It’s time once again for the annual McDonald’s All-American “game,” and I put game in quotations because what goes on in high school all-star contests like this barely qualifies as “basketball.” However, it’s always fun for fans of the teams that stand to inherit these talented kids to watch a little glimpse of the future, and that comes in a variety of ways throughout the week of the event itself.
First, there’s the dunk contest, which isn’t showing you anything you haven’t seen before but it’s a fun chance for the kids to show off nonetheless. Duke commit Austin Rivers, son of Doc Rivers, gave his dad a nice hat-tip by donning his old-school Hawks jersey during the competition. Wonder how many eBay auctions he had to scour to find that one?
Windmills, apparently, are all the rage among the kids these days, as are giant cowboy hats. Enjoyable, even if the winner clearly launched himself over the other kids’ shoulders using his arms and not his vertical.
Then, of course there’s the pre-game trash talk. Many of you probably remember Reggie Bullock’s ill-advised verbal assault on Coach K at last year’s McD’s game, which apparently prompted Roy to tell the UNC commits not to say anything disparaging about Duke in any interviews this year. Nonetheless, the guys got a few shots in at each other when the Carolina- and Duke-bound guys sat down with Draft Express:
How are these kids ever going to learn to really hate each other when they all pal around like good friends?? (Seriously though, it is nice that the guys get to know each other and have a nice amount of respect for everyone. Except Marshall Plumlee, maybe. I think even he knows he’s lucky to be at that game.)
