Josh McRoberts, Eric Boateng and Greg Paulus are lovin’ it.
The trio will become the 36th, 37th and 38th Blue Devils to play in the 28th McDonald’s High School All-American basketball game tonight at 8 p.m. in South Bend, Ind. Since 1977, the first year McDonald’s All-American teams were selected, the Blue Devils’ total of 38 is second only to North Carolina’s 47.
The future Blue Devils will play on the same team for the first time as members of the East squad. They will be joined by Georgia-bound guard Louis Williams and 7-foot center Andrew Bynum, who has committed to Connecticut. Williams, Bynum and McDonald’s All-American Player of the Year McRoberts are listed as the top players at their positions by scout.com.
“Josh is as ambidextrous a player as I’ve ever met,” Pete Smith, an assistant for the West team and McRoberts’ former high school coach, told the South Bend Tribune. “He’s so versatile and has been able to develop skills that most big men can’t. In four years, he’s played against 35 Division I recruits and only two have gotten the best of him.”
Gerald Green, who beat out McRoberts to win the McDonald’s All-American slam dunk contest Monday, will also play for the East.
The West team is led by point guard Mario Chalmers, who will attend Kansas in the fall. The top-rated point guard in the nation according to scout.com won the McDonald’s All-American three-point shooting contest. He is joined on the West roster by future Kansas teammate Julian Wright, scout.com’s second-best small forward in the nation.
In addition to the three future Blue Devils, four other players headed to ACC schools will play in Wednesday’s game. Guard Danny Green (UNC) and forward Brandon Costner (N.C. State) will play for the East team; guard Bobby Frasor (UNC) and forward Tyler Hansbrough (UNC) will suit up for the West.
The Fourth McDonald’s All-American Women’s basketball game will tipoff at 5:30 p.m., also at Notre Dame. Future Blue Devils Carrem Gay and Abby Waner, McDonald’s All-American Player of the Year, will play for the East and West, respectively.
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