketmaster and by phone, 866-909-GAME. The POWERade Jam Fest will be held at U.S. Cellular Arena on March 24, 2008 beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST.
About RMHC
McDonald House Charities, a non-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. Its programs are grassroots-driven to enable the Charity to offer help where children need it most – right in their own communities. RMHC makes an immediate, positive impact on children’s lives through its global network of local Chapters in nearly 51 countries and regions through its three core programs: the Ronald McDonald House(R), Ronald McDonald Family Room(R) and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile(R). RMHC and its global network of local Chapters have awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and program services to children’s programs around the world. For more information, visit http://www.rmhc.org/.
About McDonald’s
McDonald’s USA, LLC is the leading foodservice provider in the United States serving a variety of wholesome foods made from quality ingredients to millions of customers every day. More than 80 percent of McDonald’s 13,700 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local franchisees. For more information about McDonald’s visit http://www.mcdonalds.com/.
(C) 2008 McDonald’s2008 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Team
ALPHABETICAL ROSTER
EAST TEAM
No. Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. High School, State (Hometown) College
42 Al-Farouq Aminu F 6-9 205 Norcross High School, GA
(Norcross, GA) Wake Forest44 William Buford G 6-5 185 Libbey High School, OH
(Toledo, OH) Ohio State32 Ed Davis F 6-9 215 Benedictine High School,
VA (Richmond, VA) North
Carolina
1 Tyreke Evans G 6-6 217 American Christian Academy
and Prep School, PA
(Chester, PA) Undecided50 JaMychal Green F 6-9 220 St. Jude Educational
Institute, AL
(Montgomery, AL) Alabama24 Sylven
Landesberg G 6-6 205 Holy Cross High School, NY
(Flushing, NY) Virginia3 Michael Rosario G 6-2 180 Saint Anthony High School,
NJ (Jersey City, NJ) Rutgers55 Samardo Samuels F 6-9 230 St. Benedict’s Preparatory
School, NJ
(Montego Bay, Jamaica) Louisville31 Chris Singleton F 6-9 225 Dunwoody High School, GA
(Dunwoody, GA) Florida
State15 Kemba Walker G 6-0 175 Rice High School, NY
(Bronx, NY) Connecticut25 Elliot Williams G 6-4 165 St. George’s Independent
School, TN (Memphis, TN) Duke40 Tyler Zeller C 7-0 220 Washington High School,
IN (Washington, IN) North
CarolinaHead Coach Woodie Jackson, Francis Marion High School (Marion, AL)
Assistant Coach Anthony Trimble, Francis Marion High School (Marion, AL)
Assistant Coach Albert Turner, Jr., Francis Marion High School
(Marion, AL)WEST TEAM
No. Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. High School, State (Hometown) College
5 Luke Babbitt F 6-8 225 Galena High School, NV
(Reno, NV) Nevada24 Demar DeRozan F 6-6 210 Compton High School, CA
(Compton, CA) USC22 Larry Drew II G 6-0 160 William Howard Taft
High School, CA
(Los Angeles, CA) North
Carolina33 Michael Dunigan C 6-10 248 Farragut Career Academy,
IL (Chicago, IL) Oregon21 Jrue Holiday G 6-4 195 Campbell Hall
School, CA
(Chatsworth, CA) UCLA31 Scotty Hopson G 6-5 180 University Heights
Academy, KY
(Hopkinsville, KY) Undecided3 Brandon Jennings G 6-1 165 Oak Hill Academy, VA
(Los Angeles, CA) Arizona11 Malcolm Lee G 6-4 165 John W. North High School,
CA (Moreno Valley, CA) UCLA10 Greg Monroe F 6-10 235 Helen Cox High School, LA
(Gretna, LA) Georgetown32 B.J. Mullens C 7-1 260 Canal Winchester High School,
OH (Canal Winchester, OH) Ohio State1 Iman Shumpert G 6-4 200 Oak Park-River Forest
High School, IL
(Oak Park, IL) Georgia
Tech12 Willie Warren G 6-4 195 North Crowley High School,
TX (Fort Worth, TX) OklahomaCo-Head Coach Tom Diener, Harold S. Vincent High School (Milwaukee, WI)
Co-Head Coach Jim Gosz, Rufus King High School (Milwaukee, WI)
Assistant Coach Marc Mitchell, Custer High School (Milwaukee, WI)EAST TEAM
No. Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. High School, State (Hometown) College
11 Elena Delle F 6-4 190 Ursuline Academy, DE
Donne (Greenville, DE) Connecticut10 Amber Gray F 6-1 190 Lakota West High School,
OH (West Chester, OH) Tennessee25 Glory Johnson F 6-2 175 Webb School of Knoxville,
TN (Knoxville, TN) Tennessee42 Shenise Johnson F 5-11 160 Rush-Henrietta Senior High
School, NY (Henrietta, NY) Miami55 Lynetta Kizer C 6-3 217 Potomac Senior High School,
VA (Woodbridge, VA) Maryland34 Chelsey Lee C 6-3 142 Parkway Academy, FL
(Miami, FL) Rutgers23 Alicia Manning G 6-1 170 Etowah High School, GA
(Woodstock, GA) Tennessee21 Samantha G 5-7 125 Commack High School, NY
Prahalis (Dix Hills, NY) Ohio State50 Chay Shegog C 6-3 185 Brooke Point High School,
VA (Stafford, VA) North
Carolina40 Shekinna G 6-2 160 Morrilton High School, AR
Stricklen (Morrilton, AR) Tennessee24 April Sykes G 6-1 187 East Oktibbeha County High
School, MS (Crawford, MS) Rutgers3 She’la White G 5-6 135 Norfolk Collegiate School,
VA (Portsmouth, VA) North
CarolinaHead Coach Sherri Retif, Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, PA)
Assistant Coach Corry Irvin, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School
(Chicago, IL)
Assistant Coach Caryn Jarocki, Highlands Ranch High School
(Highlands Ranch, CO)WEST TEAM
No. Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. High School, State (Hometown) College
55 LaSondra F 6-2 160 William B. Murrah High
Barrett School, MS (Jackson, MS) LSU32 Alyssia Brewer F 6-3 190 Sapulpa High School, OK
(Sapulpa, OK) Tennessee24 Ashley Corral G 5-9 150 Prairie High School,
WA (Vancouver, WA) USC1 Jasmine Dixon G 5-11 193 Long Beach Poly High
School, CA (Long Beach, CA) Rutgers33 Ayana Dunning C 6-3 220 Eastmoor Academy, OH
(Columbus, OH) LSU22 Ashley Gayle C 6-4 180 Bishop Gorman High School,
NV (Las Vegas, NV) Texas15 Briana G 6-1 145 Cinco Ranch High School,
Gilbreath TX (Katy, TX) USC3 Tiffany Hayes G 6-0 134 Winter Haven High
School, FL (Lakeland, FL) Connecticut25 Destini Hughes G 5-10 140 Kennedale High School,
TX (Fort Worth, TX) LSU30 Nnemkadi F 6-2 178 Cy-Fair High School, TX
Ogwumike (Cypress, TX) Stanford23 Brooklyn Pope F 6-2 170 Paul Laurence Dunbar
High School, TX
(Fort Worth, TX) Rutgers11 Nikki Speed G 5-9 135 Marlborough School, CA
(Pasadena, CA) RutgersHead Coach Tom Klawitter, Parker High School (Janesville, WI)
Assistant Coach Heidi Bunek-Hamilton, Arrowhead High School
(Hartland, WI)
Assistant Coach Jane Dooley, Parker High School (Janesville, WI)FOR MORE INFORMATION:
tara.hayes@us.mcd.com
Tara Hayes, McDonald’s
630-623-3826
Emily Fullmer, GolinHarris
312-729-4235
efullmer@golinharris.com
First Call Analyst:
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Source: McDonald’s All American Basketball Games