Regal Radio will be in the building once again for the McDonald’s All-American Game, which takes place for the fifth consecutive year in Chicago this Wednesday at the United Center.
Since Chicago has become synonymous with this high school showcase, take a look at the entire list of Illinois McDonald’s All-Americans dating back to the game’s inaugural edition in 1978, when future pro Mark Aguirre represented the city and some guy named Chuck Verderber repped downstate.
Of course, many out-sized names came afterwards, starting with Isiah Thomas in ’79 and its not stopping any time soon. Two years ago this contest featured the talented trio of Jahlil Okafor, Tyler Ulis and Cliff Alexander, both Okafor and Alexander can now be seen on NBA rosters and Ulis has established himself as a potential NBA draft pick himself while running the floor for the University of Kentucky.
Last year, then Illinois’ Mr. Basketball, Jalen Brunson represented the state solo, today he’s preparing for a Final Four showdown with Oklahoma this coming Saturday as part of a surprising Villanova squad. Can’t be said that the game’s future stars do not pass through this now-legendary exhibition.
Unfortunately, no male players from Illinois made McDonald’s All-American this year, though two members of this year’s West girls All-American Team hail from the state — Jeannie Boehm of New Trier, a Harvard recruit, and Champaign, IL’s Tori McCoy who is headed to Ohio State (really, U of I?).
Who are your favorites from this list? Drop a comment and let us know, also stay with WARR.com all week for much more on the McDonald’s All-American Game.
Illinois’ McDonald’s All-Americans past and present
1978
Mark Aguirre, Westinghouse
Chuck Verderber, Lincoln
1979
Teddy Grubbs, King
Raymond McCoy, Bloom
Isiah Thomas, St. Joseph
1980
Russell Cross, Manley
Glenn “Doc” Rivers, Proviso East
1981
Walter Downing, Providence
Michael Payne, Quincy
1982
Bruce Douglas, Quincy
Efrem Winters, King
1983
Barry Sumpter, Lovejoy
Daryl Thomas, St. Joseph
1984
Roger McClendon, Centennial
1985
Lowell Hamilton, Providence-St. Mel
Ed Horton, Lanphier
1986
Nick Anderson, Simeon
Phil Henderson, Crete-Monee
1987
Deryl Cunningham, St. Joseph
Bill Heppner, Crystal Lake
Marcus Liberty, King
1988
Eric Anderson, St. Francis de Sales
LaPhonso Ellis, Lincoln
Raymond Thompson, Argo
1989
Deon Thomas, Simeon
1990
Jamie Bandon, King
1991
Juwan Howard, Vocational
Tom Kleinschmidt, Gordon Tech
Howard Nathan, Peoria Manual
1992
Chris Collins, Glenbrook North
Richard Keene, Collinsville
1993
Rashard Griffith, King
1994
Antoine Walker, Mt. Carmel
1995
Kevin Garnett, Farragut
1996
Ronnie Fields, Farragut
Michael Robinson, Richwoods
1997
Melvin Ely, Thornton
Marcus Griffin, Manual
1998
Corey Maggette, Fenwick
Quentin Richardson, Young
Frank Williams, Manual
1999
Brian Cook, Lincoln
2000
Andre Brown, Leo
Darius Miles, East St. Louis
2001
Eddy Curry, Thornwood
2002
Dee Brown, Proviso East
Sean Dockery, Julian
Michael Thompson, Providence
2003
Shannon Brown, Proviso East
2004
Shaun Livingston, Peoria Central
2005
Bobby Frasor, Brother Rice
Julian Wright, Homewood-Flossmoor
2006
Sherron Collins, Crane
Jon Scheyer, Glenbrook North
2007
Derrick Rose, Simeon
2008
Michael Dunigan, Farragut
Iman Shumpert, Oak Park-River Forest
2010
Jereme Richmond, Waukegan
2011
Anthony Davis, Perspectives-MSA
Wayne Blackshear, Morgan Park
2013
Jabari Parker, Simeon
2014
Cliff Alexander, Curie
Jahlil Okafor, Young
Tyler Ulis, Marian Catholic
2015
Jalen Brunson, Stevenson
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a thing that is very sensible in everyday life.