Several UK commits and targets predicted to be McDonald’s All-American picks

Believe it or not, we are almost a month into the New Year, and basketball is at about the halfway point in the season.

For high school hoops, that means that final player rankings are nearing their final stages. Most notably, narrowing down the potential selections for the McDonald’s All-American game. Only 24 players will be named as participants in the prestigious event that dates back all the way to 1977.

Final selections will be made today on ESPN.

This year’s game will be played at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on April 1st.

On Tuesday, Justin Young of Hoopseen released his educated projections on which players he believes will make the cut. Young manages the day to day operations at Hoopseen and has held some serious positions in the recruiting business. He travels the country and has seen most, if not all, of these players in live action. So it goes without saying that his opinion is a very well respected.

You’re probably wondering how many future Wildcats are expected to be selected?

The Cats have commitments from two absolute locks to be named to a McDonald’s All-American roster. BJ Boston and Terrence Clarke are certain to be selected, and Devin Askew is another player that’s likely to receive an invitation as well.

Brandon Boston has seen his stock soar over the past few months. Playing at the highly visible Sierra Canyon he has shown out all season on the biggest stages in high school basketball. In ESPN’s recent rankings, he moved all the way up to #6. Boston will have another chance to show the country just how good he is while playing on national television for the McDonald’s game.

Terrence Clarke was ranked as the 8th best player in the country by ESPN and is also a lock to make a roster.

Devin Askew on the other hand is listed as the 25th best player in the country by ESPN, and remember, only 24 players total are picked. That being said, a lot of criteria is taken into consideration, and Justin Young of Hoopseen is projecting him to make the cut.

The other UK commits are all ranked outside of the top 40 and appear unlikely to participate in this game.

However, the Cats remain in pursuit of another big man to round out their 2020 recruiting class. If Greg Brown or Cliff Omoruyi decided to come to Lexington, that would potentially add more McDonald’s All-Americans to the class, because both are projected to be selected.