McDonald’s All-American Game announced its 2021 nominees on Thursday, and 18 Michigan athletes were among more than 700 high school players who made the first cut on the list for the prestigious exhibition match.
Four boys and 14 girls from the Great Lakes state are in contention for the 48 seats (24 boys and 24 girls), which will be announced later this month.
Michigan’s nominated boys are guard Pierre Brooks of Detroit Douglass of Michigan State, guard Grand Rapids Christian and future Michigan Wolverine Kobe Bufkin, guard Orchard Lake St. Mary and future Northwestern Wildcat Julian Roper and uncompromising guard Grand Blanc Nate Brown.
The group of 14 Michigan girls is the ninth largest among the 50 states and consists of Keliese Christopher from East Kentwood, Kaybriana Hallman (Xavier), Alexis McCully and Madisyn Tillman, Lachelle Austin from Wayne Memorial (eastern Michigan) and Alanna Micheaux , Kailee Davis of Detroit Renaissance (Northern Kentucky) and Shannon Wheeler (Dayton), Jillian Brown of East Grand Rapids (Northwestern), AJ Ediger of Hamilton (Iowa), Damiya Hagemann of Detroit Edison (state of Michigan), Logan Lewis of West Bloomfield (IUPUI) and Bree Salenbien by Adrian Lenawee Christian (Gonzaga).
For the second year in a row, the US East and West teams will not compete for the right to brag on the court due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and game organizers said details of a virtual ceremony in honor of the 48 will be revealed. chosen athletes. coming soon.
“Even for an unprecedented year, we were very impressed to see high school athletes continue to celebrate the game we all love, while making an impact on and off the court,” said Joe Wootten, chairman of the Sports Committee. Selection of McDonald’s American Games, in a press release. “Recognizing that many of these student-athletes have had their seasons changed or shortened, we wanted to honor them for their skill and dedication to the game of basketball.
“Although we are disappointed, we are not able to host live games this year, it does not detract from the achievements of this class and they will be part of the legendary group of the past and present McDonald’s All Americans. “
McDonald’s first list of All-American boys was compiled in 1977, and the girls debuted in 2002.
Former Michigan college basketball geniuses for boys who received American recognition from McDonald’s include Magic Johnson (Lansing Everett, 1977), Tim Andree (Brother Rice, 1979), Tim McCormick (Clarkston, 1980), Barry Spencer (Detroit Catholic Central, 1980), Eric Turner (Flint Central, 1981), Sam Vincent (Lansing Eastern, 1981), Antoine Joubert (Detroit Southwestern, 1983), Kevin Smith (Lansing Everett, 1983), Roy Marble (Flint Beecher, 1985) , Derrick Coleman (Detroit Northern, 1986), Terry Mills (Romulus, 1986), Anthony Pendleton (Flint Northwestern, 1986), Mark Macon (Saginaw Buena Vista, 1987), Matt Steigenga (Grand Rapids South Christian, 1988), Jalen Rose (Detroit Southwestern, 1991)), Chris Webber (Detroit Country Day, 1991), Kenyon Murray (Battle Creek Central, 1992), Jon Garavaglia (Southgate Aquinas, 1993), Willie Mitchell (Detroit Pershing, 1994), Robert Traylor (Detroit Murray Wright, 1995), Albert White (Inkster, 1995), Mateen Cleaves (Flint Northern, 19 96), Winford Walton (De troit Pershing, 1996), Shane Battier (Detroit Country Day, 1997), Dane Fife (Clarkston, 1998), LaVell Blanchard (Ann Arbor Pioneer, 1999), Jason Richardson (Saginaw Arthur Hill, 1999) , Marcus Taylor (Lansing Waverly, 2000), Kelvin Torbert (Flint Northwestern, 2001), Paul Davis (Rochester, 2002), Anthony Roberson (Saginaw, 2002), Brandon Cotton (Detroit St. Martin DePorres, 2003), Olu Famutimi ( Flint Northwestern, 2003), Joe Crawford (Detroit Renaissance, 2004), Malik Hairston (Detroit Renaissance, 2004), Keith Appling (Detroit Pershing, 2010), Ray McCallum (Detroit Country Day, 2010), Amir Williams (Detroit Country Day, 2011), James Young (Rochester, 2013), Deyonta Davis (Muskegon, 2015),
The list of Michigan’s past girls from McDonald’s All-American selections features four players: Tiffanie Shives (Lansing Christian, 2005), Destiny Williams (Benton Harbor, 2009), Madison Williams (Detroit Country Day, 2010) and Rickea Jackson (Detroit Edison , 2019)
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