Subscribe to Full Court PressLet’s Hear It for the Girls—McDonald’s All Americans in the NCAA Tournament
Photo Caption: McDonald’s All American Ariya Crook-Williams wins the Skills Competition at the Powerade Jam fest as part of this week’s McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball activities, Monday March 28, 2011, in Chicago. Crook-Williams, from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in Long Beach, California, has signed with USC, which narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament this season but is making noise in the WNIT. Will the addition of another McDonald’s All American to the roster prove to be the ingredient that carries the Women of Troy into the Sweet 16 and beyond next season?
Photo Credit: Courtesy McDonald’s/ Henry Ray Abrams
By Brittany Gorniewicz
Correspondent
& Jeff Pawola
As the McDonald’s All-American Girls’ Game prepares to tip off Wednesday night at 7:30 Eastern, 6:30 Central, before what is anticipated to be a full house in Chicago’s United Center, it’s worth taking a look at how that coveted status translates into success down the road.
By now, it’s a commonly known sports fact that since 1979, every men’s NCAA championship team has had at least one McDonald’s All American on the roster except Maryland in 2002.
But what about the women? Since the 2002-2003 NCAA women’s season (following the inaugural McDonald’s All American Girls Game at Madison Square Garden in 2002), every NCAA national champion has had at least four McDonald’s All Americans on its roster, except Baylor in 2005 (which had none).
That’s an 88 percent proof-point that McDonald’s All Americans win championships, especially when they play together. All of the remaining teams headed to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis this weekend have at least one McDonald’s All American on the roster, with Connecticut (6) and Stanford (6) the odds-on favorites. But you can’t rule out Notre Dame or Texas A&M, each of which boasts two McDonald’s All Americans on its active roster.
Twelve of the 16 teams that made it as far as this year’s Sweet 16 have at least one McDonald’s All American on the roster, with Tennessee, dispatched by Notre Dame in the Elite Eight round in Dayton, leading the way with nine McDonald’s All Americans, followed by, of course, Stanford and Connecticut, then Duke (5), North Carolina (5), Baylor (4) and Ohio State (4).
Below is a breakout of this year’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 teams – those that have McDonald’s All Americans and those that do not.
| Women’s NCAA Tournament Teams (Sweet 16) with McDonald’s All Americans | College (Seed) | Player | All-American Year | High School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baylor (1) | Brooklyn Pope | 2008 | Paul Laurence Dunbar H.S., Fort Worth, TX | |
| Baylor (1) | Brittney Griner | 2009 | Nimitz Senior H.S., Houston, TX | |
| Baylor (1) | Destiny Williams | 2009 | Benton Harbor H.S., Benton Harbor, MI | |
| Baylor (1) | Odyssey Sims | 2010 | Irving MacArthur H.S., Irving, TX | |
| Connecticut (1) | Lorin Dixon | 2007 | Christ the King H.S., Middle Village, NY | |
| Connecticut (1) | Maya Moore | 2007 | Collins Hill H.S., Suwanee, GA | |
| Connecticut (1) | Tiffany Hayes | 2008 | Winter Haven H.S., Winter Haven, FL | |
| Connecticut (1) | Kelly Faris | 2009 | Heritage Chirstian School, Indianapolis, IN | |
| Connecticut (1) | Stefanie Dolson | 2010 | Minisink Valley H.S., Port Jervis, NY | |
| Connecticut (1) | Bria Hartley | 2010 | North Babylon H.S., North Babylon, NY | |
| Duke (2) | Jasmine Thomas | 2007 | Oakton H.S., Vienna, VA | |
| Duke (2) | Krystal Thomas | 2007 | The First Academy, Orland, FL | |
| Duke (2) | Chelsea Gray | 2010 | Saint Mary’s H.S., Manteca, CA | |
| Duke (2) | Richa Jackson | 2010 | Midwest City H.S., Midwest City, OK | |
| Duke (2) | Haley Peters | 2010 | Peddie School, Red Bank, NJ | |
| Georgetown (5) | Tashauna Rodgers | 2009 | King’s Fork H.S., Suffolk, VA | |
| Georgia (6) | Jasmine Hassell | 2009 | Wilson Central H.S., Lebanon, PA | |
| Georgia (6) | Ronika Ransford | 2010 | H.D. Woodson Senior H.S., Washington, DC | |
| North Carolina (5) | Cetera Degraffenreid | 2007 | Smoky Mountain H.S., Sylva, NC | |
| North Carolina (5) | Italee Lucas | 2007 | Centennial H.S., Las Vegas, NV | |
| North Carolina (5) | Chay Shegog | 2008 | Brooke Point H.S., Stafford, VA | |
| North Carolina (5) | She’la White | 2008 | Norfolk Collegiate School, Norfolk, VA | |
| North Carolina (5) | Tierra Ruffin-Pratt | 2009 | T.C. Williams H.S., Alexandria, VA | |
| Notre Dame (2) | Devereaux Peters | 2007 | Fenwick H.S., Oak Park, IL | |
| Notre Dame (2) | Skylar Diggins | 2009 | Washington H.S., South Bend, IN | |
| Ohio State (4) | Alison Jackson | 2007 | Fenwick H.S., Oak Park, IL | |
| Ohio State (4) | Jantel Lavender | 2007 | Cleveland Central Catholic H.S., Cleveland, OH | |
| Ohio State (4) | Samantha Prahalis | 2008 | Commack H.S., Commack, NY | |
| Ohio State (4) | Tayler Hill | 2009 | South H.S., Minneapolis, MN | |
| Oklahoma (6) | Aaryn Ellenberg | 2010 | Bishop Groman H.S., Las Vegas, NV | |
| Stanford (1) | Ashley Cimino | 2007 | Catherine McAuley H.S., Portland, ME | |
| Stanford (1) | Kayla Pedersen | 2007 | Red Mountain H.S., Mesa, AZ | |
| Stanford (1) | Jeanette Pohlen | 2007 | Brea-Olinda H.S., Brea, CA | |
| Stanford (1) | Nnemkadi Ogwumike | 2008 | Cy-Fair H.S., Cypress, TX | |
| Stanford (1) | Joslyn Tinkle | 2009 | Big Sky H.S., Missoula, MT | |
| Stanford (1) | Chiney Ogwumike | 2010 | Cy-Fair H.S., Cypress, TX | |
| Tennessee (1) | Victoria Baugh | 2007 | Sacramento H.S., Sacramento, CA | |
| Tennessee (1) | Angie Bjorklund | 2007 | University H.S., Spokane Valley, WA | |
| Tennessee (1) | Kelley Cain | 2007 | St. Pius X Catholic H.S., Atlanta, GA | |
| Tennessee (1) | Alyssia Brewer | 2008 | Sapulpa H.S., Sapulpa, OK | |
| Tennessee (1) | Glory Johnson | 2008 | Webb School of Knoxville, Knoxville, TN | |
| Tennessee (1) | Alicia Manning | 2008 | Etowah H.S., Woodstock, GA | |
| Tennessee (1) | Shekinna Stricklen | 2008 | Morrilton H.S., Morriton, AR | |
| Tennessee (1) | Taber Spani | 2009 | Metro Academy, Olathe, KS | |
| Tennessee (1) | Meighan Simmons | 2010 | Byron P. Steele II H.S., Cibolo, TX | |
| Texas A&M (2) | Tyra White | 2007 | Hickman Mills H.S., Kansas City, MO | |
| Texas A&M (2) | Karla Gilbert | 2010 | A&M Consolidated H.S., College Station, TX | |
| Women’s NCAA Tournament Teams (Sweet 16) with No McDonald’s All Americans | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| College (seed) | |||
| DePaul (3) | |||
| Green Bay (5) | |||
| Louisville (7) | |||
| Gonzaga (11) | |||
* Note: The Notre Dame roster also featured Kayla McBride, a McDonald’s All-American from the Class of 2010 (Villa Maria Academy, Erie, PA) at the start of the season. Though McBride left the team this season, there is a possibility that she may return next year.
In the fall, Connecticut, Duke, Tennessee, Stanford and Louisville will reload their rosters, welcoming 10 more McDonald’s All Americans among them.
Watch these incoming stars on March 30 at the 2011 McDonald’s All American Games in Chicago’s famed United Center. The Girls’ Game tips off at 6:30 p.m. CT, and will be aired on ESPNU, with the Boys Game on ESPN immediately following.
Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster.com, though as of Wednesday morning, they were reportedly down to the arena’s last 400 seats.
All proceeds from the 2011 Games benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana, where they will be used to help build the largest Ronald McDonald House in the country, serving children and families in need.
**Note: Brittany Gorniewicz and Jeff Pawola are publicists with GolinHarris, official spokespeople for the McDonald’s All-American Games.
Originally published Wed, March 30, 2011
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