{"id":260842,"date":"2022-01-26T13:54:35","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T21:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilcomprd.wpengine.com\/?p=260842"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:16:26","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T21:16:26","slug":"mcdonalds-13-overlooked-all-americans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballislife.com\/mcdonalds-13-overlooked-all-americans\/","title":{"rendered":"McDonald's: 13 Overlooked All-Americans"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 25 was one of the most anticipated days of the high school basketball season. It was the day 24 of the nation's best players were chosen to the prestigious McDonald's All-American team. Not everyone's dream will come true, however, as there is always more great players than spots available. We take a look back at 13 players who truly deserved recognition on high school basketball's biggest stage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Editor's Note:<\/em><\/strong> This story was originally published in January 2014 and has been edited to include what has transpired recently.<\/em><\/p>\n

As the dream of becoming a McDonald's All-American has grown over the years, so has the scrutiny of the annual roster selections. Twenty five years ago, the picks were announced and few people had the knowledge or insight to argue them. Before the Internet, YouTube and social media<\/a>, information on great high school players traveled slower around the country than it does now. Only a handful of national scouts truthfully saw a majority of the nation's best players.<\/p>\n

\"Sonny Vaccaro<\/strong> began his game nine years before me (1965) when I started the Capital Classic in 1974,\" McDonald's All-American Game founder Bob Geoghan <\/strong>said in 2014. \"I was always honest with people and told them for the Capital Classic, I did what was in the best interests of the game. The McDonald's Game was different because you had to be voted on, and I decided I would not have a vote. As the founder and executive director, I would never have a vote. It's not a perfect system, but I hand-picked a number of people who were legitimate talent evaluators.<\/p>\n

\"In some of the early years, we only picked 20 players,\" Geoghan said. \"I always felt we picked the best we could. It's always hard to project late-bloomers and some of the guys who were can't miss, didn't make it anywhere.\"<\/p>\n