Kansas-bound Darryn Peterson and Duke-bound Cameron Boozer are named co-MVPs on the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Recreation in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The perfect in highschool basketball participated within the forty eighth annual McDonald’s All-American Recreation on the Barclays Heart in Brooklyn on Tuesday night. It was the primary time the rotating website occasion has taken place in New York Metropolis since 2002 when the sport was performed at historic Madison Sq. Backyard. That yr was the primary time a ladies sport was added to the festivities.
Two of the perfect gamers within the nation had huge outings for his or her respective golf equipment and it was the West All-Stars that recorded a 105-92 victory over the East All-Stars. Darryn Peterson, a 6-foot-5 taking pictures guard headed to Kansas, led the West membership with a game-high 18 factors together with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. There’s a rising faction of scouts and NBA personnel who really feel Peterson, who performed his senior season for FAB 50 No. 9 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), is the perfect prospect within the top-heavy 2025 class.
He was named co-MVP together with the West’s Cameron Boozer, who completed with 16 factors and a game-high 12 rebounds. Boozer, headed for Duke alongside along with his twin brother Cayden, who additionally performed within the sport (6 factors, 4 assists), was cheered on by all of his teammates at FAB 50 No. 1 Columbus (Miami, Fla.). Cam Boozer, the 2023 Mr. Basketball USA, this yr’s Gatorade Nationwide Participant of the Yr and the Morgan Wootten Participant of the Yr honoree by McDonald’s, is within the working for Mr. Basketball USA this season together with Peterson and A.J. Dybanta, the 6-foot-9 wing from FAB 50 No. 23 Utah Prep (Hurrincane, Utah). Dybansta scored 17 factors and had 5 rebounds for the West membership.
All three gamers are anticipated to go excessive within the 2026 NBA Draft, because the McDonald’s All-American sport is full of a Who’s Who of NBA alumni and former No. 1 picks similar to LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, amongst an enormous listing of others. For Peterson and Boozer, nevertheless, the season isn’t over as they’ll journey from Brooklyn to Indianapolis tomorrow to take part in Chipotle Nationals, the end-of-season tourney that’s at all times influential in figuring out the No. 1 group within the FAB 50.
After not being very aggressive for quite a few years, the highest particular person all-star sport in highschool basketball has turned that round after the 2 years (2020 and 2021) during which the occasion didn’t happen due to COVID-19. In recent times, the sport has been fairly aggressive and this yr was no totally different, because the West snapped a four-game shedding streak, profitable for the primary time since 2018.
Headlining that aggressive spirit was 6-foot-5, Baylor-bound Toude Yessoufou of FAB 50 No. 15 St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.), California’s all-time main scorer with a profession 3,659 factors. Yessoufou impressed within the scrimmage and sport along with his protection, depth, and willingness to crash the boards and end with authority. He scored 9 factors for the West membership. One other California 3,000 level sorer, USC-bound Alijah Arenas of Chatsworth (Calif.), added 11 factors, as did Houston-bound Chris Cenac Jr. of FAB 50 No. 2 Hyperlink Academy (Branson, Mo.).
Isiah Harwell, a gifted taking pictures guard out of FAB 50 No. 8 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Nice, Utah) additionally headed to Houston, tied Boozer for a team-high 16 factors for the East membership. No different participant in addition to Boozer hit double-figures in rebounds.
The East All-Stars trialed by eight factors (48-40) at halftime then took the lead within the third quarter, solely to see the West membership regain it and go up 73-66 after a 9-0 run spearheaded by Yessoufou, Arenas and Peterson’s teammate at Prolific Prep, 6-foot-11 Nikola Bundalo, on his option to Washington. Bundalo completed with 12 factors.
Apart from Yessoufou, a few of the different gamers that impressed nationwide scouts throughout Sunday’s scrimmage had been Caleb Wilson, a 6-foot-9 ahead out of Holy Innocents Episcopal (Atlanta, Ga.) headed to North Carolina, and Malachi Moreno, who on Saturday led FAB 50 No. 49 Nice Crossing (Georgetown, Ky.) to a Kentucky Candy 16 state title after which subsequent day nonetheless labored onerous and made a defensive impression. The 6-foot-11 Moreno will keep house at play at Kentucky subsequent fall.
Within the ladies sport, the West recorded a 104-82 victory over the East membership, as Sienna Betts led the best way with 16 factors and 7 rebounds for the profitable membership. The 6-foot-4 Grandview (Aurora, Col.) product is headed to UCLA.
Ronnie Flores is the nationwide Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He will be reached at [email protected]. Do not forget to observe him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
