The McDonalds All American rosters were released this afternoon on ESPN. After two years of mailing a box of hamburgers and some gear the game looks to actually be played this year in Chicago. Before the roster was announced I was pretty focused on looking at some snubs but I think there might be more meaningful topics to discuss. But I will talk about a few snubs. In all honesty this is one of the LEAST controversial McDonald’s All American game selections in recent history.
So let’s talk about some takeaways first –
We did a deep dive on rankings earlier in the week. We basically said those rankings would dictate who’s a McDonald’s All American and sure enough it did all 21 of the Top 21 ranked players in the country were McDonalds All Americans. Londynn Jones was the highest ranked player left off at 22 so 21 for 21 is pretty rock solid that that list was dictating who was in the game.
Cotie McMahon of Ohio was left off because she’s early enrolled at Ohio State so for the matters of being selected to the game she was not eligible so she doesnt count. The lowest ranked player to make it was KK Bransford of Ohio at 29. So the 24 selections came from the top 28 players in the country that were eligible.
Who were the four that were left off?
Tonie Morgan – Guard headed to Georgia Tech in Florida had been locked into the Top 20 nationally for most of her career but did not make the game. It was a rough day for her club in Central Florida Elite with neither her or Nyla Harris (Lake Highland Prep) making the game – Harris is another player who likely will be the Player of the Year in Florida and had been a pillar in the Top 20 nationally but fell out after the club season and did not make the game
Londynn Jones – Inevitably in these games you aren’t going to select 24 guards so people end up out. Jones was just one of the ones who got left out; the small lefty guard from California had a fantastic Wooten Camp in Texas but just fell in line behind guards who jumped her last summer.
Paulina Paris – See the notes on Londynn Jones – Similar situation for Paris. Jones was the West Coast version of last player out and Paris was the east coast version. Paris is stepping into a loaded Carolina back court with a chip on her shoulder.
Maura Braun – No lie I have not seen Braun but another guard despite being listed at 5-11 so just a musical chairs of guards where she didnt have a seat at the end.
Who made it outside of the Top 21?
Kyla Oldacre 6-5 Post Ohio (Miami) – Obviously made the right decision joining All Ohio (despite them losing their Nike deal last summer) by going to Nike Nationals and being one of the most dominant players there. Oldacre’s stock had dropped some but if she had been on a shoe circuit the entire time she could have been in consideration for one of the Top 10-15 players nationally. It will be interesting to see how she does in the game.
Flau’jae Johnson 5-9 Guard Georgia (LSU) – Another player who played on an EYBL team that is no more but Johnson is one of the most fun players to watch in the country and despite the travel season being less than successful for her team her talent is undeniable. With Kim Mulkey at LSU you know you had to get a future Tiger in the game. What is interesting about Johnson is she really surged late beating out Kailyn Gilbert who had been a Top 20 player until the final rankings prior to the voting in ESPN. If you look at the east guards Gilbert, Tonie Morgan and Paulina Paris had their spot taken by Johnson essentially.
KK Bransford 5’10 Wing Ohio (Notre Dame) – Another position hop – Bransford really can play 2-4 and still guard 5. Bransford was featured by Under Armour as their signature athlete from the UAA this past year and is headed to Notre Dame (where you sign does matter if you are not in the Top 10).
So who do I think got snubbed? I think the real question is who do I think is ranked too low because they voted right on party lines in regards to the rankings. The ballots must be more public than they used to be, right? So it’s less of a snub and more of who do I think should be ranked higher. Take note of the voting strategies 2023’s! I will keep this short and sweet as we discussed kids in the Top 30 who didnt make it and were essentially bounced out because of the overload at guard. I know I am a homer for the South so here is some of my homer’ism.
Lazaria Spearman (Miami) – I love Spearman for this game because I think skill wise and her upside she’s as good as anyone at the 4 spot in the game. She got caught behind a log jam with FBC last summer but still was really good and honestly I would argue she was as good or better than anyone in their United front court last year. Spearman also because of going to Miami could end up being like an ACC Freshman of the Year candidate because she’ll play right away.
Shay Bollin – Duke – Bollin can play 2-4 like a lot of other elite players in the class but is a super physical wing who can absolutely play. I think she’s like a future Haley Gorecki or Haley Peters for Dukek both who were drafted in the WNBA. For this she was just ranked too low and I think when she gets to Duke she’ll prove that.
Nyla Harris – Louisville – Harris lived in the Top 20 Nationally and if youve watched any high school games of Lake Highland this year you know she’s been the reason they’ve been so good. I think Harris really had everything come together for her this high school season and people who know in Florida are calling her the Top 22 in the state. Harris ended up being ranked too low for whatever reason coming into the season but really has proved alot of people wrong already.
Kailyn Gilbert – Arizona – Both of Gilbert’s future teammates got in with Paris Clark and Mya Nnaji so I think there became a question of how many players from Arizona get in plus her drop in ranking after the summer. Gilbert was hands down the MVP of Wooten in Texas but remember rankings came out before the game and have not changed since August so her performance in Texas at Wootten did not impact her ranking thus essentially getting beat out by Johnson for that final guard spot on the roster. Gilbert had been ranked as high as 18 nationally going into the travel season before the final rankings came out.
