McDonald’s All-American Games Riddled with AAU Alumni

Last week, the top 48 high school basketball players in the country competed in the 2015 McDonald’s All-American Games. Nationally, 823 players from 47 different states and the District of Columbia were nominated to play in the 2015 McDonald’s All-American Games, but only 24 boys and 24 girls made the cut. Players were split into an East and West team and faced off on April 1st at Chicago’s United Center. Several of the players for both the boys’ and the girls’ team are former AAU members.

Boys

Out of the 24 players on the boys’ team for the 2015 McDonald’s All-American Games, 17 were AAU alumni. For the East, Cheick Diallo totaled to most points with 18. LSU signee Ben Simmons scored seven points and both Diallo and Simmons grabbed ten rebounds each. Diamond Stone and Antonio Blakeley also put up impressive numbers, each scoring 14 points for the East.

On the West’s side of the court, Brandon Ingram totaled 15 points and PJ Dozier was not far behind with 14. Jalen Brunson grabbed seven rebounds, and Stephen Zimmerman and Ivan Rabb put up six rebounds each.

The East took the game decidedly over the West, 111-91. 71% of the players on the floor in the boys’ game were once AAU members and three of them played for Each 1 Teach 1, the team that NCAA National Champion Allen Grayson played for in the AAU circuit. Sixteen of the 17 players that played AAU are ranked in the top 25 of the ESPN 100 and seven of them are in the top 10.

Girls

In the girls’ portion of the 2015 McDonald’s All-American Games, Asia Durr led the East to a two point win over Katie Lou Samuelson and the West. For the East, Durr totaled 14 points on the night with six rebounds. Taja Cole and Marina Mabrey each scored 13 and 12 points, respectively and grabbed 11 rebounds between the two of them.

Te’a Omari Cooper led the West in points with 21, followed by Stephanie Watts with 19. The two totaled seven rebounds, with Napheesa Collier earning the most in that column with ten.

Every single player on the floor in the girls’ game played in the AAU circuit growing up. Taylor Murray (Philadelphia Belles), Lashann Higgs (DFW Elite-Washington) and Katie Lou Samuelson (Cal Swish-San Diego Basketball Club) all came from teams that the NCAA Women’s National Champions Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Courtney Ekmark played on before their NCAA careers.

Seventeen of the 24 girls on both rosters are ranked in the top 25 on the 2015 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings from ESPNW 100 and eight are in the top ten.  

Congratulations to all of these athletes on their accomplishments and we can’t wait to see what they college careers have in store for them!