No. 1-ranked Montverde Academy deserves 4-5 McDonald's All-Americans but history suggests it won't happen | Zagsblog
Recent Posts
About ZagsBlog
Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Follow Zags on Twitter
Couldn't connect with Twitter
Contact Zags
Connect with Zags:
Wednesday / October 9.
  • No. 1-ranked Montverde Academy deserves 4-5 McDonald’s All-Americans but history suggests it won’t happen

    Share Zagsblog Share Zagsblog
    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Following a weekend of stiff competition at the prestigious Hoophall Classic, Coach Kevin Boyle’s loaded Montverde Academy (FL) team remains undefeated at 19-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation.

    According to the MaxPreps.com rankings, No. 1 Montverde beat No. 2 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.), No. 5 Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and No. 7 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) at the Hoophall. Led by A.J. Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes, Prolific Prep gave Montverde its stiffest test yet in a 76-71 loss on Sunday night.

    Led by Cooper Flagg — the Duke commit who is the No. 1 player in the Class of 2024 and the favorite to be the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft – Montverde has 4-5 legitimate candidates for the McDonald’s All-American Game, set for April 2 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

    Yet when the McDonald’s announcement is made on Tuesday on ESPN’s NBA Today between 3-4 p.m. ET, history suggests Montverde will have no have than 3 players on the rosters.

    One of them will be the 6-foot-9 Flagg, while the others will come from among uncommitted big man Derik Queen, ranked No. 12 by 247Sports.com, No. 13 Asa Newell (Georgia) and No. 15 Liam McNeeley (Indiana). Point guard Rob Wright (Baylor) is ranked No. 31 in the class, but is the No. 2 point guard in the 247Sports Composite.

    “It’s probably one of the few times a team has 4-5 players that are talented enough to be considered to play in the McDonald’s Game,” USA Basketball youth coach Don Showalter told ZAGSBLOG.

    Bu at least two of these players — and maybe three — are likely to get left out.

    According to the official McDonald’s Game selection criteria: “There is a historical maximum of two (2) players chosen from a high school or organization with a rare third (3rd) player exception. The third (3rd) player exception is determined at the sole discretion of the selection committee.”

    In 2020, when Boyle had his last undefeated super-team at Montverde (25-0), that group produced a trio of McDonald’s All-Americans in Cade Cunningham, the eventual No. 1 pick in the 2021 Draft, Scottie Barnes, the No. 4 pick, and Day’Ron Sharpe, the No. 29.

    In 2019, IMG Academy (FL) also produced a trio of McDonald’s All-Americans in Josh Green, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Armando Bacot. Green and Robinson-Earl are now in the NBA, while Bacot is at North Carolina.

    Now in 2024, it might be time for the McDonald’s committee to review their criteria and allow for an exceptional team like Montverde to have more than three players selected.

    Flagg is a no-brainer and will be the biggest name in the game.

    Queen, Newell and McNeeley are all consensus Top-15 players in their class, and Wright is among the best point guards in the class.

    All of these Montverde players deserve to be selected — and it’s time the McDonald’s committee considered making a change.

    Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

    Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram

    And Like ZAGS on Facebook

    Written by

    [email protected]

    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

  • } });
    X