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McDonald’s Player of the Year Finalists Announced

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Photo Caption: (St. Mary’s High School, Stockton, CA) is one of six female high school prep stars announced today by McDonald’s as finalists for this year’s Morgan Wooten National Player of the Year Award.

Photo Credit: Full Court/Lee Michaelson

By Lee Michaelson

Publisher

Chelsea Gray (St. Mary’s High School – Stockton, CA), (North Babylon High School – North Babylon, NY, Kaneisha Horn (Ramsay High School – Birmingham, AL), Natasha Howard (Toledo Waite High School – Toledo, OH), (Cy-Fair High School – Cypress, TX) and (Irving MacArthur High School – Irving, TX) are the six finalists for this year’s Morgan Wootten Player of the Year Award, McDonald’s announced today. Sims has previously been announced as the winner of the WBCA’s National High School Player of the Year Award.

The annual award, named after DeMatha High School coaching legend Morgan Wootten, who heads the McDonald’s All-American Selection Committee, recognizes the nation’s top boys and girls high school senior student-athletes. In addition to their skills on the court, the winners of the prestigious award must demonstrate outstanding character, exhibit leadership, and embody the values of being a student-athlete, both in the classroom and in the community.

Winners of the award will be announced March 10, 2010. The 2010 McDonald’s All American Games will be played on March 31 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Girls Game tips off at 5:30 p.m. ET, and will broadcast live on ESPNU, with the Boys’ Game, also nationally telecast, to follow immediately afterward. Proceeds from the 2010 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Games will go to Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) of Central Ohio. Millions of dollars have been raised since the first Game was played in 1978.

GIRLS (in alphabetical order)

Chelsea Gray

In 2008, Gray was named the California State Player of the Year. The following year, as a junior, Gray helped her team win the state championship. She has multiple MVP awards on her resume including MVP of the 2007 West Coast Jamboree, 2009 AAU National (South Carolina), 2009 Tournament of Champions in Arizona and the 2010 Compolindo Shoot-Out in Berkeley, Calif. Off the court, Gray volunteers as a second grade teacher, helps children at her church, and spends time serving food at a local homeless shelter. Gray will attend Duke in the fall. Bria Hartley

Hartley is currently one of the top point guards in the 2010 class. A competitive three-sport athlete, Hartley’s basketball awards include Parade All-American (2009), Gatorade Player of the Year in New York (2009), Metro Classic MVP (2009) and multiple all-league, all-Long Island and all-state honors. In her spare time, she teaches kids at a local youth basketball league. Hartley will attend Connecticut

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in the fall. Kaneisha Horn

Horn is regarded as one of the top players in the 2010 class. She helped her team to the Alabama 5A State Championship her freshman year and averaged nearly 20 points per game her junior year before tearing her ACL, which sidelined her for 10 months. Horn returned to the court her senior year intent on making a statement. Off the court, Horn is active in her church, helps encourage voter registration, and is involved with other youth political activities. Horn will attend Alabama in the fall. Natasha Howard

Howard has received comparisons to LeBron James because of her size and shooting ability. A two- time All-Ohio selection, Howard is averaging more than 25 points and 11 rebounds in 2010. Howard recently took an active role in her school’s fundraising effort to help children in Haiti. Howard will attend Florida State in the fall. Chiney Ogwumike

Ogwumike is a three-year all-state selection and is currently the top-ranked player in the 2010 class. Highlighting her many accolades on the court is a 2008 state championship. Off the court, she orgaznied a charity dance event that raised money to help stop child abuse, is a volunteer for Cypress Assistance Ministires, and she volunteers at her church. Ogwumike will attend Stanford in the fall. Odyssey Sims

Sims received multiple all-state honors in 2009 and is currently the top prospect in the class of 2010. Her basketball accolades include multiple all-district, all-region and all-state honors. When she’s not playing basketball, Sims volunteers her time at a local animal shelter. Sims will attend Baylor in the fall.

“These ... finalists are all incredibly talented young players who understand what it means to give back to their communities,” said Morgan Wootten, McDonald’s All American Games Selection Committee Chairman, who simultaneously announced the six male finalists. “All of these players deserve special recognition for what they do both on and off the court, but only [one] will be selected as the national high school player of the year.”

Originally published Wed, March 03, 2010

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Related Articles

Future of Women’s Basketball on Display in WBCA All-America Game

By Lee Michaelson

Publisher

Sixteen of the top high school girls’ players in the nation took center stage at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Saturday evening to entertain a crowd of several thousand coaches and fans at the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) High School All-America Game. The event was part of the Final Four festivities of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament and the WBCA’s annual convention which is being held in San Antonio from April 2 through April 6.

Twenty female high school seniors were named to the WBCA’s All-American teams, which were divided into Red and White squads for the game. Unlike the McDonald’s All-American Game, which divides squads geographically into East and West regions, the WBCA’s All-American Selection Committee endeavors to divide the talent equitably between the two squads in an effort to create teams as evenly balanced as possible, without regard to geography or the players’ current or future schools.

In this case, it appears that the Selection Committee did a great job of choosing the talented teens who were honored as All Americans, but missed the mark in terms of balancing the teams. Though the White Team struck first blood on a (one of a pair) by 6-5 center Karla Gilbert (A&M Consolidated High School, College Station, Texas), the Red Team dominated much of the game from the early going, leading 48-37 at the half and ultimately breezing to a 101-81 win.

But for the players, the honor of being there, plus the intensity of the environment, meant more than who won or who lost.

“It was such an unbelievable honor to be on the Final Four court for the first time and be in the midst of great players and have such high competition, said Stanford-bound Chiney Ogwumike (Cy-Fair High School, Cypress, TX), the White Team MVP, who described herself and fellow All-Americans as “starstruck” at being in the presence of players such as Tina Charles, , and . Though the prep stars didn’t get much of a chance to interact with the elite collegians, simply passing them in the corridor and knowing they were playing on the same court that would decide the NCAA National Championship this weekend was more than enough, Ogwumike, and Red Team MVP Chelsea Gray (Saint Mary’s High School, Manteca, CA), a Duke signee, agreed.

“It may not have been demonstrated on the score board, but we worked hard and learned a lot by playing through adversity and trying to come back. This game was definitely a memorable experience for me.”

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McDonald’s Girls’ High School All-American Game: They’re All Winners!

By Lee Michaelson

Publisher

It was a big night for Texas girls’ prep basketball in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, as the West beat the East, 84-75, in the McDonald’s All-American Girls’ High School Basketball Game.

Texas was represented on the West squad by an unprecedented five players, including 6-2 forward Chiney Ogwumike (Cy-Fair High School, Cypress, TX), the recipient of this year’s Morgan Wooten Award as the girls’ National Player of the Year; 5-9 guard Meighan Simmons (Byron P. Steele II High School, Cibolo, TX), who was honored as MVP of the West squad; 6-5 forward Karla Gilbert (A&M Consolidated High School, College Station, TX), who put up 15 points for the winning side; 5- 10 forward Tiffany Moore (Frisco High School, Frisco, TX), who didn’t score that much but dished out four assists and grabbed a in her 20 minutes on the floor; and 5-8 guard Odyssey Sims (Irving MacArthur High School, Irving, TX).

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Chiney Ogwumike Named McDonald’s All-American Player of the Year

By Lee Michaelson

Publisher

Chiney Ogwumike was named this year’s recipient of the Morgan Wooten Player-of-the-Year Award for her accomplishments on and off the court, McDonald’s and Coach Wooten announced Wednesday.

Ogwumike, a three-year all-state selection from Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, Texas is the ninth annual female winner of the award, joining such women’s basketball stars as Maya Moore (2007), Tina Charles (2006), (2004) and (2003). Ogwumike was selected from a group of finalists that including Odyssey Sims (irving MacArthur High School, Irving, Texas), winner of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Player of the Year Award, as well as Bria Hartley (North Babylon High School, North Babylon, New York), Kaneisha Horn (Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama), and Natasha Howard (Toledo Waite High School, Toledo, Ohio).

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Full Court Press NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Top 25 — Week of March 15, 2010

Rank Team Record Last Week's Ranking 1 UConn 33-0/16-0 Big East 1 2 Stanford 31-1/18-0 Pac 10 2 3 Tennessee 30-2/15-1 SEC 4 4 Nebraska 30-1/16-0 Big 12 3 5 Duke 27-5/12-2 ACC 6 6 Notre Dame 27-5/12-4 Big East 5 7 Texas A&M 25-7/10-6 Big 12 12 8 Ohio State 30-4/15-3 Big Ten 7 9 Oklahoma 23-10/11-5 Big 12 8 10 West Virginia 28-5/13-3 Big East 10 11 Xavier 27-3/14-0 A-10 9 12 Florida State 26-5/12-3 ACC 13 13 Texas 22-10/10-6 Big 12 14 14 Kentucky 25-7/11-5 SEC 16 15 Oklahoma State 23-10/9-7 Big 12 17 16 Georgetown 25-6/13-3 Big East 18 17 Iowa State 23-7/11-5 Big 12 11 18 Baylor 23-9/9-7 Big 12 15 19 St. John's 24-6/12-4 Big East 19 20 Gonzaga 27-4/14-0 West Coast Conference 20 21 Middle Tennessee State 23-5/17-1 Sun Belt 22 22 Michigan State 22-9/12-6 Big Ten 23 23 UCLA 24-8/15-3 Pac 10 21 24 Virginia 21-9/9-5 ACC 24 25 Vanderbilt 22-10/9-7 SEC NR Dropping Out of this Week's Rankings: Hartford Records as of March 14, 2010

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