1995 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
The 1995 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Sunday, April 2, 1995 at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school boys graduating in 1995. The game was the 18th annual version of the McDonald's All-American Game first played in 1978.
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| Date | April 2, 1995 | ||||||||||||
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| Arena | Kiel Center | ||||||||||||
| City | St. Louis, MO | ||||||||||||
| MVP/MOP | Kevin Garnett | ||||||||||||
| Officials | 1 Ed Hightower 2 Steve Welmer 3 Ron Zetcher | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 16,201 | ||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||
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1995 game
The game was telecast live by CBS. Chauncey Billups did not play due to a shoulder injury. Before the game, some of the jerseys of the West team were stolen from the locker room: as a result, Kris Clack had to play with a jersey without his name on the back, and Taymon Domzalski and Paul Pierce had to wear duplicates of Traylor's number 54 and McCoy's number 35, respectively. The first points were scored by East's Sam Okey with a lay-up. The game was dominated by big men, and Kevin Garnett won the MVP award recording 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in 22 minutes of play.[1] Other players who starred were Pierce, who was the top scorer of the game with 28 points, Ron Mercer (who played for his coach Steve Smith of Oak Hill Academy), who scored 19 points,[2] and Stephon Marbury who had 11 points and 10 assists.[1] The final score was 126 to 115[1][3] but McDonald's lists the result as 125-115.[2] Many players arrived at the game undecided about their college choice. Only one of them declared for the 1995 NBA Draft: Kevin Garnett, who became the first player in 20 years to be drafted out of high school with the 5th overall pick in the draft. Of the 22 players selected, 15 played in the NBA.
East roster
| No. | Name | Height | Weight | Position | Hometown | High school | College of Choice |
| 3 | Stephon Marbury | 6-2 | 180 | G | Brooklyn, NY, U.S. | Lincoln | Georgia Tech |
| 4 | Sam Okey | 6-7 | 220 | F | Cassville, WI, U.S. | Cassville | Wisconsin |
| 5 | Wayne Turner | 6-2 | 180 | G | Chestnut Hill, MA, U.S. | Beaver Country Day | Undecided Committed later to Kentucky. |
| 11 | Louis Bullock | 6-2 | 180 | G | Laurel, MD, U.S. | Baptist | Michigan |
| 12 | Shammgod Wells | 6-0 | 169 | G | New York City, NY, U.S. | La Salle Academy | Providence |
| 15 | Vince Carter | 6-6 | 195 | F | Daytona Beach, FL, U.S. | Mainland | Undecided Committed later to North Carolina. |
| 23 | Randell Jackson | 6-11 | 215 | C | Winchendon, MA, U.S. | The Winchendon School | Undecided Committed later to Florida State. |
| 32 | Ron Mercer | 6-7 | 210 | F | Mouth of Wilson, VA, U.S. | Oak Hill Academy | Undecided Committed later to Kentucky. |
| 33 | Shareef Abdur-Rahim | 6-9 | 225 | F / C | Marietta, GA, U.S. | Wheeler | California |
| 44 | Antawn Jamison | 6-8 | 210 | F | Charlotte, NC, U.S. | Providence | North Carolina |
| 45 | Luther Clay | 6-8 | 225 | F | Pittsfield, ME, U.S. | Maine Central Institute | Purdue |
West roster
| No. | Name | Height | Weight | Position | Hometown | High school | College of Choice |
| 3 | B.J. McKie | 6-2 | 175 | G | Columbia, SC, U.S. | Irmo | South Carolina |
| 4[6] | Kris Clack | 6-5 | 185 | G | Austin, TX, U.S. | L.C. Anderson | Texas |
| 11 | Ryan Robertson | 6-5 | 180 | G | St. Charles, MO, U.S. | St. Charles West | Kansas |
| 21 | Kevin Garnett | 6-10 | 220 | C | Chicago, IL, U.S. | Farragut Academy | Undecided (Did not attend) |
| 35[6] | Jelani McCoy | 6-11 | 225 | F | San Diego, CA, U.S. | St. Augustine | UCLA |
| 35[6] | Paul Pierce | 6-6 | 230 | F | Inglewood, CA, U.S. | Inglewood | Kansas |
| 44 | Albert White | 6-6 | 210 | F | Inkster, MI, U.S. | Inkster | Michigan |
| 54[6] | Taymon Domzalski | 6-10 | 245 | F | Roswell, NM, U.S. | New Mexico Military Institute | Duke |
| 54[6] | Robert Traylor | 6-7 | 270 | C | Detroit, MI, U.S. | Murray-Wright | Undecided Committed later to Michigan. |
| 55 | Derek Hood | 6-7 | 210 | F | Kansas City, MO, U.S. | Central | Arkansas |
| N/A | Chauncey Billups | 6-3 | 202 | G | Denver, CO, U.S. | George Washington | Undecided Committed later to Colorado. |
Coaches
The East team was coached by:
- Head Coach Steve Smith of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)
The West team was coached by:
- Head Coach Dave Luechtefeld of Okawville High School (Okawville, Illinois)
All-American Week
Schedule
- Thursday, March 30: Coca-Cola JamFest
- Slam Dunk Contest
- Three-Point Shoot-out
- Sunday, April 2: 18th Annual Boys All-American Game
The Coca-Cola JamFest is a skills-competition evening featuring basketball players who demonstrate their skills in two crowd-entertaining ways. The slam dunk contest was first held in 1987, and a 3-point shooting challenge was added in 1989.
Contest winners
- The 1995 Slam Dunk contest was won by Vince Carter.
- The 1995 3-point shoot-out was won by Louis Bullock.
References
- Wheatley, Tom (April 3, 1995). "HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL McDONALD's ALL AMERICAN GAME". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Page 12.
- A LOOK BACK AT THE McDONALD’S ALL AMERICAN® GAMES SUPERSTARS AND UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES FROM GAMES PAST
- All-Stars, All Business, The Washington Post, April 9, 1995.
- "McDonald's All-American all-time rosters" (PDF). Retrieved 2018-01-25. 1995 roster at page 7.
- "Rosters for the 1995 McDonald's All American High School Game". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 26, 1995. Page 42.
- Kris Clack played with jersey number 4 without his last name on the back because the jersey was stolen before the game: for the same reason, Domzalski played wearing a duplicate of Traylor's number 54 jersey, and Pierce played wearing a duplicate of McCoy's 35. Ranking McDonald's top 35, ESPN, March 27, 2012.