The McDonalds All-American game is an event that happens every year. It features some of the top boys and girls basketball players in the United States and Canada. Players like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant have displayed their talents at this all-star event.
Out of the 63 boys and girls basketball players from the area that received McDonalds All-American nominations, only three players were invited to the game. DeMatha’s Markelle Fultz, Paul VI VJ King, and Riverdale Baptist Kaila Charles were named McDonalds All-Americans.
“It was really unbelievable to get nominated to play in this game and now selected on the team, so it was just a great feeling for me,” Markelle Fultz said during the selection show on ESPNU.
Fultz only played on DeMatha’s varsity team for two years and he has made one of the biggest impact. The Washington signee was last year’s WCAC Player of the Year and led the Stags to the conference championship game. He is rated as the No.12 player in his class. Markelle leads his team in scoring as he average 18.4 points per game. In DeMatha’s victory over Chaminade, Fultz went for 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
Senior forward VJ King played for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School before transferring to Paul VI last season. Since he has been at Paul VI, King has become one of the area’s top scorers. This season, King is averaging 25.1 points per game. He had 23 points in Paul VI’s 68-60 win over St. Anthony’s at the HoopHall Classic. VJ King also scored 30 or more points in five games this year.
The last time when two DC area players made it to the All-American game was in 2007 when Austin Freeman (DeMatha) and Chris Wright (St. John’s) made it.
On the girl’s side, Riverdale Baptist guard Kaila Charles will play on the East team in the Girl’s McDonalds All-American game. The Maryland commit is the top girl’s basketball player in the country. She is averaging 20.1 points per game and recorded double-doubles multiple times. Her performance this year has help Riverdale Baptist become the No.2 girl’s basketball team in the country.
Ryan McFadden is a freshman at Iona College and alumni from DeMatha Catholic High School. He is a sports writer for the Ionian and founder of Inside The Locker Room. Follow him on Twitter @RMcFadden15.
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