You know that you’re coming to the end of the regular season when the McD’s Burger Boys are announced. This annual rite of late winter signals that it’s time to hunker down and prepare for some warmer weather and a little thing called March Madness, and this game always gives us a peak of some of the next few years’ stars to watch. Last year’s F4, for example, featured freshmen Kevin Love, Cole Aldrich and Derrick Rose – all three were Burger Boys in 2007, not to overlook Darrell Arthur, Sherron Collins, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and James Keefe from the 2006 game, and Tyler Hansbrough, Bobby Frasor, Danny Green and Super Mario Chalmers from the 2005 game. In all, a total of twelve McDonald’s All-Americans played in last year’s Final Four, and you can expect a multitude most seasons.
Keep in mind that aside from the top ten or so consensus players (this year, guys like Boynton, Henry, Sidney, Cousins and Favors are on that list), there is a fair amount of political posturing that goes into these selections. Don’t believe us? Then check some of the names of the last ten McD’s games and their career stats (you’ll notice a lot of “rep” schools on this list:
- Rolando Howell – 2000 (South Carolina): 10/6 in 4 yrs
- Neil Fingleton – 2000 (UNC/Holy Cross): 3/2 in 3 yrs
- Michael Thompson – 2002 (Duke): 5/2 in 4 yrs
- Travis Garrison – 2002 (Maryland) – 8/5 in 4 yrs
- Ivan Harris – 2003 (Ohio St.): 6/2 in 4 yrs
- Jawan McClellan – 2004 (Arizona): 8/3 in 4 yrs
- Bobby Frasor – 2005 (UNC) – 4/3 in 4 yrs
- Eric Boateng – 2005 (Duke/Arizona St.) – 3/2 in 3 yrs
- Lance Thomas – 2006 (Duke): 5/3 in 3 yrs
- James Keefe – 2006 (UCLA): 2/3 in 3 yrs
Another thing to remember is that while the McDonald’s game annually has many of the best players, it’s not the end-all. Here’s a list of this year’s collegiate stars who never sniffed the grease, special sauce and Ronald’s creepy smile while still a prep star, yet turned out ok.
- Hasheem Thabeet – 2005 (UConn) – ranked #64
- Terrence Williams – 2005 (Louisville) – ranked #44
- Jerel McNeal – 2005 (Marquette) – ranked #57
- Jack McClinton – 2005 (Miami) – unranked
- Sam Young – 2005 (Pittsburgh) – ranked #58
- Luke Harangody – 2006 (Notre Dame) – ranked #83
- DeJuan Blair – 2006 (Pittsburgh) – ranked #40
- Stephen Curry – 2006 (Davidson) – unranked
- Jodie Meeks – 2006 (Kentucky) – ranked #57
- E’Twaun Moore – 2007 (Purdue) – ranked #23
- James Johnson – 2007 (Wake Forest) – ranked #43
- Patty Mills – 2007 (St. Mary’s) – unranked
- Jeff Teague – 2007 (Wake Forest) – ranked #58
- Isaiah Thomas – 2008 (Washington) – ranked #85