We're set to enjoy the college basketball stars of today during the Final Four this Saturday, but don’t miss a chance to see the stars of next season compete in the 2007 McDonald’s All American game tonight. The game will be played in Freedom Hall in Louisville and televised at 7 PM (central) on ESPN.
In last year’s game, the nation got their first glimpse of Kevin Durant, who earned co-MVP honors along with Arizona signee Chase Budinger. There's likely not another Durant in this year’s class but there will definitely be future college and NBA stars on display.
Players to Watch:
OJ Mayo--Mayo, future USC Trojan and of YouTube fame, Mayo has some serious game to go with his serious attitude.
Patrick Patterson and Jai Lucas--Patterson is a 5-star power forward and the highest rated unsigned player in the country. Lucas is the son of former NBA player John Lucas. Both players appeared to be headed to Kentucky before Tubby Smith’s departure. It remains unclear where they land now.
Derrick Rose--Rose is the 6-4 point guard that Memphis was lacking from this year’s Elite Eight team. Assuming all the Tigers stay in school and that Coach Calipari stays put, as it appears he will, Rose makes Memphis serious title contenders next season.
Eric Gordon--The first prize delivered by Kelvin Samson to Indiana. Gordon, who is ranked as the second best player in the country by Rivals.com, originally committed verbally to Illinois before changing his mind and signing with the Hoosiers. Losing kids like Gordon, a 6-4 5-star shooting guard, to Big 10 rivals is exactly what will cost Bruce Weber his job in the next two years.
Michael Beasley--Beasley will probably be a one and done player for Bob Huggins at Kansas State but, along with a healthy Bill Walker, will instantly make the Wildcats contenders in the Big 12. I haven’t seen him play live and am looking forward to seeing how much polish this 6-9 235 lb power forward already has.
There are 24 total McDonald’s All Americans. All but two of them (Patterson and Lucas) have signed letters of intent. Duke leads the way with three McDonald’s All Americans followed by Syracuse and Georgetown with two each. No other school signed more than one. Among Big 12 schools, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State have each signed one McDonald’s All American. None of the four players in Texas’ incoming class were selected this year.
--AW--