Full Court Prep

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), Candace Parker (2004) and Ivory Latta (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).

Photo Caption: Chiney Ogwumike of Cy-Fair High School, Cypress, Texas, was named the recipient of the 2010 Morgan Wooten Player-of-the-Year Award, bestowed annual on one male and one female high school senior for outstanding accomplishments on and off the basketball court as part of the McDonald’s All-American Games.

Photo Credit: Courtesy Jeff Howard/texasgirlsbasketball.com

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McDonald’s All-American Squads Announced

By Lee Michaelson

Correspondent

The two dozen top female high school athletes that will make up the roster for the ninth annual McDonald’s Girls’ All-American team were announced Thursday. The 2010 McDonald’s Girls’ All-American Game is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, March 31, at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and will broadcast live on ESPNU.

Past female McDonald’s All-Americans have included such WNBA stars as Seimone Augustus (Minnesota Lynx) and Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks) and NAA standouts Maya Moore (Connecticut) and Glory Johnson (Tennessee). This year’s McDonald’s All American Girls’ Team also boasts an exceptional roster, including Chiney Ogwumike (Cy-Fair High School – Cypress,Texas), the consensus number one prospect in the 2010 class, and Odyssey Sims (Irving MacArthur High School - Irving, TX), who was recently named High School Player of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Also suiting-up for the Girls Team will be such standouts as Kaneisha Horn (Ramsay High School – Birmingham, Ala.), Chelsea Gray (St. Mary’s High School – Stockton, Calif.), Bria Hartley (North Babylon High School – North Babylon, N.Y.) and Natasha Howard (Toledo Waite High School – Toledo, Ohio). (Click on our Read Story link for the complete East and West rosters.)

“Year after year I am impressed with the extraordinary high school talent the McDonald’s All American Games brings to the forefront of the basketball world,” said Alonzo Mourning, captain of the McDonald’s All American Advisory Council. “These young athletes will not only get the chance to become basketball stars of the next generation, but more importantly they will be provided the opportunity to bring attention and raise money for an important cause and learn essential life lessons off the court.”

Proceeds from the 2010 McDonald’s All American High School Basketball Girs’ and Boys’ Games will go to Ronald McDonald House Charities® (RMHC®) of Central Ohio. Millions of dollars have been raised since the first boys’ game was played in 1978. Every athletes who participates in the games will pay a visit to the local Ronald McDonald House chapter to learn first-hand how the Games benefit the local community.

Tickets to the Games and the associated POWERADE® Jam Fest are available through Ticketmaster online and by phone, (866) 909-GAME.  POWERADE Jam Fest will be held at the Value City Arena on March 29, 2010. The qualifying competition will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET and the finals will air live at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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Sims Named WBCA High School Player of the Year; WBCA High School All Americans Announced

By Lee Michaelson

Correspondent

The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named Odyssey Sims of MacArthur High School’s (Irving, Texas) Odyssey Sims its 2010 State Farm/WBCA High School Player of the Year.  The WBCA presents this award annually to the top player in each of the five WBCA collegiate divisions (NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA and JC/CC) and high school.

Sims is Full Court’s top ranked point guard in the country, as well as the overall Number 2 recruit nationally.  HoopGurlz.com also ranks Sims as the No. 1 point guard in this year’s senior class. Full Court high school analyst Simmie Colson described Sims as “a great offensive threat” and “one of the best man-on-man defensive guards I have ever seen.” Scout.com and ESPN.com have also ranked Sims as the first and second recruit in the country, respectively.

As a junior, Sims averaged approximately 18.3 points, 7.2 assists and 5.8 steals per game.  For the third season in a row, Sims was named District 7-5A MVP and first team all-district.  She has earned Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and Texas Girls Coaches Association all-state recognitions.  A left-handed point guard, Sims is known for her speed, quickness and ability to play both ends of the floor.

Sims has signed with Baylor University, making this the second year in a row that a Baylor signee has earned the award, as Sims falls in the footsteps of Baylor’s Brittney Griner.

The WBCA also announced the 20 high school seniors selected to participate in its 19th annual WBCA High School All-America Game. The players chosen will be divided into two teams of 10 players and will play during the NCAA Women’s Final Four weekend at 5:30 p.m. Eastern (4:30 p.m. Central) CT on Saturday, April 3, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. (This year’s event will be the first to be played on the same court as the NCAA Women’s Final Four.)

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USA Draws Group A for 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship

By Hoopsgal

Publisher

Team USA will compete against France, Canada, Japan, Russia and Turkey Group A of the preliminary round of the inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship for Women, slated to take place in Rodez and Toulouse, France, from July 16-25 of this year. Six other teams—Argentina, Australia, Belgium, China, Mali and Spain Will participate in Group B, based on the draw conducted by FIBA today.

Up first for the Americans, who qualified for the tournament after running the table last summer by 70 point-per-game margins on the way to the gold medal in the 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Women in Mexico City, is host country France on July 16. The US next meets Russia on July 17, followed by Canada, its closest competitor in the U16 Championships (July 18), Turkey (July 20) and Japan (July 21).

“I am excited about our draw for the tournament,” said Barb Nelson, USA U17 and Wingate University head coach. “Competing against the host team in France will make for an exciting game for the players and the fans. We are familiar with Canada as we played them in the FIBA Americas championship last summer, and Russia, Turkey and Japan typically are very disciplined and well coached. I am excited to watch film on all of the teams as we know very little about them at this point other than we are all striving to win the gold medal.”

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Sims Named WBCA High School Player of the Year; WBCA High School All Americans Announced

By Lee Michaelson

Correspondent

The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) named Odyssey Sims of MacArthur High School’s (Irving, Texas) Odyssey Sims its 2010 State Farm/WBCA High School Player of the Year.  The WBCA presents this award annually to the top player in each of the five WBCA collegiate divisions (NCAA Divisions I, II, III, NAIA and JC/CC) and high school.

Sims is Full Court’s top ranked point guard in the country, as well as the overall Number 2 recruit nationally.  HoopGurlz.com also ranks Sims as the No. 1 point guard in this year’s senior class. Full Court high school analyst Simmie Colson described Sims as “a great offensive threat” and “one of the best man-on-man defensive guards I have ever seen.” Scout.com and ESPN.com have also ranked Sims as the first and second recruit in the country, respectively.

As a junior, Sims averaged approximately 18.3 points, 7.2 assists and 5.8 steals per game.  For the third season in a row, Sims was named District 7-5A MVP and first team all-district.  She has earned Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and Texas Girls Coaches Association all-state recognitions.  A left-handed point guard, Sims is known for her speed, quickness and ability to play both ends of the floor.

Sims has signed with Baylor University, making this the second year in a row that a Baylor signee has earned the award, as Sims falls in the footsteps of Baylor’s Brittney Griner.

The WBCA also announced the 20 high school seniors selected to participate in its 19th annual WBCA High School All-America Game. The players chosen will be divided into two teams of 10 players and will play during the NCAA Women’s Final Four weekend at 5:30 p.m. Eastern (4:30 p.m. Central) CT on Saturday, April 3, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. (This year’s event will be the first to be played on the same court as the NCAA Women’s Final Four.)

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Wingate’s Nelson to Head USA Basketball U17 Team

By Lee Michaelson

Publisher

Barbara Nelson, Wingate University’s (NC) head coach, will return to lead USA Basketball’s women’s U17 team in the inaugural 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women, scheduled to be held in Toulouse and Rodez, France this summer from July 16-25. Wingate coached the US U16 squad to a perfect 5-0 record and the gold medal in the FIBA Americas U16 Champion last summer.

Also returning are Wingate’s two assistant coaches from the successful U16 campaign, Mike Armstrong of Perry Meridian High School (Indiana) and Doreena Bingham of Team Alaska AAU.

This coaching team led the US past five opponents from North and South American by an average margin of 70 points per game in Mexico City to capture the 2009 FIBA Americas U16 title and cement a berth in this year’s FIBA U17 World Championship.

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