by Alex Schwartz

I decided to wait to write about the McDonald's All-American until after the Jordan Brand Classic, both of which I attended. Here I will give you a rundown of some of the news, notes, and quotes from the 2009 McD's AA Game, which took place in Coral Gables, Florida on the campus of the University of Miami at the Bank United Center. In front of an announced attendance of  5,981 people, 24 of the best seniors in America suited up for the game.

- The following schools all had multiple recruits in the game: North Carolina (four), Duke (two), Oklahoma (two), and Villanova (two).

- The following states all had multiple representatives in the game, based off where a player goes to high school: California (four), Florida (three), New Jersey (two), North Carolina (two), and Washington (two).

- I got to talk with a few players after the game, one of whom was Xavier Henry of Putnam City (OK), who had signed with Memphis, but was in the process of re-opening his recruitment at the time of the game in light of John Calipari leaving for Kentucky. "Really, I was distracted at first, . . . but I got to talk to my mom [and she helped settle me down]," said Henry of how the news affected him while he was in Miami for the game. The 6'6 wing said at that point that he "already appealed for a release," and it seems like he has now received that. Henry said flat-out, "I will not be attending Memphis," but it looks as though since then things may well have changed. Although Xavier said, "I'm going to open my recruitment," it really seems as though this is a three-horse race between Memphis, Kentucky, and Kansas. Despite all the drama swirling around Henry at that point, the superstar was able to enjoy playing in the McDonald's All-American Game a great deal: "It was amazing, [this is the] biggest high school venue you an play in. . . . Everyone should feel honored."

- Travis Wear of Mater Dei (CA), a North Carolina signee, was another player I had a chance to talk with after the contest. The first question I asked the future Tar Heel was what it was like to be selected to and play in the McD's AA Game, to which he replied, "It's a great honor [to play with] all these kids, the top 24 players in the country." Amongst those 24 players were a quartet headed to Chapel Hill next season, including Travis and his twin brother David.  What was it like for Travis to play with three future teammates on this stage? "It's fun because we're all going to be playing with each other. . . . [It is a] stepping stone." Wear has had a fine high school career, so I asked him what his most memorable moment was: "Probably this, being invited [here]."

- UConn-signee Alex Oriakhi of Tilton (NH) was another player I spoke with out in Florida. "It was definitely a great honor. Only 24 kids get selected," said the top-notch center on what it was like to be chosen for the big game. As for the best part of it, he said it was "just being out here [and] having fun." Being chosen as a McD's All-American was just one of the many major accomplishments for Oriakhi in his senior season. I asked him what the most memorable moment was and he replied, "I'd probably have to say winning the National Prep Invitational [while] being the underdog."