For college hoops fans, it's a rite of passage every spring to not only watch college hoops and the NCAA Tournament - but to watch who's next in college hoops, in the McDonald's All-American game.
Well, after two years where it wasn't played - the McDonald's All-American will officially return this March, with the game set for March 29th in Chicago. And on Tuesday, the 2022 roster was announced.
Here is that roster, as well as the corresponding schools each player will attend:
Jaden Bradley – Alabama
Jarace Walker – Houston
Cason Wallace – Kentucky
Jordan Walsh – Arkansas
Arterio Morris – Texas
Keyonte George – Baylor
Gradey Dick – Kansas
Adem Bona – UCLA
Kel’el Ware – Oregon
Kijani Wright- USC
Ernest Udeh – Kansas
Anthony Black – Undecided
Dereck Lively – Duke
Amari Bailey – UCLA
Dariq Whitehead – Duke
Nick Smith – Arkansas
MJ Rice – Kansas
Chris Livingston – Kentucky
Brandon Miller -Alabama
Julian Phillips – LSU
Cam Whitmore – Villanova
Dillion Mitchell – Texas
JJ Starling – Notre Dame
Mark Mitchell – Duke
For those scoring at home, Duke and Kansas lead all schools with three players in the McDonald's game, with Kentucky, Kansas, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and UCLA each coming in with two apiece. Of course, it's worth noting that Kentucky did have the No. 1 player in the 2022 class Shaedon Sharpe signed, before he elected to enroll in the spring semester this year.
But what really stands out looking at these rosters, is the ever-shifting talent landscape in college hoops. A school like Texas has always been able to sign good players, but there's no doubt that Chris Beard's arrival has taken their recruiting to another level. And how about Arkansas and Alabama with two signees apiece? It shows the impact of dynamic coaching and good NCAA Tournament runs can have on recruiting, and as importantly, only furthers the fact that the SEC is a continually emerging college hoops conference.
It is the first time ever that Alabama has had two signees in this game, and the first time for Arkansas since 1988.
Overall though, the biggest development here is how awesome it will be to just have this game back, period. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid, and while a team was officially named for 2021, the game was never played. Meaning that the last McDonald's All-American game that was actually played was all the way back in 2019, when Cole Anthony and Nassir Little split the MVP. Both players are currently in the midst of their second NBA seasons.
So yeah, it's been a while - and it will be great to see the best players in high school basketball suit up in Chicago on March 29th.