McDonald's All-Americans Games Today

[kiddman32]

Girls, 3:30 on ESPNU and Boys 6:00 on ESPN.

Mutliple Calif. players in both games... Sabrina Ionecu and Leaonna Odom, who just faced each other in the Open title game, in the girls game along with Stanford-bound DiJonai Carrington of Horizon Christian (San Diego).

UCLA signees Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf in the boys game, along with Prolific Prep's Josh Jackson.

Should be fun...

 

[TwitterLegend]

No others with Bay Area ties but a few more West Coast/Pac-12 ties:
Zach Collins (Bishop Gorman headed to Gonzaga)
Markelle Fultz (from DC headed to UW)
Kobi Simmons (from GA headed to Arizona)
Frank Jackson (from Utah headed to Duke)
Terrance Ferguson (from TX, considering Arizona)

Good class, game should be fun to watch...

 

[larry legend33]

I will probably get pushback for this comment but Sabrina Ionecu and Leaonna Odom were the 2 best players I watched over the state champ weekend. (in terms of how good they were given gender). Sabrina runs the pick n roll better than anybody I've seen in a long time. (girls or guys).

Lonzo was fun to watch but he wasn't as separated from the pack as those 2 young ladies. Oh and for the record he can't sniff JKIDD.

 

[OneDNA]

AGREED! I don't think anybody compared him to JKidd (I hope not) only comparable thing would be the crowds that followed them. I understand it was not their pace, but I was underwhelmed watching them play Saturday Night. I guess its like a movie being too hyped and when you finally see it, your expectation being so high are not even close to being met. Just my two cents

 

[larry legend33]

Same OneDNA. There have been a handful of players that were hyped correctly over the years IMO.

These ones come to mind just based on how much press they got.

JKIDD- Hyped and even better than the stories.
Gordon- Same thing. Incredible. He's a sportcenter highlight reel.
Lebron- Watched him play against Mater Dei at UCLA. It was silly.
S.Johnson- 4 time state champ. Incredible.

Here is my take on the ball clan.

Lonzo- Great passer and unselfish player. Long and athletic with great size. Not a scorer and a pretty broken jumper. His Achilles heal. Still a top 20 NBA player in 2018. Seems like a quiet leader who speaks with his actions. I enjoyed watching him.

Liangello- Strong, muscular wing. Great range. Very good offensive player. Overpowers kids at the HS level. Will be a good college player but I don't see beyond that in terms of NBA. Could make a lot in Europe.

Liamelo- If he gets to 6"5-6"6 like Lonzo I could see him being the best one.

 

[OneDNA]

Same OneDNA. There have been a handful of players that were hyped correctly over the years IMO.

Lonzo- Great passer and unselfish player. Long and athletic with great size. Not a scorer and a pretty broken jumper. His Achilles heal. Still a top 20 NBA player in 2018. Seems like a quiet leader who speaks with his actions. I enjoyed watching him.

Liangello- Strong, muscular wing. Great range. Very good offensive player. Overpowers kids at the HS level. Will be a good college player but I don't see beyond that in terms of NBA. Could make a lot in Europe.

Liamelo- If he gets to 6"5-6"6 like Lonzo I could see him being the best one.

Defensively, do you think he (Lonzo) is remotely ready to D up at the next level? I'm interested to see how he plays tonight though, maybe he was just bored Sat night knowing the inevitable was going to be a State title.

 

[TwitterLegend]

I will echo that Lonzo wasn't very impressive in the state game... who would've thought this would happen, but the other 4 Chino players (they literally only play their starting 5 which is crazy in its own right) totally picked up the slack for Lonzo... that said, don't judge the kid off one game, if you've seen any of his other games this year you would agree that he is the real deal... there have been some who compared him to Jason kidd and of course that's ridiculous, but he is still really really good...

 

[kiddman32]

One interesting thing about Lonzo and the other Balls is the fact that they have rarely if ever played in another system, not even in AAU or other summer ball. Their pops kept them together as close to 100% of the time. Will they adjust or even be really all that coachable in another system?

My guess is "yes", but only time will tell, though we might get a teeny hint in tonight's game. At least if it's a close game and doesn't deteriorate into an informal dunk contest.

So far as Ionescu and Odom go, they were both amazing in last week's game. Just curious, Odom is long and athletic... I wonder if she can dunk? Or if not, how close can she get? She sure played above everyone else last week...

 

[larry legend33]

The ball clan can turn it on I think when need be. That said they are horrific fundamentally and probably didn't learn much in terms of defensive positioning at Chino. But teaching athletic kids like that can be done quickly. You can't teach Lonzo's instincts and court presence. I think he has the skills to be a great defender if he wants to be.


Kiddman32- I'm betting Odom could probably catch a tip dunk at the right time. She has some good leaps and is a good 6"2-6"3. (at least she looked that tall) I heard the girl from St Mary's of Stockton can almost dunk and she's a soph. I watched her in warmups and I believe it. She can fly.

 

[dhickman7]

Mickey D observations.
Josh Jackson is #1 player in the country. Incerdible motor, athleticism, vision & instincts. Kid took joy in locking up Tatum.
I've seen Lonzo Ball & his bros play before the state game. I'll be the odd man & say he can sniff JKidd. Neither could/can shoot but both see the game 2-3 steps ahead of everyone else. Kidd had 20lbs & a better motor but Zo is in the ballpark IMO
Frank Jackson is very very very good. Can do it all. Perfect fit for Duke.
Tatum has pro footwork & size. Wasn't his best night I'm sure & JJackson had alot to do with that.
Love Malik Monk also
I loved that the kids competed on both ends. 1 of the better all American games I've seen as far as competing & defending goes. My 2cent

 

[Hoops1124]

Dhickman7 - Totally agree. One of the best All-American games I have seen in the last 8-10 years. Defense, contesting shots, passing, extra passing, and winning mattered to almost all of them.

Clearly there were a few guys above the rest.

Josh Jackson, Malik Monk, Frank Jackson, and Lonzo Ball were impressive. Jarrett Allen was impressive. Jayson Tatum had his moments and so did Markell Fultz.

Some guys games may not translate to the Pro level because they may be stuck between positions. Miles Bridges is a physical specimen and athletic freak but not sure if his game translates to the NBA because he is not a 3 or 4.

Terrance Ferguson has a chance but needs to defend better and compete more and take better shots.

Frank Jackson was solid with 5 made 3's, played with the ball and without and made plays. He competed on both ends.

Malik Monk and Lonzo Ball played really well together and the West Squad seemed more unselfish and cohesive.

Some of the Bigs were good like Jarrett Allen, TJ Leaf when he tries not to do too much, Bam Adebayo was physical, Tony Bradley showed a few flashes, and Udoka Azubuike was physical. Marques Bolden had a great second half and really showed flashes. Zach Collins headed to Gonzaga had 9 and 6 and some good moments also.

Saw on Twitter Josh Jackson played only 17 minuts while Jayson Tatum played 22 minutes on the East. Josh played the 7th most minutes on his team if you look at the box score.

Due to Josh's versatility, rebounding, passing, defending, shot blocking, athleticism, scoring in transition, and attacking - he was a cut above the rest. He was 9 of 11 from the floor which is quite impressive and at 6'8 can play that Small Forward or Shooting Guard spot in college easily.

At the NBA level he may even play some point due to his vision and willingness to pass but will need to keep working on his handle. They do not press in the NBA so he should be able to make plays.

Josh was quite impressive and had great interviews during and after the game. He thanked Lonzo Ball for being so unselfish.

This McDonald's game was really good and very well played and coached. The coaches wanted to win and called timeouts. Realy good display of all around basketball tonight.

 

[ProlificPrepTV]

Been saying it all year, you have to come watch this kid play live in Napa before he becomes the next superstar of the NBA! We were blessed to have him part of our program and super excited for his future. His potential is limitless.

Now its time for the next Josh Jackson to stop into his shoes. Big shoes to fill, but the standard has been set.

 

[dhickman7]

I forgot to mention Markel Fultz. For a kid to get cut from his Varsity as a soph & become a Mickey D's AA..wow. He makes the game look real easy. Very impressive class. Thon Maker, Wenyen Gabriel & Dennis Smith also included. Loaded 2016.
Josh Jackson has no need to play college ball. Make a few million overseas & shoot a million Jumpers.

 

[Tophoops]

dhickman7: You nailed it!!! Very well said. "Josh Jackson has no need to play college ball. Make a few million oversea." There are a few other names we can add to the list IMO.

 

[larry legend33]

Hopefully he goes to KU. Plays a year for a good guy and coach in Bill Self. Jackson seems like a real qualify kid. I would just like to see him in college. But yeah in terms of the economics you could argue the other way as well.

 

[27-0]

Hopefully he goes to KU. Plays a year for a good guy and coach in Bill Self. Jackson seems like a real qualify kid. I would just like to see him in college. But yeah in terms of the economics you could argue the other way as well.

Self a good guy? Couldn't be more from legend. And outside of Wiggins more blue chippers go to die there than any other school.