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Caleb Wilson is the 85th UNC player who made McDonald’s All-American.
The list of notable Tar Heel stars included those who went on to fame in the NBA. The newest candidate is Wilson, the 6-9 forward from Atlanta who is a skilled 5-star recruit around whom Hubert Davis will build his front court next season.
The two most recent participants in the McDonald’s All-American Game, which has its renewal Tuesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn were Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, who have yet to announce if they are returning for their sophomore seasons at Carolina.
Before the McDonald’s game was the Capital Classic played outside of Washington, D.C., in 1977, when Magic Johnson, Albert King and future Duke star Gene Banks were the headliners.
What now includes a women’s game took on McDonald’s as title sponsor in 1978 and continued to play in large arenas around the country, debuting at the Spectrum Center in Philly. It moved to Charlotte in 1978, where Isiah Thomas and Dominique Wilkins starred.
The 1980s began with Michael Jordan scoring 30 points in Wichita and, after a five year-hiatus, UNC signee J.R. Reid won the 1987 John Wooden MVP award in Detroit. In 1993, Jacque Vaughn (who played for Roy Williams at Kansas) set a record with 13 assists.
On the 25th anniversary, the first girls’ all-star game was added at Madison Square Garden, where future Duke sharpshooter and current Lakers coach J.J. Redick scored 26 points on 5-of-6 3-pointers. The 21st game returned to New York and included future Tar Heel James Michael McAdoo.
In 2012, the McDonald’s game recognized its greatest players, which included MJ, Magic Johnson and LeBron James. The girls’ game was won by a free throw with one second left.
The 2018 games returned to Atlanta, which previously hosted in 1983 and 1992, and featured the most points (259) in the event’s history. Nassir Little, who was a one-and-done at Carolina, led all scorers with 28 points. COVID canceled the 2020 and ’21 games.
Among other Tar Heel who were McDonald’s Americans are Al Wood, James Worthy, Matt Doherty, Sam Perkins, Buzz Peterson, Brad Daugherty, Curtis Hunter, Joe Wolf, Dave Popson, Kenny Smith, Jeff Lebo, Kevin Madden, Steve Bucknall, Pete Chilcutt, Scott Williams, King Rice, George Lynch, Eric Montross, Brian Reese, Derrick Phelps, Donald Williams, Clifford Rozier, Matt Wenstrom, Ronald Curry, Brendan Haywood, Ed Cota, Vasco Evtimov, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Jeff McInnis, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse and Serge Zwikker under Dean Smith, Bill Guthridge and Matt Doherty.
Under Roy Williams and Hubert Davis were Caleb Love, R.J. Davis, Armando Bacot, Harrison Ingram, Theo Pinson, Joel Berry, Justin Jackson, Isaiah Hicks, Kennedy Meeks, Marcus Paige, Reggie Bullock, Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Tyler Zeller, Dexter Strickland, Larry Drew, Brandan Wright, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Bobby Frasor, Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Sean May, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, Jawad Williams, Marvin Williams, Joseph Forte, Jason Capel and Kris Lang.
Featured image via Caleb Wilson
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
It is interesting to me to how many of these high school super stars peaked early. A good lesson for sports parents.