Knee-Jerk Reactions After 2019 McDonald's All-American Game
The 42nd annual McDonald's All-American Game took place Wednesday night at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
While another exciting weekend of the 2019 NCAA men's basketball tournament kicks off Thursday, the annual showcase of the nation's top high school talent gave us a glimpse into who's next on the college hardwood.
As usual, the event was a high-scoring affair, with the East topping the West, 115-100.
Let's take a quick walk through a few knee-jerk reactions from the game.
There's Some Serious Uncommitted Talent Still Available
There were three uncommitted players in last year's McDonalds All-American Game—Romeo Langford (No. 7 recruit in the 247Sports composite rankings), E.J. Montgomery (No. 9 recruit) and Jordan Brown (No. 19 recruit).
This year's event featured five players still mulling over their college decision.
Cole Anthony (No. 4 in the 247Sports composite rankings) was the MVP of the game, tallying 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with a game-high seven assists. The Oak Hill Academy standout has whittled his list of schools down to Georgetown, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon and Wake Forest.
Jaden McDaniels (No. 5 in 247Sports composite rankings) had seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and two assists. He's also down to a final five, with Kentucky, San Diego State, Texas, UCLA and Washington still in the mix. He's the younger brother of current San Diego State standout Jalen McDaniels.
Matthew Hurt (No. 8 in 247Sports composite rankings), the lone uncommitted player on the West squad, logged eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and five rebounds. The 6'9" forward is still considering Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina and his home-state school, Minnesota.
Precious Achiuwa (No. 13 in 247Sports composite rankings) was the leading scorer in the game with 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds. UConn is the current favorite for him, while Georgia, Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and St. John's are also in play.
Trendon Watford (No. 27 in 247Sports composite rankings) finished with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. Memphis is the current leader for him, while Alabama, Indiana and LSU are also in the mix.
Oscar Tshiebwe Can Be a Force in the Big 12
Going back to the first 247Sports composite rankings in 2003, West Virginia had never landed a 5-star recruit.
That changed when Oscar Tshiebwe committed on Oct. 20.
The 6'9", 250-pound center attends Kennedy Catholic High School in Pennsylvania, the same high school that current Mountaineers big man Sagaba Konate attended.
Konate figures to return for his senior season after a knee injury cut his 2018-19 campaign short after only eight games. If he does, he and Tshiebwe could form a lethal frontcourt tandem.
If not, Tshiebwe is capable of filling the void.
He racked up a double-double Wednesday with 12 points and 10 rebounds in only 18 minutes of action.
Arizona Is Well-Positioned for a Bounce-Back Season
After the top five scorers from last year's team all either left for the NBA or graduated and three notable recruits decommitted from the 2018 class, the Arizona Wildcats went 17-15 and missed the NCAA tournament for just the third time since 1984.
Help is on the way.
The Wildcats have the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation this year, led by McDonald's All-American selections Nico Mannion and Josh Green. They check in as the Nos. 10 and 11 players in the class, respectively.
Mannion, a dynamic 6'3" point guard, had eight points and two assists in the showcase. Green, a 6'6" wing from IMG Academy, also had eight points and a pair of assists.
Add in 4-stars Zeke Nnaji (No. 35 recruit) and Terry Armstrong (No. 54 recruit), along with 3-star big man Christian Koloko (No. 166 recruit), and things are looking up for Arizona.
Look Out for Memphis
Speaking of teams that have struggled as of late, the Memphis Tigers have now failed to make it to the NCAA tournament five years in a row after making it 10 times over a 12-year span.
The tides are quickly turning under new coach Anfernee Hardaway, though.
The Tigers won 22 games this year and made some noise in the AAC tournament with a 24-point blowout of NCAA tournament-bound UCF.
Tyler Harris, a 4-star recruit from 2018, will be back after a productive freshman season (10.8 PPG). Joining him will be a dynamite recruiting class that could get even better.
James Wiseman—the No. 1 recruit in the 2019 class—has already committed. The 7'0" center had 13 points and six rebounds Wednesday night.
Memphis also has commitments from 4-star forward DJ Jeffries (No. 47 recruit) and 3-stars Damion Baugh (No. 134 recruit) and Malcolm Dandridge (No. 138 recruit).
The Tigers are also still the favorites to land fellow McDonald's All-American Trendon Watford. They're still in the running for Matthew Hurt and Precious Achiuwa, too.
Look for the Tigers' tournament drought to end in 2020.