The New York metropolitan area will be well represented in this year’s McDonald’s All-American Game.
Four players from New York and New Jersey will play in the prestigious game March 31 in Columbus, Ohio.
Duke-bound guard Kyrie Irving of Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick; Tennessee-bound forward Tobias Harris of Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West; Villanova-bound JayVaughn Pinkston of Brookyn Bishop Loughlin; and uncommitted guard and Queens, N.Y. native Doron Lamb of Oak Hill Academy have all been invited. Harris, on left, and Pinkston are pictured at left during their recent battle at the Big Apple Invitational.
Tristan Thompson, a forward who has signed with Texas and plays at Findlay (Nev.) Prep, was also selected. Thompson previously played at Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep.
The official list won’t be released until Feb. 11 on ESPNU.
A year ago, three New York-area players were named McDonald’s All-Americans: Lance Stephenson of Brooklyn Lincoln (Cincinnati); Dominic Cheek of St. Anthony (Villanova); and Dexter Strickland of St. Patrick (North Carolina).
In 2008, Mike Rosario of St. Anthony (Rutgers,) Samardo Samuels of St. Benedict’s (Louisville), Kemba Walker of Rice (UConn) and Sylven Landesberg of Queens Holy Cross (Virginia) were selected.
FREE THROWS
St. Patrick junior Michael Gilchrist scored the winning basket with 2.1 seconds left Saturday night to lead the Celtics to a 68-66 victory ovre Joe Jackson and Memphis (Tenn.) White Station in the Newark Invitational. He finished with 29 points and 15 boards. Irving added 16 points. On Sunday, Irving scored 23 points and he and teammate Kevin Boyle Jr. combined to hit 9 of their team’s 10 3-pointers in a 75-58 win over Gil St. Bernard’s…St. Benedict’s followed a win Saturday over De La Salle in the Newark Invitational with a 52-50 win Sunday over previously unbeaten Plymouth (Pa.) Whitemarsh in the Lehigh Valley Hoop Group Showcase. The Gray Bees (17-1) received 16 points from Temple-bound Aaron Brown and 14 from Arizona commit Sidiki Johnson. St. Joe’s commit C.J. Aiken finished with 14 points and 7 blocks…In an 80-50 win over De La Salle in Newark, Rutgers-bound Gilvydas Biruta put up scored 15 points, 5 boards and 1 block, while Texas-bound guard Myck Kabongo tallied 19 points…Tyler Harris, the younger brother of Tobias Harris, has reclassified to the Class of 2012 and will spend a prep year in 2011-12 after finishing up at Half Hollow Hills West. His father, Torrel, says Tyler has grown eight inches in the last two years and could reach 6-10 or 6-11. Numerous high-major programs are after him…6-8 forward Ryan Rhoomes of Cardozo will also prep next year, possibly at South Kent (Conn.). Cardozo fell to Rice, 63-58 in OT, Saturday in the SNY Invitational title game.
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