Three Texas recruits selected for McDonald's All-American Game
OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Forty-eight players (24 boys, 24 girls), including three 2005-06 signees with The University of Texas women's basketball program, have been selected to participate in the prestigious 2005 McDonald's All American Basketball Games for their skills both on and off the basketball court. The 28th-annual McDonald's All American High School Basketball Boys Game and the fourth annual Girls Game take place on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 at the Joyce Center in South Bend, IN. Texas placed the most recruits on the girls team with three: State Farm/WBCA National High School Player of the Year 5-10 guard Erika Arriaran (Norco, Calif./Norco HS), 6-0 forward Crystal Boyd (Little Rock, Ark./Parkview HS), and 6-0 forward Earnesia Williams (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa HS). All three will play on the 12-member West Team at the McDonald's All-American Game. There are only four basketball programs in the nation which will have three recruits playing in the elite McDonald's All-American contests - the Texas women and the Duke, North Carolina and Notre Dame men. The McDonald Girls Game will tip off at 5:30 p.m. (EST, 4:30 p.m. Central) and will be broadcast on ESPN2 the following day (Thursday, March 31) at 5 p.m. (EST, 4 p.m. Central), on ESPN2. The Boys Game will be broadcast live on ESPN on March 30th, starting at 8 p.m. (EST, 7 p. m. Central). Proceeds from the 2005 McDonald's All American Game® will benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities® of Fort Wayne and South Bend, IN. Arriaran, Boyd and Williams join three current Longhorns who also participated in the McDonald's All-America Game: 5-8 junior Nina Norman (who played in the initial women's game), 6-5 sophomore Kalee Carey and 6-3 sophomore Tiffany Jackson. Earlier in February, Arriaran and Williams were selected to play in the 2005 WBCA High School All-America Game, presented by Nike. Boyd is an alternate for that all-star contest. The WBCA All-Star Game takes place on Saturday, April 2 at the University of Indianapolis' Nicoson Hall in Indianapolis, Indiana during the festivities of the 2005 NCAA Women's Final Four. The McDonald All-American players were selected from a pool of more than 2,500 nominees of high-school boys and girls senior standouts from across the country (1,000 female and 1,500 male prep basketball standouts), nominated by the McDonald's All-American Basketball Team Selection Committee, a group of nationally prominent basketball experts. Morgan Wootten, who won more than 1,200 games as coach of DeMatha Catholic High School (Hyattsville, MD), serves as chairman of the McDonald's All American Selection Committee and legendary former UCLA coach, John Wooden, chairman of the McDonald's All American Game, serves as an advisor to the committee. Each year, net proceeds from the All American Game benefit a local chapter of Ronald McDonald House Charities. This year, net proceeds will benefit Ronald McDonald Family RoomsTM in South Bend and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Previous beneficiaries have included Sickle Cell Anemia Research, the United Negro College Fund and numerous local children's charities. Nearly $4 million has been raised for various charities since the Game was first played in 1978. The Grils West squad head coach is Kelly Flynn, head basketball coach at South Sioux City High School in South Sioux City, Neb., and Anna V. Jackson, head coach at Murrah High School in Jackson, Miss. will coach the East squad. Leading the 2005 Boys East squad will be Jack Keefer, varsity basketball coach at Lawrence North High School, Indianapolis, Ind., while Al Rhodes, head basketball coach of Logansport High School, Logansport, Ind., will lead the Boys West squad. For more information, go to the following websites: http://mcdonaldsallamerican.com and http://mcdepk.com/2005allamericangame/. For tickets, call toll free at 1-866-909-GAME.
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