The future of college basketball, and perhaps the NBA, takes center-stage on Wednesday night as the McDonald's All-American Game tips-off in Chicago. The best high school basketball talent in American hits the court at Union Center in Chicago with a chance to showcase their abilities live on national television. The women's game is already underway, with the men set to tip at about 7 p.m.
Here's the vital information on Wednesday's McDonald's All-American Games.
Game time: The women's game tips off at 4:30 p.m., with the men's game getting underway at 7 p.m.
TV information: The women's game can be seen on ESPNU while the men's game can be found on ESPN. For those without access to the channels, ESPN3 will also carry the games.
Rosters: The only player from the Northwest is Kyle Wiltjer, a senior at Jesuit High School in Portland. Wiltjer flirted with Gonzaga, and had the Zags in his final list of schools, before committing to Kentucky in the fall. The rest of the West roster consists of players mainly from the Midwest, with no players from Washington or California represented. The same can be said about the Pac-10, which has a grand total of zero players on the 2011 McDonald's All-American rosters. Full rosters can be found here for the men and here for the women. For roster breakdowns and more on the games, check out SB Nation's McDonald's All-American Game StoryStream.
The McDonald's boycott: No, a boycott has nothing to do with the food. When these rosters are formed, there always happens to be snubs -- deserving players left off the roster for whatever reason. When Quincy Pondexter was eligible for the All-American game, he was passed over and vowed never to eat McDonald's again. It's always a fun story around this time of year, and Pondexter's boycott -- which lasted until he was until he was in Singapore for the World University Games three years later -- serves as a model example for snubs. It just so happens another Washington-bound player, Seattle's Tony Wroten, felt he was unfairly left off the roster this year. Will he boycott the popular fast foot chain?
We'll be back with more on the game, including a look at why Tony Wroten Jr. was upset about being left off the roster, and whether he deserved a place in the game. Check back with this StoryStream and be sure to visit SB Nation's All-American Game StoryStream for more on the men's and women's games.