Words. High School Hoop

It’s tough to honestly pick an All-American team. Gone are the days when so much of the nation’s high school basketball talent was concentrated in major cities like New York, L.A., Chicago and Philly – now the game is everywhere, with superstars coming out of small Midwestern towns, previously overlooked Northwest suburbs and the football territories of the Deep South, to name a few. So even in an era where YouTube highlights and regular national TV broadcasts allow more people to see more high school stars outside their own area code, the sheer volume of quality players spread around the map can be overwhelming. As a result, hype and reputation play too much of a role in determining who gets what awards and honors, and people make lazy picks, sometimes without even having seen a kid play. MORE >

Words. High School Hoop

The USA Basketball Junior National Select Team’s depth and defense helped it withstand the first triple-double in Nike Hoop Summit history as the Americans rolled to a 92-80 win over the World Select Team Saturday night in front of a national television audience and a Rose Garden crowd of 8,955 in Portland, Ore. MORE >

Words. Austin Burton

Trying to predict the outcome of an exhibition all-star game is an ultimately pointless venture — just one guy playing his hardest can swing the whole complexion of the game — but sometimes the rosters just look too lopsided to resist.

The rosters for the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic were released today, and the East squad is stacked with four of the arguably five best seniors in the country. Austin Rivers, Michael Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Quincy Miller are all on the East roster, while Top-5 candidates Myck Kabongo and Brad Beal lead the West team. MORE >

Words. Jason Jordan

Rosters for the 2011 McDonald’s All-American game were unveiled today, and while most of the names on the list were to be expected, there were a few that got snubbed.

Oakland High School (CA) guard Jabari Brown, Findlay Prep (Henderson, NV) wing Nick Johnson and Garfield (Seattle, WA) guard Tony Wroten Jr. were the three most visible omissions from the team. MORE >

Words. Austin Burton

For as long as they’re both in the NBA, whenever Kobe Bryant and LeBron James line up across from each other on the court, it’s never going to not be a nationally televised main event. In the NFL, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady can’t square off without the eyes of the entire nation watching. There’s just something about when the two best in their sport go head-to-head — even if it’s not really head-to-head — that makes it appointment viewing for anybody with a TV.

At 7 p.m. EST tonight on ESPN2, high school basketball’s Kobe-vs.-LeBron is going down, when Winter Park (FL) tips off against St. Patrick (NJ), showcasing the individual matchup of Austin Rivers vs. Michael Gilchrist. MORE >

Words. Austin Burton

When the No. 2 high school basketball player in the country suddenly falls out of the Top 50 in the middle of his senior season, clearly something has gone wrong. In the case of Quincy Miller (Westchester, NC), it was a torn ACL in his left knee suffered on Dec. 10. The injury ended what would have certainly been an All-American campaign and potentially a national Player of the Year run before it really began.

Miller’s season-ending injury dropped him out of the new High School Hoop National Top 50 Ranking, updated following the 2010-11 holiday tournament stretch of the schedule, where a lot of players were tested against national competition in high-profile matchups. MORE >