Rosters for the 43rd Annual Roundball Classic were announced, led by stars O.J. Mayo and Kevin Love. The game will be played Tuesday April 3rd at The United Center in Chicago, Illinois. DraftExpress will be on hand for all of the practice sessions and the game itself.
It will be interesting to see which games the nations top player, O.J. Mayo, will choose to play in. He was selected to participate in the Jordan Classic, the EA Sports Roundball Classic, and the McDonalds All American Game, in addition to the Nike Hoop Summit. High school players are only allowed to participate in two high school all-star games, with the Nike Hoop Summit not counting due to the fact that is ran by USA basketball. It is a given that Mayo will be playing in the McDonalds All American Game, leaving him to choose between the Jordan Game (Nike) and the Roundball Game (formerly affilated with Reebok, now solely belonging to Sonny Vaccaro). Mayo has been the poster child for Reeboks grassroots program for years now, largely due to his relationship with Vaccaro, playing in every Reebok event and playing for a Reebok sponsored AAU and high school team. Since he has transferred to Huntington HS however, he has made the switch to Nike. Will Mayo's loyalty to Vaccaro help him bring in the #1 player in the country now that he doesn't have a big-time sneaker company behind him? We'll soon find out.
While what game he will play in is unclear, one aspect that has complete clarity is Mayo only being allowed to play in two games if he hopes to maintain any collegiate eligibility. With so many rumors running rampant of O.J. possibly going to prep school, Europe, or even the NBA D-League for a year to avoid playing college basketball, it is a legitimate possibility that he could play in all of the all-star games (a la Josh Smith in 2004), giving up his collegiate eligibility and making the decision of what to do for the 2007-2008 season a little easier. USC will surely be tracking this situation closely.
2007 Roundball Classic Rosters
Player Position Ht Wt Hometown High School College
EAST:
Cole Aldrich C 611 250 Bloomington, MN Jefferson High Kansas
Chris Allen G 64 195 Lawrenceville, GA Meadowcreek High Michigan State
LaceDarius Dunn G 64 205 Monroe, LA Excelsior Christian Baylor
DeAndre Jordan C 70 240 Houston, TX Christian Life Center Texas A&M
Taylor King F 68 220 Huntington Beach, CA Mater Dei High Duke
Gani Lawal F 69 225 Norcross, GA Norcross High GeorgiaTech
Alex Legion G 66 200 Inkster, MI Oak Hill Academy Michigan
O.J. Mayo PG 66 215 Huntington, WV Huntington High USC
Rico Pickett PG 64 180 Decatur, AL Decatur High Alabama
Anthony Randolph F 610 210 Cedar Hill, TX Woodrow Wilson High LSU
DarQuavis Tucker F 64 200 Saginaw, MI Arthur Hill High DePaul
Head Coach East All-Stars: Nick Mariniello, Bloomfield Tech, Bloomfield, NJ
WEST:
Justin Burrell F 68 220 Middleton, NY Bridgton Academy St. Johns
Corey Fisher PG 61 175 Bronx, NY St. Patrick High Villanova
Jonathan Flynn PG 60 183 Niagara Falls, NY Niagara Falls High Syracuse
James Harden F 65 205 Rancho Dominguez,CA Artesia High Arizona State
James/ J.J. Hickson F 610 242 Marietta, GA Wheeler High N.C. State
Nyal Koshwal F 69 238 Chicago, IL Boys To Men Academy DePaul
Kevin Love C 69 240 Lake Oswego, OR Lake Oswego High UCLA
Demetri McCamey G 63 210 Bellwood, IL St. Joseph High Illinois
Herb Pope F 69 230 Aliquippa, PA Aliquippa High New Mexico St.
Corey Stokes G 66 220 Bayonne, NJ St. Benedict High Villanova
Evan Turner G 66 193 Chicago, IL St. Joseph High Ohio State
Alexis Wangmene C 68 245 San Antonio, TX Blair Academy Texas
Head Coach West All-Stars: Loren Jackson, Boys To Men Academy, Chicago, IL
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