McDonald’s All-American Game guide: What to watch in the all-star recruiting event
Following two years of cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the McDonald’s All-American Game returns this week, with the nation’s top high school basketball recruits gathering in Chicago for the 2022 edition of the hoops showcase.
Kentucky will have two future Wildcats in the game Tuesday night, and the 2022 invitees have been participating in practice sessions — always the most competitive part of McDonald’s week — over the past couple of days.
The McDonald’s All-American boys’ game will air at 9 p.m. on ESPN, with the girls’ game at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2. A replay of the boys’ scrimmage will also be shown on ESPNU at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Here’s a look at who to watch in the basketball showcase.
The Kentucky recruits
Obviously, UK fans will be most interested in five-star combo guard Cason Wallace and five-star wing Chris Livingston, the Wildcats’ only two signees for next season. Livingston and Wallace were once part of a class that also included No. 1 overall recruit Shaedon Sharpe and five-star point guard Skyy Clark, but Sharpe enrolled in college earlier this year and is likely to test the NBA Draft waters. Clark backed off his UK commitment three weeks ago.
Wallace — a 6-foot-4 guard from Texas — is one of the best perimeter players in the 2022 class, and he has thrived both on and off the ball during his high school and AAU career. He’s known as a team-first offensive playmaker and a gritty defender. Wallace could end up as Kentucky’s primary point guard next season — depending on who else is on the 2022-23 roster — and he’s a likely candidate for a starting spot, no matter what his specific role is on the court.
Livingston — a strong, athletic 6-6 wing from Ohio — put up ridiculous stats as a junior (31.1 points, 15.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 4.7 steals and 4.0 blocks per game) before transferring to Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and employing a more team-oriented approach for this season. Few players in the 2022 class have more immediate college potential than Livingston, who has worked on his three-point shot to go along with a bruising style at the “3” position, and he’s expected to play major minutes at UK next season.
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, Livingston is the No. 7 overall player in the class, while Wallace holds the No. 8 spot nationally. Livingston will wear No. 24 for the East team Tuesday night, and Wallace will be in the No. 22 jersey on the West squad.
No. 1 recruit for 2022
Who’s No. 1 in the recruiting class of 2022? That depends on who you ask.
247Sports and ESPN have former Kentucky target Dereck Lively II — a 7-footer from Pennsylvania — as the top recruit in the country. Rivals.com has pegged 6-6 wing Dariq Whitehead as the No. 1 overall prospect in the class. And On3.com has Kyle Filipowski — a near 7-footer with a perimeter game — in the top spot for 2022.
Sadly for UK, all three of those players are committed to Duke, which has the No. 1 recruiting class for the 2022 cycle by a pretty wide margin.
Lively and Whitehead will be teammates on the East squad. Filipowski was not eligible for the McDonald’s Game because he’s played five years in high school (even though he’s in his correct grade and won’t turn 19 until November).
Others near the top of the 2022 rankings are UCLA signee Amari Bailey (No. 2 in the 247Sports composite), Baylor signee Keyonte George (No. 4) and Arkansas signee Nick Smith Jr. (No. 6).
SEC players to watch
Seven of the players in this year’s McDonald’s Game are committed to Southeastern Conference programs.
Arkansas signee Nick Smith Jr. — a onetime Kentucky target — is the highest-ranked of the bunch at No. 6 nationally, and he’s been a standout of the McDonald’s practice sessions. The Razorbacks also have a commitment from small forward Jordan Walsh (No. 18 overall) and 6-7 point guard Anthony Black, who is ranked No. 22 in the class and committed to Arkansas on Monday night.
Then there’s the Kentucky duo of Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace, and the Alabama duo of Brandon Miller (No. 11 in the rankings) and Jaden Bradley (No. 17), two more former UK targets.
Louisiana State also had a player in the game — forward Julian Phillips (No. 12 overall) — until coach Will Wade was fired earlier this month. Phillips decommitted from the LSU program after that move, and he has not yet picked a new school, making him the only uncommitted recruit in this year’s event.
The SEC has seven McDonald’s All-Americans, one ahead of the Big 12 with six. The ACC and Pac-12 have four each, and no other conference has more than one.
Arkansas, Duke and Kansas lead the way with three players each in the McDonald’s Game.
McDonald’s girls’ game
There will be no future Kentucky Wildcats or Louisville Cardinals in the McDonald’s All-American girls’ game Tuesday night.
Stanford commitment Lauren Betts — a 6-7 post player from Colorado — is the No. 1 overall player in the ESPN recruiting rankings for the 2022 class, and she will wear No. 51 for the West team. The top-ranked future SEC player in the game had been Georgia signee Janiah Barker, who is No. 3 nationally and will wear No. 2 for the East squad. Barker, however, recently decommitted from the Bulldogs following an offseason coaching change.
The SEC commitments in the game now include guard Talaysia Cooper (South Carolina), guard Flau’jae Johnson (LSU), wing Justine Pissott (Tennessee) and forward Ashlyn Watkins (South Carolina).
This story was originally published March 29, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
